The First 'Mater of 2012 w. Gingi

This year I decided that I would share my very first German Johnson tomato with my dearest grandmother, who's in the hospital with neuropathy.  All my life she has shared her German Johnsons with me.  Whether it was her last, first, or only tomato, she was willing to share.  Going to visit her, no matter the season, she always had tomatoes in her window seal, and she always asked "Do y'all need any tomatoes?" She would also offer any other vegetable she had in her dehydrator or that she had just picked from her garden that same day.

So, I made a promise to myself, and to Facebook, I guess, that I would share the very first one with her, no matter the size, shape, or condition.  And so I did. I let this special first 'mater sit in my kitchen window seal and ripen to perfection, until it had that deep red color, and until the skin turned soft and tender, making sure there were no green spots on the top near the stem.  And when this perfection had been achieved, I made a special appointment with the hubby, because once it was ready, we had to go.  When I pulled that perfectly ripened 'mater out of my pocket book (just like Gingi herself would have done), her eyes lit up, "Is that a German Johnson?"  "Yes Ma'am," I answered.  I told her my promise, and she replied, "ain't that sweet."

I told her that it was a small tomato, but it was the first, so I had to share it, no matter the size.  She said in reply, "it's enough for me and you to both have some." I of course had to agree with her.  I laid the 'mater down on her little cart, waiting for her dinner tray, so she could have it with her other food.  After waiting for awhile, she finally said, "go see if the nurses will give you some plates and a fork."  She did not want to wait!!

Ok, so I went on a treasure hunt, and was able to find some small styrofoam plates, but no utensils. Luckily I had brought a knife to slice it with, but Charles had to hunt down some eating utensils, and all they had was plastic spoons.  Gingi said she thought she could handle eating it with a spoon, and we both laughed, because I think she would have eaten it with her fingers if I would have let her.  Before I could get the tomato sliced, she asked, "You got some salt?"  Of course I made sure we had salt.  I know better than that!

So I handed her the two biggest slices, sprinkled with salt, and the plastic spoon.  She got really quiet.  After the first bite, she exclaimed, "there just ain't nothing better."  WOW. It was the best mater moment ever!  I am so glad I did this with her. She is getting on up there in age, and we just never know these days how much longer she will be able to enjoy maters with us.  I am so glad that I am able to share something that I grew in my own yard with someone who I know will enjoy it the way she did. Of course I took a picture, caught her tongue out, spoon full of mater going in.....that is what it's all about!

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!

It's that time of year again! Girls dressed in their Brownie and Junior uniforms, standing out in the freezing cold in front of the local grocery stores with their smiling faces, "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?" Your initial thought is "I really can't afford it." But knowing that they are the most delicious cookies on the face of the earth, you buy 6 boxes (or more) anyway.

I did my fair share of cookie selling.  I remember specifically standing in front of the local Food Lion with my best friend and fellow Girl Scout, Claire Bolton, in the cool rain chanting "Girl Scout Cookies $2 a box" as customers entered the building.  (Yes, they were a lot cheaper then!)  I was enrolled in Girl Scouts in 1988 in Brownie Troop 632.  I later was bridged to Junior Troop 1415, both of which were in Council 364 Pines of Carolina.

I was proud of my award!

In 1988, I was the top cookie seller in Person County.  My mom taped multiple Girl Scout Cookie order forms to the windows of her mini van for a "little" advertising.  We would get stopped everywhere we went.  She carried quite a few boxes in the back, and whenever we got stopped, all she had to do was open the hatch, and sell, sell, sell.  I also did my part at cookie booths, selling to friends, family members, fire departments, and schools.  My grandmother took an order form to work for me and sold quite a few.  I sold 500+ boxes that year, and won a free week to Girl Scout Camp, along with a sleeping bag.  That same year I was also featured on the front page of The Courier=Times.  In 1989, I sold 600+ boxes, and once again was the top seller in the county. 

Molasses Cookies

Charles, my beloved husband, kept saying to me, "You keep promising me you are going to make those, but you never do."  So I finally did.  I looked for recipes for molasses cookies, similar to the ones that I remember making in culinary school.  I remember being proud of myself, capable of producing these wonderful treats from scratch.  

Thick & cakey batch

And now I get to share them with my hubby. He took a bunch to work for their Thanksgiving feast, and I made a separate batch to take to our traditional Thanksgiving family meal. Both batches came out a little bit different.  One was flat and crunchy, and the other was thick, soft, and cakey.  Both were very tasty.  The difference very well could have been the temperature of the butter before it was put into the mixture, or the amount of time the mixer ran at each stage of mixing.

No Bun Pun Intended...Ultimate (Cinnamon) Buns

I know, I know, it's pretty cheesy......CREAM CHEESY!!! LOL.  I came up with quite a few bun puns, but I just couldn't bring myself to use them in this post...I just had to keep it simple and clean.

All puns aside, a great cinnamon bun is hard to find.  The only way I felt I could satisfy my hunger for a warm sweet, cinnamon-y bun, was to make my own.  I wanted to be able to smell them baking in my own kitchen, just enough to warm my heart.  No "Cinnabon" could replace that fresh from the oven sensation we all love so much. 

Baking any kind of yeast dough is a lengthy process...from mixing the dough, letting it rise, forming the dough, and then letting it rise again.  It was an all day process for me, but well worth the wait.  Looks like the little dough boy helped too!!

Continue reading for recipe...
(Revised from America's Test Kitchen, All-Time Best Holiday Recipes)

"Tis the Season

Norman Rockwell

'Tis the season to fill everyone's heart with something tasty to eat!  The best gift a cook could ever receive is the satisfaction on their guests' faces when they indulge in something you have prepared with your own two hands. The love that is shared during this process is priceless.  Whether it is friend to friend, family to family, friend to family, cook to cook, or cook to guest, there simply is no replacement for the joy it brings to one who loves to cook and share.  This my friends is the passion of food.

Corncake--I Mean--Cornbread

Brunswick stew, pumpkins, bake sales, yard sales, flea markets, and fall fundraisers.  Fall is just around the corner now...the leaves are starting to change and fall to the ground, and we are starting to have longer, cooler nights here in North Carolina.  It is my favorite time of year for many reasons, but I think my absolute favorite has to be the hot meals that comfort us throughout the cooler seasons.  Here my focus isn't necessarily on the main course, but the bread...nice, soft, steaming hot cornbread.