“Who Had Time to Cook?”
By
Gerry Niskern
Some times a trip to the grocery story can bring back warm memories. Just a hint of a scent can evoke a reminder of a dinner in your childhood.
I passed by luscious ripe Strawberries yesterday and was instantly reminded of dinners we used to have when I was a kid on a little farm in West Virginia. I say dinner, because that was exactly what we had. Strawberry short cake…… All we wanted. During the peak of Strawberry season we picked and picked and picked. Mom would take time out to make pie pans of sweet biscuit, slice them thru, pile sweetened berries on one layer and then put the other half on top and add ladles full of more berries…..all we could eat. What a wonderful dinner!
Of course, another one item dinner that I loved was in sweet corn season. My mother would pick a bushel of corn from her garden and boil them for dinner. She had a strict rule. “You boil for three minutes and not a second longer for the best flavor. Just enough to cook the milk inside the kernels.” Then she would always add, “Most people cook their sweet corn way too long!” We ate those delicious ears with her fresh churned butter dripping down thru our fingers
Monday was laundry day. If she was real tired we got her stewed tomatos and bread. NOT A FAVORITE OF MINE. But I have to admit it wasn’t as bad as an occasional dinner a friend of mine from Tennessee told me about. She still had nightmares of a plate full of Collard greens. That was it. Nothing else and she couldn’t leave the table until she ate every bite. .
Ken used to talk about childhood dinners of fried Okra. I wasn’t familiar with Okra, but when I tasted his mother’s, I liked the crunchy, nutlike flavor. He also remember dinners of a big glass of milk and chunks of cornbread to drop into it. That I didn’t try.
We both remembered when dinner consisted of a big pot of beans. A ladle full of beans over a slice of buttered bread was delicious. My mother’s were the big butter beans and since he grew up in West Texas, his mother’s were pinto beans.
Probably what we all remember best is the happy feeling of sitting at a dinner table surrounded by people who cared for you!
I loved pinto beans too , we called them frijoles de olla and my nana always saved me some before she mashed them into refried beans . I can still smell them in my memory and sometimes my brother makes some and they are like Nana’s.
glad it brought back memories for you!
My Mom’s mac and cheese was the best. I still make it for my family and once made it for a potluck Many wanted the recipe. Pinto beans were also a favorite, but yes sitting down with family was a real blessing.
Bobby