Jean’s Sour Cream Beans

here was a woman in my mother’s life. A girlfriend to her father. She was mentioned now and then, if only indirectly. This woman had a big influence in my life as well. My maternal grandmother died when my mother was young. Later came Jean who was my grandfather’s longtime girlfriend. They never married. I can see that Jean had a good deal of womanly feminine influences on my mother. I know Jean loved yellow roses. One day I went to visit mom and I brought her some yellow roses. Mom said,

“Jean loved Yellow roses…I was just thinking of her today honey!”

It is true, mom and I always had an intuitive relationship. Maybe I was not as feminine or a shape dresser like she was and maybe I preferred not to iron my clothes like my mother did…yet, we always had an intuitively close relationship. Her sense of sight and smell was fantastic, as is mine. Her creative genius is her gift to me, her family was the focus of her life. She was fair but somewhat biased towards the men in her life. Mom loved to cook, and she ate with two hands… but only sometimes.

Jean’s Sour Cream Beans is a family recipe passed down to my mom via Jean. It was always served on Easter. Those wild days when relatives visited just to get a taste, porker, sports, and ham aside.

I often break some family traditions. I am sharing this today because it is so good. We had it yesterday and I am eating the leftovers from yesterday’s Easter dinner right now as I type.

Easter is about sharing the best that one has to share… and this is one of mine.

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Jean’s Beans

1/2 butter melted

Mix this together with…

1 pint sour cream

5 heaping tablespoons pure maple syrup

3 heaping teaspoons Colman’s English dry mustard.

1 LB.. dry baby Lima beans. Salt the water beans soak in and soak over night. Then par boil 20 to 30 minutes. Drain beans and mix together with sour cream mixture.

Bake uncovered two hours or until done in a 200 degree oven, stir occasionally during the cooking.