Future bag lady

My recent move helped me to unearth a file of recipes that I have been collecting (hoarding) over the years. I can't seem to part with the crinkled, barely readable pages, which is one reason why I am so thrilled to have this online source where I can easily and legibly refer to my favorite recipes.

However, I am taking an editing and transcription course this semester where we have been given the task of choosing an unpublished manuscript in the special collection section of the library -- a series of letters, a journal, club notes -- and then we will transcribe the text. The class has made me realize how handwritten notes and letters have become a lost art. In one hundred years, what will they be transcribing? Emails? Text messages? Facebook posts?

I get giddy every time I open another dusty folder (these files were often stored in someone's barn or attic). A few of my favorite collections include folklore about a man in Shoshone who had unpinned a rattlesnake from a pile of lava rock and the snake followed him home like a puppy to later protect him against a home burglary or the letter from Senator Dubois's daughter, Toussaint telling of Teddy Roosevelt being escorted out of a restaurant because of his drunk and unruly behavior. I will be transcribing a journal of a woman named Eliza Hart Spalding who was one of Idaho's first pioneers. Someday I'll tell you about the project I wanted to do. Sigh.

I am going to make a point to handwrite more letters and notes, and I am also never going to toss my growing collection of recipes adorned with my own scribbles and red wine stains and food splatters. Perhaps they'll give someone a laugh in a special collection one day.

The original recipe didn't call for onions --

they certainly gave this dish necessary texture and crunch.

The recipe also didn't call for lemon.

Give it a squeeze -- you'll be happy you did.

Polenta with tomato-braised beans

adapated from Cooking Light

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbs Italian parsley, chopped

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 15 oz can cannellini beans (great northern would work, too)

1 tbs olive oil

1/4 tsp salt and pepper

parmesan

lemon

polenta recipe

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add parsley, onion and garlic; saute about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook about ten minutes or until the liquid has nearly evaporated. Meanwhile, prepare polenta. Add salt and pepper and drained beans to pan. Stir well and cover, reducing heat to simmer, and cook an additional ten minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve over the polenta with parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice.