Wrote Letters Today And Canned Beans

Still preparing to evacuate.  The Japanese have advanced to Geinshih.*  Coolie hire + baskets for carrying are almost impossible to get.  Our funds are here so we have money.  Wrote letters today and canned beans.  Starting to plan what we take along.  I guess as soon as we leave here our houses will be looted + sacked.  - Annette, May 1943

Even though it's not yet Halloween, I find myself daydreaming about Thanksgiving.  It's my absolute favorite holiday.  So far, I've been through Food and Wine, Southern Living, and Cooking Light, searching for new ideas for the perfect side dishes.  For me, the most perfect vegetable is the green bean.  I can eat green beans for every meal of the day (and have done so, on occasion).  I always seem to find new green bean recipes around Thanksgiving  - variations on the classic casserole, sautéed with bacon, scattered with almonds....you get the idea.  Thinking about beans made me think about Annette.

Each year she was in China, usually in late May, Annette wrote about canning beans.  They grew the beans in the garden - she often mentioned the harvest, whether they had a lot or a little, etc.  But this entry stood out.  In 1943, the front lines shifted, and suddenly, their village was in the line of fire.  Soon, Enshih would be cut off from food supplies.  Annette was preparing to pack up their home (along with two babies!) and head to Wanshien.*  Major life decisions here!  In the middle of all that, she wrote letters and canned those beans! 

For me, writing and cooking are both therapeutic.  It helps me process the events of the day, and sometimes, distracts me from my obligations.  Clearly, I get this trait from my grandmother!  In her diary, I found this recipe for Sweet Sour Beans.  Maybe these are the Thanksgiving update I was searching for?!?  I'll give it a try and keep you posted!

Sweet Sour Beans

1 qt beans

1 teasp salt

1 tablespoon flour

1 qt boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup vinegar

pepper to taste

Cook beans in boiling water with salt.  Drain, reserve 1 cup bean liquid.  Heat + melt sugar in frying pan.  Stir in flour.  Add grad. bean water, vinegar, salt + pepper.  When smooth add the boiled beans.

*When Annette mentions cities, they are usually the Romanized Chinese names, or what she heard and recreated phonetically.  On top of that, the names are different now that they were 75 years ago.  I have found "Enshih" (now spelled "Enshi"), but have not yet figured out "Geinshih" or "Wanhsien."  They did evacuate to Wanhsien, but I'm still not sure where that city is now.  I'll keep investigating.