Sunday Dinner!

Although I didn't grow up in the south, this is now my home. There are still a lot of things I don't understand about the south (nor do I necessarily want to), but then again, this is my home now, so I keep my comments (and thoughts) to myself (usually) and quilt! Although not all black citizens of the US came from the south, many did in fact have roots here. My parents weren't any different, and along with many customs, my maternal grandmother brought "southern" cooking with her when she came with her family to Oklahoma. It was a little different since she came from the New Orleans area (at least her mother did) and although my grandfather was Native American, I really only know the style of cooking my mother learned from her mother, with some "low country" variations. I have always thought it was interesting how people defined "soul cooking", associating it with the ethnicity of the cook. Diane (who is as close to a sister as one can get) makes chicken and dumplings that only a "soul cook" can make, but she isn't of the ethnicity that is associated with soul cooking, so I have come to the conclusion that "soul cooking" has nothing to do with ethnicity, and everything to do with the "soul" you put into your dishes---but I digress.

A couple of days ago our neighbors gave us some fresh blackberries. It was clear they weren't grown on a formal farm, but from someones garden because of the size and fragrance. I personally don't particularly care for blackberries, but visions of my mother came rushing back just by my smelling them. I knew they had to be put into a pie, but I don't know how to make a cobbler, so I went to my cookbooks. I had just seen "Julie and Julia" the movie on TV so I guess I felt particularly ambitious. Anyway, I went through my collection of cookbooks (when I traveled a lot I tried to get a cookbook of local recipes) and the one pictured above was first on the shelf. I went to cobbler and found a really easy recipe. I didn't even have to make a crust, roll it out and fit it around the pan. You made a batter and poured it on---how simple! The ingredients were not fancy and I had everything already in my pantry and refrigerator.

The recipe instructed you to put it in a 13 x 9 inch pan. My family is small now and that seemed like a lot of cobbler for us. In addition, although I had at least 3-4 cups, it seemed like it would make for a "thin" pie, which I hate, so I put it in a dish instead. Rather than 1/4 cup of butter on top, I only put in half as much. I hope it isn't going to be too thick----

I cut the amount of batter to 1/2 and it was enough to cover the berries. The batter was made with 1 stick of butter! Wow---in addition to this being a southern recipe, it must also be French, since in French cooking don't you use a lot of butter? It looked like it was going to be a thick enough crust.........

It smelled wonderful cooking!!! Again visions of my mother came back! If it taste half as good as it looks I am gonna get lots of hugs once my family gets back from the baseball game. I am cooking a roast in the crock pot, will make some rice and veggies (the neighbor also gave me fresh cucumbers) and think of my sweet, feisty, "way ahead of her time" mother, who would smile, wink and give me a big hug for cooking a "Soul Food Sunday" dinner for my family.

Have a great day!!!