On visits to Lattimore this past week, I learned several things - as usual.
Jackie was visiting and Mama served chicken salad for lunch on the glassed in porch. The porch was a screened porch originally, but after many years of discussion they decided to glass it in. It added a whole new dimension to the house. Mama covered, again, all of the cushions for her white wicker furniture and it is a really pretty and comfortable place to be. I remember the wicker furniture from the front porch of the Hewitt house in Lattimore and how we would gather out there in the mornings and "drink coffee". Back then, my coffee was mostly milk and sugar with a little drop of coffee in the cup.
Mama has covered those wicker chair cushions many times and she also made most of the curtains in the house. Unfortunately, I did not get the sewing gene. The other day Mama and I were rambling around in the basement and she showed me several bolts of cloth that she had had for years. I recognized one that used to be on the porch cushions. Mama called it a Charleston print. It looks just like Mama - pink and green with an azalea print. Very southern and very pretty.
So, on the glassed porch the other day, we finished lunch and while we were talking, Mama rolled the window open to refill her bird feeder. All kinds of birds flock to her feeder which is attached to the outside of the window. She has a little book that her sister, Mem, gave her to identify the birds. There was the cutest little Chickadee outside the window hopping around on the dogwood tree branches.
Jackie mentioned that this weekend was The Great Backyard Bird Count Weekend. This is a scientific project organized each year by Cornell University and the Audubon Society. Everyone in the country is invited to spend at least 15 minutes over four days this weekend counting the birds in your own backyard. You can log into a website and enter how many birds you count and they wind up with a real-time count of birds all over the country. I had never heard of this but there are plenty of birds in our yard and I wouldn't want them to go uncounted. Google it if you want to join the fun.
I learned another thing in Lattimore this week during a conversation with Daddy about cows. He explained that back in the day, everybody had a cow in their backyard for milk. Lots of people churned their own butter and made their own cheese. This was in the days before refrigeration - when people used ice boxes to keep things cold. I'm guessing this has something to do with "The Iceman Cometh". Anyway Daddy was talking about how everybody had a milk cow and they were usually Jerseys, Guernseys and Holsteins. I remember these cows from the dairy farm at Nanny's house and how they were different colors. Jerseys and Guernseys are brown and Holsteins, known to give a greater volume of milk, are the black and white ones. I thought it was funny when Daddy pointed out, "that Chik-Fil-A cow is a Holstein, not a beef cow". Maybe the marketing people on Madison Avenue don't know much about cows.
Daddy doesn't have dairy cows anymore, but does have some beef cows. He used to have mostly Simienthals which are big red Swiss cows, but now he has mostly black Angus. He really enjoys riding around in the fields in his big old Lincoln with grass hanging off the bumper. He watches the cows at all times of the day and in that pastoral setting he observes their personalities and what he calls their family traits. Jackie took pictures of the cows included on this post and sent them to me. Guess which picture Jackie captioned "Grass is Greener".
No doubt the cows have different traits and personalities and you can see that these animals would be interesting to get to know. Daddy loves being out there watching the cows and says it's a peaceful, spiritual time for him.
So, I was thinking about milk and butter and cheese and how easy it is to just go to the grocery store instead of milking and churning and all and I suddenly wanted to make Sis's Scalloped Potatoes.
Sis's Scalloped Potatoes are quick and easy. She usually makes it in a 13 x 9 pyrex dish, but I made it in a small pie plate the other day. The amounts of potato, onion, cheese, milk, etc depend on the size of your dish. You'll figure it out.
Sis's Scalloped Potatoes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Choose your baking dish. The size of the dish will determine how many potatoes and onions you need.
Peel Potatoes - Slice thin - about 1/8th inch (I used four for the pie plate)
Peel and Slice Onions - Slice thin (I used one for the pie plate)
In baking dish layer potatoes and onions
Sprinkle a little flour and dot with butter
Repeat potato, onion, flour, butter
Grate Cheddar Cheese on top
Sis said to pour milk over "until it barely covers the potatoes". Don't put too much milk because there will be some moisture from the other ingredients.
Salt and Pepper to taste
Bake for about 30 minutes until potatoes are browned and cheese is melted.
Soupy Way Potatoes - with Beef My Way
Making Sis's Potatoes made me want to make another of my favorite Potato Recipes.
Soupy Way Potatoes are a Lattimore favorite that Nishie and Mama made. It is basically potato soup, but sometimes they would put a few strings of leftover roast beef in if they had any. When I make it, I like to have a lot of beef so it is a lot darker and beefier than the original which is mostly potato and is a creamy white color. Judy named this dish when she was a little girl and wanted "potatoes that Soupy way". Forever after everybody called it Soupy Way Potatoes.
1 lb Stew Beef (I cut them up into smaller pieces either before or after cooking)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed uniformly
1 medium onion, diced uniformly
2 ribs celery, diced uniformly
3 tbsp flour
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
32 oz box Beef Broth
1 can Beef Consomme (judgement call - If you want it really dark and beefy tasting or if you didn't brown stew beef before cooking in the crockpot)
salt, pepper, parsley to taste
Stew Beef: I cooked the Stew Beef one day and made the soup the next.
Brown Stew Beef in cast iron pan before adding to crockpot. Mama and Daddy say it won't be good unless you brown it first. Daddy said, "if you don't brown it, it'll taste ordinary." Browning sears the beef on the outside and makes the gravy more concentrated. If you don't brown it, you'll need to cook in crockpot with beef consomme over low heat for at least 8 hours. It still won't be the same, but pretty close.
Cook stew beef in crock pot with a broth or consomme to cover, on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
Remove from crock pot and save in fridge until ready to use.
For Soupy Way Potatoes:
In a 6 quart pot: Put cubed potatoes and diced celery and cover with beef broth or beef consomme. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes till potatoes are tender but not mushy. You can add black pepper, but the broth will have plenty of salt.
In a large soup pot: Saute diced onion in about 1/2 stick of butter. When onions are translucent, add about 3 tablespoons flour and make roux. Whisk in 1/2 cup milk to make gravy.
Add cooked stew beef including broth and then add the rest of the 32 ox box of beef broth. Continue stirring to mix thoroughly.
When potatoes and celery are done, add with their liquid to beef and onions in the large soup pot.
For seasonings I added:
Salt, pepper, parsley until I liked it. Flavors increase over time.
Serve with crackers or with cornbread.
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