My Grandmother's afternoon treat...

I've been thinking lately about my very sweet Grandmother Clotile who left us many years ago after a difficult illness.  While she was with us she would always make up this special treat when the grandkids were visiting.  My grandparents lived in the deep south and were quite poor but Grandma Clotile always kept her little stash of goods in the pantry that she could pull an ingredient out and bring a smile to any kid.  My favorite treat was her chocolalte gravy poured all over her fluffly buttermilk biscuits.
This is something easy to do and hasn't many ingredients.  I even saw Paula Deen whipping it up one day.  That made me laugh because I thought only my grandmother knew how to make this chocolate treat.
Here's the recipe, I hope you try it on your kids one day, big or little, because I'm sure they will be thinking about how cool their Grandma is as well.

Grandma Clotile's Chocolate Gravy

Chocolate Gravy:
1/3 stick butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
2 cups whole milk
Heat butter in a cast iron skillet over low heat. Mix in sugar, flour and cocoa. Slowly pour 1 cup of milk into the skillet and whisk well to remove lumps. Whisk in remaining milk, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick, being careful not to scorch. Serve hot over biscuits.

How about you, did your Mom or Grandmother have special little afternoon treats like this one?  I'd would love to hear about them.

I Brake for Boiling Peanuts...

While doing a little chair dance here at my computer, I get to finally say I'll be going on vacation in just 3 weeks. I love going on vacation and look forward to the next one as soon as one is over. Crazy I know, but even nuttier is one of the reasons I look forward to vacation... Boiled Peanuts! You see we always go south for vacation, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and along the drive from Maryland we go past so many peanut stands that our stops change the 5 hour drive to 6 or more. We need a bumper sticker that says I Brake for Boiled Peanuts.

I can remember, as a little girl, my Grandma had a peanut patch and each year we would dig up the peanuts, clean them off and drop them into the big pot of boiling water that had been loaded with salt, actually there was so much salt it was more like a boiling brine. You can only boil the raw (green) peanuts and a good rule of thumb is 1/3 to 1/2 cup of salt for every ten pounds of peanuts you're boiling. Keep them at a good but low rolling boil for between 1 to 10 hours. You need to stir them every twenty minutes or so and taste them every hour untill you have reached the tenderness you like. We usually plan on 3 hours on a low boil, uncovered always, to get the tenderness we like best. We enjoy ours boiled only in salt but many other seasonings can be added during the boiling time such as Cajun seasoning, crab boil, jalapeno peppers, garlic or what ever is your desire.

After they have reached the perfect tenderness, then drain them well and dig in by biting down on the shell and sucking that warm, wonderful and briny peanut out of its soft shell. The peanuts are soft and tender, very much like a bean texture, and besides how great they taste they are fantastic for you. Boiling them are much better for you since you have more poly phenol antioxidants than roasted ones.

After you have eaten your fill you can pack all the left overs in zip lock bags and either refrigerate them or place them in the freezer for longer storage time. It is possible to buy boiled peanuts in a can at your grocery store but it doesn't have the same taste or effect as eating them warm from the pot.

I hope you have the opportunity to try them sometime. Stop at one of the road sides stands and dig into those wonderful, warm shells and imagine your headed to the beach. It's a great fantasy and I look forward to living it every September.

Health Note added 8/28/09
1. Breaking News from Alabama A&M University's Department of Food and Animal Sciences...A new study by a group of Huntsville researchers found that boiled peanuts bring out up to four times more chemicals that help protect against disease than raw, dry or oil-roasted nuts. These phytochemicals have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancers, diabetes and heart disease.

2. Boiled Peanuts contain resveratol, a plant chemical also found in red wine, which studies have shown to have a protective effect against cancer and heart disease.

3. Major studies have found eating peanuts can lower the risk of heart disease, cut the risk of diabetes and assist dieters.

4. Boiled peanuts are loaded with many vitamins and minerals and they are high in plant protein. Also, the fat content is primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.

Fried Green Tomatoes...

I am so glad it is Friday! It was a great, but long week for me, and I am so ready to settle into a weekend, at home, doing some of my favorite things. Since I already have the house cleaned, it is going to be a fun time cooking favorite foods and watching old movies. First on the list, is to fry up a mess of fresh green tomatoes and re-watch, for I don't know how many times, the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. If you haven't seen it please check it out, it is really worth while watching and if you haven't fixed fried green tomatoes then now is the time. Yummy. I grew up on eating fried green tomatoes and Grandma and my Mom both made them slightly different then mine. Grandma would use lard and Mom would only use bacon fat. I will use bacon, if I have it, but half time I use equal parts of butter and vegetable oil. This weekend I am going for the bacon, it is something about the comfort food I feel I need, and give you Mom's recipe. I love it and I know you will too.

My Mama's Fried Green Tomatoes
Wash your green tomatoes off and dry with a soft cloth.
Slice them into nice thick slices a good half inch or more.
Salt and pepper them to taste on both sides.
While doing that fry your self up 6 to 8 slices of bacon.
Remove the bacon and leave the drippings in the frying pan. A good old black iron skillet would be perfect right now if you have one. If your bacon is very lean cook twice as much or add some vegetable oil to the drippings. You should have at least 1/2 to 1 inch fat in the pan.
In a low dish, like a pie plate, mix two lightly beaten eggs with a 1 1/2 cups of milk.
In a second low dish place one cup all purpose flour and one cup of corn meal. Note, I like to use bread crumbs half and half with the corn meal.
Add salt and pepper to the flour mixture to taste.
Take your thick slices of green tomatoes and dip them first, flip over while dipping, making sure to get the egg/milk mixture on both sides.
Then dip both sides in the flour mixture and make sure you have a good coating all around.
Lay them one at a time in the hot bacon fat and cook them at a medium heat on both sides until they are golden brown all over. They will get soft and tender in the middle and keep that wonderful green flavor.
Drain on a rack or on paper towels. I prefer the rack so they stay crispy longer.
Eat warm or room temperature since they are a great snack or side dish no matter the temp.

A plate of these crispy treats are always a comfort to me. They have a way of taking me back to Mama's old, round, wooden table in the kitchen, very hot southern, summer days and the sound of the fan spinning overhead. Fried green tomatoes are the stuff memories are made from.

Note: Crispy, fried green tomato photo from Southern Living. The best magazine for southern cooks.

Grandma's Fried Corn...

I love corn. I particularly love summer corn on the cob and my Grandma's favorite, fried corn. I know frying corn sounds a little strange but for a lover of good old fashioned southern food it is wonderful. My Grandma must have been thinking of me today because I have been craving it all day long. She would make it every time she had a mess of corn that had been picked and sitting around for several days. She said it was the "best use of old corn cause the bacon fat and a little milk would plump up those little kernels every time."

Craving it like I am and knowing I am going to go fix it soon I thought I would have to let y'all in on her recipe. It's terrific and I sure hope you try it soon.

Grandma's Fried Corn
We find 5 or 6 ears is enough for our family but adjust it to suit your group.

Cut the corn off the cooked (if you have leftovers) or uncooked cobs. I always take my knife and scrape down the cobs after I have cut off the kernels to get the extra juices left on the cob.
In a frying pan cook 3-4 slices of bacon till crispy.
While the bacon is frying chop up a sweet onion into small pieces not a whole lot larger than the corn kernels.
Remove the bacon from the bacon grease and drain on a paper towel.
Throw the chopped onion into the warn bacon grease (stand back some cause the bacon grease will spit).
When your onion starts to caramelize dump the corn kernels on top and stir into the onions.
Add salt and pepper now to your taste. Watch the salt cause bacon is a bit salty. We always add extra pepper now and adjust the salt at the table.
Put a lid on it and turn to low, stirring it every couple of minutes. "Don't let it burn, child" Grandma would always say.
After it starts to lightly brown up, and you think it is tender enough for your liking, then add a half cup of milk or cream to make it a tad creamy.
Sometimes she would crumble the crispy bacon into it and give it a stir or sprinkle it on top. Dump into a bowl and serve warm with the dinner. To her the bacon wasn't the important thing, the use of the bacon grease to cook it in was what made it for her. She would often wrap up the cooked bacon and put it in her icebox to use for some other recipe.

Now I know some of you are throwing your hands up at the thought of the bacon and using the grease but it can be adjusted. You could eliminate the bacon altogether, Grandma would never know, and use corn oil or a healthy margarine. Just have enough to fry up your onion and corn. I don't think I would use olive oil because it would change the taste some. A skim milk instead of regular or cream is okay as well. The crispy bits of corn and onions are what you will love.

Try this, adjust it to fit your families liking or health needs. Grandma and I will understand, "just don't let it burn, child."