NEWS FROM THE HILLS
Summer hums along like the drone of a bumblebee, hot, sweltering midsummer days with blessedly cooler nights. It has been perfect sweet corn weather, and the maturing crops all seem to be ready at the same time.
My daughter Patty says that it was a thrill to gather the very first vegetables from the garden at the beginning of the season, but an even greater thrill to finish up a patch and know it is done for the year. It is exhausting work, but rewarding.
The squash and cucumbers have produced so abundantly that it is hard to give away the surplus. We are tempted to leave them on our neighbor’s doorsteps and then run and hide. I think I will plant ONE zucchini seed next year.
It is hard to separate food and country living, and I have been reminiscing about old time country cooking. My mother-in-law Peach used to love “soakies” which was coffee liberally laced with cream and poured over a well-buttered biscuit crust. She fed them to our toddlers, and I can still see them leaning on her knee for another bite.
I received a letter several years ago from David Morton of Charleston who recalls that they ate the same food only they called it, “barley.” They put sugar and cream in the coffee before adding the hot biscuit.
When we were kids, we were told that coffee would stunt our growth, and I think it was merely to discourage us from drinking it. We were allowed to drink hot tea, and Mom made lots of hot cocoa with fresh cow’s milk. I hated the taste of coffee anyway, and only wanted it because it was forbidden.
David had roots in Jackson County, and recalled the visits he made to Middle Fork to visit Uncle Will and Aunt Lou Good. At the time, “children were to be seen and not heard,” so while the men folk sat on the front porch and talked, David sat still as a mouse and soaked up a lot of interesting information. Yes, I remember those days also, when children were not the center of attention, and grownups had freedom to talk.
There were many country foods that our grandchildren have never heard of or experienced. When Mom fried our own home-cured ham, she would make gravy using the drippings. I’ve heard it called “red-eye” gravy, but we called it “striped” gravy. David’s folks called it “speckled” gravy, and both of our mothers added a slug of strong coffee to the pan.
The gravy was sopped up with hot biscuits, and we often had fried apples made with early transparent apples to go with it. This was topped with a big hunk of real cow butter. David said his grandmother always told them to “eat plenty of grease—it lubricates ya!” His mother lived to the ripe old age of 97, and never had a clogged vein.
The secret was in working hard and staying active all the days of her life. We never had a weight problem while we were growing up, as hard work and much walking took care of all that.
When Mom was a little girl, one of their favorite breakfast foods was “co-ca.” It was made like a thin chocolate pudding, and eaten with butter and biscuits. We ate a lot of “hot jam,” made with well-sweetened blackberries and thickened with flour or cornstarch. This called for more cow butter and biscuits.
There is nothing like good, healthy country food when you are growing up. Some of today’s youngsters live on a diet of pizza, chips, and soft drinks. It is sad that they have never known the satisfaction of sitting down to a real country meal.
I thank the Lord every day for His blessings upon us and for placing me right here in this country atmosphere where we can see His handiwork all around us. It seems that in drawing close to nature, we are drawing close to God.
I remember when grandson Adrian was just a little tot, he came upon a patch of tiny mushrooms. He was intrigued by them, and dropped to his knees to study them. “Who put these here, Mommaw?” he asked. I answered him, “God did.” Calling loudly to his brothers, he announced, “Don’t step on these mushrooms—God put them there!” We all should have such a reverence for the world around us, which God has made.
Thanks to Barb Roberts who sent more information on boneset tea, and words to song, “Fill My Way with Love.” Ted Boggess, who requested the words to the song, “Job,” writes that he received a call from a lady from Dunbar who is sending him the song.
I love the little notes that I get from readers from time to time. Lynndal Harkins of Charleston writes about blackberry cobbler, and adds, “now if we could only find the recipe that tastes like we remember.” Virgil Wayne, who is almost 80, tells us that he loves the old-timey columns, and says, “old memories bring peace of mind.”
Now we have a request from CNS who is looking for the words to “Lamplighting Time in the Valley.” I am sure that is an old song—I remember hearing Mom sing it when I was a little girl.
Old memories are sweet.
Alyce Faye Bragg can be reached at alycefaye@citlink.net or 2556 Summers Fork Road, Ovapa, WV 25150.
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