IRMA’S
TUSCAN BEAN SOUP
(with
heel of Parmesan and Hambone)
Wash
and sort 1 lb of Great Northern white beans
Bring
to boil in large pot in 6-8 cups of cold water (or soak overnight)
Boil
rapidly for 2 minutes
Remove
from heat and let sit for 1 hr
Return
beans to boil; simmer until cooked, but still firm
While
beans are simmering:
Chop
and fry ½ lb bacon in 1 tsp olive oil in large pan until medium done
Peel,
chop coarsely and add 1 carrot, 1 parsnip, 1 stalk celery and cook with bacon
Chop
coarsely andadd 1 onion to bacon
Peel,
mince and add 4 cloves of garlic to bacon
When
vegetables are tender, but still firm:
Add
ham bone with leftover ham to soup kettle (or chopped up deli ham)
Add
heel of Parmigiano Reggiano
Add
cooked bacon and vegetables
Add
spices: 4 bay leaves, white pepper, 1 Tsp oregano (no salt needed due to
cheese)
Add
1 can roasted, crushed tomatoes
Add
4 diced fresh Romano tomatoes
Add
more boiling water if needed
Bring
soup back to boil and then simmer gently for 1 hr to melt flavors
Remove
hambone, cut off ham and add to soup
Discard
heel of parmesan and bay leaves
To
serve: top each bowl with chopped Italian parsley and grated Parmesan cheese
Yield:
10-12 servings
Confessions of a Predator Lender – Review by Martha A.
Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A
Dish
“During the eighteen months the Otts
have had their home, they have paid only part of the interest and none of the principal.
Now, that the reset date has arrived, I’m not surprised that shock and awe has
set in. Their new payments will be three, maybe even four, times the amount of
the monthly payments they’ve been making. I could explain to Sally that they
can’t refinance a house that’s worth less than the amount they owe. I could
explain to her that their house is a piece of paper, called a mortgage-backed
security, that’s been sold and resold. Their home is identified by a serial
number, rather than a family name Whoever owns a share of the Otts’ CDO has
never seen photos of Sally, John, Haley, and J. J. And if Big Lou and Steve
can’t come up with a viable solution for our bank, very soon I will be in the
same position as the Otts.” (Quote
from Confessions of a Predatory Lender)
Lewis ‘Big Lou’ Goode is the CEO of Goode
Mortgage Bank. This is the bank his own father created years ago. Now, the bank
has branches extending throughout the U.S. But Big Lou wants his bank to grow
even bigger. How? By flooding the mortgage lending market with new products,
which will allow just about anyone to qualify for a mortgage. With loan products
the customer can buy with no money down, without the best credit references,
such as the ARM programs, they can pay just some of the interest and none of
the mortgage at a lower interest. Then a few months down the road after the new
homeowner has had time to build up a little nest egg, the loan will jump up to
a higher interest rate. But by then they will be in better financial shape to
make the higher payments. This is just one of the products Big Lou has
highlighted to his newest graduating class of loan officers. And when he talks
about the money they themselves will profit from these sales, greed can’t help
but kick in.
Greed is exactly what Christy Palus
feels as she climbs the ladder to success. As she and her best friend Megan begin
to live their dreams of great cars, clothes and even a houseboat, Christy finds
herself betraying, not only Megan, but anyone else who seems to get in her way.
She isn’t proud of what she does to rise up the ranks, but does see it as
something that must be done. When her very first buyer comes back to her for
yet another Big Lou deal, in the form of a cash out loan, and her gut tells her
this isn’t such a good idea for the customer, again greed steps in to remind
her that the customer is really the greedy one by wanting more.
Then it happens. The housing bubble
bursts. The customers can’t pay and the banks are running out of money to loan.
The housing market is going down the tubes with no relief in sight. Loans were
made, loans were sold, and the housing values are dropping, leaving everyone
out in the cold. Will Christy herself survive? Should she survive? Is she the ‘Predatory
Lender?’
I’ve seen the events within this
book happening all around me. I’ve known young couples who would never have
qualified to buy, had the loans been given on the merit of credit, job and
stability. I’ve seen them spend the money they saved with lower interest rates,
even though they knew in the back of their minds that the rate would soon go
up. I’ve seen the stress these financial situations have put on couples, some
enough to split them up. And I’ve seen the houses being foreclosed on, due to
the rise in their interest rates. But this hasn’t affected just those who have
and will lose their homes. It’s affected all of us through the property values
of our homes. Even in the condos where I live, there have been foreclosures
with the banks selling the property way below the mortgage. With just a few
foreclosures within an area, you end up with the decrease of all property
around it. Although Confessions of a Predator Lender is a book of fiction, it
has opened my eyes, showing me exactly how and why this has and is still
happening. It all boils down to one word… Greed. This is a book filled with
humor and truth and well worth reading.