Post 30/2023. If I were given to complaining, whining and blaming I’d have had a field day one day this week. We went to South Haven, Michigan to get peaches, blueberries and other produce at farmers’ markets. We stopped for breakfast in Niles, then took mostly country roads to enjoy slow byways travel.

If I were a complainer, I’d complain about road works and drivers who are speed obsessed. If I were a whiner, I’d whine about an iPad prompt at a walk-up ice cream window to add a tip the first amount being 30 percent. If I were a blamer, I’d pillory the farmer whose faulty slurry wagon left a pool of liquid manure at a stoplight on a busy four lane highway about 10 miles from home.

Concerning the latter, we were three vehicles behind the big-tractor-big-tank conveyance. It took an interval before the farmer started moving when the light turned green. The cars ahead and we were unable to totally avoid the slurry puddle. Off to the carwash we went to get rid of the offal smell. We left the car in the driveway overnight. Could have been worse.

If I had been stuck in a blustering, carping, sputtering mode, would that have ruined my day? Would I have enjoyed the countryside drive, the various stops, the delicious Red Haven peaches and blueberries? How would I have recovered from the risks of a day out?

Answer: all things considered, we had a good day out, no question; even though the used bookstore was closed that day but is still in business. There’s a new ice cream shop in town. Will try next time. And next time, too, I’ll take our kite to fly on the south beach.

Pruning our cookbooks

This week we sorted through our cookbook collection. Many will go to Fables Bookstore in downtown Goshen. Those left will be shelved in good company, more readily available.

Those we’re keeping and those we’ve pruned are include stories of early use, travel, experimenting and armchair reading. Fond memories the lot. Among the boxful destined for Fables are an assortment of Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbooks; Food Editors’ Favorites: Treasured Recipes; Yankee’s [Yankee magazine] Main Dish Church Supper Cookbook; Bach’s Lunch: Picnic & Patio Classics; French Tea; food-a la canadienne; The Best of Jane Grigson’s Soups; Danish Cookery; 2021 Winning 4-H Recipes Elkhart County and Blueberry Bonanza Recipes, a contest at the Indiana State Fair, in 1971, sponsored by the Michigan Blueberry Growers Association.

I’ll keep this recipe from the latter: Blueberry Orange Muffins Bread (Tanya Coffman, North Salem, Indiana): Cream 2 Tbsp. butter and 1 cup sugar together. Mix in 2 eggs, 2 cups flour, 2-1/2 tsp baking powder, 3/4 cup milk. Beat (make stiff batter). Fold in 1 orange rind grated and 1 cup washed and drained blueberries. Pour into bread pan and bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees.

I’ve opted to keep for the time being, By The Board, a Collection of 105 Favorite Recipes of the Board of the Ladies Hermitage Association (1973). The Hermitage in Nashville, Tennesse, was the home of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States. I bought a copy when I was in Nashville for a national convention (April 1974). To keep it, I’ll aim to use one recipe in the coming weeks but probably not the grits souffle recipe (I like grits, Marty doesn’t), as enjoyed by President L.B. and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson who visited the Hermitage on March 15, 1967.

Boyd Maxwell’s Grits Souffle

1 cup grits, 4 cups water, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sweetmilk (condensed milk)

1/2 cup butter, 1 tbls. salt, 1 tsp. pep seasoning, 1/4 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. white pepper, 1/2 grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Cook grits in boiling water to which add 1 tbls. of the butter and 1 tbls. salt. When grits are done, add 3 egg yolks slightly beaten, remainder of butter (melted), grated cheese, remainder seasoning (pepper, pep, and paprika) and 1/2 cup sweetmilk. Let cool. Fold in 3 egg whites stiffly beaten. Put in a 2-quart casserole. Cook 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

The full breakfast menu, typical of the Jackson era, included: Frosted Strawberries and Pears, Tennessee Country Ham, Turkey Hash, Grits Souffle, Fried Apples, Beaten Biscuits, Hot Biscuits, Hot Rolls, Coffee.

Family

Our doings for the week included a visit with Marty’s sister Doris, some of her children and cousins from California and Michigan. One thing Doris told us concerning never being at a loss for words was that her mother once told her she was vaccinated with a phonograph needle.

Adieu.

-John