A friend and I were talking about how we sometimes have good intentions to show people how much we care about them, but too many times we let the moment pass. Fortunately, as we try to regain our equilibrium since Kathie left this world, friends and family have not let moments pass. It is amazing how people react in times of tragedy. I keep thinking of the line in one of my favorite movies, Starman, when Jeff Bridges says, "people are at their best when things are at their worst". The people in our lives have somehow known exactly what to do and when to do it. BBQ, Ribs, pound cake, brownies, muffins, and pie appeared when 25 people were suddenly coming for dinner. Late one night a breakfast casserole, ready to bake in the morning, arrived. Pizza was delivered when it was what everyone needed. Ham biscuits and pimiento cheese were on David's mind and soon appeared. Flowers, calls, visits, personal stories, and some very sweet notes have lifted our spirits every day. Carol made Fruited Chicken Salad more than one time for more than one household. Friends invited us to get away to the beach for a few days. Everything has been just what we needed, just when we needed it.
Months ago, we had planned a trip with friends to Asheville to see The Temptations. Since our 50th birthdays, we have made it a priority to see several concerts every year. We have seen some great ones, including Chicago, Van Morrison, Elton John and Billy Joel, James Taylor and Carole King. We had been looking forward to The Temptations and they did not disappoint us. They put on a great show on the South Terrace of the Biltmore House.
The weather was beautiful for an outdoor concert and the panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains is always breathtaking. We have seen several concerts at the Biltmore estate and it is one of our favorite venues. The show was vintage Temptations with Otis Williams being the lone original, but all five singers dressed in black tuxedos, belted out their part of the melody or harmony and danced the trademark steps. The choreography was great and the theme of the show was all about Love. Participation was encouraged throughout the show with calls from the stage for women to stand and sing or for men to stand and sing; or for everyone to sing together. Everyone in the audience knew most of the words to most every song. It is impossible to listen to Temptations music and not dance. Some people stood up to dance, some moved to the back of the audience to dance. Alot of people danced sitting in their chairs; shoulders moving, heads bobbing, hands clapping and feet tapping.
At one point, Otis Williams cajoled all the men to stand and sing to their lady. Then he said he always noticed a few men who didn't want to participate. He wanted everyone to participate. Otis turned and said to his singers, "boys, it's time for us to start selling from the book of little things. So Otis starting telling the men what was in the book of little things - giving her a rose, serving breakfast in bed, looking her in the eyes and singing to her. Magically, I think every single man stood up and started singing just like Otis told them to. They did not let that moment pass.
The Temptations gave the entire audience a sweet reminder that just giving a little bit of yourself is the best way to show someone you love them. Friends and family have opened up the book of little things for us lately. So, thank you.
Carol's Fruited Chicken Salad
4 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 15 oz can pineapple chunks, drained
1 11 oz can mandarin oranges sections, drained
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup grapes, halved
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp grated onion
1 cup mayo (she says she never uses this much!)
1 Tbsp mustard
8 servings
Friday, July 23, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Kathie
The world won't stop turning. That's what Mom and Dad have said to me over the years when I faced troubling times. The world won't stop turning. But on July 13th, the world definitely wobbled.
My sweet potato queen sister-in-law who was full of love, fun, laughter, drive, passion and courage, left this world.
Kathie faced a lifetime of challenges but she did not let that get in the way of what she knew was her life's work. I loved the scripture chosen to honor her. (John 9:1-3)...."but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in her life".
Kathie had great powers of observation and persuasion. She could get people to try to do things they had never done. She had an ability to see potential and talent in everyone. With some, the talent was obvious, with others not so obvious. Either way, she flourished when she was helping someone else flourish. She did this on stage, off stage and in real life.
I will never forget the kind way she welcomed me into the house one Christmas eve when David and I were dating. She met me at the door and reached out to hold both of my hands. She looked me straight in the eyes, smiled and said "my brother is in love". On Valentine's Day the next year, David and I went to a dinner theatre to watch Kathie perform in a play. She was fantastic. After the play, David asked me to marry him. I reminded Kathie of that not long ago and we laughed because the play was "Laundry and Bourbon".
Kathie loved playing dress up and she loved to dress other people up too. On our wedding day, she stood up and made a toast and then she gave me a picture in a heart shaped frame. The picture is of David at about age 4 after Kathie had dressed him up in a wig with long blonde pigtails! I love that picture.
A few years ago, Kathie, Ali, Cindy, Barbara and I dressed up in tiaras, sequin dresses, curly red wigs, and cat's eye sunglasses to ride in the Lattimore 4th of July parade. We stood up in the back of a pickup truck and danced the entire parade route to Aretha singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T. That was a very FESTIVE day. Kathie encouraged being festive. So much so, that after she had left for the Mayo Clinic last October, a package arrived at my door. It was from Kathie - a sweet note and a box full of special festive wine glasses. I will forever cherish the glasses and especially the sweet note.
When David and Jay were born, she was there with welcome home signs and balloons. When they were in elementary school, our summers were planned around SHS Children's Theatre so both boys could experience Kathie's magic. In middle school and high school the boys made lasting friends and memories in plays like "Guys and Dolls" and "Hello Dolly". In SHS drama productions, they learned a lot about theatre and a lot about life.
They certainly weren't the only ones. We knew Kathie had a big impact on alot of people, but the cards, letters, flowers, food, hugs, and the many shared stories have been truly amazing and wonderful. Some stories have been tearful. A lot have been hilarious. All have been a real reminder of the difference one person can make. And a reminder that teaching is a very powerful profession.
To no ones surprise, Kathie kind of directed her own funeral service. Bobby, Quinn, the extended family, the SHS family and the First Baptist Church family stayed focused on honoring Kathie. Fantastic effort was made by Traci, Amy, Rachel, John, Cliff, Jordan, Brady, Lee, Meredith and so many past and present SHS students to get to Shelby in time to practice and sing for Kathie. I couldn't help but think of the movie "White Christmas" when the band members and singers come from all directions to honor their former general.
They completely nailed the music. Quinn spoke eloquently. Tony Tench's eulogy was inspired and inspiring. A more powerful service I have never attended. The words, the music and the emotions were full of love, passion and truth.
So, the world hasn't stopped turning, but it will definitely be different for many from now on. Kathie really did 'live a life worthy of her calling'. (Ephesians 4:1) That's something we can all try to do.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Corn Freezing Days
Note: Will upload pic of Lattimore corn freezing when I can find them!
Corn freezing days came early this year. Usually, we freeze corn around the second week in July, but this year the corn came in on July 2, and 5th and 8th. That made for some interesting schedule changes, but when it comes to corn, arrangements have to be made.
We are corn fanatics. Carol says we are corn snobs. Both are true.
Daddy plants corn in Lattimore in late April. It is silver queen and only silver queen. They irrigate, weed and spray for critters and in about 90 days it is ready for the 'first pick'. Daddy has a special relationship with his corn. He enjoys every aspect of corn from preparing the crosstie beds, to planting, to each phase of growth, to checking every day for the perfect time to pick. We tease him about talking to the corn. After all, they do have ears.
And then there is the freezing phase. The main goal is to get the corn from field to freezor in under three hours to preserve the sweetness of the corn. The longer it takes the more starchy the corn will taste. Corn at it's peak is better than candy, so we go to great lengths to make the freezing a fast and efficient process.
Corn freezing day starts a few days early with Daddy calling to say it might be Thursday, or Friday but it probably won't wait for Saturday. So for several days we are juggling to make sure that whatever day it is we can be there to help. The night before the day he calls to say that they will start picking early the next morning. We gather the right pots, vegetable brushes, towels, and lots of pint sized freezor bags. And then there is the knife. It is very peculiar about knives, but all of the corn cutters have a specific knife that works. I bring my own and so does Libby. She even has her initials on hers so it doesn't get mixed up with the others. Mama Crowder kept a piece of freezor tape around the handle of her special knife.
So the freezing process begins in Lattimore with Abel and others picking the corn in big green bags. They pick one row at a time so the corn doesn't sit a long time in the sun. Then all the corn shuckers and silkers gather near the playhouse, under a huge oak tree. They sit in a wide variety of chairs, in a circle, with corn piled in the middle. This year, Cindy, David, Jackson, Mary Beth, Will, Able, Gustavo, Paula, John, Austin, Elsa and maybe a few others came to shuck and silk. The conversation is always very interesting with a mixture of English, Spanish and Spanglish. I miss this part these days because I am a cutter so I spend most of my time in the kitchen.
In the kitchen, we are griping our special knives, arranging bowls, boiling water and filling sinks full of ice and cold water. When the shucked and silked corn is brought in, we wash in the utility sink and then bring into the kitchen. Daddy and Mama have two big pots that they use for the blanching. They like to put 27 ears into each pot and they blanche for about 10 minutes. When the kitchen timer buzzes, we remove the corn to a pot of water to take the first heat out of it, then it is placed in the sink to begin cooling. There is alot of sloshing of water, especially when Daddy is helping, and we use alot of towels during this phase!
We cool the corn in one side of the sink and then add ice to the other side to cool it down as fast as possible. To know if an ear is cooled all the way to the cob, Daddy will pick out an ear and hold it to see if it stays cool. When he declares it cool enough, we remove all the ears and place on a towel to drain off excess water. Then the cutting process starts. Mama and Daddy want corn OFF the cob.
Cutting the corn off the cob brings back memories of days gone by when Mama Crowder, Nishie and Sis were the cutters. They would stand around the chopping block with corn piled high in the middle and slowly cut each kernel perfectly, making sure to get NO COBs into the sweet tender corn. The entire time they cut, they would be talking and laughing and telling stories. Sometimes when there is alot of corn to cut, it can get pretty tedious and they could make this a party. I loved being in there hearing them talk and laugh, so about the time I was 14 years old, I picked up a knife and gave cutting a try. I am now 54 years old and I almost know how to do it to Hunt quality specification. It takes alot of practice but I keep working on it.
When the corn is cut, Mama or Libby or Penny place it carefully in pint sized zip lock freezor bags (about 7-8 big spoonfuls in a bag). It is important not to get the bag sticky with corn which is nearly impossible and to seal the bags carefully. The bags are labelled with the date and if Mama thinks it necessary she may make a notation on the outside. A or B might mean something about the crop that time, or she may make a note known only to herself that would let her know something like who did the cutting that day.
The corn is then put on trays to be taken to the basement freezor which has previously been rearranged so that new corn and old corn aren't mixed up.
There is alot of counting that goes on with the corn process. We keep a running tab of the number of bags that have gone to the freezor and the number of cobs that have been cut. It is always the duty of one of the younger boys to pick up the cob buckets from the kitchen, take them to the pasture and throw each one counting one at a time, over the fence to the cows.
We have alot of guessing about number of cobs and number of bags and what the yield will be that year. Daddy loves to count most everything and Mama just likes to know that she has at least 100 new bags in the freezor each year. This is because all throughout the year when the Hunt crowd gathers or if Daddy and Mama have a Raleigh Ruby's cooking or if she wants to take corn to someone's family during a crisis, she will have plenty of fresh tasting silver queen at her fingertips. And it is always appreciated because it really is the best corn ever.
So, this year, we did corn on July 2nd - 70 pints and July 5th - 70 pints. The 3rd picking on July 8 was brought to my house because the Lattimore freezor is full of corn. Thankfully Daddy sends Abel to help shuck and silk, and Jay and Carol came to help. We ended up with 20 pints of cut and 21 ears of 'on the cob'.
There is nothing more satisfying to a corn fanatic than to know that there is fresh frozen corn in the freezor.
Corn freezing days came early this year. Usually, we freeze corn around the second week in July, but this year the corn came in on July 2, and 5th and 8th. That made for some interesting schedule changes, but when it comes to corn, arrangements have to be made.
We are corn fanatics. Carol says we are corn snobs. Both are true.
Daddy plants corn in Lattimore in late April. It is silver queen and only silver queen. They irrigate, weed and spray for critters and in about 90 days it is ready for the 'first pick'. Daddy has a special relationship with his corn. He enjoys every aspect of corn from preparing the crosstie beds, to planting, to each phase of growth, to checking every day for the perfect time to pick. We tease him about talking to the corn. After all, they do have ears.
And then there is the freezing phase. The main goal is to get the corn from field to freezor in under three hours to preserve the sweetness of the corn. The longer it takes the more starchy the corn will taste. Corn at it's peak is better than candy, so we go to great lengths to make the freezing a fast and efficient process.
Corn freezing day starts a few days early with Daddy calling to say it might be Thursday, or Friday but it probably won't wait for Saturday. So for several days we are juggling to make sure that whatever day it is we can be there to help. The night before the day he calls to say that they will start picking early the next morning. We gather the right pots, vegetable brushes, towels, and lots of pint sized freezor bags. And then there is the knife. It is very peculiar about knives, but all of the corn cutters have a specific knife that works. I bring my own and so does Libby. She even has her initials on hers so it doesn't get mixed up with the others. Mama Crowder kept a piece of freezor tape around the handle of her special knife.
So the freezing process begins in Lattimore with Abel and others picking the corn in big green bags. They pick one row at a time so the corn doesn't sit a long time in the sun. Then all the corn shuckers and silkers gather near the playhouse, under a huge oak tree. They sit in a wide variety of chairs, in a circle, with corn piled in the middle. This year, Cindy, David, Jackson, Mary Beth, Will, Able, Gustavo, Paula, John, Austin, Elsa and maybe a few others came to shuck and silk. The conversation is always very interesting with a mixture of English, Spanish and Spanglish. I miss this part these days because I am a cutter so I spend most of my time in the kitchen.
In the kitchen, we are griping our special knives, arranging bowls, boiling water and filling sinks full of ice and cold water. When the shucked and silked corn is brought in, we wash in the utility sink and then bring into the kitchen. Daddy and Mama have two big pots that they use for the blanching. They like to put 27 ears into each pot and they blanche for about 10 minutes. When the kitchen timer buzzes, we remove the corn to a pot of water to take the first heat out of it, then it is placed in the sink to begin cooling. There is alot of sloshing of water, especially when Daddy is helping, and we use alot of towels during this phase!
We cool the corn in one side of the sink and then add ice to the other side to cool it down as fast as possible. To know if an ear is cooled all the way to the cob, Daddy will pick out an ear and hold it to see if it stays cool. When he declares it cool enough, we remove all the ears and place on a towel to drain off excess water. Then the cutting process starts. Mama and Daddy want corn OFF the cob.
Cutting the corn off the cob brings back memories of days gone by when Mama Crowder, Nishie and Sis were the cutters. They would stand around the chopping block with corn piled high in the middle and slowly cut each kernel perfectly, making sure to get NO COBs into the sweet tender corn. The entire time they cut, they would be talking and laughing and telling stories. Sometimes when there is alot of corn to cut, it can get pretty tedious and they could make this a party. I loved being in there hearing them talk and laugh, so about the time I was 14 years old, I picked up a knife and gave cutting a try. I am now 54 years old and I almost know how to do it to Hunt quality specification. It takes alot of practice but I keep working on it.
When the corn is cut, Mama or Libby or Penny place it carefully in pint sized zip lock freezor bags (about 7-8 big spoonfuls in a bag). It is important not to get the bag sticky with corn which is nearly impossible and to seal the bags carefully. The bags are labelled with the date and if Mama thinks it necessary she may make a notation on the outside. A or B might mean something about the crop that time, or she may make a note known only to herself that would let her know something like who did the cutting that day.
The corn is then put on trays to be taken to the basement freezor which has previously been rearranged so that new corn and old corn aren't mixed up.
There is alot of counting that goes on with the corn process. We keep a running tab of the number of bags that have gone to the freezor and the number of cobs that have been cut. It is always the duty of one of the younger boys to pick up the cob buckets from the kitchen, take them to the pasture and throw each one counting one at a time, over the fence to the cows.
We have alot of guessing about number of cobs and number of bags and what the yield will be that year. Daddy loves to count most everything and Mama just likes to know that she has at least 100 new bags in the freezor each year. This is because all throughout the year when the Hunt crowd gathers or if Daddy and Mama have a Raleigh Ruby's cooking or if she wants to take corn to someone's family during a crisis, she will have plenty of fresh tasting silver queen at her fingertips. And it is always appreciated because it really is the best corn ever.
So, this year, we did corn on July 2nd - 70 pints and July 5th - 70 pints. The 3rd picking on July 8 was brought to my house because the Lattimore freezor is full of corn. Thankfully Daddy sends Abel to help shuck and silk, and Jay and Carol came to help. We ended up with 20 pints of cut and 21 ears of 'on the cob'.
There is nothing more satisfying to a corn fanatic than to know that there is fresh frozen corn in the freezor.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Summer's Half Over - Boneless Chicken with Squash, Zucchini and Onions
Blueberries, peaches, tomatoes, jalapenos, corn, crowder peas, squash, and zucchini are coming in like crazy. Sunflowers and zinnias are in full swing. Zinnias of every size and color are my favorite summer flower.
Yesterday, I bought peaches from Harvey Webb's peach stand. I chuckled when I saw a sketch someone had drawn of 'Harvey' in his overalls. The caption said, " 'Knobby' - we know it's really you Harvey!". Knobby has been the talk of the summer since a fellow up in Casar called 911 at 3 am and swore he had just seen a sasquatch named Knobby. It made international news for heaven's sake and one local entrepreneur has printed T-Shirts that say "Knobby don't believe in you either!" Someone else explained that maybe moonshine and meth don't mix.
Anyway, I had a good laugh at Harvey's peach stand and I also have a huge box of fresh peaches to enjoy and to share.
Since we are on the downhill side of summer now, it feels good to think of ways to eat the fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables that are plentiful right now. And after all that pursuing of happiness during 4th of July, we are ready to slow it down, eat healthy and enjoy the simple things in life.
The boys are winding up summer jobs and starting to think about getting in shape for their return to college life. It's hard to believe, but David IV will be heading to Wofford for his senior year of college. Football camp will start the first of August so he announced this morning that he is going to focus the rest of the summer on getting in shape for football. Jay has spent the last year at NC State, but now has an opportunity to play basketball at Gardner-Webb University. Basketball has always been a passion for Jay and playing for a Division I team is a dream come true. He starts summer workouts this week and is also focused on getting in top shape.
David III has requested healthy cooking, so I am pretty focused on trying to think of healthy and good things to fix with all the fresh, wonderful food that is available right now. I remembered that this time of year Mama cooks Chicken with vegetables and that is what we had for supper last night. Mama typically does this in an electric frying pan, but it works in any skillet.
Boneless chicken with Squash, Zucchini and Onions
cube boneless breasts
saute in olive oil, a little fresh thyme, garlic, salt and pepper.
add sliced squash, zucchini, and onions and saute lightly.
Sprinkle in a little soy sauce.
Serve chicken and vegetables over rice. Slice up some fresh peaches and tomatoes.
This is easy and so good, it might bring out the sasquatch!
4th of July - Fried Squash
The buildup of summer peaks with Fourth of July celebrations. Maybe it peaks because of the heat, or the realization that summer is halfway gone, or a connection we feel as Americans to the spirit of fire, defiance and independence of the founding fathers. For me, it is a combination of all three.
I have always loved history, but my earliest images of America's founding fathers had to do with wooden teeth, white powdered hair and staid speeches about how America was the 'shining city on the hill' that was meant to be. As a History major in college, I was mesmerized by studying the personal stories of the Revolutionary War characters and how the series of events may have never unfolded without these people's desire and passion to create a new kind of government. I'll never forget one professor's description of Thomas Jefferson as 'a red headed hippie'. The government that they argued with each other to create included a framework of checks and balances. But, the specifics were purposefully not set in stone so that it could be an ongoing experiment; with room for future citizens to continue to govern themselves. I think they would be excited to know that we are still experimenting and arguing over how it should all work, and that it is still worth the debate.
So, for me, the 4th of July is a celebration of wild, wacky, defiant ancestors who threw caution to the wind and made an attempt to create a place where everyone had a chance at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
My July 4th memories begin in Lattimore with camp outs on the farm. We celebrated the 4th with a campout, cookout, sparklers, homemade ice cream and birthday cake for my sister, Penny. Penny was born at Fort Bragg, NC on the 4th of July. How patriotic can it get!
At our Lattimore 4th of July campouts, The Hunt, Martin, Sperling, McMurray, Crawley families and other friends gathered under a big tree near the pond with campfires and sleeping bags. Sometimes, the adults put mattresses on flatbed trucks and slept there. Of course, everyone slept in their clothes and there is a hilarious picture of three men sleeping, all with split seams in the back of their pants.
The first time I ever went frog gigging was at one of those July 4th campouts. Tim Martin and I along with several others got into a flat bottomed boat with 2 oars and rowed out onto the fish pond. We rowed around the edges looking for where the loud, croaking sounds came from and gigged the frogs out of the mud with a pole that had fork tines on the end. When we pulled the frog gig up, Tim would swing the wide flat part of the oar under the frog and flip it into the boat. I remember him comparing it to flipping a burger. "Burger that frog!" became the rallying cry of the night.
When we had enough frogs, we went back to the campfire to cook frog legs. I don't remember who dressed the frogs, but I am betting it was Carl or Tim. We cooked the frog legs in a cast iron frying pan over the campfire and they really did taste alot like chicken. It was the middle of the night; we had experienced wildness and liberty in the wide open spaces and that was about the best feeling in the world.
Lattimore summers in the 60s included a small parade with all the area kids on bicycles that we decorated with red, white and blue streamers. We tied the streamers through the spokes of our bikes and wound them all around the handlebars. Someone would start the parade and when it came by each house, kids would fall in line. We would ride to Lattimore church, park our bikes and march inside to songs like "America the Beautiful" and that was the start of Vacation Bible School. In Bible school, we practiced Bible drills, made crafts, sang songs, had snacks and then rode our bikes back home.
Lattimore still has a 4th of July parade which is much bigger and more organized. A few years ago Cindy and I, along with sister-in-law Kathie, Barbara and several other friends, dressed up like Sweet Potato Queens and rode the Lattimore parade in the back of a pickup truck. We wore long curly red wigs, black cat's eye glasses, sequin dresses and danced the entire parade to Aretha's R-E-S-P-E-C-T. It's a joyful time when liberation and good clean fun come together!
This year, I missed the parade, but I did get to Lattimore Church in time for the celebration. Now the parade winds up at the Lattimore Church ballfield where everything is festive in red, white and blue. Veterans of all ages are honored for their service and then there is music, food and games. It's like a community's family reunion and I always love to be there.
After the Lattimore festivities, we head to Lake Lure for more celebration. This includes more families, more friends and friends of friends. We have alot of friends at the Lake and we roam from house to house on foot or by boat. We swim, walk, kayak, ski, enjoy libations, cook, eat, and cook some more. Water sports makes everybody hungry. There are always alot of fireworks at the Lake. Some of them are even in the sky.
The menu this 4th of July included David's tenderloin, corn on the cob, pound cake, cheese wafers, lots of fresh cold watermelon, and chopped salad with Carol's Fantastic French dressing. We also had Angus Beef Hot dogs with chili, Carol's Blackberry Cobbler, Beth's Brownies, and Rhett's roasted potatoes with his own version of Aioli sauce. I fried some fresh summer squash for an appetizer. Turns out Rhett's Aioli sauce was really good on the fried squash too.
The 4th of July is the peak of Summer. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Fried Squash
Note: Mom, Dad, Mama Crowder, Nishie and Sis have all contributed to the way I fry squash. With four sisters and a mother-in-law named Sister, there is yet another Sis in our lives - Sis Davis. More about Sis and her wonderful cooking later.
1. Pick out the right sized squash for frying. They should not be the smallest or the largest, but should be fairly young and tender. Those hard ones aren't worth the trouble.
2. Slice the squash into thin circles. 1/8" - 1/4". I don't slice the necks.
3. Put the circles into salted water. Sis adds ice or puts in the fridge to get really cold before frying. I think this makes them extra crispy.
4. In one bowl crack an egg or two and pour in some buttermilk. Stir together.
5. In another bowl mix flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper.
6. In a frying pan, heat vegetable oil until hot.
7. Dip each squash into liquid mixture, then flour mixture, then add to frying pan. They need to sizzle in there or they will be soggy.
It is a really good idea to use one hand for the liquid, the other hand for the flour and frying pan. I always wash my hands alot during this process.
8. When the squash is browned on one side, flip over and brown the other side. Sometimes you have to flip more than once. Daddy salts and peppers the squash during this process.
9. When browned, remove each circle to a plate or biscuit pan with a paper towel to absorb the grease. Daddy might want to salt and pepper again at this point. Fried Squash is a vegetable, but we never claimed it was healthy!
Serve fried squash as an appetizer, because they won't make it to the dinner table.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Summertime
Summertime has been really busy and really hot. We have had alot of projects going on with work and with family.
The sports world has been fun with the US playing world cup soccer and with Wimbledon tennis matches. John Isner, a Greensboro, NC native and Nicolas Mahut of France played in the most amazing marathon tennis match ever. The match was spread over three days and lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes. It was a display of huge serves and amazing effort to stay in the match from both players. Isner ended up winning, but both players were winners in my book. They were cordial and classy all the way through and it was a pleasure to watch.
Local tennis was fun too with USTA league play, Club Team and Boiling Springs Team Tennis winding up with a fun benefit tournament for Madison's Cancer Foundation.
For me it is way to hot to play tennis just now. I keep hearing songs from 1965. The old Lovin Spoonful song - "Summer in the City". "Hot Town Summer in the City. Back of my neck getting dirt and gritty! ...Everybody walking around half dead..Hotter than a matchhead". Another song that keeps playing in my head is Billy Stewart's version of "Summertime". This is a jazzy, bouncey, staccato version of the Gershwin tune from "Porgy and Bess". Billy Stewart was one of my favorite soul singers and he always comes to mind in the Summer because I remember hearing so many of his hits when I was coming off a tennis court or near a swimming pool in the 1960s. "Sitting in the Park waiting for YOOOOUUUUU" was another favorite. And of course "I Do Love You" was a classic beach song. If you don't know or remember the Loving Spoonful or Billy Stewart you can look them up on YouTube. If you're like me, you'll get the urge to dance.
Another summertime pleasure from the 60s was chasing lightning bugs. In Lattimore, we would run around outside with mason jars and catch as many lightning bugs as we could. We would punch holes in the lids so they could breathe. I'm not so sure why we did this because we also used to pinch off their lights to make 'jewelry'. One light could make a ring and several lights would make a necklace. There seemed to be a ton of lightning bugs back then. I haven't noticed them as much during the last few summers, but this year they are very plentiful in my neighborhood. Fortunately for them, I haven't felt any urge to chase and pinch. I am happy to just rock on the front porch and watch them blink.
The sports world has been fun with the US playing world cup soccer and with Wimbledon tennis matches. John Isner, a Greensboro, NC native and Nicolas Mahut of France played in the most amazing marathon tennis match ever. The match was spread over three days and lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes. It was a display of huge serves and amazing effort to stay in the match from both players. Isner ended up winning, but both players were winners in my book. They were cordial and classy all the way through and it was a pleasure to watch.
Local tennis was fun too with USTA league play, Club Team and Boiling Springs Team Tennis winding up with a fun benefit tournament for Madison's Cancer Foundation.
For me it is way to hot to play tennis just now. I keep hearing songs from 1965. The old Lovin Spoonful song - "Summer in the City". "Hot Town Summer in the City. Back of my neck getting dirt and gritty! ...Everybody walking around half dead..Hotter than a matchhead". Another song that keeps playing in my head is Billy Stewart's version of "Summertime". This is a jazzy, bouncey, staccato version of the Gershwin tune from "Porgy and Bess". Billy Stewart was one of my favorite soul singers and he always comes to mind in the Summer because I remember hearing so many of his hits when I was coming off a tennis court or near a swimming pool in the 1960s. "Sitting in the Park waiting for YOOOOUUUUU" was another favorite. And of course "I Do Love You" was a classic beach song. If you don't know or remember the Loving Spoonful or Billy Stewart you can look them up on YouTube. If you're like me, you'll get the urge to dance.
Another summertime pleasure from the 60s was chasing lightning bugs. In Lattimore, we would run around outside with mason jars and catch as many lightning bugs as we could. We would punch holes in the lids so they could breathe. I'm not so sure why we did this because we also used to pinch off their lights to make 'jewelry'. One light could make a ring and several lights would make a necklace. There seemed to be a ton of lightning bugs back then. I haven't noticed them as much during the last few summers, but this year they are very plentiful in my neighborhood. Fortunately for them, I haven't felt any urge to chase and pinch. I am happy to just rock on the front porch and watch them blink.
The Round-Up Store - Homemade Pimiento Cheese
In the late 40s Mom and Dad moved to Cliffside, NC so Dad could practice dentistry. They had planned to start a practice in Shelby and had a site picked out for an office when Dr. Robertson, Cliffside's only dentist called. Dr. Robertson was not well and needed Dad to come fill in for him while he recuperated. Cliffside was a southern mill town and had a very closely knit family atmosphere. People who lived there during that time have a strong nostalgia for Cliffside. They still have reunions even though the mill was closed years ago. Dad planned to stay there until Dr. Robertson returned, but ended up practicing dentistry there until he retired in the 80s.
There were alot of interesting characters in Cliffside; Mr. Haynes of the Haynes Bank, Harris who was Dad's Dental assistant, and there was Tubby Hawkins. Dad says Tubby was larger than life. Tubby was involved in everything that happened in Cliffside and was quite the entrepreneur. One day Tubby appeared at Dad's dental office in uptown Cliffside. To get to Dad's office you entered wooden doors with creaky, dark, dusty, and very long stairs leading up to the dental office area. Walter Dalton says that when he was an eight year old going to the dentist, this felt like walking up to the gallows.
Tubby walked into Dad's office and said, "Jack there's been a train wreck at the Harris Station down the road. Let's go look at it." Dad had patients to tend to but he agreed to go during lunch. When they arrived at the train wreck, they discovered the train cars contained Donald Duck orange juice and escarole. Tubby and Dad thought they could sell the salvaged orange juice, but they didn't know what escarole was. Anyway, after some discussions they bought the contents, salvaged all they could and got it ready to resell. The Donald Duck orange juice sold quickly, but as it turned out nobody knew what to do with escarole. They put it on a truck to drive up North thinking people up there might know what to do with it. Turns out escarole just wasn't very popular anywhere, but overall the salvaged train wreck turned a small profit. Dad says that for he and Tubby, "the salvage bug had bit".
From there, they bought other train wrecks, fire damaged goods and close-outs. After Dad worked all day in the dental office he would drive around looking at various merchandise that somebody wanted to dispose of. They bought shoes which Tubby and Georgia sold from their basement. Dad says this was before Pic N Pay or but they did run across the Levine's from time to time during this period.
Dad was called back to the Army for Korean War service and he turned everything over to Tubby. When he returned from Ft Bragg, he started looking for salvage deals again and this was the beginning of The Round Up Store.
The Old Round Up Store began with a purchase of a hardware store in Virginia. Mom, Dad, Tubby and Georgia traveled to see the stock. After a lot of discussion they ended up with this stock and moved it into Roy Price's building in Mooresboro. It was named the Round Up Store, I thought because they galloped all over and rounded up the bargains. A cowboy on a horse with a lasso became the logo. Bo Greene was hired as a manager, Mildred Jackson as a cashier and Helen Byars did the accounting work.
Turns out they were pretty good at looking at stock, finding quality merchandise and selling it at discount prices. Mom got involved reluctantly at first, but Dad encouraged her to spread her wings in the business world. At one time or another, they opened stores in Ellenboro, Troutman, Boone, Raleigh, Morganton, Shelby and had three locations in Boiling Springs, NC. My sisters and I worked throughout the years in one location or another and so did alot of our friends.
The Round Up was interesting because we never knew what tomorrow would bring. At one time or another we packed up roller skates, TVs, hardware, soft goods, Misty Harbor raincoats, Lanz, Bobbie Brooks, red pajamas, groceries, shoes and a whole gift store from Oxford, NC. We cleaned and packed and sold flood damage stock from a hurricane in Alabama and fire sales from alot of places. It was wild and exciting and fun. We worked together as a family, doing whatever needed to be done at the time. In the salvage business, you never know when you will be called to pack a train wreck or a close out. You just have to be ready when called.
Dad met alot of interesting people while he was in the salvage business and enjoyed the relationships. Somewhere along in there he also met a man named Johnny Walker who was a sales manager with a fairly new business called Lowes. At that time, Lowe's wanted to franchise so Dad opened a Lowes Franchise in Shelby, NC on East Dixon Boulevard. After several years, Lowes decided that they wanted to have only company stores and they bought the franchise rights back. So they rented Dad's building in Shelby and the Lowe's store operated there for many years.
Dad still had the dental office, still had the Round Up and other stores, they had moved to Lattimore and he and his brother Robert had started a dairy farm on the side. Then Dad decided to get into politics. He told Mom he wanted to run for the Legislature for two terms and ended up staying in the legislature for 22 years. Eventually it was time to close some of the businesses and to simplify the stock.
Today there is still The Round Up Store of Shelby, Inc and it operates out of the original Lowe's location in Shelby. Today the stock is limited to building materials. There is a shop where storage buildings are manufactured and there are a wide variety of cabinets and cabinet grade plywood.
This week, about 60 years after the first train wreck of orange juice and escarole, the Round Up Store of Shelby held a Chamber of Commerce event called Business After Hours.
The purpose of the event is to expose Chamber members who may have never been into the store to come see the products. Dad wanted to make it a memorable event and this meant calling in all of the family to help. Old neurons must have kicked in because everyone knew how to jump in to help.
Dad set the menu; Mama's Country Ham biscuits, shrimp cocktail, cream cheese and olive sandwiches, homemade pimiento cheese sandwiches, pineapple raisin sandwiches, deviled eggs, and David's beef tenderloin. For dessert, he wanted coconut cake, pound cake and Libby's Marshmallow brownies.
Philip, Chris, Jay, Abel, and several others worked for days to get the Round Up cleaned up and organized. Mom, Dad, Libby, David R and I worked to get the food and tables together. Cindy, Judy, Penny, David M, Tammy, Debbie, Will, and Jay were present to help with hosting and clean up. The Round Up looked great and the food was outstanding. It was a very memorable event.
Homemade Pimiento Cheese
Grate an 8 oz block of Cheese (Dad uses Colby Cheese but I use Sharp Cheddar. Dad and Mom like to taste the pimiento so they like colby because it is milder cheese)
Grate a little bit of Monterey Jack with Jalapeno if you want
Add diced pimiento. (Dad and mom have grown their own pimiento but they also like Goya when they can find it)
Add mayo to taste.
Add black pepper to taste. Less mayo than you think. Dad puts alot of pepper.
Mix everything together and spread onto white or wheat bread. Cut each sandwich into fourths. For parties, Mom and Dad arrange on a three tiered platter that they call 'the sandwich tree'.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
OPG
One of the best things about having a small garden of your own is walking outside to pick something fresh for dinner. But one of the drawbacks is that sometimes there isn't alot to pick. That's when you can really appreciate OPG. Other people's gardens.
People who love fresh food and gardening flock together. After so much preparation and work that goes into gardens, when the bounty starts coming in, it can be really bountiful. All of a sudden.
So, I haven't planted some of our favorite things like silver queen corn, white potatoes, green beans or zucchini. But other people have.
Mom and Dad have white half runners (green beans) coming in fast and furious. They have canned several times now and Mom has declared she is done. She has over 100 quarts of perfect green beans in the pantry. But the beans keep coming, so Dad has called to offer fresh green beans and we are happy to accept that offer.
Then, this morning, I saw a grocery bag on the kitchen counter. It is full of fresh, beautiful white potatoes. Steve Royster grows the best white potatoes we have ever eaten. They are organic potatoes and honestly there is nothing like them. They are not at all starchy and the thin skins taste wonderful too. I ran into Steve recently and he said this year's is the best crop he has ever had. Oh joy.
The Royster's immigrated from Wales in the 1700s, settling first in Jamestown, Virginia and then Granville County, North Carolina. Horace and Mary Elizabeth Royster came to Cleveland County, North Carolina in 1872. They wanted to build a railroad in Western North Carolina, but when this project didn't work out they set up a boarding school. Later Horace became the first Superintendent of Education in Cleveland County. Horace and Elizabeth had five children and one of those was Stephen Sampson Royster. He was a pharmacist and a medical doctor and was known as Dr. S. S. My grandmother, Alma Harrill Hunt, wrote that she remembered Dr. S. S. making house calls in a horse and buggy.
Dr. S. S. and his wife, Olive, had two sons, David and Ralph. David had two children Anne and David Jr ("D"). Ralph had two children, Mimi and Steve. So Steve is David III's first cousin once removed or something like that. Mama Crowder could explain it.
Anyway, Steve grows the best organic potatoes that we have ever had. And they go great with my parent's fresh green beans. We are so lucky to have sweet family who want to share with us.
When you get to enjoy other people's gardens, it's a treat in more ways than one.
People who love fresh food and gardening flock together. After so much preparation and work that goes into gardens, when the bounty starts coming in, it can be really bountiful. All of a sudden.
So, I haven't planted some of our favorite things like silver queen corn, white potatoes, green beans or zucchini. But other people have.
Mom and Dad have white half runners (green beans) coming in fast and furious. They have canned several times now and Mom has declared she is done. She has over 100 quarts of perfect green beans in the pantry. But the beans keep coming, so Dad has called to offer fresh green beans and we are happy to accept that offer.
Then, this morning, I saw a grocery bag on the kitchen counter. It is full of fresh, beautiful white potatoes. Steve Royster grows the best white potatoes we have ever eaten. They are organic potatoes and honestly there is nothing like them. They are not at all starchy and the thin skins taste wonderful too. I ran into Steve recently and he said this year's is the best crop he has ever had. Oh joy.
The Royster's immigrated from Wales in the 1700s, settling first in Jamestown, Virginia and then Granville County, North Carolina. Horace and Mary Elizabeth Royster came to Cleveland County, North Carolina in 1872. They wanted to build a railroad in Western North Carolina, but when this project didn't work out they set up a boarding school. Later Horace became the first Superintendent of Education in Cleveland County. Horace and Elizabeth had five children and one of those was Stephen Sampson Royster. He was a pharmacist and a medical doctor and was known as Dr. S. S. My grandmother, Alma Harrill Hunt, wrote that she remembered Dr. S. S. making house calls in a horse and buggy.
Dr. S. S. and his wife, Olive, had two sons, David and Ralph. David had two children Anne and David Jr ("D"). Ralph had two children, Mimi and Steve. So Steve is David III's first cousin once removed or something like that. Mama Crowder could explain it.
Anyway, Steve grows the best organic potatoes that we have ever had. And they go great with my parent's fresh green beans. We are so lucky to have sweet family who want to share with us.
When you get to enjoy other people's gardens, it's a treat in more ways than one.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Garden Update - Cucumber and Onion Sandwiches
The gardens are just about to explode with fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers. Things we have planted and things that come back every year are really taking off. We had a wet winter and spring and that has made the hydrangeas this year the prettiest ever.
In the Lattimore garden, Mama has had beautiful cabbage heads and has made slaw and cooked cabbage with cornbread. The freshness and the tenderness of homegrown cabbage makes everything taste twice as good. Yesterday I made Nishie's Slaw. Nishie would be so proud.
Mama and Daddy have already canned 14 quarts of green beans with more to come. They use a pressure cooker to can beans. I never have learned to use a pressure cooker. I don't think I am afraid of that many things, but that jiggling and hissing and steaming scares me to death. So I can help pick, string, break, wash, blanche and put the beans in jars, but I don't do the pressure cooker part.
The corn 'is as high as an elephant's eye' and will be ready to pull in early July. Corn freezing day in Lattimore is a huge production that actually spreads out over a week or so. This is usually around July 12th, but Daddy says this year the corn may come in a little earlier. Whenever it is, we drop everything to 'do corn'. Daddy wants us to get the corn 'from field to freezor in under 3 hours' because that preserves the fresh sweetness of the corn. If it takes longer, the corn sugars start breaking down into a less flavorful sticky starchiness.
My little garden is also growing and we have eaten cucumbers, peppers, and sweet 100 cherry tomatoes. I love walking outside to pick something fresh to put on a sandwich or salad.
The difference between slicing a grocery store cucumber and one straight from the garden is amazing. They are more tender to slice and the smell and taste are juicy, crispy and sweet. We have had cucumbers in salads, but my favorite thing is a cucumber and onion sandwich.
Cucumber and onion sandwiches make me think of Memorial Day on the grounds at Lattimore Church on the first Sunday in May. It isn't the same as the National Memorial Day Holiday, but is held each year to remember people who are buried in the Church Cemetery. Lattimore Church is an old country Baptist church where we grew up going to Sunbeams and Vacation Bible School. I was baptized there and I remember Preacher Borders being an intelligent and quiet leader back then. I also remember one time sitting on the front row with my friend, Avis, and watching the candles flicker on the big oak table that said "This Do in Rememberance of Me". Avis and I caught each other's eye and we both saw the candle flame dancing around like it was alive. I have no idea why it was so funny, but we could not hold back the giggles. The harder we tried not to laugh the worse it got. Preacher Borders was trying to concentrate on his sermon and gave us a sweet but exasperated glance. That look is burned into my memory. I'm still afraid to watch a candle flicker in church.
Lattimore Church is small, but has a pretty sanctuary and large beautiful grounds with grass and huge trees outside. This is where they usually set up the Memorial Day Lunch on the grounds. Everybody brings their speciality and sometimes there is a little competition to make sure the dish you bring is appreciated. When the dish you bring 'gets gone quick' then that means it was a hit.
Aunt Pauline, who was really my great aunt, married Nanny's brother, Colon Harrill. They lived in the old Harrill homeplace where we also had the Harrill Reunions. She always made cucumber and onion sandwiches for Harrill Reunions and for Memorial Day at Lattimore Church. She cut white bread out into big circles with a biscuit cutter and then peeled and sliced cucumber and onions. She put just a little mayonaise on the bread and a little salt and pepper.
Sometimes we make these like a sandwich and sometimes we do them in smaller circles and serve open faced as an appetizer. It is simple, but so good.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sister's Cheese Wafers
The Summer so far has been filled with visitors in and out of the house and with quick road trips here and there. If there is one thing that I can cook to make everybody happy it is Sister's Cheese Wafers. They are a hit anytime anywhere.
Sister's Cheese Wafers put people in a festive mood. They are crispy and spicy and they go great with coffee for breakfast, diet coke for an afternoon snack or with a 'libation' during cocktail hour. A cheese wafer on a road trip can make the trip itself feel like a party.
There are alot of recipes for cheese wafers, cheese straws, cheese pennies, but we think Sister's Cheese Wafers are the very best. Sister is David's mother. Her given name was Katherine Quinn but everybody calls her Sister. She got this Cheese Wafer recipe from her mother, Katherine Briggs Quinn. Katherine Briggs grew up in Raleigh, married Aaron Quinn and they had four children - Sister, Pete, Ennis and Charlie. Sister said her mother had given her a box of handwritten recipes when she married David's father and the Cheese Wafer recipe was in the box. I asked if it was okay to blog this recipe and she laughed and said, "oh heaven's yes! I have given that recipe out many times."
It may not matter if you have the recipe or not because making cheese wafers is another one of those things that takes some practice. Also it helps to have the right pan. I mentioned to Lynn's husband, Tommy, that sometimes food is only good if it is cooked in the right pan. Tommy said he sure would like to have the pan Sister makes cheese wafers in.
I make cheese wafer rolls on one day and then refrigerate until I am ready to bake them. You have to bake the cheese wafers just before you plan to serve them for two reasons - 1) they get stale within a couple of days; and 2) they get eaten up within a couple of days.
I store them in cookie tins and those tins have become familiar to alot of folks. One red cookie tin says David's Cookies and we bought it years ago on a trip to NYC with Susan and Thomas. I have kept it all these years and always put cheese wafers in there for David on his birthday, Father's Day and many other times. Family and friends know when they see the red tin that cheese wafers are in there and that means the cheese wafers can disappear really fast. When I have a big crowd around for a weekend, I hide extra tins of cheese wafers so I can ration them or they won't last past the first day.
Sister's Cheese Wafers
8 ounces Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 stick melted butter
1 cup flour (I use self rising and do not add salt which is not the original recipe)
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Pour butter over grated cheese and mix. Add flour, pecans and pepper. Divide into two long rolls and wrap in saran wrap. Keep in the fridge until ready to bake.
When ready to bake, slice and bake on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Then, put them on paper towels to cool and to absorb some of the grease. We like cheese wafers really crispy. As David says, "There is a fine line between cooked and burned."
Friday, June 11, 2010
Playing House
My parents, Ruby Frances Crowder and John Jackson Hunt, were born within 100 yards of each other in Lattimore, NC. Daddy was born in 1922 and Mama in 1926. Walter Dalton says they are so much a part of each other that their names are intertwined - JackandRuby sort of like Jack-o-lantern.
Daddy remembers how pretty Mama looked when he saw her as a little girl hoeing cotton in Lattimore. Mama is beautiful inside and out and is possibly the only person who can hoe cotton and still look beautiful. Mama remembers how cute Daddy was as a 12 year old, wearing his short khaki pants and driving an old red pickup truck around Lattimore. In those days, no drivers license was required.
Daddy also remembers that Mama loved to play house. He remembers seeing her when she was a little girl playing house on the side of the road in Lattimore using old bottle caps for cups and saucers. He says she has been playing house ever since.
They have set up house in Cliffside, NC where Daddy practiced dentistry; in Ft Bragg, NC where they served during both WWII and the Korean War; in Shelby and in Lattimore where they raised five children and 11 grandchildren; and in Raleigh where they served for 22 years in the NC Legislature.
When Mama sets up a house, she works at it. She thinks about colors, fabrics, furniture and accessories. And she thinks about comfort. Mama's house is pretty, but it is also warm and inviting. And it is always about serving whatever friends and family are there.
In the Lattimore den, hanging over the fireplace, there is a print of a woman and several little children on a picnic. The woman is nudging one of the little girls to offer a plate of food to a little boy. Mama said she loved this print when she first saw it and she bought it because "I wanted to teach my little girls to serve".
I love the print too, but Mama is the best model for learning to serve.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Lake Lure North Carolina - The Hunt's Potato Salad
There is no where in the world more special to our families than Lake Lure.
Lake Lure was built in the late 1920s in Rutherford County, North Carolina to generate power and for recreation. Small cottages were built around the lake and the majority of the recreation was fishing. The Lake has had many ups and downs since then. Today some of the fishing cottages are disappearing and being replaced with huge houses. The recreation still includes fishing, but also canoeing, kayaking, skiiing and pontoon rides. Jet Skis are not allowed on Lake Lure and I see that as a plus. Several movies have scenes on and around the Lake including The Last of the Mohicans, Firestarter and Dirty Dancing. The Town of Lake Lure has pontoon tour boats that take folks around the Lake to hear the history and enjoy the beautiful scenery. For years, visitors to the Lake told me that the old, rounded mountains and the homes and boathouses that surround the Lake looked alot like Switzerland. Last year, after a pontoon trip around Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, I could see the similarity.
Both sides of our families have long histories at The Lake. Any trip to The Lake starts out with excitement and anticipation of who will be there and what are we going to eat?
My grandfather, R. L. Hunt, loved Lake Lure and had a fishing cottage there. Carl Martin, my father's best friend since elementary school, tells a story about visiting the Lake with my father and grandfather. Most of Carl's stories are theatrical and hysterical. He loves to tell them and we love to hear whatever version he's telling. The jist of this story was that Carl and Daddy were grown men and were 'up at the Lake' to go fishing with PawPaw. PawPaw and Daddy did not drink 'libations' in front of each other. So Daddy might say, "Carl let's go down to the dock and have a libation". Later, PawPaw might do the same. If you have seen Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire you get the picture. Carl can make this story short or long, but it is always funny to watch him tell it.
In the 1950s, my parents bought several cottages and a restaurant called The Log Shop. They rented the cottages most of the year, but also took friends up to the Lake for house parties. Sometimes they would take their guests to the Log Shop for breakfast of country ham, grits, eggs, biscuits or for a steak dinner. But mostly Mama would cook. She did this with five small children. Betty Harris reminds me every time I see her, that she rode with Mama to The Lake once. At that time, there was one way to The Lake - about a one hour ride on a curving winding 2 lane mountain road. My sisters were ages 7, 5, 4, and 2. I was a baby and Betty says she held me in her arms while I cried the whole way to the Lake! No wonder she only did that once.
Mama is the most organized hostess you will ever see. She knows how to entertain and make it look effortless. She planned her menus so that she could actually accomplish a trip that men, women and children could enjoy. I am guessing she was beautiful and smiling while she pulled off this magic.
Her menu was picnic style - shrimp, ham, fried chicken, potato salad, green beans, deviled eggs, pimiento cheese sandwiches and chocolate cake. She would prepare everything ahead of time and when she arrived at the Lake she would just put it out buffet style and "let people eat when they wanted to".
I learned to water ski at Lake Lure when I was nine years old. We were visiting at the Hamrick's cottage and Daddy's friend, Carl, had pulled skiers all day long. Carl was ready to put the boat in the boathouse, but I begged him to let me try. I remember he looked at me and said, "I'll let you try one time, but if you don't get up, we are coming in." I knew he meant that and somehow I managed to get up the first try.
Later on in the 60s, I learned to slalom when we were skiing at Bald Mountain resort (now Rumbling Bald). I never enjoyed the slalom as much as two skiis. I think it's because when I was learning to slalom, I fell into a patch of lily pads and started imagining all the creepy things that might be living under there. It seemed like hours before the boat circled around to get me out of the lily pads. Bald Mountain resort is also the first place I ever tasted an ice cream sundae. It was in a tall parfait glass and had vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry on top. I guess I remember it because it settled my nerves after the scary lily pad incident.
In the late 1950s, David's father "D" bought a lot on The Island. There is a small island in the middle of Lake Lure called Yacht Island. I'm told it was originally called Snake Island and the story goes that they released pigs on the island to get rid of the snakes. I seldom see snakes there anymore, so if it's true, it must have worked.
There was no bridge to the island, so "D" built one. That's just how "D" was. They have since replaced the original bridge, but there is a picture of the old bridge at the house. They built a house on the island and it has one of the most spectacular views on the lake. Every trip to "D"s house also included lots of menu planning and gigantic meals. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, BLTs, Steaks and Ribs were on the menu and huge quantities of everything. There is a big boathouse with a high deck and railing that everyone loves to jump off. Various boats over the years have pulled alot of people skiing and tubing all over the lake. Several years ago another deck was built at the house where we eat crab legs and ribs and watch the amazing sunsets. Dancing parties have been known to break out there.
On the way to the island, is a cove that years ago was called "Shelby Cove" because so many people from our area owned houses there. There are still alot of "Shelby people" in the cove including a cottage that my sister, Cindy and her husband, David own. With alot of musicians in the circle of family and friends, the Martin's deck is home to alot of music and singing.
So, there are years and years of memories filled with food, fun, family and friends at Lake Lure.
The Hunt's Potato Salad for 50 People
Note: I have three written recipes for Potato Salad and all are varied amounts so adjust it to how you like it.
Scrub 17 white potatoes, cook in several pots in uniform sizes so they cook right (they aren't good if the insides aren't done)
Cook potatoes 20 minutes unsalted. Peel and cube uniformly.
About 2 cups of celery
Pull silks off and cut fairly small and uniformly
3 large onions (or 3 cups - which mama thinks is too much but daddy doesn't)
chop onions uniformly
1 cup or more of sweet salad cube pickles
17 eggs - Cook 10 minutes, then let them sit in hot water 10 minutes, then chill
Use 5 whites and all of the yolks, finely mashed
2 cups mayo or so (*there is a Dukes vs Hellmans controversy. Decide for yourself.)
3 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
Cook potatoes, eggs. Cube potatoes. Finely mash eggs. Chop everything else. Add together and mix it without making it all too mushy. Add a little extra pepper and puerto rico (paprika) and garnish with fresh parsley.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Saturday nights in the 60s - Homemade Pizza
In the mid 1960s, our family moved from the brick Hewitt house in Lattimore to a rented house on West Warren Street in Shelby. Mom and Dad had bought a big lot in Shelby to build Mama's Dream House. In trying to decide exactly where to locate the house, they walked over the lot many times, drove stakes, then tied strings from stake to stake to 'see' where they liked the house best. This process took several years, so we lived in the rented house on Warren Street during that time. Mama never really loved the Warren Street house, but we always had alot of fun there. We were within walking distance of three schools - Graham, Oak and Shelby Junior High. We were also within bicycle distance to the Shelby City Park and to Uptown Shelby. So it didn't matter that I couldn't drive because I could get most everywhere on foot or bicycle. Judy and Penny were in high school, Cindy and Libby at Junior High and I was in the fifth grade at Graham. We had a trampoline in the backyard and many days all ages of kids would walk from school to our house to jump. It really wasn't unusual for 25 plus kids to be there - just jumping.
On Saturday nights, our family watched TV together and made homemade pizzas. TV was still fairly new then and we basically had three channels. The TVs had huge cathode ray tubes, rabbit ears for antennae, and broadcast in black and white. Most TVs ended up with a pair of pliers to change the channels because, after jumping up to change channels alot, the knobs would fall off. I remember watching Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon and we were all glued to the tube in awe when he said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Sometimes on Saturday nights, Daddy would play cards with us. Daddy still loves to play poker, but the game at that time was Gin. We were all pretty good Gin players before long. On TV, we watched Flipper, Jackie Gleason and my favorite, the Carol Burnette Show. Flipper was a show about a very special dolphin who was like a water version of Lassie. I didn't know alot about Florida, but it seemed pretty wonderful and exotic to me. Jackie Gleason had a funny variety show with alot of characters like Crazy Joe, and the Honeymooners. What I loved to watch most on his show were the June Taylor dancers. They all had long legs and looked so sophisticated and smart when they performed those amazing - and very 60s - kaleidescope figures.
Carol Burnette had, by far, the funniest show on TV. Carol, Harvey Korman and Tim Conway could just walk across the TV screen and it would be hysterical. I loved so many of their skits and mostly I loved that they seemed to have so much fun together.
But the highlight of these Saturday nights was making pizza. We did not make the crust from scratch, but used a boxed mix. We didn't use a round pizza pan, but rectangular biscuit pans. Everyone had favorite ingredients and we all got to make our part of the pizza exactly the way we wanted it. We would decorate our 'masterpiece' so that when it came out of the oven, we knew which side was ours. This was a really creative time. The sixties were all about creativity and experimentation and we embraced that with our pizzas. To this day, I love sliced green olives on a pizza as much as the tomato sauce and cheese.
We only lived on Warren Street for five years. Mama said that after they had staked up the houseplan three times and the strings rotted three times she knew it just wasn't where they needed to build. Mama's heart was in Lattimore and they decided to build the dream house on Peachtree Road. I'm glad they built in Lattimore, but that house on West Warren Street has alot of happy memories.
So, I have been thinking about how much fun we had making homemade pizza and since both of the boys are home, tonight we each made our own masterpiece. Sure wish Carol Burnette was on.
Homemade Pizza - 60s style
1 Box Chef BoyArDee Cheese Pizza Kit
Make the dough according to the package and spread onto greased baking pan
Decide ahead of time what everyone wants on their side. Chop it, saute it, etc. Fresh basil, oregano, onion, olives, anchovy, peppers, tomato, pepperoni, hamburger, sausage are favorites at our house.
Sometimes, I make my own sauce, or at least add something to the boxed one.
I don't use the cheese that comes in the kit, because I don't like it. It is worth it to buy real parmesan and mozzarella and grate it yourself.
Divide up the pizza so that everyone knows where their side is.
Here's the hard part. You have to let everyone involved put what they want on their side. Anything goes.
Recently, we have had the fun of making homemade pizzas at several friends homes. Beth and John get a special dough and sauce and make them in their kitchen. Susan and Thomas get a special dough and sauce and make them in a backyard pizza oven. Everyone adds their own flavors from vegetables to herbs to meats, and they are all wonderful flavors. Besides how good they taste, the best part about homemade pizza is watching how much fun everybody has when they are encouraged to do their own thing.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Harmonic Balancer - Mama's Homemade Biscuits
My favorite newspaper columnist is Tommy Tomlinson with the Charlotte Observer. For years, I have read his column and he is always speaking my mind. The normal morning routine at our house is to have coffee, read several newspapers and online articles, and then talk about articles we have read. David knows I will want to talk about whatever Tommy Tomlinson has written so he makes sure to read that one along with his favorite sports and business reports. Today's column was vintage Tommy Tomlinson titled, "My car needs a part all humans should have, too".
The car part is called a harmonic balancer. I was amazed to learn that there was such a part in cars.
David not only knew it existed (even in old cars), he knew where it was located (near the crankshaft), and why it was there (to reduce vibrations from the engine, which reduces stress on the engine).
Growing up with four sisters, car talk was not a big part of my life; but living with three males has changed all that. Living with a house full of males changes alot of things.
Both boys are home from college and life around the house is back up to warp speed. I love having the boys home and I love having their friends around again. Over the last 20 years, we have had ALOT of activity at our house - backyard basketball, football, frisbee golf, swim parties, prom parties, the 'gallon challenge', poker tournaments and dance parties. Warp speed might not cover it.
But we have always had a Harmonic Balancer in our lives. Mama's Biscuits.
Things can be moving really fast; everyone on their own schedule with their own plans. But, when we say, "We're fixing dinner at 7:30", you can bet that the stars will line up and everyone will be at the table.
So, this week, both boys came home from college with all the stuff that college kids bring home - lamps, laptops, bedclothes, chairs, and piles of dirty laundry. Within a few days, the laundry was done. We cleaned out the storage building, cleaned out the old playroom, hauled alot of things away on the trailer and stored away the college stuff until next fall. It is amazing what can get done in just a few days with everyone working together. Cooking has stepped up to warp speed as well. We have had Mama's Pot Roast, Mac and Cheese, Corn, Beans, Salads, and Grilled Chicken.
On Saturday we wanted to clean out the Summer House. The Summer House is a screened room outside where I like to read or just visit with friends. David likes to watch golf out there. The boys like to play cards and dance. It's a great place to take a nap. Over the winter, the Summer House gets dusty with pollen and full of spiderwebs. To whip it into shape, we have to take everything out, hose it all down, and put it all back together.
So after a week of stepped up activity in the house and alot of extra boys spending the night, we planned our Harmonic Balancer - Saturday night Dinner. After looking up what was on sale, the menu was set - steak, grilled chicken, baked potato, green beans from last year, salad with ranch dressing, fruit salad, sliced tomatoes with fresh basil and Mama's Homemade Biscuits.
Mama made up her own biscuit recipe. She had watched Nishie and Mama Crowder make biscuits over the years without a recipe. Biscuits only take three ingredients - self-rising white flour, buttermilk and Crisco. The Biscuit Trinity.
Once Dad figured out the cost per biscuit and it was about 2 cents. Daddy is always figuring out the cost per item of everything. But we all understand that the material cost versus the actual value of Mama's homemade biscuits doesn't really compute. How do you compute Harmonic Balance?
Mama's biscuits are neat, tidy and uniform. They are the perfect size and shape and will melt in your mouth with just a little butter. Mama and Daddy are famous for their Country Ham Biscuits, but my favorite is a Biscuit with a slice of fresh tomato inside. I can't claim to make the biscuits exactly like Mama's, but I am working on it. It takes alot of practice to achieve Harmonic Balance.
Mama's Homemade Biscuits
4 cups sifted self-rising flour
3/4 cup crisco, and a little more the size of an egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, a little more or less as needed
Cut crisco into flour with pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in the buttermilk and mix a little with hands. Turn onto a floured surface. Knead 3-4 times. Dont' work with it very long or it will make the dough tough. Roll out dough about 1/4 - 1/2" thick. Cut out biscuits and place on greased cookie sheet. You should get about 24 biscuits this first cut.
Pull dough back together and roll out again. You should get about 6 biscuits the next cut and 6 the next. Mama Calls the last six the dog biscuits because they have been worked longer and will be tougher. I love a dog biscuit.
Precook at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Bag and freeze.
When you want to serve the biscuits, remove from freezer, place on cookie sheet and bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 7-8 minutes. When Mama wants to get the tops brown, she will turn on the broiler but she warns us not to get distracted. "You have to watch it like a hawk!" We know to be quiet and still while Mama achieves harmonic balance with her Homemade Biscuits browning in the oven.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Old Fashioned Sayings
Mike, my son David's college roommate, was in the hospital for a week with an unusual and serious illness. Mike's parents live 7-8 hours away and came to be with him, but after several days needed to return home to work. Since we live less than 1 hour away from the college, I promised his mother that we would check on him.
On one visit to the hospital, I wanted to talk with Mike about adjusting to his new health needs - getting plenty of rest, eating right, finding the right medication and generally focusing on his long term health. He wanted to talk with me about his worry about the cost of his hospital stay.
My initial reaction was sadness that a 20 year old college student was in a hospital bed worrying about the cost of getting well. In an attempt to get him to focus on the most pressing problem - his health and not the cost - I said "Mike, don't worry about the mule going blind." His face broke into the widest grin and he said, "That sounds just like the things David says! Oh, I have gotta write that one down with the other ones!" He went on to say that living with David, he had heard all kinds of sayings that were unfamiliar to him.
I guess I had never realized how many old fashioned sayings are used by our families. Or maybe the expressions are just forgotten from generation to generation. How many people today know WHY somebody might worry about the mule going blind?
"Worrying about the mule going blind" is actually something that my husband used to hear from his father who likely heard it from his father. Mr. D. W. Royster was sometimes called Mr. Ich. I have heard that his nickname originated because his tall, lanky frame resembled Washington Irving's character, Ichabod Crane. The grandchildren called him Pop Ick. When you were told "don't worry about the mule going blind", it meant don't spend non-productive energy worrying about something that you cannot control.
Several years ago, my Dad stumped me with an old fashioned saying when I was typing a letter for him. It was a recommendation letter and the point he wanted to make was that the applicant was a consistent, dependable person and focused on reaching his goals. Trying to decipher Dad's handwriting, I typed the words "he doesn't fall off the tracks". Dad laughed when he read what I had typed and told me it was supposed to say "he doesn't fall out of the traces". I had no idea what that meant, but he explained that it was a mule driving term. A good mule knew it should stay on a straight path while plowing all the way to the end of a row. If a mule, "fell out of the traces" it meant it wasn't consistent, dependable and focused on its task.
Another favorite saying in our family is one that Mama uses alot. Mama is the queen of diffusing an argument. Growing up, my sisters and I were encouraged to have independent thoughts and express our opinions. Discussion and debate are still normal at the round dinner table and the kitchen chopping block. So when something comes up that Mama sees is NOT going to be agreed upon, she just shrugs her shoulders and says, "That's why they make chocolate and vanilla". Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. This one has really caught on in my little household. It is not unusual to hear it as often from our boys as from their parents!
Nishie had alot of good sayings, but the one that everyone in the family still uses in many different situations is - "You got to know when to turn it loose!" When Nishie said turn it sounded like tarn. In the original story, Nishie was telling dad, "Jack, you got to know when to tarn it loose!" This can be used for a variety of reasons, but basically means it's important to know when enough is enough.
This year on Mother's Day at the Hunt House in Lattimore, we were sitting on the front steps talking when somebody on a loud motorcycle sped by; the engine popping and the bike swerving and swishing around the corner. Daddy grinned and said that when he was a little boy and somebody came by the house like that in a loud, fast car, the kids would yell from the yard "go ahead on, hell ain't half full yet!"
These old fashioned sayings can really drive home a point.
On one visit to the hospital, I wanted to talk with Mike about adjusting to his new health needs - getting plenty of rest, eating right, finding the right medication and generally focusing on his long term health. He wanted to talk with me about his worry about the cost of his hospital stay.
My initial reaction was sadness that a 20 year old college student was in a hospital bed worrying about the cost of getting well. In an attempt to get him to focus on the most pressing problem - his health and not the cost - I said "Mike, don't worry about the mule going blind." His face broke into the widest grin and he said, "That sounds just like the things David says! Oh, I have gotta write that one down with the other ones!" He went on to say that living with David, he had heard all kinds of sayings that were unfamiliar to him.
I guess I had never realized how many old fashioned sayings are used by our families. Or maybe the expressions are just forgotten from generation to generation. How many people today know WHY somebody might worry about the mule going blind?
"Worrying about the mule going blind" is actually something that my husband used to hear from his father who likely heard it from his father. Mr. D. W. Royster was sometimes called Mr. Ich. I have heard that his nickname originated because his tall, lanky frame resembled Washington Irving's character, Ichabod Crane. The grandchildren called him Pop Ick. When you were told "don't worry about the mule going blind", it meant don't spend non-productive energy worrying about something that you cannot control.
Several years ago, my Dad stumped me with an old fashioned saying when I was typing a letter for him. It was a recommendation letter and the point he wanted to make was that the applicant was a consistent, dependable person and focused on reaching his goals. Trying to decipher Dad's handwriting, I typed the words "he doesn't fall off the tracks". Dad laughed when he read what I had typed and told me it was supposed to say "he doesn't fall out of the traces". I had no idea what that meant, but he explained that it was a mule driving term. A good mule knew it should stay on a straight path while plowing all the way to the end of a row. If a mule, "fell out of the traces" it meant it wasn't consistent, dependable and focused on its task.
Another favorite saying in our family is one that Mama uses alot. Mama is the queen of diffusing an argument. Growing up, my sisters and I were encouraged to have independent thoughts and express our opinions. Discussion and debate are still normal at the round dinner table and the kitchen chopping block. So when something comes up that Mama sees is NOT going to be agreed upon, she just shrugs her shoulders and says, "That's why they make chocolate and vanilla". Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. This one has really caught on in my little household. It is not unusual to hear it as often from our boys as from their parents!
Nishie had alot of good sayings, but the one that everyone in the family still uses in many different situations is - "You got to know when to turn it loose!" When Nishie said turn it sounded like tarn. In the original story, Nishie was telling dad, "Jack, you got to know when to tarn it loose!" This can be used for a variety of reasons, but basically means it's important to know when enough is enough.
This year on Mother's Day at the Hunt House in Lattimore, we were sitting on the front steps talking when somebody on a loud motorcycle sped by; the engine popping and the bike swerving and swishing around the corner. Daddy grinned and said that when he was a little boy and somebody came by the house like that in a loud, fast car, the kids would yell from the yard "go ahead on, hell ain't half full yet!"
These old fashioned sayings can really drive home a point.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mother's Day at the Hunt House - Sour Cream Pound Cake
The Hunt's like to gather. We gather for all kinds of occasions and sometimes for no reason at all. With Mama and five other mothers in our immediate family, we spread out the chores and have Mother's Day at The Hunt House. The Hunt House is where Daddy grew up in Lattimore, NC. Nanny and PaPa (this sounds like Paw Paw) were married in 1911 and they built the Hunt House in about 1930. The Hunt House originally had 7 bedrooms to accomodate Nanny, Papa and their four children - Burnette, Robert, Julia and my father, Jack. Sometimes teachers from Lattimore school would also live with the family.
PaPa (Robert L Hunt) was a dentist and co-owned Hunt and Hewitt General Merchandise. The store was in a building on Main Street that was later Martin Milling Company and is now a restaurant called The Depot. Lattimore in those days was a busy intersection of two major railroads - The Southern and The Seaboard. PaPa's dental office was above the store on Main Street. He built the Hunt House on the corner of Main and Lee Streets. Lattimore School was across Lee Street on the other corner and Daddy remembers shooting basketball in the playground at all hours of the day and night - sometimes by moonlight. Across Main Street from The Hunt House is the two story red brick house where my family lived and where my sisters and I used to dance on the roof. I barely remember PaPa because he died when I was about 2 years old. I know alot of stories about him and I know that he was very involved in the community. I also know he had alot of energy and alot of fun.
I remember skipping across the street to visit Nanny at the Hunt House and how, in the mornings, her kitchen always smelled like coffee and cinnamon toast. Later in the day, it seems like she always had a chicken stewing in a big pot on the stove. There were dairy cows in Nanny's pasture. There was a barn with stalls for the cows to be herded into and then their necks were clamped into a harness to keep them still. Golly Hopper, Nishie's husband, would attach milking machines to their udders. The milking machines reminded me of an octopus. The milk was pumped through hoses into another room that had a huge electric stainless steel container where the milk was kept cool until the Sealtest man came to pick it up. Sometimes, my sisters and I would carry a glass milk jug from our house across the street to the milk barn. If we got there just after the cows had been milked, the milk was still warm. Warm milk on your cheerios is awful.
The railroad tracks run behind the Hunt House and under a bridge on Lee Street. When we would hear the train, every kid within earshot would run to the bridge and the conductors would throw candy from the train up to all the kids on the bridge. This was one of the highlights of the day for a kid in Lattimore.
There were hills between Nanny's house and her sister's, Garva Blanton (she was called Garvey). Once I remember there was a huge snowfall. It seemed like it snowed about 8 feet, but I am guessing that would be a slight exaggeration. All of the Blantons, Hunts, Martins, and other Lattimore kids went sledding in a big canoe on the hills between Nanny's and Aunt Garvey's.
So, the Hunt House is full of memories for everyone and this is where we spent Mother's Day Lunch.
When my grandmother and my Aunt Burnette passed away, Daddy bought the Hunt House, renovated the kitchen, added extra bathrooms, and it is now a five bedroom house. My sister, Judy, and her husband, Hanse, have bought the house from Daddy. They live in Blowing Rock full time and I think they are the only people who have ever had a permanent home in Blowing Rock and a vacation home in Lattimore! But I am so glad they do, because we all enjoy being at the Hunt House.
My sister, Libby, organized the menu for the Mother's Day lunch. Libby and Mama had the house warm with peonies on the tables and mint in the kitchen window. Daddy had it warm with a fire in the fireplace. Mama and Daddy brought corn and green beans from last years garden. My mother-in-law, Katherine Mabry, (we call her Sister), made her special coconut cake and layered salad. Unfortunately, she was not feeling well on Mother's Day, but she insisted on sending her delicious cake and salad. Judy, Penny, Libby, Cindy and I brought specified dishes and we did our very best to make them the way Mama and Daddy taught us. We must have done okay because Daddy called later and said he and Mama had now learned that they don't have to cook anymore! Doubtful that they won't cook anymore, but it was nice to hear him give us such a compliment.
The menu was ham, potato salad, strawberry salad, deviled eggs, corn, beans, mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, Sister's Layered Salad, and Biscuits. For dessert, as if we needed any, we had Sour Cream Pound Cake with strawberries and whipped cream, Sister's Coconut Cake, Nanny's Pecan Pie, and Mama Crowder's Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.
Friends and cousins started pouring into the house. When Mama arrived, I was struck by how pretty she is and how she always has a smile on her face. Mama has always been pretty, but that day she looked even prettier than usual.
We told stories and remembered and laughed and missed the ones who weren't with us, but mostly we were grateful that we could enjoy sharing the day together.
Sour Cream Pound Cake
2 sticks real butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups cake flour (sift, measure and don't sift again)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup sour cream (a little more)
1 tsp vanilla (more)
1/2 tsp lemon extract (more)
With electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add soda and flour alternating with sour cream. Add vanilla and lemon. Bake at 300 degrees for 90 minutes. This is a really big cake so I use a large bundt pan. Leave in pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a plate and then flipping back over onto a cake plate. The top is the best part!
Cut up strawberries and add a little sugar if needed. Serve cake with strawberries and whipped cream.
Any leftover cake is great toasted for breakfast!
Jicama - the wonder vegetable
Jicama is my new favorite vegetable. I had seen this vegetable a few times here and there but had not eaten it until my trip to visit Mary in Clearwater. Jicama (pronounced HICK-ah-mah) is a mexican root vegetable from the Morning Glory family. It looks like a potato. It does not taste like a potato. It is crunchy, juicy and mildly sweet. To use jicama, all you have to do is peel and cut it. It is great raw in salads. It can be stir fried or cooked with other veggies. And it works like a carrot stick for dips like hummus or salsa.
Here is the real bonus on jicama. Not only does it taste good, but it is also fairly cheap, easy to peel and chop, and it works in alot of recipes. It is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and calories. It is high in potassium, vitamin C and fiber. I think it might be able to tap dance!
The way you cut it depends on how you are using it. It is easiest to work with if you cut it in half and then peel it. For salads, I like to cut it into shoestring potato-like strips. If you are using it for a dip(in place of Tostitos), cut a little wider and thicker. If you are cooking it, you can cube it in various sizes.
Since it is juicy and sweet, it is great to balance out spicy foods. In Mexico, it is eaten like "street vendor food" - just sprinkled with cayenne pepper and lime juice.
Mary sent a recipe for Beet and Jicama salad. Tonight I tried it in a Chopped Salad. It is great in alot of different combinations with either fruits or vegetables. Here are a few ways to use jicama:
Chopped Salad with Jicama
I made this one up, so just use whatever amounts you prefer.
Lettuce from the garden
Radish - sliced then halved
Cucumber - sliced then halved
Sweet Red Pepper - chopped
Vidalia Spring Onion - chopped
Jicama - peeled and cut into shoestring strips
Toss everything into a big salad bowl. Sprinkle a small amount of red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and toss again.
Mary's Jicama and Beet Salad
(4 servings)
One 15 oz can sliced, marinated beets, drained
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fat free raspberry viniagrette dressing
1/2 cup diced jicama
4 cups torn romaine lettuce
In a medium bowl, combine beets, scallions and salad dresing. Refrigerate covered, until the flavors are blended - at least one hour. Stir in jicama. Place 1 cup of lettuce on each of 4 plates. Top with beet/jicama mixture.
52 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 3 fiber, 2 protein, 237 mg sodium.
Mandarin Orange and Jicama Salad
1 jicama, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
1 large lime, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 11 oz can mandarin orange segments, drained, liquid reserved
Combine everything and add just a small amount of the reserved orange juice. Allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste, stir just before serving.
Here is the real bonus on jicama. Not only does it taste good, but it is also fairly cheap, easy to peel and chop, and it works in alot of recipes. It is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and calories. It is high in potassium, vitamin C and fiber. I think it might be able to tap dance!
The way you cut it depends on how you are using it. It is easiest to work with if you cut it in half and then peel it. For salads, I like to cut it into shoestring potato-like strips. If you are using it for a dip(in place of Tostitos), cut a little wider and thicker. If you are cooking it, you can cube it in various sizes.
Since it is juicy and sweet, it is great to balance out spicy foods. In Mexico, it is eaten like "street vendor food" - just sprinkled with cayenne pepper and lime juice.
Mary sent a recipe for Beet and Jicama salad. Tonight I tried it in a Chopped Salad. It is great in alot of different combinations with either fruits or vegetables. Here are a few ways to use jicama:
Chopped Salad with Jicama
I made this one up, so just use whatever amounts you prefer.
Lettuce from the garden
Radish - sliced then halved
Cucumber - sliced then halved
Sweet Red Pepper - chopped
Vidalia Spring Onion - chopped
Jicama - peeled and cut into shoestring strips
Toss everything into a big salad bowl. Sprinkle a small amount of red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and toss again.
Mary's Jicama and Beet Salad
(4 servings)
One 15 oz can sliced, marinated beets, drained
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fat free raspberry viniagrette dressing
1/2 cup diced jicama
4 cups torn romaine lettuce
In a medium bowl, combine beets, scallions and salad dresing. Refrigerate covered, until the flavors are blended - at least one hour. Stir in jicama. Place 1 cup of lettuce on each of 4 plates. Top with beet/jicama mixture.
52 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 3 fiber, 2 protein, 237 mg sodium.
Mandarin Orange and Jicama Salad
1 jicama, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
1 large lime, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 11 oz can mandarin orange segments, drained, liquid reserved
Combine everything and add just a small amount of the reserved orange juice. Allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste, stir just before serving.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Playing Catch Up - Chicken Salad
This week has just flown by. I had some catching up to do since I was gone last weekend. Also I had several volunteer board meetings at night this week. And I 'needed' to play tennis a couple of times this week - once for a team and once just for fun.
I actually do have a part-time job. Very part-time. I used to say that my hours were from 10 till 2 and I take a 2 hour lunch. But I just had to cut back on those hours to make time for everything else.
I do bookkeeping for my Dad's building materials business, The Round Up Store. The Round Up has a very colorful and interesting history and is still very interesting. The Round Up deserves it's own blogpost - maybe several.
For me to be doing bookkeeping is pretty interesting in itself, but that, in fact, is what I do. After working in the computer industry, and then doing some computer teaching at several community colleges, I realized that what I really wanted was to be a Mom. And I have never regretted that decision.
However, I enjoy the challenge and the experiences in the working world so the perfect fit for me was to do something that I could keep flexible hours. The Round Up needed someone to keep up with the bills, taxes, and other paperwork, so there I was. It has been so much more rewarding than I would have ever dreamed. I have done this for 20 years and I have always enjoyed alot of flexibility with my time. Now that I have a laptop, Quickbooks software, email, etc, I have even more flexibility and I am very grateful.
So this week, I played catch up at work, played catch up with housework, played catch up with my volunteer committments and I played tennis. The trick was trying to have something decent for supper that didn't require alot of time.
With both boys away at college, David and I do not eat huge meals at supper. So, tonight we had Chicken Salad, Saltine Crackers and Fresh Watermelon. We love chicken salad alot of different ways. David's mother makes a great chicken salad that she seasons with dill. Carol makes a great Fruited Chicken Salad that I will post one day. But tonight, with all the playing catch up and then needing to catch up in the garden too, I made the easy version of Mama's Chicken Salad. Actually Mama usually uses Turkey - so it's Turkey Salad. She cooks a Turkey breast really often. It is like so many of Mama's dishes. I don't have real exact amounts. But one of the most important things is to cut everything up uniformly. Another thing is when you are cutting up the chicken, you should not include any gristle or fat or other icky things. Mama's rule is "Don't put anything in that you wouldn't want to eat yourself". So here is how I made Mama's Chicken Salad tonight:
Mama's Chicken Salad
Cube chicken, taking out anything that you wouldn't want to eat yourself
(tonight I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to speed things up)
Make sure you cube it up uniformly - We like it fairly chunky, but not so chunky that it will fall off of a saltine cracker!
Several stalks of Celery - diced. We like alot of celery.
Sweet Salad Cube Pickles. We like alot of pickles too.
Mayo, Salt and Pepper to taste. Remember "You can add more, but you can't add less"
Sometimes Mama adds thyme to her turkey salad and probably some other spices now and then. But, it can hit the spot just to make the quick and easy way.
I actually do have a part-time job. Very part-time. I used to say that my hours were from 10 till 2 and I take a 2 hour lunch. But I just had to cut back on those hours to make time for everything else.
I do bookkeeping for my Dad's building materials business, The Round Up Store. The Round Up has a very colorful and interesting history and is still very interesting. The Round Up deserves it's own blogpost - maybe several.
For me to be doing bookkeeping is pretty interesting in itself, but that, in fact, is what I do. After working in the computer industry, and then doing some computer teaching at several community colleges, I realized that what I really wanted was to be a Mom. And I have never regretted that decision.
However, I enjoy the challenge and the experiences in the working world so the perfect fit for me was to do something that I could keep flexible hours. The Round Up needed someone to keep up with the bills, taxes, and other paperwork, so there I was. It has been so much more rewarding than I would have ever dreamed. I have done this for 20 years and I have always enjoyed alot of flexibility with my time. Now that I have a laptop, Quickbooks software, email, etc, I have even more flexibility and I am very grateful.
So this week, I played catch up at work, played catch up with housework, played catch up with my volunteer committments and I played tennis. The trick was trying to have something decent for supper that didn't require alot of time.
With both boys away at college, David and I do not eat huge meals at supper. So, tonight we had Chicken Salad, Saltine Crackers and Fresh Watermelon. We love chicken salad alot of different ways. David's mother makes a great chicken salad that she seasons with dill. Carol makes a great Fruited Chicken Salad that I will post one day. But tonight, with all the playing catch up and then needing to catch up in the garden too, I made the easy version of Mama's Chicken Salad. Actually Mama usually uses Turkey - so it's Turkey Salad. She cooks a Turkey breast really often. It is like so many of Mama's dishes. I don't have real exact amounts. But one of the most important things is to cut everything up uniformly. Another thing is when you are cutting up the chicken, you should not include any gristle or fat or other icky things. Mama's rule is "Don't put anything in that you wouldn't want to eat yourself". So here is how I made Mama's Chicken Salad tonight:
Mama's Chicken Salad
Cube chicken, taking out anything that you wouldn't want to eat yourself
(tonight I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to speed things up)
Make sure you cube it up uniformly - We like it fairly chunky, but not so chunky that it will fall off of a saltine cracker!
Several stalks of Celery - diced. We like alot of celery.
Sweet Salad Cube Pickles. We like alot of pickles too.
Mayo, Salt and Pepper to taste. Remember "You can add more, but you can't add less"
Sometimes Mama adds thyme to her turkey salad and probably some other spices now and then. But, it can hit the spot just to make the quick and easy way.
May Garden Update - Tomato stakes and suckers
I just checked on the garden. Everything is growing well and looks green and happy. I mean everything. Including the weeds. I see some serious weeding time in my near future. The cucumber plants are holding their heads up, sending out little tentacles and looking for places to run. The squash and eggplant need more water, but look pretty healthy. The peppers love hot dry weather so they haven't minded that I have been gone alot. Same with the herbs. Herbs love to be hot and dry.
The tomatoes are growing fast but were starting to lean over, so it was time to stake them. I have used various methods to do this. I used to think the best way was with a tall wooden stake and nylon hose cut into strips to tie up the plant. The nylon hose expand and won't cut or damage the plant when you tie it to the stake. But, last year I bought some of the tomato rings and so that is what I am using again this year. One thing you have to do if you are using rings is to train the tomato plant as it grows by adjusting it up the rings. If you get too far behind with this, you can break the plant or damage the tomatoes. Tomatoes need to be tended to a little more than some plants.
So I have staked the tomatoes and I have picked off the suckers. Suckers are non producing branches that grow between the producing branches.
Suckers are alot like bad habits. If you leave them on the plant, they will use up alot of the energy and nutrients of the plants and the tomatoes on the producing limbs will not grow to their full potential. You can spot a sucker right away when they are little, but it gets harder to tell as they mature. When you notice which have the yellow flowers and which do not, alot of the damage is already done. It's important to 'nip those suckers in the bud' before they hold back a producer.
We sure could learn alot from plants.
The tomatoes are growing fast but were starting to lean over, so it was time to stake them. I have used various methods to do this. I used to think the best way was with a tall wooden stake and nylon hose cut into strips to tie up the plant. The nylon hose expand and won't cut or damage the plant when you tie it to the stake. But, last year I bought some of the tomato rings and so that is what I am using again this year. One thing you have to do if you are using rings is to train the tomato plant as it grows by adjusting it up the rings. If you get too far behind with this, you can break the plant or damage the tomatoes. Tomatoes need to be tended to a little more than some plants.
So I have staked the tomatoes and I have picked off the suckers. Suckers are non producing branches that grow between the producing branches.
Suckers are alot like bad habits. If you leave them on the plant, they will use up alot of the energy and nutrients of the plants and the tomatoes on the producing limbs will not grow to their full potential. You can spot a sucker right away when they are little, but it gets harder to tell as they mature. When you notice which have the yellow flowers and which do not, alot of the damage is already done. It's important to 'nip those suckers in the bud' before they hold back a producer.
We sure could learn alot from plants.
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