Although I recently re-committed my time to a local shelter program for women and children, I found through journaling for the Bible series I can do more.
One of my "gifts" is Cooking. More of a blessing handed down by the best cooks in the world, My Grandmother, Aunts and Cousins. I have a true feeling of joy when cooking. I am a "foodie" and like all foodies, I love to eat. This is quite natural coming from New Orleans. Although I have met many a New Orleanian that can not cook, I never met one that did not like to eat. I am so thankful the "no cooking" part was not true for my family.
My love of cooking started with my Grandmother in NOLA. As a girl I would go "make groceries" with her and plan the daily meal. This often meant we were having what she or I wanted to eat that day. Oh Joy!
My Grandmothers reputation as a cook and joy of giving kept a crowd in her kitchen from morning to night. It was mostly our immediate and "extended family" there, but that extension was a cord at least 50 miles long.
"Grandmother" and "Pawpa" were from rural Louisiana and moved to New Orleans to raise their family.
My Grandfather was a man of few words and when he spoke it often sounded like Paw bear from Hillbilly Bears.
Hillbilly Bear Throwback Don't sleep on the premise. Nothing like hanging with Dad, even in "toonville".
Our "Pawpa" was not going to repeat himself so you had to pay close attention when he was speaking. I loved his way. In every right my Grandfather was also a great cook. He cooked the best skillet scrambled eggs in the world, often the one making breakfast for himself and the family before going off to work during the week. Weekend breakfast was a larger affair and more collaborative effort. As a child and young man living in the "Country", my Grandfather routinely hunted or fished for his family meals. Later in his life, living in New Orleans he took our family on many trips out to the "Country" where my Grandfather would get with his peeps to hunt or fish and my Grandmother would get with her peeps and cook, it was the Always The Best Time in My Life!
My Grandmother was purely and simply love personified tending to her family with the love, care and wisdom of a family laureate. She was my Hero as a girl and my Hero still from the hereafter.
Most of my Grandmother and Grandfather's family were still in the "Country" and I can remember asking to go to the" Country" for weekend visits. When we did it was a party. Food, lots of food, Music, lots of music, Family, lots of family and Drink, lots of drink. The city cousins kissed the country cousins and caught up with each others lives. Do not let the "Country" fool you those "Country" cousins had it going on with college degrees and were very active in the community. City cousins - not so much. What we truly shared were family ties. But the overwhelming feeling was a sense of Joy and Love. Love for each other, for our lives and Joy in the world we lived in. Al Green - Let's Stay Together A family anthem! I wish I had video of my family singing this back in the day.
Sundays were the best days and because of the wonderful times we had on Sunday I still hold that day as a sacred time for family. Life now in Chicago, family day may be a Wednesday but the theme is always the same, love. We have less family members gathering with less food and less music and much less drink but the love is still the same and we still like to eat.
Those of you that have seen the movie Soul Food or the BET series by the same name depicting family gatherings around a large meal will understand what Sunday mealtime can be in a afro centric household.
Kitchen time in my Grandmother's house hold many memories for me. There were several kitchens in different homes over the years, painted yellow and always in the back of those "shot gun" houses, famous in New Orleans. The women of the family would gather with the radio always on but the music will never be the same.
Let me take you back if you were there and if not let me" hip" you to it. Click the song title!
Slippin Into darkness - WAR If your going to listen to WAR then you must play All Day Music, it even has the vinyl touch. All day one of my all time jamzzz. My Uncles would play this in the park and jam with it on their bongos. The best days ever!
Zoom - Do I have to say?
I'd Rather Be With You- Bootsy
A Family Affair - Sly Stone This is Church!
I got to stop now, I'm hurting myself, too much music for one post!
Words of wisdom were shared as we snapped, picked, peeled, sliced and diced culinary delight and our family bond grew stronger with every pear we pared.
Whether in the City or the Country, meals with my NOLA family (especially on Sunday) were superb! These were true moment of Joy, times I try to recreate now with every pot of red beans I make, every pot of gumbo, every pot of greens, every pan of dressing, bowl of potato salad... oh I could go on forever.
And now this gift of cooking which is really more of a blessing that came with words of wisdom handed down from those wonderful women, is a gift I always love to share with family and friends. Some recipes have been slightly altered for heart health, but none lack Full Soul Flavor.
Part of my new found commitment to joy is to share this gift of cooking with more people. I am starting with a special friend who is also a great cook which makes this just "that" much more special. As a cook, the best thing in the world is when someone cooks for you and it's good! Her Pot of Beans are in the Crock Pot now smellin good! The recipe is below - my gift to you!
Beans take a lot of time to cook right so plan to be home or use the Crock Pot and double the Cook Time.
Either way, pour yourself a favorite drink, turn on the "radio", pullout the chopping board and EnJoy!
Red Beans with Smoked Turkey Tails
Ingredients
1lb. pkg of dried red kidney beans
4 large smoked turkey tails
4 large bay leaves
1 medium white onion
1 large green pepper
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 Tb spoon season salt
1 Tb spoon cayenne pepper
Regular salt and black pepper "to taste" at the end of cooking
4 scallion tops diced for garnish
Prep
Soak beans overnight then rinse and drain.
Fill 8 quart pot with water and boil turkey tails until "fork" tender - about 5 hours, depending on size. Allow tails to cool to touch and remove from water, leave water from turkey tail boil in pot. Pull meat from tail bone and skin. Discard bone and skin. Set meat aside.
Dice onion, green pepper and garlic.
Cook Time
Leave remaining water from tail boil in pot and add water to 3/4 full line in pot. Add beans, turkey meat, onion, green pepper and garlic, bay leaves, season salt and cayenne to water. Cover pot and boil on med high flame for 3 hours. Lower flame to med low and boil additional 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours or until beans are "finger" soft. Add additional water to pot to half full if goes below half line during cooking.
Taste after 3 hours and add regular salt and black pepper to taste before finishing cook time. Serve over rice. Top with scallions at serving.
If you are not familiar with bay leaves, please do not eat the leaf, remove at serving.
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Oh man...your memories of the country brought tears to my eyes. Oh how it tickled me to hear "make groceries" again. I remember when I became the one that would love to go "make groceries" with Grandmother. I especially like to go because if I did she would make me whatever I wanted to eat (which often consisted of fried chicken, rice and peas) YUM! I was so happy that I didn't have to eat whatever Pawpa killed! :-) I remember a certain turtle that never made it across the driveway....hmmm I remember crab boils and lots of fun and lots of family. The house was never empty and those summers still hold a lot of my fondest memories. Somehow the country exposed this city girl to a wide variety of things....like chickens and goats and swamps and haunted tree...Oh I too can go on forever! I miss the food, but most importantly, I miss the people. I'm sure grandmother is smiling down on us right now every time we get together as a family!!!! I just LOVE FAMILY!!!
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