Where did September go? - Hot Artichoke Dip

September blew by. The fall transition month barely gave me time to do the transitioning.

I keep hearing words of wisdom that my cousin's husband said last summer. He was talking about what to do when you don't really know what to do next when he said, "You know, you've just got to get out." Mama says it another way - "just put one foot in front of the other one".

So, during the last week of September we put one foot in front of the other and got out.

The official opening of the Cleveland County Fair is still exciting for me. The Fairgrounds look great with spruced up new paint, new sign, new landscaping, but the old feel of the fair is definitely still there. It's a real credit to everyone who has worked over 86 years in alot of different ways to keep the Fair going. There is a little rain in the forecast but most of the fair week forecast is for 0% chance of rain which is good news for everybody.

It seems like the past week was about getting out with all kinds of people in all kinds of ways. Probably the weather had alot to do with that because when it's not 100 degrees and humid it is more fun to be out and about. Sister and I had lunch one day and then I introduced her to the wonderful world of social networking. She enjoyed seeing pictures of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Libby and I took Mama to lunch and through the wonderful world of text messaging, David IV and Devin joined us at the last minute. Daddy wanted to take ham biscuits to a 7 am event so he and Mama and I met at the Roundup early Friday morning to cook and deliver hot biscuits. The Round Up Store Fiscal year ended on Sept 30th, so there was a little extra paperwork to be done in the office this week also.

Gardner-Webb held a Weekend Festival to honor my favorite writer, Ron Rash, and Southern Appalachian Culture in general. Mrs. Sarazen and Mrs. Archer are Ron Rash fans so on Friday night the three of us went to a Ron Rash Dinner which really was a Ron Rash Roast. It was a great time and hilarious to hear his brother and sister talk about growing up Rash. They are a brilliant and amazing family which his sister compared to the Munsters. Ron graduated from GWU and Clemson and is a professor at Western Carolina. He has published poetry, short stories and novels. His latest novel Serena is an international best seller and will be a movie one day. He continues to recieve literary awards and continues to write. Once he told me there were "always characters walking around in his head". His brother and sister showed him no mercy at the roast. His sister noted that she had taken her studies seriously, worked hard, followed all the rules, earned good grades and a degree in ceramic engineering. Her brother, she noted, had broken alot of the rules, floundered for a time as far as grades and now he had a festival named after him. Ron's brother wanted to know how many ways critics could describe Ron's work as bleak. He also wondered whether Ron actually wrote one piece since during the first two paragraphs no one close to a body of water had drowned.

After all the roasting and ribbing was done, Ron's brother took a moment to thank the communities of Gardner-Webb and Boiling Springs for being a good place to grow up - even for a Munster. And both brother and sister took a moment to let Ron know how proud they are of him. I think the entire community is proud.

Saturday morning we loaded up the grill to take to the Wofford-Furman game. This is a huge rivalry and last year Furman crushed Wofford. I can't remember the final score, but the Furman horse which comes out after each touchdown probably needed extra grooming after that workout.

Our tailgate plan was to take the grill and then anyone could bring hamburgers and hot dogs for their own crowd for after the game. The weather was perfect football weather and the tailgating area at Wofford is so convenient and so pretty with grass and shade trees. Wofford won 38-17 which made the already beautiful day even more beautiful. The grill was loaded with burgers and dogs with various grillmasters after the game. I made a hot artichoke dip that is loaded with fat and calories so of course everyone loves it. We munched on this and other goodies that folks had brought while the burgers and dogs were cooking. This was a great tailgate plan and a fun day.

We invited the low country parents back to our house after the tailgate and decided to wind up the night enjoying the Summer House. Theresa said she thought summer was over and she wanted to call it the Fall House.

Sunday we had bacon, coffee, and some great cinnamon rolls that Linda had brought before everybody headed in different directions. I met David and Jay for a quick lunch, then left for a tennis match. We were hosts to a traveling team and just as the match was to start, the rains came. We searched for dry courts in the area and ended up at Peachtree Racquet club to get the match played. We were playing the number one team in our divison. Our team is hanging on to last place. This tennis season has been - let me say umm - a season of growth and development. We wanted to play up to challenge ourselves and we really got what we wanted! But, I am happy to say, you really do learn alot by losing. We are improving our games and we put it in perspective with our motto - After all we're not pros. We're just a bunch of middle aged women playing mediocre tennis.

The most important thing is that we put one foot in front of the other and got out.

Hot Artichoke Dip

This recipe has been around forever. It is easy and quick and everyone loves it. It stays hot for a long time and is even good when it cools down. The calorie count is awful, but it is a crowd pleaser. You can also add jalapenos, onions or other things to it, but I think it is good the simple way.

1 Can of Artichoke Hearts, with juice
Put these into a baking dish and then cut them up into bite sized pieces
1 Cup of Mayo - I am a Hellman's girl
1 Cup of Parmesan Cheese - I use real grated cheese sometimes and sometimes a mixture of that with the ground type.

Bake this at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Serve with crackers. I think it's best with crackers that aren't too buttery.

Cleveland County Fair

This week will bring the opening of the 86th Cleveland County Fair. In 1924, the Shelby Kiwanis Club under the leadership of O. Max Gardner and Dr. J. S. Dorton faciliated merging several local fairs together to open the first Cleveland County Fair. Many families including mine and David's were early supporters of the new merged fair. I can remember my grandmother, Alma Hunt, still going to the fair well into her 90's. She loved to go to the exhibit hall to see how all the school booths were decorated and she loved to see the animals.

Over these 86 years, there's no telling how many memories have been made. From entering livestock, vegetables and other competitions to seeing wild shows to riding crazy rides to eating fair food, there are probably as many fair memories as there are people who say meet me at the waterwheel.

Libby reminded me that this picture of my sisters and I was taken when we were practicing for a hula hoop contest at the 1958 Cleveland County Fair. They teased me because I was only 2 years old but wanted to enter with my sisters. All of my sisters won in one category or another and I won the youngest person to enter category. I'm pretty sure we can all still hula hoop.

Mama Crowder and Granddaddy worked at the fair in concession stands with Uncle Ab and Aunt Mittie Spangler and later with Ed Wilson. I can still see Ed Wilson sitting in a little booth in the front of the concession stand. Mama Crowder would be making biscuits for the ham right there in the back of the stand while Granddaddy and others took food orders. Those were the best ham biscuits. Libby remembers working in the concession stand and how cold it was to pull the bottled drinks out of the icy cooler. They never would let me work back there. In those days the midway was not paved and when you came home from the fair, blowing your nose was a memorable experience.

In junior high school, my friend Lynn and I made plans to go to the fair. We walked home from school and stopped by the Handy Pantry for a Slurpee before fair time. As soon as we got to the midway I wanted to ride the Spyder. Lynn said she didn't think she could ride it without getting sick, but I talked her into it. Let's just say that I never did care about having another Slurpee from the Handy Pantry after that ride. Lynn and I remember a lot of details and we still laugh about this even after all of these years.

I loved to see the animals and ride the rides, but one of my favorite things was the fun house - especially when it had one of those revolving circles on the way out. The Haunted House never was my thing.

Going to the fair remained a tradition with our boys. When they were in elementary school, we had a couple of volunteer pumpkins growing in our yard. I'm pretty sure this was due to the Halloween jack-o-lantern from the year before being kicked off the porch, but regardless of how it got there, we had several large pumpkins. The boys entered the pumpkins into the fair and we still have their light blue participation ribbon. For years, Daddy entered cows into the fair and last year when David IV helped out with canning green beans, Daddy suggested that David enter his canned beans into the fair. These beans didn't win, but it is always fun to visit your entries in the exhibit halls.

Fair food is a wonder. The smells and the sounds and the craziness of the midway send me in a beeline to French Fries with vinegar. And we all love to go to Deanna's because we have watched this cute family of six grow up. Each year it seems one of the children is in a new booth with something like ice cream or lemonade to add to their original booth with ribs on a stick and gyros.

So this Thursday the 86th Cleveland County Fair will open and we are praying for good fair weather. See ya at the waterwheel!

Sunday Morning - Shrimp and Grits

Sunday morning after the big family wedding was a good time to rest and reflect on the weekend.

After most any event, we have what Daddy calls a debriefing. This is a term from his service in the army during WWII and the Korean War. Daddy was stationed as a dental surgeon at Ft. Bragg and wound up with the rank of Major. I mentioned this to the boys the other day and someone suggested they call him The Honorable Major Doctor Hunt. I think they will just stick with Grandpa.

So we took this past Sunday morning easy, having coffee, reading the newspaper, then reading all the other news online and debriefing about the weekend events. In a Hunt party debriefing we discuss what worked and what we might want to change for next time. We have all learned a lot about hosting a party from this process over the years.

One benefit after a party is that the yard, decorations and flowers still make the house feel festive. It was relaxing to look through the window and watch the rain falling on the grass. After the drought and heat we have had, I could almost hear the grass giggling in the rain. I checked the roses that Libby arranged for the dining room and they have opened more and will still be pretty for a while.

On the morning after a big event, we will most likely want to ease into a late breakfast or early lunch. So, after the Friday night rehearsal party, I had saved a little of the shrimp knowing that Sunday morning I could make a quick and easy Shrimp and Grits. I have several recipes for Shrimp and Grits and it is good alot of different ways, but on a rainy Sunday morning after a big weekend, I love to do it the easy way.

While David and the boys caught up on ESPN news, it only took about 20 minutes to get this meal ready. I start with making grits according to the package but I do add a little bit of garlic powder. In another pan, I fix the shrimp mixture and then I have a plate of grated cheese. When it is all done, I let everybody make their own plate layering grits, shrimp mixture and cheese. Sometimes we put a little bacon, country ham or sausage into the shrimp mixture and sometimes we have it on the side so everyone can fix it just like they want it. It can work with most any kind of grits and most any kind of cheese. So make it easy on yourself and use whatever you have on hand.

Easy Shrimp and Grits

Grits:

Cook Grits according to package.
For the four of us, I use 4 cups of water to one cup of grits. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Shrimp Sauce:

In a saucepan, put a little olive oil. Add garlic powder and leftover cooked shrimp, tails removed. (you can do this with uncooked shrimp if you aren't using leftovers)
Sprinkle a little red cayenne pepper over the shrimp. This always make me think of the funny scene in Mrs. Doubtfire when Robin Williams pours on the red pepper and says "Hot Jambalaya!" I try not to use a lethal amount of red pepper.

Add the following and since everything is already cooked just stir till heated:
1 can of Rotel (the wonder ingredient)
1 can of Petite Diced Tomatoes
Add a little chicken broth

If you have bacon, sausage or country ham, you can add this in now. On this Sunday morning, I fried a little sausage and let everyone crumble it on their own if they wanted it.

Cheese:

Grate cheese. On Sunday morning, I used two kinds of cheddar, but use whatever you have and it will be good.

Big Family Wedding Weekend

Wofford had a bye this weekend and it was a good thing, because we had a big Hunt family wedding. Actually it was a McKee-Martin Wedding between Phase II Hunt grandchild Jim Martin and his sweet bride, Kacie McKee.

The Hunt grandchildren were born in two distinct phases with about ten years age difference between them. Judy, Penny and Libby are mothers of the Phase I grandchildren - Hunter, Paul, Annie, Jackie, Elizabeth and Will. Cindy and I are mothers of Phase II - Jackson, John, Jim, David and Jay.

All of the cousins are close, but Phase II are sometimes more like brothers than cousins. This is partially because they are all so close in age, partially because Cindy and I run together as Nishie would say. We were college roommates at UNC-CH. We play tennis together fairly regularly and spend alot of time with our families at Lake Lure. We have taken road trips to the West Coast and up and down the East Coast and once we spent New Years Eve in Central Park. In the 70's. Before the Mayor cleaned up Gotham City. Cindy and I have always been a little on the wild and crazy, tomboy, mischievious side. Daddy likes to say that everything was going along fine until the blue-eyed girls were born. That would be Cindy and me.

So, Phase II grandchildren have spent alot of time together. Jim was born exactly 12 days before David IV and this was the weekend to celebrate Jim's wedding.

The rehearsal dinner was to be held at our house and while we have done a lot of entertaining over the years, a rehearsal dinner was a new challenge. You can imagine our joy when the weather report was 0% chance of rain. We wanted to seat everyone together outside so we gathered tables, chairs and tablecloths from here and there and thought about the decor. Cindy wanted to include tractors and cotton into the festivities to honor Jim's personality. Annette mentioned using burlap over white tablecloths which sounded like a winner so things started to come together. Libby came over to make a pretty arrangement of roses on the dining room table and then help devise a plan for the tables outside. Libby is a magician at these things. I loved the way it came together.

The bride and groom requested David's Grilled Tenderloin (pork and beef) and a Salad with Carol's French dressing. Naturally, no Hunt party menu is complete without Ruby's Ham biscuits, Jack's pimiento cheese sandwiches and Jack's Cream Cheese and Olives. We added a Shrimp Cocktail, a fruit salad, and a spicy horseradish sauce for the meat. Libby made her special Chocolate Marshmallow brownies and also Wedding Cookies.

Before the meal, I asked the minister, whom I had just met, to ask a blessing. When introducing him, I suddenly couldn't remember his name. He helped by joking, "Its Billy. Billy Graham." For the rest of the weekend, Minister Andy and wife Kim were Billy and Ruth.

Sweet toasts were made to the bride and groom and we were so happy that we were able to seat everyone together outside under a harvest moon.

The wedding was held at the Hunt Cabin on my parents farm in Lattimore and it was a beautiful evening. Tents, white chairs, fall flowers and little white lights helped illuminate the already fantastic setting. Just as the outdoor ceremony was to begin, a sprinkle of rain also began. The ceremony went on and minister Billy Graham quoted an unlikely source Wet Willie. He talked about knowing Jim and Kacie when they were small children and how they both had such sweet smiles. He told them and the wedding guests as the misty rain fell that no matter what happens in life, we should do like Wet Willie said and keep on smiling.

The sprinkles of rain stopped and a pretty sunbeam started shining on the wedding party as the unity ceremony continued. Jim's brothers, Jackson and John, peeled off from the groomsmen. Jackson went to the piano and John picked up his guitar. They nailed Keith Urban's "Only You Can Love Me This Way". Tears and not rain were streaming down a lot of our faces about this time.

Kacie's grandfather, Harry is a BBQ expert and provided BBQ with all the trimmings for the guests. Music played and everyone celebrated with Jim and Kacie. About that time, Miles and Jay appeared with 2 Clydesdales pulling a pretty white carriage to take the happy couple away. I thought it was sweet that Jim had planned this part as a surprise for Kacie. I couldn't see them as they rode away, but no doubt they kept on smiling.

September 19, 1988

September 19, 1988 was a game changer. I have read that for some of us it's hard to know the love of a parent until we become a parent ourselves.

I did not realize how true this was for me until September 19, 1988 when at 11:30 pm the doctor said "It's a boy!" Groggy with anesthesia I looked up at David III and said, "I think it must be David." He nodded and said "Yes, I think so". We hadn't really made a decision about a boy name until then, but as soon as he was born, David was who he was. He has been who he is ever since.

Parenting comes with joy, hopes, dreams, sometimes fear, sometimes pure terror, but with a love that is hard to describe.

Like most parents, there are many proud parent stories I could tell about both our boys, but will limit myself to just a little bit about David on the anniversary of his birthday.

David is a a very logical person with an engineering mind. He has a great sense of humor, but generally sees things as they are and cuts to the chase.

One morning, when he was sixteen and just had his driver's license, he came downstairs and told me about a dream. In the dream he was driving and tried to put on the brakes but his car wouldn't stop. He said the dream went on and on and he kept trying to apply the brakes. It was scary until finally the car stopped.

Perhaps a little over analytical, as I can sometimes be, I suggested that maybe this meant his life was moving too fast with turning sixteen and being able to drive and all and that maybe he just needed to slow down a little bit. He looked at me and said "Really? I thought it meant my brakes were bad!"

Maybe it meant my life was moving too fast.

When David was at Shelby High School he played football, wrestled and ran track. In his senior year, he was running hurdles in a state qualifier. He was close to taking first place when he hit the hurdle and he turned a complete flip in the air and landed on the track. In one fluid motion he rolled, got up, kept running and still placed third overall. The fans cheered his effort with a standing ovation. He did qualify for states and went on to place third in North Carolina in 2A 300 meter hurdles. We were proud of his record but more proud that he did not give up.

This weekend we celebrated David's 22nd birthday at a home Wofford Football game. The weather was beautiful and Wofford won 48-10 over Union, Ky. David was cleared to play after his recent health issue and we knew how much dressing out for the game meant to him. We were happy for him but really thankful that throughout the game he was running up and down the field in 100% healthy condition.

We had a big, fun tailgate with everyone adding something to the menu. At one time there were at least four dads cooking different things on the grill. Players, friends and families celebrated the big win and the big variety of tailgating food. When the cooking and eating slowed down, I looked around and thought it was sweet that the players had migrated into small groups to spend a little time with their own parents and families.

Later on, we packed up and took leftovers to David and roommates, Martin, Nate and Mike. Senior Housing at Wofford is like living in a really nice apartment complex in a beautiful setting. David loves it because he can walk out of the door in any direction and be close to so many friends he has made over the last three years. Some of those friends started coming in to celebrate David's birthday. Jay arrived from GWU and we were happy that these two brothers enjoy being together. Then some more friends poured in.

We stayed a little while longer and then headed home knowing the love of a parent.

Fall Garden Shape Up - Fried Green Tomatoes

It's been so hot and dry up till now that after I picked a few things and watered a few things I was wilted myself. This week, the temperature cooled down enough to give me the urge to work outside. With September being a transition month, it was time to pick some things, deadhead other things, pull out a few things and plant some new things. So, I had a sweet helper for a couple of days and we went out to Lattimore to pick the last of the crowder peas. We froze eight more pint bags so I have 16 pints in my freezor. Daddy and I laughed because it made us think of the Little Red Hen in the children's story Mama used to read to us. The moral of the story (Mama's stories almost always had a moral) was to have a good work ethic. Mama could be pretty animated when she read stories to us. She remembered a line from Little Red Hen at lunch the other day and recited it with enthusiasm and a head's up attitude and sounded just like when she read it to us. "And so I did!"

Back in my own yard, we pulled out the cucumber plants and my one little squash plant and generally weeded everywhere. I got out the pruning clippers and cut a lot of dead wood from the azaleas. Our house was owned for many years by Dr. and Mrs. Lampley. Carol says that in Shelby, your house isn't known as your house until you move out of it. So even though we have lived here for nearly 15 years, sometimes people still call it the Lampley's house. In the 1960's, Dr. Lampley propagated his own azaleas and camellias and we are lucky to have quite a few still in the yard.

We pruned alot of other vines and bushes and kept on weeding and it is amazing how fast you can fill up a wheelbarrow with stuff that needs to be cleared away. Then I went to Lowe's to buy a few bags of pine bark mulch. As the saying around here goes, "one trip to Lowes is two more trips to Lowes". So true. I bought a few bags of mulch and while I was there they had some very fallish mums in yellow and burgundy so I picked up a couple for my front porch. When I got home, I moved the geraniums to the back yard and put the mums on the porch. We spread the mulch and decided we needed more, so back to Lowes where I bought a few more bags of mulch and a couple of other fallish plants. So we planted those and I keep thinking of a few other perennials that were at Lowes. We still have mulch to spread. Mulch is amazing because it instantly makes everything look so much neater. As Dr. Gebel at Shagreen Nursery told me, "Mulch can cover up a ton of errors".

Arugula started springing back up from seeds I planted last spring and some pretty zinnias came back too. I could hear Mama Crowder calling these volunteers and I always liked that. Volunteers should be appreciated so we mulched around them and they look really pretty.

The tomato plants had pretty much quit in the heat of the summer, but little yellow flowers are sprouting again, so I can't bear to take them out yet. I am still getting tons of cherry tomatoes but fewer romas and better boys now. What few better boys are growing are smallish and ripen slowly so they are perfect for fried green tomatoes. Green tomatoes are sliced and fried alot like squash. You don't put them in ice water and I like them sliced a little thicker than squash, but from there on you fry them just like you would squash. They have a tangier taste to them than squash and are a good appetizer with a horseradish sauce or on a BLT. (Fried Squash recipe on July 7, 2010 blog)

Fried Green Tomatoes is also a great movie and I listen to the soundtrack a lot. All of the songs put you straight into a southern, nostalgic mood with Cool Down Yonder and I'll Remember you and What Becomes of the Broken Hearted. They do two versions of Cherish and Patti LaBelle does a really sultry version of a song called Barbeque Bess that I played the other night when we had BBQ in the Big Cooker. The songs emotions swing from nostalgia to sultry to gospel with one called If I Can Help Somebody and then the very soulful A Charge to Keep I Have. It's a great soundtrack. I may need to fry some green tomatoes.

Cotton, Crepe Myrtles and the Creek House

September in the south is always fun. It's a transition month when summer is winding down and fall is winding up. Crepe Myrtles are showing their colors and it's the first time I have really taken notice of how many different colors there are. Mama told me her favorite Crepe Myrtle color is watermelon. She described the color to me as "the one that looks most like the inside of a watermelon when it is ready to eat". Dad helped by saying "go look at the ones in the Wendy's parking lot". He does love Wendy's. There are two schools of thought about how to prune crepe myrtles. Some prune from the ground high up the branch showing more branch than flowers while others leave a lot more of the flowers and greenery from the ground up. Daddy told me that Phil calls the first way crepe murder.

While the crepe myrtles blaze with color, cotton is starting to show little white dots sprinkled in green fields all over the county. It almost looks like snow out there and kind of reminds me of the Wizard of Oz.

Daddy was talking the other day about how cotton was king in Cleveland County from the turn of the century until the 1950's. It was planted in the spring, hoed by hand and plowed with mules to keep the weeds out. After the weeds are cleared away they wait until fall to pick the cotton. Daddy said this was referred to as laying it by.

For some reason, Cleveland County always had alot of acres in cotton and competed with bigger Eastern NC farm counties for the most acres of cotton in North Carolina. There was a local cotton competition in Cleveland County too. The competition was to be the first farmer to get a bale of cotton to the Cleveland County Courtsquare in the fall. That bale would be auctioned off and then left on the courtsquare as kind of an advertisment for the buyer and bragging rights for the farmer. Cleveland County cotton farms started dying out in the 1950s, but in the last few years there are cotton fields popping up again. Cotton is really a beautiful and unusual plant to see and to touch.

September weekends are full of fun following the Wofford football team. Last weekend, the game was at Charleston Southern University which is a very hot place on a Saturday afternoon. People were literally falling out from the heat and searching for shade to cool off. Wofford won the game which was a cause for celebration. As if the Wofford crowd really needs a cause.

Since we live several hours away from the low country, Dale and Linda invited us to their creekhouse on John's Island. Being from the foothills of North Carolina, my mental image of a creekhouse would be a small house by a rocky stream. I have spent a fair amount of time in the Charleston area over the years, but I haven't spent alot of it staying on a creek. Dale and Linda's creekhouse is beautiful and spacious with an inviting low country style entrance and two porches to catch the southern breeze. There are windows everywhere so you can see spectacular views of the creek all around the house. The marsh is really beautiful and made me think of the movie Prince of Tides. The marsh view is constantly changing with the tides and we all thought the high tides are especially pretty. I was amazed at how fast the water moved in and out of the creek.

As the weekend went on, I kept having the feeling that I was in a foreign country. Part of the reason was the difference in the landscape with tides and marshes, and the difference in the critters. It is strange to walk across the yard ducking under the pretty spanish moss and trying to avoid stepping on tiny crabs. I saw a porpoise swimming in the creek early one morning. Trust me when I say I don't see a porpoise swim by the house in a creek very often.

There were other things that seemed kind of foreign to me. Dale and Linda grew up in this area and Jamey and Teresa live in Beaufort, SC. It's hard to believe we only live a 4 hour drive away and have such different surroundings. Jamey loves boats and fishes competitively with SKA - the Southern Kingfish Association. I knew I was in uncharted waters when I asked if he used the big cooler on the porch to keep the fish in. He explained that they use bigger coolers than that one for the bait. The fish they catch are like 6 feet long. Jamey said that once while deep sea fishing he saw a whale. Actually he said he just saw the whale's tail, but that it was wider than his fishing boat. I can't imagine being in a boat and seeing a fish that big. He also told stories about how smart and playful porpoises are far out in the ocean. Then Teresa started talking about being a little girl and falling into the Pluff Mud. I had no idea what that was until Dale told me. When I got home, I googled pluff mud and learned that rice plantations had sprung up in the low country because the pluff mud is especially fertile and the marshes are perfect for growing rice.

Some things may have seemed exotic in the creek, but there is one thing for certain. We all laugh in the same language. We laugh so much with this group that sometimes my face hurts.

Cotton, crepe myrtles, creek houses. I love September.

Crowder Peas

Crowder peas with the juice soaking on hot homemade cornbread is just about the best thing you can ever eat. Seriously, it is satisfying and is pretty good for you. Peas are a lean protein and you don't really need meat because they are very filling. You can have a complete meal with just crowder peas, cornbread and slaw. For color and a kick, I add a little rotel or homemade salsa. If you have crowder peas in the freezor, you can put this meal together in an easy 25 minutes.

When I was a little girl, I thought Mama Crowder and Granddaddy invented Crowder Peas. Crowder peas are in the same family as black-eyed peas but are alot bigger, don't have a big black eye and I think they taste better. They usually have one side that is kind of flat because there are so many peas in one pod. I have read that that is really how they got the name crowder - because they are crowded into the pea pod. I still always think of Mama Crowder and Granddaddy and so crowder peas feel like part of the family.

Mama and Daddy like to plant Hercules Crowder peas, but for some reason the seeds for these have become scarce. This year they planted Colossus Crowder peas which are as close to Hercules as they could find. They planted peas twice this year so they had a big crop early in the summer and have another crop coming in now. They planted this second crop about the same time we froze corn in early July. Mama and Daddy have frozen all they want so Wednesday morning I got a call from Dad that if I wanted to freeze some peas, he had a bucket for me. I have been a helper at their house in years past, but have never frozen peas at my house. I liked the idea of having my own peas in my own freezor. So I met Mom and Dad at Wendy's in Shelby for lunch and to pickup the peas. Daddy loves to eat lunch at Wendy's. Mom wasn't so keen on it at first, but she likes it now too. They always want to sit at a table on the sunny window side and they like to visit with the other lunchtime regulars. Daddy especially loves to calculate how they can eat a satisfying lunch for about $2.50. Together. From the dollar menu with senior drink. Daddy can make a game out of just about anything.

So, we met at Wendy's and as I was leaving with my huge bucket of crowder peas, I realized I wasn't really sure what to do with them. They must have realized this too because on my way home, Daddy called my cell and said he and Mom could come by to help shell if I wanted them to. Thank heavens. Shelling can be tedious work, but I was more concerned about not really knowing how to freeze peas to Hunt specification. As my friend Gardner pointed out, we don't really hold peas to the same royalty as corn, but we probably should because they are alot better for us.

Mom and Dad arrived at my house and we spread newspaper out on the kitchen counter and dumped the peas onto the paper. We each had a bowl to put the shelled peas into and we each had a place to put our empty shells. Mom and Dad look the peas while they are shelling so they don't put bad ones into their bowls. Daddy says that Mama doesn't like any little ugly ones. These were beautiful peas, but did have a couple of worms. Daddy tried to tease Mama that he always put a worm or two in for seasoning, but Mama didn't bite. When the shelling was done, we all three had a pretty good bowl full of pretty peas, but of course Daddy pointed out he had the most. He looked the peas again before I was to wash them two times. I was instructed to put two big pots of water on to boil and to fill up both sides of my sink with cold water. While the pots were coming to a boil, I put the peas in one side of the sink and looked 'em one more time to make sure they are all pretty peas.

At this point, Mama and Daddy needed to leave, so here are the instructions I was given. Daddy said, "Just put them in the boiling water to blanche like corn. Not sure how long, but they turn a color that we like - kinda grey. You can tell. Cool them in one side of the sink to knock the real hot off, then cool in the other side with ice. They chill pretty fast. Not a big deal. Then bag and freeze. Looks like you might have about 8 pint packs when you're done."

I'm trying not to panic as they walk toward the door, when Mama says, "it's better if you don't try to put too many in each bag." And Daddy says, "do you have a strainer? That works pretty good." The door closed behind them.

So, there were what looked like thousands of peas in my sink and I needed to get them to the stove where the water was boiling. Good thing Dad mentioned the strainer, because it would take forever to corral all those peas any other way.

Checking for the grey color was interesting. I am familiar with how they are supposed to look, but had no idea how long it took. I can't say exactly how long it is because I forgot to check the time that I put them in until they had blanched for a while, but it is definitely longer than 20 minutes.

When the magic grey color is reached, pour the peas into a colander and then into the cold sink water. Transfer them to the other side of the sink with the ice water. You can do this with your hands at first and then you will definitely want the strainer. They do chill really fast so this is a quick process.

Use a slotted spoon to put into the bags and, no surprise, Mama was right. Don't put too many in there or it is hard to close the bag without mashing the peas.

I wasn't surprised when the yield was exactly eight pint bags. Just like Daddy said.

So, crowder peas are in the freezor and one day this winter it will be so easy to drop the peas into some boiling water with salt and wesson oil for seasoning. Crowder Peas, slaw and a cake of cornbread are food for the soul.

Fall Sports and all that goes with it

Cooking and Gardening have taken a back seat to Sports. Sports seasons never really start and stop at our house, but fall means tennis and football swing in to high gear.

I was the only one in the house who let my sport go for the summer, but playing tennis in 100+ heat and humidity just ain't my thing anymore. Fall tennis season is now underway with USTA league tennis and several local events and I am trying to get back into tennis shape - mentally and physically. My sister, Cindy, and I defended our Cleveland County 3.5 doubles title last weekend and managed to hold on to it. I might say Cindy managed to hold on to it. During parts of the matches, I had the feeling that I was standing on the court holding a racquet while Cindy was running around making the shots. Cindy doesn't mind playing in the heat and she has kept up play all summer. Her mixed doubles team heads to state championships in a few weeks. This fall, we are playing with 6 women on a 7.5 women's doubles team. Our first match was in Boone NC which is nearly two hours away. We lost the match, but stopped at a great Thai restaurant on the way home which made us all feel better. No way to get away from food, even in a sports blog! Our new tennis team is going to struggle, but we will improve over the season and we have alot of fun together.

David III is just getting back into golf after a couple of years and played several times over the summer here and there. The local course he typically plays has been under greens renovation so that gave him a reason to strike out and play a few other courses when he could find the time.

David IV and Jay worked out all summer to stay in shape before heading back to college where the pace steps up dramatically in Division I athletics. Jay is settling in at Gardner-Webb with classes starting and with pre-season basketball workouts. Pre-season workouts include running certain distances in certain times, working out with weights, shooting practice and playing pick up games. Basketball season will get underway in November.

So, right now it's Football season. We follow high school, college, and pro football, but our hearts are with David IV and the Wofford Terriers. After a long, hard, and very hot pre-season camp in August, the Wofford Football season began Labor Day weekend playing Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

David IV had enjoyed a great pre-season camp and was looking forward to his senior year of college football. Unfortunately, in the last few days of camp he developed an infection which had to be surgically removed - called I and D in medical speak. He also took high powered antibiotics. Fortunately, he is doing well and we are once again grateful for the doctors who helped guide us through a very scary time. Staff infections are common in contact sports, but have become more troublesome because some strains are very strong, dangerous and resistant to antibiotics. This is also true in the general population so learning the facts and taking precautions is a good idea for all of us. Good hand washing sounds so simple, but is the number one thing that helps. Most of us don't wash our hands long enough, so the suggestion is to wash with warm soapy water while singing three verses of Happy Birthday to You or Row Row Row your Boat! I'm trying my best not to go germ crazy, so if you see me singing while washing my hands you'll understand. Enough about germs. Just remember that your skin is your first line of defense so take good care of it.

There are alot of fun things about Wofford Football - 1) we love football in general and the whole chess match strategy that comes with it 2) we love going to places we would never have a reason to visit (like Athens, Ohio) 3) we love being with David and all of the players, parents and fans we have met through football.

Since David was on the injured list, he rode with us to Ohio for the first game. I guess this was bittersweet for him, but for me it was fun. Usually we don't see him until after a game on a game weekend, so we enjoyed having extra time with him. He had his ipod and did a great job of picking out songs to match the mood of the drive. Driving through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia, we heard Hootie and the Blowfish, Jason Aldean, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, and alot of other familiar and unfamiliar music. Picking out music to match the moment was hilarious at one point when David III needed to make a hairpin U-Turn that required perfect timing. We cracked up when David said, "Dad you can do it" and then his ipod started blaring Bad to the Bone!

Athens, Ohio is a pretty college town that reminded me of a cross between Chapel Hill and Boone. It is all about the old university there and has a hilly downtown area full of interesting shops, bars and restaurants. We found a neat restaurant downtown called Casa Nueva that featured mexican style food but with all locally grown ingredients. They were a part of the slow foods/local foods movement and the menu listed about 50 farms from the area where the restaurant bought all the vegetables and meats for their dishes. They made homemade tortillas and chips which were wonderful. They had eight or ten different salsas and the best pico de gallo ever. They also had several kinds of beer from Ohio micro breweries.

The weather was perfect for football and before the game we met up with a fun crowd of Wofford parents and fans for a tailgate. Teresa and Jamey brought their rocking RV up from Beaufort, SC and they were the homebase for the tailgate. When, we arrived, they already had a nice spread of food and were shagging to Carolina beach music. It was great to be together again after not seeing this crowd since last fall.

The game was fun and Wofford played pretty well. A few less turnovers could have meant the difference in the game, but Wofford made a decent showing for a non-conference game against a much larger school.

So, football season 2010 is underway and every weekend through November, we know where we will be and what we will be doing. Go Terriers!

Cooking on the Road - Crumb Top Apple Pie

Last week we took cooking on the road. To the Capitol City - Raleigh, North Carolina.

There is so much history as to how and why cooking happens in Raleigh that it would take a book. Dad has begun writing that book with amazing stories of the 22 years that he and Mom spent in the the NC Legislature in Raleigh. The stories are about politics, events and relationships. As usual, many of those relationships were bonded over cooking. Not just any cooking. Ruby's Cooking.

Ruby's Cooking used to be a noun and verb but it evolved into an event. There have been articles in Our State magazine and several newspaper columns over the years to describe Ruby's Cooking. The jist is that when Dad was in the legislature, he would call or maybe just run into someone somewhere and then invite them to come over to their Raleigh condo because Ruby's cooking. Over the years this included people (Dad calls them Ruby's customers) from the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government as well as reporters, family and friends from all over the place. These invitations were always last minute and it was always something people wanted to do. One reason was that after all of the required dinners that politicians attend, it was good to have real home cooking. Another reason was that everyone knew this was a family gathering so egos and agendas should be left at the front door. People knew that Ruby's Cooking would be a safe haven just like home is supposed to be. Mom and Dad have a lot of stories about various people who have come for dinner and what they liked to eat and how cute they were when they could just be themselves. I was present for a few of these events, but not all by any stretch so I'll leave those stories for others to tell. Mom and Dad can tell the stories, and also my sister, Judy can tell them. This is because Judy and Dad were both in the legislature for several years at the same time. At that time they were the only father/daughter in the NC legislature and maybe in the country. Judy served several counties in the Western North Carolina mountains and Daddy served three counties in the foothills.

Last week, we were cooking in Raleigh for a celebration of Judy's health and the doctors who helped her. Fifteen years ago, Judy had a kidney and pancreas transplant. Fifteen years later, she is very active and engaged in life. She has demonstrated huge amounts of courage and 'stick-to-it-ive-ness" (a word I learned from her). She has the intellect and the tenacity to stay up to date on health issues and to take control of her own health. She has also built strong relationships with the amazing doctors who help guide her through it all.

Judy set the menu and made the invitation calls. Mom and Dad supplied home frozen corn, home canned green beans, Mama's biscuits, Dad's special country ham, and fresh crowder peas from the garden. Dad asked me to make a Crumb Top Apple pie. I was also the driver. Being the driver to Raleigh events with Mom and Dad is always an adventure - more like a vacation than a duty. There are certain things that are rote. 1) We make sure we have diet coke with crushed ice for the trip 2) Dad likes to play the let's see if we can squeeze the entire trip out of one tank of gas game while Mom and I do not 3) There is always discussion about whether to go the old way or the new way. Mom and Dad love going the old way - highways 49 and 64 - because the pace is less hectic than I-85 and as Mom says, "the scenery is prettier". They also like to stop at a locally owned cafeteria in Siler City. Mom used to drive Dad back and forth to Raleigh for 22 years and she can tell you exactly where you are when you go the old way. She knows every tree and hill and stoplight. While Mom drove, Dad rested in the back seat of the car with his special pillow Quigley. In those days, Dad would work in his dental office from Friday thru Monday lunch. He would check on the Round Up on his way home from the dental office. Mom would pack their car for a four day stay in Raleigh and then drive the four hour trip to set up house in their Raleigh condo. It is amazing that they did this for 22 years.

So, we arrived in Raleigh last Monday evening and began preparations for Judy's celebration dinner to be held on Tuesday night. Dad fried the country ham, Mom and Dad made slaw and we all worked on other details. Judy's Raleigh condo is where Mom and Dad lived during the last years of their legislative terms. Later Judy and Hanse bought it. Hanse and I joked that we should all buy a condo in the same building so we would have kind of our own retirement building. Ironically, now Jackie has bought a condo there and Mom and Dad have bought another one. These are nice condos, but when you think of having a seated dinner party for 20 people it seems like an impossibility. At least now, we have three kitchens and all three were in use as Judy and Hanse made macaroni and cheese, Mom cooked a fresh turkey breast and the vegetables, Dad made pimiento cheese and I sliced tomatoes, onions, fruit, and made the apple pie. Mom also made 2 cakes of cornbread and cooked her special homemade biscuits. For appetizers we fried home grown squash.

Tuesday about 6 pm the guests started to arrive at Judy's condo and it really was a celebration. The doctors who are all in different locations now, were happy to reunite with each other and with Judy. I know how joyful we all are to have such a success story, but I can not really imagine being one of the doctors who were a part of pulling off this miracle. They are not only brilliant, but also such loving and caring people - real doctors as Judy says.

It was such a fun evening full of laughter and stories. The conversation was wonderful - from books, to politics, to sports, to medicine, to food, to friendship. As the guests were leaving, Dad wanted to give one of the transplant surgeons some unshelled crowder peas from the garden. The surgeon said, "can you teach me how to shell the peas". Dad said, "Well you're a surgeon, you should be able to do it." The transplant surgeon quipped, "Well I'm better at putting things in than taking things out!!" Hilarious. And thankful.

Nell's Crumb Top Apple Pie

I thought this was Mama Crowder's recipe until Mom told me she had gotten it from Nell Sperling.

Filling:

4 Cups Apples - use mostly green ones like Granny Smith and a few red ones
3/4 Cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Slice apples and cook in a small sauce pan over low heat with sugar and cinnamon until about 1/2 done. You want them to be cooked but firm, not mushy. Don't add water, there will be plenty of juice.

Crust:

Take a Pillsbury all ready pie crust and roll out into a pie pan. You can make your own crust, but these are good and they work for me.

Pour the cooked apples into the pie crust.

Topping:

1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Blend the topping ingredients until they are course crumbs. You can do this ahead of time or while the apples are cooking. Blend and scatter over pie.

Bake 35-40 mintues. Start at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 for rest of the time. Check to make sure the topping is cooked until melty and brown.

Pizza and Salad - Carol's Fantastic French Dressing

Homemade pizza was on my mind. And so was Carol's Fantastic French Dressing. Carol's French Dressing is really easy to make and everyone loves it.

The homemade pizza was easy once we decided on toppings. Jay wanted sausage and pepperoni. I wanted that plus green olives, red peppers and fresh parmesan cheese. Shelby said she liked everything. David wanted to add jalapenos. We all wanted tomato sauce and lots of mozzarella cheese.

I made up two rectangular pans with pizza crust and then everyone fixed their side the way they wanted it. (see May 26, 2010 blog post for pizza)

For the salad, we had iceberg lettuce, onion, red and green peppers. And Carol's dressing. Carol's dressing is sweet and tangy and it really goes a long way. I toss it into the salad before serving. It is surprising how little dressing is really needed. The recipe makes about a quart and will keep in the fridge for a while.

Carol's Fantastic French Dressing

1 cup salad oil (I usually use wesson vegetable oil)
1 cup sugar (I think you can reduce this a little bit)
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar (don't use balsamic - use cider)
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp minced onion (I grate the onion and rarely measure it)
Juice of 1 lemon (I use bottled lemon juice sometimes, a splash works)

Blend together with a wire whisk. Stores well in fridge.

Breakfast - Yogurt Parfait

Recently, breakfast has been a main gathering meal. We fixed eggs, grits, bacon and toast for a crowd of hungry college boys one day last week. Saturday morning we fixed the same for Jay and his friend, Shelby, who had flown in from Michigan. Sunday morning we fixed a spur of the moment, lighter breakfast for friends visiting from Raleigh.

Saturday night we drove down to Spartanburg, SC to watch the Wofford Terriers first football scrimmage of the season. After the rainy scrimmage, we met David and teammates Devin and Martin at a mexican restaurant. We enjoyed seeing the boys and the mexican food was great. It also came in giant quantities which is always important for these guys.

The mexican restaurant was near The Fresh Market in Spartanburg so we migrated over there. We love The Fresh Market. Actually we love going to grocery stores in general. But we cannot pass any Fresh Market anywhere without going inside. No trip to The Fresh Market is complete without buying Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee, some kind of great bread and bacon. On this trip to the Spartanburg store, we found the coffee, English Toasting bread, All Natural 8 Grain Bread, and Hickory Smoked Bacon.

Fortunately we made that Fresh Market trip, because our friends Steve and Patty were in town and we invited them last minute to come over for Sunday morning breakfast.

David made Cinnamon Hazelnut coffee and fried a ton of Hickory Smoked Fresh Market bacon. I fixed a bowl of fruit and buttered and toasted both kinds of Fresh Market bread. Then, I decided to make yogurt parfaits. I have never really liked yogurt that much, but once when we were in a hotel in Raleigh, we tried their yogurt parfait and it was really good. I asked the chef how he made it and he laughed and said it was just vanilla yogurt, fresh blueberries and granola. I love a recipe with three ingredients.

Sometimes I make these in a pretty parfait glass. Other times I have made them to go in a plastic cup. Either way they are quick, easy, healthy and good.

Yogurt Parfaits

In a glass or cup layer:

a little Granola (I use Cascadian Farms Oat and Honey)
a few fresh blueberries
Activia Vanilla Flavored Yogurt
Top with a little more granola and fresh blueberries

Blest Be the Tie That Binds - Spangler Reunion

The Spangler Family Reunion is held on the 3rd Sunday in August at Double Shoals Baptist Church in Lawndale, North Carolina. This has been going on for 103 years. Or so. The 100th anniversary of the Spangler reunion was celebrated in 2007. The reunion actually started out as a birthday party sometime in the early 1900s for Barbra Hendrick Spangler. Originally the party was held at Barbra's home. Barbra died in 1914, but the reunion of the family members continued circulating around several homes and dates. In 1947, the reunion had outgrown everyone's homes so it was moved to Double Shoals Baptist Church where is it still held every 3rd Sunday in August.

Barbra Spangler's birthday was the origin of the Spangler reunion, but the Spangler family that gathers are decendants of Spengler's who came to America from Germany in the 1700's. The spelling of the name changed somewhere along the way, but it is clear that the Cleveland County Spanglers decended from farmer Absalom Spangler. Barbra married Absalom's son, Jonathan Spangler, in 1856. Barbra and Jonathan were both 19 years old when they married and I can only imagine the hopes and dreams they had when they started off their lives together living a farm life in Lawndale. There are many stories of all the challenges that came their way over the years, but they were determined and strong people who kept their faith and family together through it all. They had five children, four boys and a girl, and the generations that followed are those who still get together every August in Lawndale.

The Spanglers were a very prolific family. At the 100th Anniversary of the reunion in 2007, there were over 400 Spangler relatives in attendance. That was a really big year. This year there were about 250 people present. It's a lot to keep up with, so the organizers developed a way to help everybody understand how they were connected. Barbra and Jonathan's five children and all those who follow were given different colored name tags. The Spanglers are very sociable people so they even have a name tag color especially for Guests. Our family name tag color is Blue since we are decendants of Barbra and Jonathan's son, Jim. It is always interesting to see people that I didn't realize were related and the tag colors really do help to figure out the connections.

The reunion begins at Noon with everyone gathering in the sanctuary of the church. There is a short business meeting and then a program. Carl Spangler presides over the meeting and Theresa Spangler Lowe brings everyone up to date on births, deaths and marriages that have occurred since the last reunion. Theresa has done an amazing amount of work on Spangler history. She has published a history of The Spanglers and a book of Spangler and other letters written during the Civil War. She has researched many court records and visited many gravesites to learn dates and other information from the tombstones. This year, she read a poem called The Dash. The theme of the poem is that what really matters in a person's life is not the birth or death date on their tombstone, but what happens during the dash.

The reunion program always ends with everyone standing and singing the hymn Blest Be The Tie That Binds. It's a great ending to that part of the reunion because alot of times you find yourself wondering why you make the effort to go to the reunion in the first place. But, when you are reminded of what your ancestors lives must have been like, and that they had hopes and dreams and fears and struggles just like we all do; standing and singing with extended family does give you a feeling of courage and strength and peace.

Next comes what everyone has been anticipating - the food. The Spanglers are good cooks. Period. The food at the Spangler reunion is always good. Traditionally, everyone brings their most special homemade dish for the Spangler reunion. My grandmother, Vada Spangler Crowder, was a really good cook. And so was her sister, Veva C. They had a little running battle about who had the best cucumber pickles or pie or whatever they had brought that year. Mama always takes ham biscuits and sometimes homemade pimiento cheese sandwiches. Mama and Daddy couldn't get there this year, but last minute Libby and I decided to go. I really mean last minute because we decided about 10:30 Sunday morning, so there wasn't alot of time to fix homemade food. I had several kinds of fruit so I cut that up to make a fruit bowl. Libby decided on fried chicken that she acquired and brought to my house. We put the fried chicken in a big cast iron chicken fryer and sprinkled a little red and black pepper over it. When we arrived at the church a little late, the reunion was already in progress. So, we slipped into the fellowship hall and put our dishes on one of the two long tables full of everyone's special recipes. We giggled because we really are both pretty good cooks and have many specialities, but this year, we had to rely on quick and doable or miss the reunion altogether.

All of the Spangler reunion food was delicious and it was fun catching up with folks. Also, it turns out people really like fruit and fried chicken. After the meal, we went to collect the fruit bowl and frying pan and both were completely empty.

It was a thought provoking day at Double Shoals Church and I am so glad that Libby and I decided spur of the moment to celebrate the tie that binds.

Blest Be the Tie That Binds

I am guessing everyone knows how to cut up fruit and acquire fried chicken, so instead of a recipe - here are the words to the hymn:

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.

We share each other’s woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

This glorious hope revives
Our courage by the way;
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.

From sorrow, toil and pain,
And sin, we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity

BBQ, Ribs and Cornhole

Cooking Lessons and gatherings continued last weekend with BBQ and Ribs. BBQ and Rib Cooking call for David III to bring out the Big Cooker. I nicknamed the Big Cooker 'Gretel', because it truly is big enough to have played a starring role in the Hansel and Gretel story. But most everybody just calls it the Big Cooker. And big it is. It is big enough to cook many pounds of pork, beef, chicken or turkey all at one time. The Big Cooker is powered with a propane gas tank which fires wood that pours smoke into a huge chamber with a rotisserie. David usually uses hickory smoke for BBQ and Ribs and the rotisserie has long shelves which slowly rotate to give the meat the best smoked flavor. Ribs take about 2 or 3 hours to cook, but BBQ shoulders or butts cook for about half a day. David likes to cook Boston Butts because they have less waste than shoulders.

So, last weekend, David IV and Jay and a few friends wanted to cook BBQ and Ribs for a last hurrah before everyone started heading back to college. David III also wanted to cook BBQ and Ribs for some nieces and nephews heading for a different gathering. This amount of cooking definitely called for the Big Cooker. Boston Butts go into the cooker early in the morning and require very little preparation. Baby Back Ribs go in later, but require a dry rub of the Rib Spice. David III teases about keeping the Rib Spice recipe a secret by giving one part of the recipe to Jay and the other part to David IV. Together, they mix up the blend of spices and rub them into the ribs before placing the ribs into the cooker. After checking on the Butts and Ribs throughout the day, the whole neighborhood takes on a smoky flavorful aroma.

When we serve BBQ in Shelby, NC we serve red BBQ Slaw, not green slaw. This is one of those things that can fuel an argument, but we stand firm on this one. Red slaw is chopped cabbage with a vinegar and ketchup base, but does not contain mayo.

David chops the BBQ coarsely making sure to have plenty of the crispy browned edges which are most everybody's favorite part. I would put his chopped hickory smoked Boston Butt, fresh from the Big Cooker served on a bun with red slaw, a little BBQ sauce and just a shake or two of Tabasco, up against any BBQ anywhere.

David cuts the BBQ Ribs close to the bone on one side so that each piece has plenty of the juicy, spicy, smoky rib meat. Yum. You'll need several paper towels and probably some toothpicks, but that flavor is worth it.

To go along with BBQ Boston Butt and Ribs, we serve fresh fruit, Beth's baked beans, chips and brownies with ice cream.

And then there is Cornhole which, for a change, has nothing to do with eating corn.

The first time I ever heard of Cornhole was several years ago at a party with friends Doug and Annette. Since then, Cornhole seems to be everywhere. Our nephew, Jackson, started making Cornhole Sets consisting of two regulation sized slanted cornhole boards and the corn bags to go along with them. He paints and then finishes them with a hard auto body finish. We asked him to make a set for David IV's 21st birthday and they truly are a work of art. They are also indestructible which is important because David has kept them in his truck and pulled out for use wherever folks are gathering.

Cornhole is fun because most people can play and, it can be played with any number of teams or individuals. When people are playing cornhole, there is friendly competition, but mostly alot of cheering or grimacing when the corn bag slides on the board, off the board or miraculously drops through the hole. There's no hurry with cornhole. It's alot like horsehoes in that it is a relaxed pitching game. It's played at a slow and easy pace that feels like old times. Cornhole is the perfect game to go along with a dinner of slow cooked BBQ and Ribs from the Big Cooker.

Sushi

On Wednesday night we shifted the cooking to our friend Jeanette. I can count on one hand the number of times we have turned cooking over to someone else, but Jeanette is a good bet. She and her friend Andrew opened a fusion restaurant in Shelby called Nifen. It was an excellent restaurant because of the food and the atmosphere and we were sorry when it closed in 2005. Both Jeanette and Andrew have remained friends of ours and we have actually cooked for them a couple of times. That's a little scary, but I can always count on corn and cornbread to make them happy.

This time Jeanette did the cooking because the boys wanted to learn to make sushi. All summer long, David and Jay have been talking about learning to make sushi. This was out of my range, so I called for a professional and Jeanette came to the rescue. She gave me a grocery list and she brought a few items from an Asian specialty store. There are two things that you have to have for making sushi - sushi rice because it is stickier than regular rice and something to wrap the sushi like seaweed or soy paper. I prefer soy paper, but we couldn't find it, so we used nori (seaweed) wraps. Once you have sushi rice and a sushi wrap, you can add most anything to make sushi.

We decided to make California rolls. The sushi rice was pressed firmly onto the wrap, Jeanette added strips of avocado, crab or shrimp and rolled into a tight roll. You can use a bamboo roller to make really tight rolls, but Jeanette did it with her bare hands. After all, she is a professional! After rolling the sushi, Jeanette sliced it into medium thin slices and arranged it artfully on a platter.

She also made sashimi which is rice pressed into little football shapes (a job she turned over to David IV) and covered with tuna, grouper or Scottish salmon. We had four sauces - Ponzu, Ginger, Shrimp, Soy. We also had pickled ginger and really hot Wasabi to top off our sushi. The kick of Wasabi can make your nose sting and your eyes water. And it always makes me laugh, because it reminds me of John Belushi on the old Saturday night live skit - W-A-S-A-B-I!

It turns out that making sushi is alot like making anything else. Once you have the basics down, you can tweak it with various ingredients and amounts that suit you. Learning to arrange it artfully on the platter may take a little practice!

Weeding, Corn Shocks and Spur of the Moment Dinners

Well, it's hard to believe this is the last week both boys are home for Summer 2010. David leaves for Wofford this Sunday. Classes start later on, but the football team begins their Fall Practice Monday morning. Jay will be home for a couple of weeks and then will be moving in to Gardner-Webb. GWU Basketball summer workouts have just wrapped up. So, for the last few days and a few more to come, we are making the most of having the boys with us under one roof. It has been a joy to have them home together this summer. It took a little adjusting for all of us to get use to the hours of college age boys versus 50something parents, but we all survived it and have enjoyed our time together.

Both boys have been busy working part-time, working out to stay in shape for sports, and also helping out around the house and garden. Recently, David worked on weeding the tomato plants and Jay helped with the corn freezing. After the corn freezing was done in July, David and Jay went to Mom and Dad's farm in Lattimore to cut stalks and make corn shocks. The corn is cut from the cross tie beds, stood up vertically on a wooden frame and tied at the top. Dried corn shocks were preserved to feed the cows through fall and winter. Mostly today, they are a fall decoration and reminder of days gone by.

We have had our share of summer fun with short visits here and there and with lots of people in and out of our house. During this last week of having the boys home, we have had alot of gatherings to cap off summer. Wofford Football teammates as well as other friends came for Sunday night dinner. GWU Basketball teammates came for Tuesday night dinner on the way to the airport. Both dinners were very spur of the moment so we decided what to serve based on what was on sale that day. I learned that from Mom and Dad. Dad scrutinizes the newspaper ads and always knows what is on sale at which grocery store. So, on Sunday night we had buy-one-get-one-free pork tenderloin which David grilled over charcoal, tossed salad with Carol's Fantastic French Dressing, Fresh Fruit, and Steve Royster's potatoes. For dessert, we had buy two-get three free Ice Cream. On Tuesday night, we had hamburgers which David grilled over charcoal, green beans, fresh fruit and more ice cream.

David has grilling down. He has an interesting collection of grills; charcoal, gas, hybrids, big grills, little grills, and grills on wheels. He grills year round at home, at tailgates, at fundraisers, at schools, at the lake, at the beach; pretty much anywhere. He grills meat of every variety and uses spices of every variety. Everyone is happy when David is grilling.