Cast Iron Pans - Mama's Pot Roast

Saturday's homecooking menu was Mama's Pot Roast, Lettuce and Onions from the garden with Carol's Fantastic French Dressing, Sliced Tomatoes with fresh basil, Fresh pineapple and strawberries, Corn from the 2009 garden and Cornbread. This was a really colorful meal which made Mama happy because it was pretty and healthy. Mama always tells us to 'eat something of every color'.

Jay was home from NC State and was going to a wedding Saturday night, so we decided to fix homecooking for late lunch/early supper at 3:30. At the last minute, we called my parents and David's mother - who everyone calls Sister. You can imagine how confusing that is when he introduces her, "This is my mother Sister." But they all came last minute and we had a pleasant afternoon meal and visit.

There are two important things to Mama's pot roast. 1) Get a shoulder roast. They usually don't have these in the meat section for some reason so you have to ask the butcher to cut one for you. They aren't that expensive but they make a huge difference. 2) Brown the roast well on all sides before putting in the oven.


Mama's Pot Roast

3 lb Shoulder Roast
5 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

Liberally salt and pepper shoulder roast. In cast iron pot, brown roast in a tiny bit of vegetable oil. It is really important to brown it well on all sides.

Cover roast with lid and put in 350 degree oven. After 15 minutes or so turn it down to 300 degrees. Cook for two hours. Cook longer if you have a bigger roast. You don't have to add water or other liquid to the pot, but I did anyway. I added about 1/2 can of beef broth so it would steam a little while it cooked.

Add the vegetables and cook for one more hour.

Cast Iron Pans - Roasted Chicken

Homecooking in cast iron pots was the order of the weekend.

Friday night's menu was Greek Roasted Chicken, Mama's macaroni and cheese, sliced tomatoes with fresh basil, fresh lettuce and onions from the garden, homemade mashed potatoes and garlic toast.

The great thing about this menu is that even though it sounds complicated it really isn't. It takes about 1 minute to prepare the chicken. The thing that takes the time is that the chicken needs 2 to 2 1/2 hours in the oven. But, while the chicken is cooking, it's pretty simple to make mac n cheese, mash potatoes and slice tomatoes.

The most important thing is to have the right deep cast iron pot. I used my deep 10 inch chicken fryer pot. I used a 7 lb chicken sprinkled with Cavender's All Purpose Greek seasoning. My UNC-CH roommate and friend, Lee, introduced me to this spice in college and I still use it all the time. Every time I use Cavender's Greek seasoning, I think of a restaurant from days gone by in Charleston, SC called 'Olde Towne'. You could walk down the sidewalk and look inside the 'Olde Towne' windows and see chickens turning slowly on a rotisserie. I'm sure they made up their own greek seasonings, but Cavender's is pretty close to the 'Olde Towne' flavor.

Roasted Chicken in a Cast Iron Pot

1 6-7 lb chicken
Wash, remove giblets
Sprinkly liberally with Cavender's Greek Spice, you really don't need anything else

Put chicken and giblets into a deep cast iron frying pan, sprayed with a little Pam vegetable spray. No water, oil or anything else
I do not cover the chicken so the skin comes out really brown and crispy
Bake at 350 degrees - about 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

It really doesn't get much simpler than that. You can use whatever spices you want, but I really like the greek flavors. And, you can roast chicken in other pots, but the even heat of the cast iron makes a difference.

Cast Iron Pans - Mama's Cornbread

Last weekend we needed some real home cooking and for real home cooking, you need a cast iron pan. Or several.

People who are into cast iron cooking can be fanatics. We qualify. We have alot of cast iron pans. We have one pan that is just for cornbread. Mama told me that if you use 'the cornbread pan' for anything else there is a better chance of the cornbread sticking to the pan. Mama's cornbread starts on top of the stove, then goes into the oven. When it is done you flip it over to cut and serve. If there is just one little imperfection on the smooth surface of the cast iron, it will stick and you don't want that because then it isn't pretty. So, we have 'the cornbread pan'. We use it for the cornbread and nothing but the cornbread.

'The cornbread pan' is a 10 inch cast iron pan with a handle. We baby this pan. We take it on vacations and trips. I learned this from Mama. I have seen her take several special pans when she knows she will be cooking 'in a strange kitchen'.

Caring for cast iron starts with seasoning it properly and then keeping it seasoned. There are several ways to season a pan and you will find that there are alot of opinions on how to do it right. We season ours by using a paper towel to rub very thin amounts of vegetable oil all over the pan and then heat it in the oven. When it is cooled we rub another very thin coat of vegetable oil on again or sometimes spray with Pam. Always wipe off any excess oil. Thin coats of oil and heat are the key to keeping cast iron in good shape. It's like so many things, tending to the daily detail will make the difference.

After using cast iron, wash it really good with a stiff brush and very hot water. You can use a tiny bit of soap, but not much and NEVER soak cast iron. Then dry it immediately and rub oil on it again.

Once I watched Mama and Daddy take a really old, crusty, rusty cast iron pan and put it in the fireplace to burn off all the residue. When it cooled, she washed it and oiled it with vegetable oil. I have read that burning in a fire can crack the iron so don't do it unless you don't care if the pan accidentally cracks. If your pan is rusty or has something stuck to it, you can use a scouring pad, hot water, then oil, heat and oil again.

You can cook alot of different things in cast iron. Fried squash, fried chicken, pot roasts and roasted chicken are favorites. Mama Crowder used one to make pineapple upside down cake. Recently, we went to a fairly upscale restaurant and they brought out the appetizer in a small cast iron frying pan. I make hot chicken wings on a broiler pan and then transfer to my square cast iron pan to keep them warm and serve right out of the pan.

But the best thing of all in cast iron is a cake of Mama's Cornbread. Mama makes a CAKE of cornbread. It is not a pone or a loaf. She started with a recipe on the corn meal mix bag, then tweaked it a little as always. The most important thing is to heat the oil in the cast iron pan before pouring in the cornbread mixture. Mama and Daddy say that the oil needs to be hot enough that when you pour in the cornbread mixture, "It needs to say ssshhhhh!"

Mama's Cornbread

Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Pour 1/4 cup oil into 'the cornbread pan'
Heat the oil on the stove

Cornbread Mixture:

2 Cups Buttermilk cornmeal mix
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Mama Adds a pinch of baking soda AND a pinch of baking powder, but she does NOT add sugar to her cornbread

Sometimes I add jalapenos for a kick but I don't think Mama ever does

When the oil in the cast iron pan is hot, pour in the mixture and let it sizzle for just a minute. Then put it in the oven and bake at 450 for 20 minutes. Put a spatula under the cornbread and flip it over so the browned side is up. Yum. Honestly, a cake of cornbread makes any meal better.

The Garden is in (Bruschetta recipe)

The garden is in! Okay, I bought a couple of things yesterday that still need a place to grow. That's how it always is with a garden.

In the garden, there are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, 1 eggplant and 1 squash plant. Lettuce is still growing but won't last into hot weather. I pulled out the last of the onions to make room for everything else.

In the herb garden, there is freshly planted basil, cilantro, and parsley. Rosemary, lavender, oregano, spearmint and chocolate mint come back every year. We have a meyer lemon and a persian lime tree planted in pots. I move them into the kitchen during the winter, and back outside now. Last year we had at least 6 lemons and 4 limes. The flower on the citrus trees smell so sweet I always hear the song lyrics 'lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet'.

We have 2 varieties of tomatoes, plus the tommy toes called Sweet 100s that I found yesterday and still need to get into the ground.

Tommy Toes are good just to pop off the vine and eat right then and there. Or slice in half and put in just any kind of salad or pasta. Better boys are best for tomato sandwiches, hamburgers, or just sliced and sprinkled with basil and olive oil. A tomato sandwich can heal a broken heart. I love them on white or wheat bread, but there is nothing better than to put a fresh tomato slice in one of Mama's homemade biscuits.

Romas are best for most italian dishes. Next to Southern comfort food, I love Italian food best. I have always loved Italian flavors and, after several trips to Italy with cute high school students, anything Italian brings back a flood of happy memories. Bruschetta is my number one favorite Italian dish and thankfully David and the boys love it too.

I don't remember the first time I tasted bruschetta, but I remember the first time I made it at home. David's dad, we called him 'D', loved to cook and loved to eat. We talked recipes alot. Over the years, he gave us numerous cookbooks, newspaper articles and cooking magazines that broadened my horizons about cooking. My favorite is an Italian Cookbook that he gave us called 'Cucina Amore' by Nick Stellino. Cucina Amore means Kitchen Love. Couldn't be a more perfect name for this cookbook.

'Cucina Amore' came with a cd of Italian songs that said 'music to dine by'. I used it as 'music to learn to make bruschetta by'. It includes some Italian songs and singers that I had never heard of, but they are some passionate folks, those Italians. You really don't need to understand Italian to get the jist of the songs. They did throw in one that most every American has heard - Dean Martin singing "That's Amore!" It can really create an atmosphere when you are listening to the Italian songs and the kitchen is smelling like garlic, olive oil and fresh tomatos with basil. I love this cookbook. It transports me to Italy, and it also makes me think of 'D' and his passion for food and for sharing cooking ideas.


Bruschetta Al Pomodoro E Basilico
From 'Cucina Amore' by Nick Stellino
(translation - toasted bread with tomatoes and basil)

Recipe says it serves 4, but that would be a stretch at our house! I really don't measure these things anymore, but you might want to starting out.

6 Roma tomatoes, diced (romas are important because they are firm and not so juicy, but I have used other kinds and it works if you strain off some of the juice)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 more garlic cloves, whole, but peeled
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (buy the best, most fruity you can get)
2 1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 Slices Italian bread, sliced 3/4 inch thick
2 Tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (if you are going to the trouble to use fresh ingredients, get real cheese and grate it yourself)

Toss tomatoes, chopped garlic, oil, vinegar, basil, salt and pepper. Mix well and let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes to let the flavors mingle. You can store in fridge for up to 3 hours, but after that the tomatoes will be too soft.

Toast bread slices, then remove and rub with the whole garlic cloves until the cloves are too small to hold with your fingers.

Put bread slices on ovenproof serving dish (I usually use your basic cookie sheet) and top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and then broil until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Like quiche and quesadillas, you can put most anything on top of toasted garlic bread and it is bruschetta with whatever. My friends, Becky and Ginny do a great asparagus bruschetta. So, it is always okay to branch out, but there's something about classic bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. I'm just saying.

April 17th

April 17th is my grandmother's birthday. Nanny was born in 1888 and she lived to be 101 years old. She was still hoeing in her garden and making pecan pies well into her 90s. I hope I got that DNA!

April 17th is also the date that I use as the "magic planting day"; when we think it is safe to plant our spring vegetable garden. We typically don't have to worry about frost in late April and that is important to the vegetables.

So, yesterday, David and I bought our tomato plants - Better Boys and Romas. We are still looking for tommy toes (cherry tomatoes). We bought cucumbers, a variety of peppers, a few herbs and 1 eggplant.

We have a fairly small garden plot, so we will set out our plants there and in various places around the house. These plants will need at least 6 hours of sun and easy watering by hose, so that has alot to do with where we can plant.

Currently, in our garden plot, we have lettuce and onions growing. Last night, we pulled several onions and cut a mess of lettuce to make Mama Crowder's Wilted Lettuce and Onions for supper (see March blogpost). A mess of lettuce is kind of an unknown quantity, but how ever much you cut from the garden, it will shrink ALOT when it is wilting in the frying pan!

The smell of fresh spring onions and lettuce cooking in the kitchen brought back all kinds of memories of Mama Crowder and Granddaddy's house. We always had alot of fun there. One of our favorite games to play at Mama Crowder's was 'chicken'. She would sweep up the kitchen floor (it was immaculate); all the grandchildren would get down on the floor and pretend we were chickens. Mama Crowder would have a bowl of candy corn and broadcast it around on the floor like it was chicken feed. All the while she was calling "chick chick chick chick chicken!" She would be laughing out loud and all the grandchildren would be scrambling about clucking and 'pecking' the candy corn. It was so funny at the time and so funny to remember that in Lattimore in the 60s, people sort of had to make up their own fun and games. I hope I got that DNA too.

Well, last night for dinner, we had Wilted Lettuce and Onions. I did make it with olive oil instead of bacon grease and it was great. I also used buttercrunch, arugula and mesclun lettuce mixed together and that was great. We had blackeyed peas with Rotel Salsa and cornbread with real butter. It was a perfect Saturday night meal for David and me.

Today, we tilled up our garden area and by tomorrow morning, all the vegetables and herbs will be in the ground. And I have spent a weekend grateful to have memories of two inspiring grandmothers.

Mom and Dad's Garden in Lattimore - planted in April 2010

Mom and Dad have a crosstie garden behind their house in Lattimore. Between the crosstie beds, there are walking paths to make it easy to weed or pick whatever is growing. The beds are irrigated with 'seepy hoses'. The first couple of rows are mostly cutting flowers that Mama likes to have throughout the year.

They planted lettuce and onions in early 2010 and they are shown in this picture.

In the bottom rows they have just planted corn (Silver Queen!). In the other rows they plant green beans (white half runners!), tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and a variety of peppers. In our area, we typically don't have another frost after mid April so the spring vegetable garden is usually planted sometime in late April. Some people use April 15th as the 'magic day', but Dad said Mr. Everett Lutz told him that April 22nd was the 'magic day'.

Dad's Dogwood Trees

Dad decided he wanted to grow dogwood trees.

He wanted to grow them because the dogwood blossom is the State Flower of North Carolina.

So, he didn't just want to go buy some seedlings, but actually grow the trees from the red berries on trees from their farm. They took the berries off trees in the fall and whirred them in a blender to knock the hulls off. He called it 'doing the work the birds do'. Then he fermented the seeds in a casserole dish with some yeast and then stored them in the refrigerator. This is a really messy process. And Dad is not known for his neatness. You can imagine what Mom was dealing with. She sent Dad to the basement to do this and she said he was whirring and sloshing seeds all around and then her fridge was full of bowls of dogwood. We all had a good time calling him a mad scientist and 'jacky dogwoodseed'.

After sprouting the dogwoods, he planted them into rows in the garden. They had fixed 'perfect rows' in the crosstie bed and put each seed into the ground about 1/4 inch deep, then covered with good soil no more than 1/2 inch deep. As the seedlings grew, he transplanted into pots and then into bigger pots. After several years, the dogwoods were in 5 gallon pots and he had ALOT of them. He planted alot of dogwoods along the wooden fence around his farm. He started offering them to churches to plant on their property. He gave some away. He sold some. And he still has some left. He started calling it Jack's Folly.

But in April, when the white dogwood flower is in bloom, it is such fun to ride around the farm and around the county and see all the dogwoods that Dad grew in the basement.

Spring Break 2010 - 48 hours

My friend Susan and I travel well together. Susan and I have alot of things in common. We both love food, wine, cooking, tennis, and travel. We are married to cousins, but some people think we are related because we have similar coloring. On the other hand, she is tall and thin and I am neither.

We each have two children and over the years we have taken alot of family trips together. Once our sons were walking down the beach ahead of us and we couldn't tell them apart. And we were their mothers. For the rest of that beachtrip, we called them 'twin sons of different mothers'.

One of my favorite annual trips with Susan is to a women's Professional Tennis Tournament - the Family Circle Tennis Cup in Daniel Island, South Carolina. This trip is 'Spring Break Mom Style'.

When Susan and I travel, we always pack alot in to whatever time we have. We do alot, but it never feels like our pace is hectic. Spring Break 2010 was no exception. This trip had all the elements.

All the Elements is a term that came out of another trip to Isle of Palms. We use this term to describe a time when the weather, food, conversation, people, all activities just seem to seamlessly work out exactly like it should be.

I started the trip on Wednesday morning about nine o'clock. When I arrived in Charleston, I met Susan and a new friend, Teresa, for lunch at a great Thai restaurant called Basil. Teresa is a native of Charleston and a realtor, so she has a whole lot of 'local knowledge'. She is also a lot of fun and a very fast walker! Teresa took us on a home and garden tour of the Anson Borough. This was actually a formal tour, with docents at each location telling us some history of the houses; but Teresa's local knowledge added a lot of character to the day.

After the tour, we had walked enough for that day so we decided to cook dinner for ourselves. I headed to the grocery store because when I am in Isle of Palms I crave seafood of all kinds and that night I was craving crabmeat quesadillas.

We got up early Thursday morning to walk on the beach. The wide beaches at Isle of Palms are great for walking and the weather was perfect. Even the weatherman said, "The forecast for today is 'DELIGHTFUL'".

Next on the schedule was lunch. We went to Ali Baba - a middle eastern restaurant at Daniel Island. We split a sampler plate with grilled vegetables, chicken gyro, cucumber salad and tuna salad. It was all delicious, but the tuna salad was so good. It had capers, black olives, and red peppers in it and maybe yogurt instead of mayo to hold it together.

Then we headed to the Family Circle tennis tournament. First we watched a doubles match. Susan and I play doubles in USTA league tennis. The pros play on the same size court and use the same rules, racquets and balls, but the comparison stops there. The pros make impossible shots with what looks like no effort. The balls fly back and forth so fast you can hardly see them. We were sitting about mid court and had to brace our necks for whiplash.

Next we watched three singles matches in a row. We had seats at an angle for these matches which is great because you can really see the spin on the balls and you also aren't getting whiplash. We saw wins by the #1 player Wozniacki and the #2 Player Jankovic. Patty Schnyder from Switzerland lost, but she is always a crowd favorite. One of the most interesting matches was between two teenaged Americans - McHale and Oudin. Melanie Oudin is the young player from Georgia who won hearts last year at the US Open, going much farther than expected; with BELIEVE written on the backs of her shoes.

I love to watch Oudin's feet. She reminds me of a golden retriever who can't wait to get the next ball. Her feet move constantly in tiny steps and her eyes stay on the ball. When she gets ready to hit it, she gets really low, plants her feet, swings and comes up off the ground putting more power behind her shot than seems possible. You can see the focus and determination on her face. McHale gave her a fight at first, but then Oudin just put the match away. It was a great day of tennis.

So we leave the Daniel Island Stadium and head to Sullivan's Island for dinner at High Thymes. We split appetizers and an entree. Everything was great, but the best was a crabcake served over arugula and gouda grits. I have made cheese grits alot of times, but never did I think to make them with gouda cheese.

Friday morning we wanted to watch the sunrise over the beach, so we got out about 6:30 am and started walking toward the east. When the sun first started up, it had a purplish color. Within just a few minutes you could see the whole sun and it was shining yellow/red. A sunrise on the beach is such a beautiful sight. It reminded me of my favorite Van Morrison Song - Brand New Day.

Spring Break 2010 had all the elements. And I was home by noon on Friday.

Crabmeat Quesadillas

Flour Tortillas
Butter
Fresh Lump Crabmeat
Cheese - I used Sharp Cheddar and Montery Jack with Jalapenos
Fresh Jalapeno

In a frying pan, melt butter. Put one tortilla in. Layer crab, cheeses, chopped jalapeno. Put another tortilla on top. Put some extra butter on the top one. When the bottom tortilla is really crispy and browned, flip it over to brown the other one.

You need a big spatula for flipping without throwing everything out of there. (I saw a cooking show which suggested putting a dinner plate over the tortilla and using it to help flip the quesadilla. So far, I haven't tried this, but it sounds reasonable.) Make sure cheese is melted and everything is hot and then remove and slice. I like these served with salsa.

Quesadillas are alot like quiche - most any meat, cheese, vegetables will work.

Nancy Sherwood's Quiche

Blogging about mac n cheese and deviled eggs reminded me of another egg and cheese recipe that is really good. This one did not come from my family, but from a co-worker years ago.

In the late 70s and early 80s, I worked in Raleigh NC at Alphanumeric Systems, Inc - a word processing company. This was before personal computers were invented.

Really.

Alphanumeric was a start up company with 3 people - a salesman, a repairman and a woman who did everything else.

Alphanumeric sold and repaired computers and trained people to use a powerful word processor called CPT. CPT didn't just do word processing, but could also handle math calculations and telecommunications.

In 1979, I had graduated from UNC-CH with a degree in American Studies and I worked for a Lt Governor candidate. We used CPT equipment to maintain mailing lists and do other organizational tasks. Unfortunately, my Lt Governor candidate did not win. On the bright side, I was the only person in North Carolina who knew how to use CPT equipment and didn't have a job. So, Alphanumeric hired me to help demonstrate and sell CPT and to train people to use CPT equipment. This was a great job because not many days were the same. I met people in all kinds of offices all over the Eastern part of the state. I liked the people I worked with and there was always a 'next new thing' in the technology which made it really interesting.

CPT was headquartered in Minneapolis and had offices all over the world at that time. Now and then, I traveled somewhere to learn how to use the 'next new thing', but usually CPT sent a trainer to our office in Raleigh.

Nancy Sherwood was one of those CPT trainers. Nancy and I were both in our 20s, enjoying our lives in the fast paced technology world, but as always talk usually got around to cooking. I haven't seen her in nearly thirty years, but I remember her because she gave me a great recipe for Quiche that I still use all the time. The recipe is handwritten. In pencil. On notebook paper. For 2 people who were 'experts' in word processing I thought this was funny, so I have kept her original handwritten copy all these years.

I have made this recipe a million different ways, and it is always good. Feel free to experiment.

Nancy Sherwood's Quiche

1 Pie Crust (I use the Pillsbury one that you just unroll)

Layer the following into the pie crust:

1/3 cup or so of Raw Onion - sliced or chopped
1/2 pound of Whatever - (cooked ham or chicken, spinach, peppers, broccolli, etc)
I can still see Nancy saying 'whatever'. But it is true. You can put any kind of cooked meat or raw vegetable or combination in there and it comes out great.
1 1/2 cups packed shredded cheese - any kind or several different kinds mixed

I don't measure the ingredients above but just layer it in the pie crust. But I do measure this part:

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonaise

Mix the eggs, milk and mayo and pour over the rest. Add a little more milk if it seems too dry. Don't go overboard. The cheese will add alot of moisture and salt. I do add some fresh pepper if I haven't put something hot like jalapenos in there.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until it doesn't shake. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Don't overcook this or any egg/cheese dish.

So, Carol reminded me to use my leftover Easter ham for quiche. In the fridge, I had ham, onion, red pepper, sharp cheddar and monterey jack with jalapenos. This made three quiches which I put in the freezor. Thanks Nancy Sherwood wherever you are.

Nishie's Slaw

My first memory of Nishie's slaw had to have been on a Saturday morning in the early 60s at our old house in Lattimore. The "Hewitt House", as it was called before we lived there, is a two story brick house with a big kitchen, lots of bedrooms, wide porches and wide hallways. The upstairs hallway was so wide that the five of us, and assorted friends and cousins could hula hoop and dance up there without bumping in to each other unless we wanted to. We did the 'wrangler stretch' and the Twist. We danced and sang with the new "Meet the Beatles" record. Sometimes we crawled out the upstairs windows and danced on the roof. This was a really fun house.

We spent alot of time outside 'jumping' on our trampoline and playing in the huge playhouse that Daddy had Slick Henderson build for us. Mama hung clothes outside on a clothesline and one time Judy's goat ate the clothes. That was the end of the goat. There was a huge fenced pasture in the back and some woods where my older sisters told me Bambi lived. We spent alot of time searching for 'Bambi's Cave'. It never occured to me that maybe deer didn't live in caves. Or that there probably weren't any caves in the Lattimore woods. It was all about the adventure. We had several horses - my favorite was a Tennesse Walker named Bud - and a small tack room with saddles and bridles and horse blankets. I loved the smell of leather and horsefeed in the tackroom. On Saturday mornings, we watched shows about horses like "My Friend Flicka" and "Fury" and other westerns like "Sky King". We watched these shows upstairs in the 'private room'. Today's version of the man cave. Daddy loved to hunt and had alot of bird dogs so Mama fixed up the 'private room' with a masculine hunting decor. It had curtains with bird dog fabric, pine paneling, a big black and white TV and a dark green couch so Daddy could get away from the craziness that living in a house with five daughters can create. The room never was private. We all piled in there and I'm not sure Daddy was ever in there by himself.

While we were watching the Saturday morning westerns, Nishie and Mama would be in the kitchen downstairs cooking fried fish, pintos, cornbread and slaw for Saturday lunch. There were no fast food places and very few restaurants anywhere close by so we ate most meals at home.

Nishie's slaw is a favorite today although, like all recipes, Mama continues to make little changes to make it better. Nishie's slaw consisted of cabbage, onion, mayonaise, cider vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar. She added a little lettuce (that she called lettish) to make it tender. Mama adds a little grated carrot and sometimes green pepper or red cabbage to add color. She says we should eat something of every color because the colors make everything prettier and healthier. If she didn't have something colorful to add to the slaw, she would slice red tomatoes and arrange them on a plate in a circle with the slaw in the middle.

The most important things about slaw are 1) slice up the cabbage to the perfect thinness; 2) the onions should be sweet, not hot and they need to be uniformly chopped. Mama taught Daddy how to make slaw and now he has become an expert at slicing and chopping the perfect size.

This is another recipe with no amounts so you have to use trial and error. It starts with a head of cabbage, a head of lettish, and a big sweet onion. Add small amounts of mayo, vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper until you get it right. Mama says to start with small amounts because 'you can always add more, but you can't add less'.

Nishie's Slaw

Grate a head of Green Cabbage (we finely slice it now - angel hair style)
Chop a little Lettish (we use one head now)
1 Tbsp of Vinegar
Some Chopped Onions (diced small and uniform)
Mayonaise till it looks right (use less than you might think)
Pinch of sugar
Salt and Pepper

Mama and Daddy Add:
Grated Carrot
Sometimes a little chopped green pepper, red cabbage, red onion for color

I fixed Nishie's slaw for this year's Easter Saturday Supper. Sometimes, it's necessary to deviate from the standard menu and this Easter we needed a little additional comfort food. So we added Peas, Slaw and cornbread to the Typical Easter menu. There is nothing better than peas, slaw and cornbread.

Mama taught me how to make cornbread and that deserves a post of it's own.

Deviled Eggs and Macaroni and Cheese

This morning, my friend Carol and I walked at the Y the way we have been doing for over 10 years. Lately, we have both been pretty busy so it's been sporadic, but we always say our Y membership is cheaper than having to pay for therapy. We go round and round the track and talk about alot of different subjects, but we always end up talking about food. It really helps with the menu planning which really is the hardest part of cooking.

Today's food topic started out with chickens. Not cooking chicken but having chickens. In the backyard. And that got me to thinking about a really great picture that I have of my great grandmother - Elizabeth Ellen Peeler Hunt. If I can scan it sometime, I will add it to this post. I used to think that the Peelers just had to be Irish, but have learned that they actually emigrated in 1717 from Stuttgart, Germany. The original name was Von Buhler which changed to Buhler and then to Peeler.

The Hunts were no doubt English.

Elizabeth Ellen Peeler (Liz) grew up near Belwood, NC and married John Jackson Hunt in June 1873. They lived in Hollis, NC where they had eleven children - one, my grandfather, Robert Lee Hunt. They belonged to Mount Harmony Methodist Church and they are buried there along with alot of other family.

The picture that I have was probably taken in the early 1900's and is of Liz, standing outside holding a chicken upside down by the foot. The chicken is obviously no longer with us. This picture lends a shot of reality to the phrase -'wanting to wring his neck'!

Liz is dressed in a long dress, long sleeves and has on an apron with stains to prove she has been pretty busy all day. There is another chicken in the background running for it's life!

So, all this talk of chickens had me thinking about eggs and that got me thinking about two of our favorite recipes from the Easter Lunch. Actually we use these two recipes all through the year.

The first is Deviled Eggs. Our son, David, can eat a dozen by himself. Once my Dad made Deviled eggs to send to college with David. Driving in to Wofford College, David rolled down the windows and handed deviled eggs out to the campus security guards. They loved it. He said he was "networking grandpa style".

My Dad loves to make Deviled Eggs and so of course my Mom gets pulled in to that as well. It is a time consuming detail oriented thing to make, but they are so good. Mama says one of the keys is not to boil the eggs too long. If you boil them too long, the yellow yolks will turn kind of green and that isn't pretty. The first rule of their food is that is tastes good, but pretty is a real important component to all of Mama's food.

So here is the recipe for:

The Hunt's Deviled Eggs

Boil Fresh Eggs for 10 minutes
Leave in the pan of hot water for 10 more minutes
Pour off the Water and run cold water over until they are cool
Peel eggs and slice in half (you gotta be really careful not to get peels mixed in with the eggs!)

Slip the yolks out of the whites and mash the yolks up. You can also mash up a white or two because it is very likely that you will have some that are broken anyway. We do NOT like big chunks of whites so mash them up really good with the back of a fork.

Add salt, pepper, mayonaise, cider vinegar, and sweet salad cube pickles. This is the tricky part. We don't have amounts. You might have to try this a couple of times, but keep working on it. They are worth it. The pickles are somewhat controversial, but Dad, Mama and I, all think they make the difference.

When it's ready, spoon it back into the egg whites. Then, as Nishie would say, "sprinkle a litte porta rica on top" to really make it pretty. Nishie meant to say paprika, but it got such a laugh that even when she knew better, she always called it 'porta rica'. I am sure Nishie will show up again at some point in this blog.

The other recipe that eggs make me think of is Mama's Macaroni and Cheese. This is more like a souffle than a traditional mac n cheese dish. There is more egg and cheese than there is macaroni. Mama said she started with a recipe from the Jr Charity Leage Cookbook (this always means the first one with the rings in the top) but she has changed it alot over the years. She still changes her recipes all the time and recently started adding Monterey Jack cheese with Jalapeno to this recipe. Our sons, Jay and David, both love this one, and so do most of their friends. I try to remember to make this when there is a big crowd of college kids around.

Mama's Macaroni and Cheese Pie

5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups cooked macaroni
4 Cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
(I use extra sharp, but Mom and Dad use the Colby cheese in the round package. As Mama says, "That's why they make Chocolate and Vanilla!")

Add a little bit of Grated Monterey Jack with jalapeno - a new twist and it is good

Cook the macaroni. Grate the cheese. Mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper.

Put macaroni and cheese into casserole dish. Pour everything else over. Add a little more milk if needed so it barely covers the mac and the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes - until the middle doesn't shake too much. It is very important NOT to overcook this. The exact instructions are "It needs to shake a tiny bit or it will be too dry".

Wednesday Practice Round at the Masters

Several weeks ago, I mentioned to David that our friends Doug and Annette had called to invite us to go with them to watch the golf tournament. Since we had seen them once before at the Quail Hollow tournament in Charlotte, my mind made the jump that we were talking about that tournament. We thought it would be a fun day so we were looking forward to going. Later, when I confirmed the date with Doug and Annette, they said it would be April 7th. When I relayed that info to David, he looked at me with that 'honey, listen closely to what I am saying' look. Speaking slowly, he said, "April 7th is a practice round at the MASTERS".

So, early Wednesday morning, we left for Augusta. There was discussion about which route to take and the general agreement was to go by GPS. I piped in that I really enjoyed getting off the interstate to see the countryside. After crossing Turkey Creek and passing by Plum Branch, Doug said, "Sally you must be having a bang up time". As David says, "sometimes GPS doesn't use common sense".

But we had a fun ride with good conversation. Several phone calls were made and taken during our ride. At Augusta, cell phones are NOT allowed. Period. And being out of contact puts some of us on edge. One caller advised "If God or Jesus calls, I'll tell them you are in Augusta". Doug's comeback was, "Don't worry about that. They will be there."

So after a fun ride, we arrived in Augusta at the Masters Tournament. This is a most unusual sporting event. First of all, there is NO CHARGE for parking. Tickets are hard to get (by lottery) but they are not expensive (unless you buy from a scalper). They don't sell so many tickets that the crowds are miserable. And then there are the concession stands. You can buy a sandwich for $1.50. And the specialties are egg salad or pimiento cheese on white bread. Very Southern. Very Traditional.

The Masters is about golf, but it is also about tradition. The winner gets a green sport coat. They don't use LED scoreboards, but still do it by hand. All of the caddies wear white jumpsuits. It is so beautiful there, I can't describe it. And they take pride in taking care of it. Even on a practice round, after golfers putted out, several men would run out on the green to pick up any leaf or pine needle that had fallen. There are alot of beautiful flowering plants and trees at the Masters.

I loved the way Tom Sorensen with the Charlotte Observer talked about the trees. He wrote that though he didn't know the names of the varieties of trees, he did recognize their beauty. He called them the pines and the not-pines.

But of all the traditions, two that I was totally unaware of intrigued me the most - golfball skipping on #16 and the Par Three Tournament.

#16 is a low flat fairway that is mostly water. There were turtles lounging around the edges. The tee is on one end of the water and the green on the other. There is a wee tiny bit of grass between the tee and water. There are stands and shady areas for spectators to sit. When a golf group comes up, they tee off. Then the crowd starts chanting "Skip Skip Skip". Some of the players ignore the moment and walk on to the green. Other golfers give a shrug and a grin and walk to the edge of the water. Everyone loves the golfers who walk to the water. The crowd goes wild and when the golfers have their clubs and balls ready, the crowd - in unison - yells ONE - TWO - THREE! The golfer swings and the ball 'Skips'; just like a little boy skipping rocks across a pond. If the ball skips up to the green the crowd goes wild. If it doesn't, the crowd still cheers the golfers who try it. I loved this. At that moment, those professional golfers are just little boys playing and having fun.

On Wednesdays, the practice round at the Masters includes a Par Three Tournament. Besides the beautiful 18 hole course at the Masters, there is another beautiful Par 3 course. This land is really hilly. At the Par three course if you stand on one of the hills, you can see the tee and the green for both #8 and #9, so you can watch the action of 2 tees and 2 greens. And, since it is a Par 3 course, the players come through really fast.

But, the real fun of the Par 3 tournament is that the golfers can bring special 'caddies' with them. These caddies are dressed in the traditional white jumpsuits with the golfer name on the back. But these caddies might be a 3 year old daughter, 5 year old son, girlfriend, brother, wife or dad. So you get to watch these professional golfers goofing off and having fun with their families. Sometimes they let their 'caddy' hit the ball and sometimes they help them hit it. When these special caddies make a shot, the crowd roars like it is a hole in one to win a sudden death.

Scott Verplank's darling little daughter was having a ball. There were some Japanese and Italian players with various family that were fun to watch. Fuzzy Zoeller was working the crowd like a presidential candidate. He shook hands and signed autographs like the pro that he is. But the stars of the Par 3 were Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. They were a classic threesome that posed on the tee boxes so that everyone could get a good picture.

Spectator's cameras are not allowed after Wednesday at the Masters. Starting Thursday the Masters is about serious golf and the Masters tradition.

But, Wednesday's practice round at the Masters is also about tradition; it is all about fun and family.

An initial blog about Sports

Next to food, family and friends, SPORTS are what's up around here. We play sports, we watch sports and we organize sports. One time, my friend, Cindy and her family were coming from Raleigh to visit us in Shelby. They had not been to our house before and weren't really sure where we lived. She said they turned onto our street and when she saw all kinds of balls in the driveway, she knew she was at the right house.

Sports is such a passion at our house that once a friend stopped by and I had the TV on Home and Garden. He just stared at me for a minute and said, "This is the first time I have ever been in your house that ESPN wasn't on!"

We have been blessed with some amazing sports adventures and some amazing relationships that have grown out of sports. We love team sports and individual sports. Early on, the boys played football, soccer and basketball. By high school, David had lettered in wrestling, track and football. His passion is football and he has just finished spring football at Wofford College. Jay played football and soccer and played them well, but really early on his passion for basketball was very clear. Both boys were a part of championship teams in high school - David's 2005 and 2006 State Football Championship teams and Jay's 2009 State Basketball Championship team, a first for Shelby High school.

Shelby High School sports could be a whole blog of it's own. The traditions, the fans, the championships are legendary - once a Golden Lion, ALWAYS a Golden Lion.

Next to Shelby High and Wofford, we love Tarheel Basketball. We love Tarheel Football too, but mostly for the Tailgating! We tailgate alot. You might say Tailgating R US. Recently we even tailgated at a TENNIS match. In FEBRUARY. In the SNOW. No kidding. I have pictures.

So, the game plan of this exercise is to blog for one year about cooking/gardening and sports.

This has been an amazing week in sports on a national level. The NCAA was full of drama and handwringing, a cinderella team, a David and Goliath showdown. Goliath won this time, but it was a classic. David says that's why they call it March Madness. The games were wild and the stories behind the games were wilder. Easter Saturday night, 15 or so of us crowded into our little den and watched what Lynn called 'the little boy' coaching Butler to the Finals. But the thing that sticks in my mind the most about this NCAA is the gruff coach lying nose to nose on the floor with his injured senior point guard - consoling him and telling him that he loved him.

On the heels of March Madness, we have the Master's practice rounds starting. The most manicured golf course in the world and the prestige of trying to win the green coat are as much a part of spring as lettuce and onions. But this year, the big story is Tiger Woods and his return to golf after the world found out he was human after all. He has just held his first press conference and the golf talk was way overshadowed by the admission that the worst thing that has happened to him throughout the whole ordeal is that he missed his son's first birthday.

The action in sports; the training, the preparation, the strategy, the talent are all intriguing. But it's the emotion in sports - that's what's up.

Easter 2010

This has not been a typical Easter. A typical Easter, growing up in Lattimore included the excitement of going to Lattimore Church with my parents and my 4 sisters and singing 'You asked me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart!" Because with all the questions that Easter brings, we knew we believed the part about the Love living in our hearts.

Mama made our clothes in those days and she would buy plain little white socks and then sew lace on the tops to make them pretty with our black patent leather shoes. We would sing songs, sometimes riding on the lawn mower, about "Innn our EEEA-STER BONN-NETTT!! With all the Frills Upon it!!" Somewhere in that song, there was a parade and a rotogravure. The Hunt girls always loved a parade. We didn't have a clue what a rotogravure was, but it didn't stop us from singing about it at the top of our lungs.

There have been many Easters since those days, but mostly they have been spent somewhere with family and friends for Easter Sunday lunch. Several times in the last few years, our families have gathered at our house for Easter Sunday Lunch. Ham, Deviled Eggs, Macaroni and Cheese, Silver Queen Corn, Green Beans, Homemade Biscuits, Asparagus, Strawberry Salad are required menu items. Everyone brings their specialty and there are always some wonderful additions. I promise to blog the gardening, canning, freezing and recipe tips for the perfect Easter Sunday lunch at some point, but just not right now.

This year, Easter Sunday lunch in the typical setting just wasn't in the cards. Travel plans, college schedules and then an unexpected health crisis with my sweet potato queen sister, Kathie, rattled our cages.

Everytime there has been an unexpected crisis in my life, my parent's advice to me has been "just keep your head up and keep moving forward". This is really good advice. The more challenges that come our way the more I realize that this is an honest truth.

I remember when I was involved with a fundraiser for Cleveland Regional Medical Center. The wonderful political satirist, Mark Russell, had agreed to help for a second time with our foundation and with hospice to honor his son-in-laws parents. No one could have been more excited about this than I was because I loved his humor and I loved the way he made it possible for people of all political sides to laugh with each other (but not at the same time - as he said!!) The date of his performance was September 14, 2001. On 9/11, the world changed. Many of us wondered if we should cancel the show. How could we possibly do comedy/political satire at a time like this?

I remember Dad saying to me, "you just keep doing what you are supposed to be doing". David and I picked Mark Russell up at the airport and took him to eat supper at Alston Bridges BBQ. (His choice and a good one.) During the meal, Mark Russell looked at me and read my mind. He said, "You just can't wait for this to be over, can you". He was so right. I had worked for months to help make this show happen and was so excited about it and now, 9/11 had happened and I was shaken to the core. Everything seemed out of kilter. I can't remember my response, but I remember that we went to Malcolm Brown Auditorium. Mark came out on the stage and said something like, "We have all been through alot, but we are going to do what we came here to do." And he put on one of the funniest, thoughtful shows I have ever seen.

So, this Easter Sunday was not our typical Easter Sunday, but we kept doing what we are supposed to be doing - even if we did it in a little different way.

Last night, we had a sweet spur of the moment Easter Saturday Supper. We had Ham, Deviled Eggs, Macaroni and Cheese, Silver Queen Corn and Green Beans from last year's garden, Homemade Biscuits, Asparagus, Sister's Coconut Cake, Mama Crowder's Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies and Strawberry Salad. We moved chairs and place settings around to accomodate whoever walked in the door at whatever time. The old rugged cross started to transform. We missed the ones who weren't there and we cherished the ones who were there. By Sunday at noon, the transformed cross once again answered the question 'you ask me how I know he lives? He lives within our hearts.'

Easter Flowers

My friend, Carol, who is also my first blog follower, suggested that I not limit the blogging to cooking from the garden, but also to blog about all kinds of ways that we use plants during the year. Carol and I have been walking together for over 10 years and every now and then over those years, she has given me some pretty good advice. I liked her advice about the plants because she knows that fresh arrangements are something that I really enjoy and place a priority on doing throughout the year.

Several years ago, when my boys were at Jefferson Elementary School, I read a book by Dr. Andrew Weil called "Eight Weeks to Better Health". This is still a good one, that I recommend for anyone. Dr. Weil gives eight tips for living a healthy lifestyle - body, mind and spirit - starting each of the eight new tips one week at a time. One of the first weeks, he advises to keep fresh plants in the house. The purpose is to stay grounded in the moment and to acknowledge the beauty that is all around. Living in the present and having an attiude of gratitude are among Dr. Weil's main points.

Recently, my sister, Cindy, reminded me that my first grade teacher, Mrs. Elene Martin, brought something fresh from the yard into the house everyday. She said it could be an acorn or a flower, anything from nature, but the key was to do it everyday.

In North Carolina, we have four very distinct seasons, so bringing something fresh into the house everyday can truly be a creative adventure!

So, this is Easter weekend and my favorite Easter tradition is at hand. For many years, my sons, my husband and I have enjoyed the Easter Cross at Shelby Presbyterian Church. They put an old rugged cross outside of the church and it is a barren, sad cross. On Easter Sunday Morning - very early in the morning - people from all over (members and non-members) bring plants of all kinds to put into the cross. The people do not necessarily see each other coming and going, and you can put your plants in the cross anywhere you wish. There are no rules to follow, no limitations, no finger wagging that this flower, or vine, or any kind of plant doesn't belong beside that one. By mid morning the flowers are accumulating and by noon the cross is no longer barren and sad, but totally ablaze with a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. It is a beautiful reminder of the hope of spring and new growth. But, to me it is such a visual reminder of the message of UNITY that Jesus taught. It also reminds me of a phrase that my Dad heard from a Jewish rabbi on a trip to Israel - we should be a "symphonic harmony of diversity". All of the plants belong on the cross and all add something unique to the total outcome.

So, last year, I bought several blocks of oasis and some floral moss and fashioned a very crude cross. Then I found an old pitcher that came from my grandmother's farm. Alma Harrill Hunt was my father's mother and if there ever was a humble Christian it was 'Nanny'. She practiced a quiet and profound faith.

Easter 2009, we had a house full for Easter. David and I have large extended families and many of them were coming for Easter Sunday lunch. There were also five Wofford College football players who had come home with my son for the holiday. The boys started putting flowers into the cross late on Saturday night. My friend and neighbor, Beth, brought some things from her yard early Sunday morning. Then as members of both sides of our family arrived more flowers came with them. I remember being amazed at the variety of things people brought and how they arranged them throughout the morning. Sometimes I missed who did what and that made it even more fun. Nothing judgemental, nothing tight or constricted. Just a free celebration of the joy of being a part of something beautiful.

I have brought out our 'old rugged cross' in Nanny's pitcher and placed it on our front porch. As friends and family come and go this Easter weekend, the excitement and joy of watching the cross go from rugged to a beautiful 'symphonic harmony of diversity' is my favorite Easter tradition.