Grandma’s
Kitchen Sylvia Hughes with her grandmother, Bertie Dameron.
Probably most people would agree that 2020 was a year we never saw coming. If someone had told us we would be wearing masks everywhere and avoiding other people, we probably would have doubted their sanity. While challenging and stressful, it was not quite as difficult in Eastern North Carolina as it was in many large cities where restrictions were much tighter. Still, many people were shut in their homes much of the time or at work with no contact with other people except perhaps a few coworkers. Like many people, I found myself cooking recipes I hadn’t tried before in order to keep myself busy. Many of them I found online. Some were successful and others were not. I tried some artisan bread which didn’t turn out very well. I find now that it was a lack of cooking in the proper pot. I also tried many different kinds of muffins; some were good, others didn’t suit my taste. One pot meals and meals baked on a sheet pan that I hadn’t tried before was another experiment. I found most of those on YouTube.
The results of trying those recipes was about ten pounds I didn’t carry with me before. My doctor was not amused nor impressed with my cooking experiments. She suggested I try healthier things to cook. But here I am almost at the end of 2021, still carrying those extra pounds and having just seen my doctor again. She said I must cut down on starchy foods. Have these last two years found you with extra pounds too? Just in case they have, I will share some of the things I have found and some I am trying. One thing I am sure of is that I have not been eating enough fruits and vegetables. That is my starting point. Buy fresh vegetables to cook for most meals and eat and cook fresh fruit. Second, I will only eat starches sparingly. Just a note here: while beans are starchy, they are also very healthy, Third, I will make sweets without the white sugar. Now if only I stick to it! Two things I tried last week were soup and stew minus potatoes or pasta. I found a recipe online for breakfast or snacks with blueberries that was delicious.
Sylvia Hughes is a retired newspaper editor and columnist residing in Windsor. In addition to three sons, she has a gaggle of grandchildren, many of whom love cooking with her just as she did with her mother and grandmother.
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