Grandma Laura

Her kitchen always smelled of food cooking. Her kisses smelled of garlic and beer. She was always canning or gardening. Grandma and her husband were farmers in Nokomis, IL. I spent time on the farm as a child. After Grandpa passed away, she moved into town. We spent our holidays at her house. Ham in the oven, green beans on the stove. I still make Grandma's green beans…the secret is cooking them to death and using an iron skillet. She would use the green beans she had canned, lots of fresh garlic, mushrooms, and bacon. May not be preserving the vitamins, but there is certainly an element of value from fresh farm canned foods that we don’t have anymore. I miss her and would give anything to be in her kitchen eating pie off her melamine plates.

-Tobi