It's a good thing we have a garden because a garden is a sweet constant in the cycle of change. Life moves on so fast and things can change in the blink of an eye. In such an unpredictable world a garden is full of predictable things. Good things to eat. Good things to remember.
Bill Camp's Tomato Canapes are a good thing to eat and to remember. Bill passed away a few weeks ago into his 90s and the memories flooded in as fast as the tomatoes do this time of year. Bill was, as Dad put it, a truly genteel Southern gentleman. He had a sweet smile and a sweet voice and he fit in everywhere. He was a great caterer and a person that people loved being around. Dad pointed out that Bill was a good cook but he was also a good salesman who knew how to make a party fun.
And he was also brilliant. Bill was black and it was the South in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. But there was a duplicate bridge group at North Lake Country Club and Bill was always a part of that group. Duplicate bridge is no easy game and these were serious card players. Some of that group had Lattimore ties. Ms. Daisy Price played as did Paris Weathers. Paris had worked with my grandfather and also with my Dad at the Lowes store. Paris' wife Mattie Lou was the Lattimore postmistress. Libby remembers reading letters that Mattie Lou had written to Aunt Burnette and she always signed them, "Just Mattie Lou".
Bill had other ties to Lattimore. He helped found Eskridge Grove Church near Lattimore and so he and Nishie knew each other from church. Nishie was a lot of fun too so these two together would have had some hilarious times in the kitchen and in church. Bill and Nishie cooked together for parties at our house several times over the years and I loved helping them in the kitchen. I can see them teasing and laughing and making the work fun.
One of those parties in Lattimore was the wedding reception in 1973 when Penny and Jim were married. It was a huge party in the back yard. Dad remembered that originally Bill was going to fix Tomato Canapes in the basement kitchen to make it easy to get them outside to the party. But Bill didn't like cooking in the basement because it wasn't where the action was so he moved his cooking station and everybody was happier.
Another party was for the NC Sports Hall of Fame Banquet. George Corn and Buck Archer wanted to have a party before the banquet in Cleveland County since David Thompson was being inducted along with Floyd Patterson and Junior Johnson. It was in the late 1970s and Dad was in the legislature. He had been in Raleigh and uncharacteristically Mom had stayed home that week. And, as Dad said, "She did something she had never done before or since". When he arrived back in Lattimore from Raleigh she met him at the door and was so excited to tell him something that he worried and asked if he should sit down. Mom said, "no I don't think so". She went on to explain that George and Buck had been out to visit and they thought Mom and Dad could put on a great party with good food and music for the Hall of Fame. Mom agreed to do it right there on the spot. I can't tell you how unusual it is for her to agree to something without thinking it over and discussing with Dad. But he was delighted and I suspect she knew he would be.
So my first memory of Bill Camp is tied to fun parties and to his Tomato Canapes. It's also my first memory of ever hearing the word canape. I always wondered how Bill learned to make tomato canapes. He ran with a worldly crowd and he was well read himself but he could have just as easily fried up some white bread, added a little mayo and tomato and made it up on his own.
Bill Camp's Tomato Canapes
The first step in a tomato canape is to have a really good tomato. Then to cut out circles of bread. Bill's Canapes always had exactly the right sized circle for the size of tomatoes he was using. He used regular white bread and I have no idea which mayo he used but if you've been reading this blog you know that I am a devout Hellman's girl.
When Linda found out that I was making these her first response was to get out the cast iron frying pan. It's true. You need the even heat of a good cast iron pan to very quickly fry the bread circles in hot vegetable oil. You barely drop them in before you get them out of the boiling hot oil. They need to be crispy and brown. Then cool and drain on a paper bag.
Spread a tiny bit of mayo on the bread and add a perfect sized tomato with a little salt and pepper. These are really rich but they are wonderful. And so are the memories. It's impossible to have a tomato canape without a happy memory of Bill Camp and days gone by.
And speaking of days gone by. July was filled with the Holy Grail of Garden Bounty.
Silver Queen Corn.
Mom and Dad's corn crop in Lattimore was smaller this year. Dad planted a little less corn in the garden and then we had some crazy weather which knocked down some of his stalks. But we did get some of their silver queen into the freezor.
Jay and David shucked and silked silver queen corn. They were supervised by Simba and Mr. Cat.
Jay continued silking Dad's corn in our kitchen. Sweet.
This is a basketful of sweet silver queen ready to blanche.
Since I was shorthanded this year David took a turn cutting corn off the cob. Super sweet.
Between corn from Dad and from sweet friend Joe and a little bit from the Foothills Farmer's market, I have 30 pints of cut off and several quarts of on the cob in the freezor. The Holy Grail of Garden Bounty will be very Holy this winter.
David IV flew home from Dallas in time to pick a few ears of corn too. I posted this pic on facebook with the caption, "a man outstanding in his field". Most everyone commented on the throwback Charlotte Hornets Tshirt. Ironically at about this same time the Charlotte team reclaimed their original name. David IV was 3 weeks old when we attended the first Hornets basketball game back in 1988. We had really good Hornets tickets and spent a LOT of fun times at those games.
While David IV was home we had to have lunch at the Taste-T Drive In in Shelby.
We spent a fun day at the Lake one July day with Jay and the GWU basketball coaching staff.
Well what was then the GWU coaching staff. Little did we know we should have been singing Anchors Away! A couple of weeks after this picture was taken Coach Holtmann decided to take a job at Butler and not long after Coach McCauley took a job at Furman. Such is the nature of Coaching.
In any case, these are all good coaches and good people and we wish them all well wherever they are. Change is constant and adapting to change is a most valuable life skill.
And speaking of adapting to change. This is a lunch held recently at the Round Up Store. Mom and Dad opened the Round Up Store years ago in Ellenboro and it has evolved in many ways over the years. I posted some Round Up history on this blog on June 26, 2010 and have posted at other times about ciphering and cooking and the fun goings on at the Round Up.
I have had the pleasure of working and playing at the Shelby Round Up for the last 26 years. And before that at the Ellenboro Round Up for most of my childhood. But it was time to make a change and Dad found the perfect buyer for the store. So I am officially retired and it's true what they say - when you retire you find yourself busier than ever!
In real Round Up fashion Rod, Frieda, Phil, Chris and Keith put on a great lunch for Dad, Mom and friends. We had a great time and still feel the family atmosphere there. Change is not easy but I feel good about Dad's decision and wish everyone much success. It will be fun to watch the further evolution of the Round Up Store.
This is a rain gauge that Harry gave David a few years ago. We have had a rainy spring and summer and I joked that I have been getting a full body workout just changing the rain gauge every day. But I know that a lot of rain in the spring and summer mixed with cooler temperatures in the fall bring on some of the brightest fall colors so we can look forward to that.
The Roma tomatoes in our tiny garden have been really abundant this year. I halved these and added some whole garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. I roasted for about three hours on low heat - maybe 220 degrees. My plan was to put them in a pasta dish but we ended up just eating them straight off the pan as a snack. They were a lot like sun dried tomatoes only better.
Here's a pic of the Zinnia bed that Jay and Turner planted for me. Zinnias are such a happy flower.
It's been a crazy, busy and active summer. We enjoy working and we love to cook for big crowds but now and then it's pretty wonderful to relax on the screened porch with a candlelight dinner for two.
Jay took this picture at Lake Lure and we loved the way the tree framed the lake and the mountains.
Nature's Gardens, Mountains and Lakes. Memories of Food, Family and Friends.
Constants in times of Change. We are going forward with an eye on the past and as always we are
Counting our Blessings.
