Grandma’s Kitchen

Speaking of “off the beaten path,” I lived in Thomasville for the first eleven years of my life. It was a small town whose biggest claim to fame was a huge chair sitting in the middle of town.

There were several furniture manufacturers and lumber mills there. The train station and its track divided the downtown area and the city. It was still in operation.

There was only one place to eat downtown as far as I remember and that was the drugstore. They served ice cream, ice cream sodas, milkshakes and sandwiches. It was just like all the old pictures you see of the old drugstores with stools around the counter, tables spread around and the large black and white tiles.

Everything was prepared behind the counter and you watched as they prepared your order.

The only places we shopped were at the Dime Store and Belk. At that time, it was a small store with good prices. There were hardware stores, a post office, doctor’s offices, dentist offices and lawyer’s offices on one side of the railroad track. On the other side was the bank, Dime Store, Belk, grocery store (don’t remember the name), drugstore, clothing and shoe stores.

About three blocks from my grandmother’s was a small cafe. They served good old fashioned Carolina hamburgers. The chili and coleslaw were homemade.

Other than the drugstore and the cafe, I don’t remember any other places to eat. Unimaginable to people today.

High Point and Lexington did have a few restaurants. It was a special treat when we were able to get Lexington Barbecue. The other big thing was Krispy Kreme donuts that were made in Greensboro. Those two are still special treats for me.

Most people back then cooked and ate at home. Grandmother had family come for meals mostly at lunch time during the week. Our family worked close enough to do that.

On weekends we sometimes ate a meal at different family member’s homes. A special thing in the summer was homemade ice cream. I particularly loved the banana. That was our big social life. It always revolved around family. Grandmother was the best cook. She still made everything from scratch. In the winter she made chicken and dumplings, but her dumplings were round and kind of like soft biscuits. They are still my favorite though I don’t make them very often.

My mama made coconut pies that formed their own crust. They were easy and delicious. If you want to try this chicken and dumpling recipe, but don’t have time to do it all at once, there is a solution. Put the chicken on one night while you are preparing dinner. Let it cook until the chicken is tender and refrigerate until the next night. Pull the chicken off the bone, heat and drop in dumplings.

It works very well because chicken cooked this way is usually better the second night anyway. The coconut pies couldn’t be simpler. Bake them as you prepare dinner.

Wash a hen and place in pot. Add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender (about an hour and a half).

Remove chicken from the bone and add back to pot. Prepare dumplings and add.

Dumplings

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. Salt

3 tsps. Baking powder

1 cup milk

4 tbs. Butter melted or fat from the chicken pot

You can add some parsley flakes if you want a little color.

Mix flour, salt and baking powder together. Add butter or chicken fat and milk. Drop into simmering chicken using a tablespoon. Using a wooden spoon, push the dumplings down so liquid runs over the top of them. Cover and cook about 15 minutes.

4 eggs

1 and 1/3 cups sugar

½ cup self-rising flour

½ stick margarine or butter melted

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. Lemon

2 cups milk

3 and ½ oz. Coconut

Mix each ingredient one at a time, coconut last.

Beat thoroughly

Put in 2 – 9 inch pie pans greased with margarine or butter

Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees

Forms its own crust while baking

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.

By Thadd White

This is an issue of Eastern North Carolina Living we’ve been thinking about for quite some time. It’s one we feel hits at the heart of the 18 counties in our coverage region.

Those of us who live here in northeastern North Carolina know exactly what “Off the Beaten Path” is. We know a store, a church or a business that is really in a place no one would expect it.

When I was growing up, I went to a church I used to say was convenient for the pastor (he lived in a parsonage next door) and not another soul. It wasn’t close to much of anyone else.

That didn’t stop people from coming to the church and we had 50-plus most of my childhood if I recall correctly.

In addition, there were stores in every little neighborhood throughout Bertie County and – I know Hertford County and probably others. They were there for the people who lived near nothing else, but they were an essential way of life. I remember getting my hair cut at Frog’s Barber Shop (yes, you read that right) at Todd’s Cross when I was young.