you find sometimes that a Thing which Seemed very Thingish
inside you is quite different when it gets out in the open and has other people looking at it.
.....Pooh
I think of all these things and they are so very dear to me, as I hope they are to you, dear reader. When I remember suppertime in our home I see us at the table together, and most of the time there was cornbread on the table to go with the peas or greens that we brought home from Middleton Creek. Our years at that precious Church hold cherished memories for us; the brethren graciously shared their harvest with us and their story could fill blogspots for many days. (As our preachers frequently say, "The Lord willing we'll come back to that another time.") If you possibly could set aside at least one, maybe two? days a week to sit down to supper with those in your home and anyone else who stops in (It seems like there was always somebody for supper) I believe it will quickly create a sweet time out for you all. Sitting down to supper together used to be required by family law and logic, but alas many obligations and activities preclude this delightful tradition.
"Come home, come home, it's suppertime, the shadows lengthen fast!" Of course, the children were playing outside, (you might have to explain that concept) and sometimes I had to call out twice, but strangely enough, when their DAD called, only one call was necessary. Anyway, whatever we had to eat, it was pretty much guaranteed that Tony would not like it; so along with the cornbread and peas, there were french fries. Remember?
Many of my memories of suppertime go back to my own childhood with my sisters and brother. At the time the picture within this picture was taken, we had not heard of french fries, and many days cornbread and milk were the only foods on the table. The pie safe on the wall always had milk in various stages. One pitcher held fresh milk, which the cow gave that morning (explain that process) and in which we crumbled our cornbread for supper. Another bowl held cream, which would be churned into butter, and still another jar was for the buttermilk that resulted from the churning process. Nevertheless, we had Supper, not Dinner. Dinner is at midday.In the picture you can see these eager faces of long ago, each now and long since has his own table, (most likely not with cornbread on it) . There is Lucille (she has walked with kings and kept the common touch), Mary (our dear aunt Mae), John (a man for all seasons) and the waif in the pigtails is Nenie (to all of her coterie.)
So, since cornbread and suppertime conjure so many delights for me I hope you can find time to integrate both into your schedules. To that end I send you my encouragement and my cornbread recipe.
Preheat the oven to 450. Grease your pan generously with Crisco. This will make the crust crispy. You can use any baking pan or skillet, but you must grease it liberally or the bread will stick. If you will make cornbread often, try to dedicate an iron skillet to cornbread baking only.
After a few times it will become seasoned and you can just use a little oil in the bottom of it.
Measure 2 cups of self rising corn meal mix (Aunt Jemima, Martha White, or any name brand, not store brand) will do nicely. Add 1 measured cup of buttermilk (be sure to shake the buttermilk before you measure it), 1/2 cup of water, and 1/4 cup of oil to the cornmeal. Stir until well mixed and pour into prepared pan. Cook for twenty minutes and check. Cornbread should be slightly brown around the edges and appear to be done. Turn on the broiler, do not walk away, and remove perfectly browned and memory making cornbread from the oven.
Invert it onto a plate, get out the milk, and call them all in to supper; the shadows lengthen fast!
