Beans & Ham Hocks from the Green Apple Grill

The kids are back in school. The leaves are starting to turn and sooner or later, there'll be a nip in the air. Jake Tyler, the wounded warrior hero of The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club and owner of the Green Apple, is getting ready to add his infamous Beans & Ham Hocks to the menu.

("Why infamous?" I hear you asking. It's a recipe for beans. Think about it...)

But it's sure to please the hungry mouths around your table, especially if you pair it with fresh cornbread and cold apple cider. Here's what you do:

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups dried pinto or Great Northern beans (8 oz.)
6 cups water
2 small smoked ham hocks (about 8 oz. each)
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.      Rinse the beans. In a large saucepan, combine beans and 3 cups of the water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans and return to saucepan.
2.      Add the remaining 3 cups water, ham hocks, and butter to beans. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are tender, adding more water, if necessary, and stirring occasionally.
3.      Remove ham hocks; cool slightly. Remove meat from ham hocks; chop meat. Stir chopped meat, onion and salt into beans. Cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes more or until heated through. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Enjoy! And click over to check out some more Green Apple Recipes. 

Do YOU have a favorite fall recipe you'd like to share?

Oh! Did you know I'm giving away this lovely collection of novels?

To enter my Stack of Books Contest just click over and sign up for The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club newsletter. Better hurry. The contest closes September 30th. 

A long goodbye...

Years ago, I lost my dear little grandma to Alzheimers. She slipped away from us by inches, losing bits of herself each day. She sort of folded in--losing interest in those she loved and forgetting how much we loved her. It broke my mother's heart when she didn't know her at the last.

Our family is not unique. The Alzheimer's Association reports 5.3 MILLION Americans suffer from this disease--and over 200,000 of them are under age 65. It's the 6th leading cause of death. It has no cure. A lot of people know the pain of this long goodbye.

That's why I'm glad to announce I'll be part of a boxed set of stories to benefit Alzheimer's research. One of the great things about going to RWA Nationals was catching up with some of my writer buddies. Like the amazing Tammy Falkner. She writes the wildly popular young adult series based on the Reed brothers, who are tattoo artists. When she asked me to join her in this project, I jumped at the chance to contribute a short novella.

Here's the premise: My story is about Michael Evans, a character from the Coldwater Cove series, who finds himself in NYC getting a tattoo at a parlor where they're doing a reality TV show. He's Lacy's blacksheep brother. (You'll find Lacy's story in THE COLDWATER WARM HEARTS CLUB.) Michael will be the unlikely hero of MY BIG FAT COLDWATER WEDDING. Writing this short gives me a chance to explore a little of his backstory and learn why he left town. . He got into trouble--at home, in school, & with the law--almost constantly, but his grandmother was the only person who believed he'd amount to anything. Getting the tat is Michael's way to remember Gran and to mark a change in him.

The anthology, titled FORGET ME NOT, will be available in November and ALL proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer's research. I hope you'll enjoy these stories of remembrance and help us raise money to fight this horrible disease. Be sure to sign up for The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club newsletter to be notified when the set is available.