Blooms and Bonds: Springtime Shenanigans with the Clan

and beans with caramelized onions on top

Setting the Scene

What’s better than getting ready for a visit with a friend or family member who fills your bucket with love.

clockwise from top right: Kim, Denise, Johnny and Mike

Anticipating the laughs and the endorphins that will ultimately come from our conversations is nothing short of bliss. This was how I was feeling last weekend before I went to my girlfriend Kim’s house. We have been best friends since we were 4! Oh yes, I know how lucky I am. It's like having another sister who knows my every move. We enjoyed a relaxing Sunday afternoon. So much so that I did not take any pictures. I finally met, in person, Frankie, her granddaughter, who turns 5 next month. Catching up with Johnny, their son, and hugging their youngest son, Josh, when he woke up and hearing about his life right now made me very happy indeed. My life is pretty private and my friends are my gold. I have a silly smile on my face just thinking of them.

Belonging, loved ones first, wine at five

It got me thinking that we, and others like us, are similar to the families on the Blue Zones series. I have written about it before, I can definitely relate to where spending time with loved ones improves your health. Enjoying friends or family, over a leisurely meal, sipping on a glass of wine, or not, and smiling until our faces hurt. Yes, please. I read wine of any kind is no longer recommended to be heart healthy. Yup, they said you would need to drink a lot of wine (many liters), more than they originally posited to get the benefits of the polyphenol known as resveratrol. It’s funny, when a “60 Minutes” segment reported on the benefits of red wine in the early 90’s wine sales in American increased by 40%. It was further reported in multiple studies that the consumption of red wine helped heart health. It’s as though we don’t know how to make a move unless it is written in a journal and reported on. We don’t want to make a wrong decision. We need medical professionals, scientists and then influencers to underscore what we inherently know. Meanwhile, the Ikarian, Japanese and Sicilian families show us anecdotally how to live well and long; it’s not hard to understand. We don’t have to complicate it but we do. Well, in some parts of the world, we do. 

Let’s say that in a laboratory setting if you drink wine there are no benefits, maybe it will even have adverse affects. However, when you have that same wine and add variables such as friendship and laughter and warmth and fresh air and conversation and communication and hugs it’s as though you consumed a nutritious dose of energy that negates whatever scary sauce is in that glass. So while the wine alone may not help us, having a social drink, with loved ones, feeling all the feelings of belonging, and we all know how that feels, I will take that elixir any day.

This past weekend we did just that.

Smiles and good cheer all around

We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with an open house at my sister and brother in law’s house. They are walking distance from my house and they are just up the street from the parade. At one point, before we left for the parade, my niece, her boyfriend, her cousin and their friends, along with my uncle and my father, my cousin, her partner and their 3 month old were in the same house. That's four overlapping generations coming together all choosing to be there at this moment in time. It was a perfect morning spanning into the afternoon, filled with music, jokes, laughter, great food, Irish culture (we are Harringtons!) and the parade. I woke up feeling so fortunate to be part of this wonderful group. 

Scenes from the Newport St. Patrick's Day Parade

Today at 11:06 pm (technically) is the vernal equinox. Spring begins anew and with that so will the weekly newsletter topics. Anything that falls under the Blue Zone 9 could be the theme of the week. Not to preach but rather to shine a light on real moments of joy or struggle to see ourselves in others. It is paramount for all to see, the importance of friends and belonging, even more so as we are aging because isolation is real, however, we can do things to mitigate that feeling, to enjoy one another, share our stories, our life mishaps and victories, and break bread together. The “recommended recipe” will be the constant as will the veggie forward and of course, beans in all of their glory. The recipe will be highlighted from a delicious meal or something that sparked my interest to share with you. Everyday is a gift. Let's not overthink it, or require a scientific study, let's celebrate it. Cheers!

Recommended Recipe

Beans with caramelized onions

I knew I was going to make a yummy pot of beans and share some with Kim and Johnny.

I also wanted to saute and carmelize red onions to add to the top of the beans as a nice topping. Finally, I made a sour dough boule because who doesn’t like homemade sourdough? 

Ingredients

For the beans:

• ½ lb dried beans of your choice. I used Rancho Gordo mantequilla beans. Makes a tasty stock and they are easily enjoyed by all. Pintos are an easy substitute. Soak overnight.

• 1 carrot, diced

• 1 celery stalk, diced

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 clove of garlic, minced

• 1 bay leaf

• Other aromatics of your choice…I added a stalk of fresh, yet aging, rosemary

• Either olive oil for sauteing the carrot, celery and onion or use stock.

• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes

For the caramelized onions:

• 1 large red onion

• Sliced very thin (I used a mandolin)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• ½ Tablespoon of butter for just a bit of buttery flavor (optional)

Beans

Soak the dried beans over night. 

In a large soup pot or medium Dutch oven heat up add about a tablespoon of olive oil, or a couple of tablespoons of veggie stock to your pot. Let it heat up a minute and add the carrots, onions, and celery. After another minute add the garlic. Stir. Add the bay leaf and any other aromatics to the pot. Stir another 30 seconds. 

Add the beans that have been soaking overnight. I do not rinse my beans because any nutrients that are in the water, I want them in my pot of beans. You can rinse and they will come out yummy, too. Your choice.

Add more water until the beans are covered by 1.5 inches of water. Replace the cover and bring to a boil for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the burner down to simmer for another 35-45 minutes. If the beans are very fresh when you stir them at the midway point, using a wooden spoon, press them against the side of the pot, if they have some give they will be almost done. You can add the salt and cook for another 5-10  minutes. Taste the beans. They may be finished. Otherwise, continue cooking to desired softness checking every 5-10 minutes. If they have no give and you can feel that the bean is still pretty hard your cooking time will be the full 45 minutes and maybe more, before you can add the salt, again, to taste as stated above. 

Onions

Heat up a cast iron skillet or skillet of your choice, for at least 2 minutes and add the olive oil, along with the butter (optional) until the butter has just stopped sizzling.

Add your onions and stir over medium heat. Keep stirring and turn the heat down to medium low to keep the onions from browning but not necessarily softening. You want this process to go slowly. Stir every now and then.

If you find things getting too dry because you left it on medium, add a bit of stock or water and lower the heat. If you have the patience you will end up with the most delicious melt-in-your-mouth onions to spoon over a cup of beans.

If I made this again I might double or triple the recipe. It did not make as much as we could’ve eaten but I only had one big red onion in my pantry. And I wanted a red onion. The one onion will take about the same time it does for the beans to cook. If you get to the 50 minute mark and they are not yet browning, turn up the heat, continuously stir and scrap the brown bits into the onions. You will most likely speed things up from here.

Contact

If you have any questions on integrating beans consistently for gut health now and into the near future, please email me at Denisemancieri1@gmail.com. Feel free to comment below if there are topics you would like to see.

Please share this newsletter with others if you find it may assist them in adding beans to their diet. Or click the heart, below left, so I know you were here. Thank you! 

Note: I am not a doctor. I am a teacher and an educator with an earned doctorate in educational leadership. I enjoy research and I can distill large amounts of information into easily understood and digestible pieces allowing people to understand what is happening to their body and possible steps to reverse it with food as medicine. I have healed my own GI issues through choices with food. I followed Karen Hurd’s bean protocol diet, I meditated and still do and I healed. I feel compelled to be in service and educate others as the more people eating beans, alongside a healthy diet and sharing their stories the more people will live a healthier existence. Joy, peace and freedom abound. Please see your doctor and discuss nutritional options before you change any course of action with your health.

Smiles all around

ps: If you read all the way to the bottom and you are wondering where the Part 2: Sugar tax is; I put a pin in it to celebrate family. Here is a link to a summary of the podcast or to the podcast itself. Enjoy. And start with beans!