That woman cook cook up a storm I'm tellin' ya and it seems that's what she did all day off and on in between washing dishes by hand and doing other chores.
This picture is not too far from the truth.
Home made biscuits with home made gravy, every freakin' day. Eggs how ya wanted 'em, by the carton.
Bacon, sausage, ham, toast, Fried potatoes, coffee, milk, orange juice or Tang, sometimes even pork chops. You want Cream of Wheat or Oatmeal?
Sit down there and butter the toast.
She whipped up a five course meal for breakfast damn near every day for years.
I have always been skinnier than a toothpick and sometimes I used to think Granny took it as a personal challenge to try and fatten me up.
You would be surprised at how many groceries I can get around and stay so skinny. I have sharp elbows too.
She would completely cover the table with food and everyone would dig in.
She used to tell me all the time, "Boy, if you're bashful around here, you're going to be hungry".
I'll never forget the time there was only one pork chop left on the plate and I could see my Uncle eyeballing it at the same time I was.
I reached over and snatched that sucker up with my hand at the same time he came in from above with his fork to spear it.
I got there first but got the fork right to the back of the hand.
That was an especially delicious pork chop.
She made pinto beans like I have only ever had one time since she died thirty five years ago and that was in a little Mom and Pop restaurant in a podunk little town in Tennessee that we went to when my Grandfather died back in 1999.
A little burg called Trezevant.
I have looked all over for years to find that recipe and have never duplicated it.
Those were the most delicious beans you ever had in your life.
Almost soupy. It was some combination of spices she put in it that I have never been able to duplicate and trust me, I have tried.
I've come close before but I'm still missing something.
It's a damn secret that no one seems to know and like I said, I have looked for years.
It appears to be specific to that region of Tennessee because that's where they came from.
Damn, I miss that woman.
6 comments:
she cooked real food not the crap fast food outlets sell
another "spice" was white wood ash for bean or corn dishes
Wildflower
In the summer my grandmother had a complete kitchen in an outbuilding and a huge table made from wood doors. People ate out there because they wouldn't fit in the house.
My lovely wife has many talents, but cooking was never one of them. Her biscuits made excellent hockey pucks. She could not successfully boil water three times in a row. The third time she'd break the stove. Not kidding.
She's gotten better over the years, but I do most of the cooking.
I'm pretty positive there weren't any ashes in 'em. I know there was cumin and I'm pretty sure she put some Mexene chili powder in 'em. I had some lady from down South tell me about it so I ordered some because I couldn't find any locally. That was the closest I ever came to it. Mexene chili powder has a bunch of other stuff in it and it was damn close to hers when I got done but still wasn't right.
https://www.amazon.com/Mexene-Powder-20-Ounce-Plastic-Canisters/dp/B001EQ5C2U
Outdoor kitchens were actually pretty common back in the day.
I know what you are saying about the wife and cooking abilities.
My wife hates it when I get in the kitchen for some reason but every once in a while I ignore her protestations and fix myself something Granny would have made.
Granny fried the hell out of most things in cast iron skillets.
I still have a couple of hers and drag them out once in a while.
Don't tell anyone but I know how to cook better than my wife does too. One of the first jobs I had out of High school was being a short order cook in a joint across the highway from the lumber mill my Grandfather used to work at. I also picked up some of Granny's techniques. I think she had maybe ten recipes written down for stuff she rarely made and never measured anything other than that.
"white wood ash" added to bean or corn cooking; the wood lye helps to release niacin in beans or corn giving it a better taste
fiquire one teaspoon ash per four quarts of cookpot contents
or just set it on fire and go to a fast food outlet
Wildflower
Those were the most delicious beans you ever had in your life.
Almost soupy.
Yum! :)
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