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Remembering Mama the chef
She was not just a good cook, she was a great chef. She really knew the techniques that I see being taught in the top culinary schools today. I learned at the age of 10 years old to make a sauce; and if I messed it up, how to repair it properly. I learned at that same age how to temper eggs and how to make gravies from roux measuring the color from light to dark as the dish required. She never used recipes. I've tried to develop her best dishes, but there is always a little something missing. There was honestly never a time when a warm meal was not coming out of her kitchen at supper time or weekends. I feel guilty when I go to a fast food restaurant these days when there are so many more conveniences for us homemakers to rely on. A typical Sunday dinner always included a fresh vegetable (even if the freshness was from the garden to the freezer), a yummy meat dish and cornbread, yeast rolls or biscuits. Here are some of my favorite vegetables for you to try. Summer is coming soon and the gardens will be yielding it's goodness. Cook up some old fashioned summer suppers. Remember to slice some fresh tomatoes and onions. Fried Okra 1 qt young okra salt and pepper boiling water yellow cornmeal cooking oil Wash okra and cut into 1/4" pieces, discarding stems. Parboil for 5 minutes in salted water, drain in colander and spinkle with salt and pepper. Roll in cornmeal and let rest for 15 minutes so cornmeal will stick to okra when ready to fry. Fry in deep fat until golden. Drain on paper bag and serve hot. Eggplant Paysanne 1 large eggplant, diced 1/2 C olive oil 2 onions, sliced 2 C grated cheese 2 C green beans salt, pepper, thyme (a pinch of each) 4 c peeled tomatoes Spray a 2 1/2 qt casserole dish and layer with eggplant, onions, greens beans and tomatoes. Top with the seasonings and pour olive oil over all. Bake for 2 hours at 325 degrees. Save some of the grated cheese to put on top of casserole after it has cooked. Brown and serve. Southern Cushaw 4 1/2 C parboiled cushaw 1/2 C butter 2/3 C brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2/3 C white sugar 1/3 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp vanilla
Cut cushaw (with peel) into pieces, scrape out seed and boil until tender. Remove peel and drain well. Mix with remaining ingredients. Cook in heavy skillet on top of stove until excess moisture evaporates. Put in 2 1/2 qt. casserole and bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
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