Lately, I have had this almost aching desire to reconnect
with past memories through food.
I don’t know why, but I have had the desire to cook the
favorite foods of my family.
I have shared so often that most all of my memories surround
food, and really, is that a bad thing?
There is some great comfort in holding that black iron
skillet in my hand again. It holds
memories from years of meals provided for our health, so that our health could
be used for HIS service, and eat we did, and yes, serve, we did, also.
I loved hearing that line that Daddy said in his prayer each
time he prayed, “bless this food to nourish our bodies, and our health to Your
service.”
I think that about sums up the motto of my family.
So, once again, I was reminded this week of yet another
family memory.
My cousin asked for the family recipe of Chicken and
Dumplings like Mother and Aunt Becky made.
I told her that I really didn’t think there was a recipe, but I would
look and let her know.
Mother made so many things from memory, and that is how she
taught me to cook. I have shared that
often she would remember a recipe with how many ingredients it had in
it~~Eggplant casserole was 5: crackers, butter, egg, flour, onion (salt and
pepper was always a given). Oddly
enough, this was one of Daddy’s favorite things to eat, yet he would not eat
cooked squash! SERIOUSLY??!! Ah, but fry those suckers and he couldn’t get
enough, but in all fairness, it is hard to fathom someone not liking that. LOL
Sooooooooo, into the old file I went, and that is where the
serendipity moment happened.
I didn’t look so much at the recipes, as I did at whose
recipes they belonged to. Memories
flooded my soul as I remembered Miss Bertha (and Mr. Henry), Miss Jeannette
(and Mr. Horace), Avis (and Holcolm), recipe after recipe from her best friend
and classmate, Shirley, my cousin, Trish, and on and on…
My mind recalled moments spent with each as we visited on a
Sunday Afternoon, back when people took time to visit their neighbors and to go
for a Sunday drive. I laughed as I
recalled visiting the Jones’ and she asked if we wanted a piece of pie. I asked, “what kind” KNOWING if it were
coconut, I would not eat it…I KNEW that asking was wrong, and as soon as it
came from my mouth, those Blue laser-beam eyes drilled two holes in my
skin. What is a small child to do~~get
in trouble for asking or get in trouble for wasting food!! Mother tried her best to teach me good
manners…she tried… =(
I laughed as I saw “never fail” on a recipe from Miss Jeannette,
because Mother had shared the story of Jeannette making some “never fail
cookies” that failed all over the cookie sheet!
It became a challenge to find those recipes and exchange them at
Christmas. Miss Jeannette taught Mother,
Miss Mildred, and another Miss Mildred, how to knit, and the joke was that Miss
Mildred Matthews had to rip her project out so many times, it became mohair! Priceless…
I giggled as I saw a recipe from Miss Betty B, because when she
married Mr. Bill, Miss Jessie (Bill’s mother) was so concerned about Miss Betty
B’s lack of cooking skills, because she was, after all, a city girl and she could
not have her city girl starving her big old hunk of a strong star football
player!! Miss Betty B “allegedly” made a
tuna casserole and a pot of chili every week~~spring, summer, fall, winter!!
(yes, I have shared HOW WRONG that is on so many levels.) BUT, Mr. Bill was a big man, and I think he
did just fine and never seemed to starve to death. Oh, to have one of Miss Betty B’s forgotten
cookies right now…That was love in a cookie.
Miss Bertha and Mr. Henry were our special friends. They lived up the road, around the big curve…YES,
there are a lot of big curves around where I live, and you had to know WHICH
BIG CURVE someone was talking about!
LOL Daddy farmed Mr. Henry’s land
for many years, and when we had the ice storm of 1970, Daddy went and brought
them to our house to stay because we had gas heat and a generator, for use
after the milking. They always had a
parakeet, which to a child, is extremely fascinating…even though they have been
gone for many years, the tomb markers for their birds still remain in their
yard. I wonder if the owners even know
what they are!!
Oh, I could go for days sharing about the olde folks, but I
DID find a recipe for Chicken and Dumplings.
It came from Miss Martha Johnson, and mother got the recipe on
2/22/95. While it isn’t the recipe that
Mother used when I was young, I do remember her making this. I remember coming home to seeing cookie
sheets all over the kitchen as they dried so she could freeze some of
them! YIKES, I did not want that
many!! LOL
Miss Ma’tha, was the sister of Avis. We went to church together and Mr. Foster
(her husband) and Daddy always called each other “Lum and Abner”, an old Radio
show from the dark dark ages. Oh, how I
loved them. Miss Martha had such bad arthritis
that her fingers were crossed over each other, but she never complained and she
never stopped doing ANYTHING. She
cooked, canned, entertained and loved on people better than a person who had no
obstacles. While I truly believe in the
goodness of people and that there are so many wonderful, Godly people walking
this earth, I am convinced that the mold was broken after Miss Martha was
created. She was a one-of-a-kind
treasure! The same is true of her sister, Miss Avis.
So, I will share the recipe and stop walking down that
crowded street called: Memory Lane. I am
so thankful that road is crowded with folks that I love…I know that street is
paved with gold, and I can’t wait when it is my turn to visit them again!! WOW…But until then, there are recipes and
memories to share.
I will tell you that the BEST broth comes from cooking a
small WHOLE chicken. While this is
totally gross to discuss, the bones and the skin are what gives the broth its
great flavor. I always cook at least two
whole chickens, so that I can freeze the broth and the chicken for later meals.
Chicken and Dumplins
Boil chicken in water (in pressure cooker)…Take out chicken
after it is cooked…Let cool to debone…
Use 2 cups warm liquid (broth). Add enough PLAIN flour to make a stiff
dough. ROLL VERY THIN. Do not roll all the dough out at once…Place
the dumplings onto a baking sheet until they’re all cut out and drop into
boiling liquid one-at-a-time. Stir
GENTLLY…Cook 15-20 minute until done, and add chicken pieces back in with
dumplings…IF you need more moisture, just add water until you are satisfied
with consistency.
Ok, so I didn’t want to eat Chicken and Dumplins until the
second coming of Christ, so I used 2 large thighs (bone and skin) and boiled in
a pan of water (about ½ gallon) for one hour.
I removed the chicken and ½ cup of broth. I added plain flour (I lost count, but it was
at least 1 ¼ cup) until it was not so sticky.
I then moved this to a floured piece of freezer paper and worked more
flour into the dough until it was stiff and no longer sticky. I, again, was too lazy to find the rolling
pin, so I just spread it out with my fingers and got it pretty thin. I cooked the dumplins for at least 20
minutes. Then I added the
chicken~~always add your chicken after, or it will become stringy~~yuck! It was plenty for me and Charcoal to have a
big bowl. Yes, Charcoal ALWAYS wants
more.
Yep, it tasted like I remembered, and I laughed as I
recounted how Daddy hated dumplins. He
also hated biscuits, which Mother could make perfectly, with one hand tied
behind her back. She was often called
the most “wasted” biscuit maker, because Daddy didn’t like them, but let me
tell you, my brother, Brian, could eat his share, Daddy’s share, and anyone
else who didn’t want theirs. Yes, there
was the night of a LONG walk because Brian ate too many “Riz Biscuits” and was
miserable…LOL
Yep, we laughed about that for years…
It really is the simple things that are the BIG THINGS in
the end...Find those blessings in your life and hold them in your heart for
memories during tough times...~~charlotte
