Food Stories
From Amber O’Neal Johnston, CMI Board Member:
“Every household had a sideboard or a food safe, and these would be laden throughout the week with all the foods that had been made for the holiday. Ours would hold baked ham, smothered rabbit, a pan of mixed small birds that had been trapped in the now, braised guinea hen, liver pudding, and sometimes a roasted wild turkey that had grown up with our own flock (But usually a fast roast hen), and all of the sweet and pungent pickles my mother had made from cucumbers and watermelon rind, crab apples and peaches. The open shelf of the sideboard would be lined with all the traditional holiday cakes: caramel and coconut layer cakes, pound cake, and my mother’s rich, dark, flavorful fruitcake. There were plates of fudge and peanut brittle and crocks filled with crisp sugar cookies. The food safe was filled with mince pies, and fruit pies made with the canned fruit of summer.”
This description of holiday cooking is from Edna Lewis, the late chef who helped refine the American view of Southern cooking. I read it (multiple times) in her cookbook, The Taste of Country Cooking, and my absolute favorite quote from the book is about ham:
“The first hams of the season would be cooked about July and August in case an unexpected summer guest dropped in. Ham held the same rating as the basic black dress. If you had a ham in the meat house any situation could be faced.”
Isn’t that just the best? I can’t read it without smiling, but perhaps that’s because I have a thing for cookbooks. I tell myself they’re unnecessary because I can find any recipe I wish to have online. I always promise that I won’t buy another because they’re bulky and take up shelf space that we don’t have. But the truth is that I’ll probably never stop collecting them because I love them just that much.
It’s not the recipes I’m after, though I enjoy making them from time to time. It’s the stories behind the recipes that speak to me. I love hearing people talk about how their families or people experience food and how it always seems to bring folks together.
If you enjoy a good food story, consider digging up an old southern cookbook this holiday season and read up on the who, what, when, and why. I’m certain the stories will make you smile, reminisce, stretch, and grow. You can even try making a dish or two if you’re so inclined, but maybe just learning about a time and place and the people who loved one another across the table while enjoying something delicious will be enough. It usually is for me.
Please go to this Hive post to share your favorite story about a holiday recipe.
Notes
1. Exams: Exams for Term 2 are posted on the website. You can find them under Step 5 on your Alveary dashboard. Dr. Jen Spencer presented an informative webinar on exams, an overview of which you can access here. You can learn specific information about exams for each grade in the Hive course, “Charlotte Mason 101: The Methods”.
2. Reflective Practice: By late November, even members who started school in September are probably ready for exams. Once you have administered and assessed the exams, consider these ideas from the Reflective Practice Plan Book:
A) Have a “conference” that includes the student and both parents, if possible. This ensures that everyone will hear the same information. Conferences are an excellent way for students, teachers, and parents to come together as a team to solve problems and build relationships. Here are some questions you might want to ask your students:
- How do you think the term went?
- What were your favorite things about this term?
- Which things did you find difficult?
- Were you surprised by anything?
- In what areas would you like to grow during the next term?
- What can I do differently next term to support you better?
B) Set 1-2 goals for the next term together, and check in regularly with the student in the coming weeks.
C) Look back at the “Students as Persons” and “Teachers as Persons” charts you filled out before beginning school. Where do you see growth? Would your answers be different now? In what areas would you like to see yourself and your students grow next term?
Query
Handicrafts: Can you tell me more about the handicrafts that were chosen for this year and what skills students will learn while engaging in those handicrafts?
In this video (8 minutes), Erin Day talks about the benefits of learning the particular handicrafts for this year and why Mason always included a term of clay modeling each year.
