Show #295

Hello Friends of the Garden!

I like cooking! The roots go way back to my Grandma Mae. My parents used to palm me off on Grandma for a couple of weeks every summer until we moved and it became inconvenient. Grandma Mae lived in El Campo, Texas. El Campo is still a very small farming community with a population just under 12,000, in South central Texas.

Grandma was always nice to me. When my Grandfather passed away I was barely 10 years old. I hardly knew him. We lived far away from my grandparents when I was young. I only saw my Grandfather a couple of times that I could remember. Somewhere there is a picture of me sitting on his lap riding a tractor. My Grandfather owned a farm and raised cotton. After he passed it seemed like time just slipped by for a while.

I don’t recall or I’ve blocked it from my memory but, I can’t remember any signs of elation on my parents part when they dropped me off at Grandma’s. Fortunately, I also don’t recall Grandma being reluctant about having to entertain a busy body like me either! We watched TV in the evenings on an old black and white TV with rabbit ears and foil strategically placed to insure better reception.

The only time I ever remember Grandma Mae being upset or irritated was when we would watch wrestling or more accurately in Texas vernacular, “Rasslin”. It was like seeing her turn into the Incredible Hulk when she watched wrestling. She became unusually animated and could tell you all about the “bad guys” and who the “good guys” were. TV and cooking were the two biggest memories I have of Grandma Mae.

Grandma made the most amazing biscuits. She could make a lot of other things too but those biscuits really stood out! She saw that I ate more biscuits than I should but I could tell it made her happy to see me well fed! I never asked her about her biscuits; I simply ate them up with every kind of homemade jam and butter.

One morning she called me to the kitchen by my first and middle name. She never said anything other than that I was going to learn how to cook biscuits that day. She got out a bowl, dumped a bunch of flour in it, and dropped a big ole dollop of Crisco on top of it all. She handed me two butter knives and showed me how to cut the Crisco into the flour. When the shortening was incorporated into the flour it had a crumbled texture. She would pour a little buttermilk in to the bowl at a time and mix it until the consistency was just right.

After all the work was done it was a downhill run! Roll out the dough and cut it with a biscuit cutter. Bake it in the magic oven that made so many delicious things! I truly thought it was amazing that I could replicate the magnificent skill of my Grandma Mae! I remember that first batch of biscuits so clearly. That night we pounded out some round steaks to make Chicken Fried Steak with homemade mashed potatoes and green beans!

There were times I had wished I was spending time with my friends instead of Grandma during those summer days. I did learn a lot and some of those lessons still bubble to the surface from time to time. Eventually, I got a job as a short order cook, which led to being Sous Chef at a fancy restaurant in Dallas. Sometimes there would be a guy that was the head Chef at the Dallas Culinary Institute that would cook with me and the Chef at our restaurant. He told me I should attend the culinary institute because he thought I had real talent. Of course I didn’t listen!

I didn’t get to spend enough time with Grandma Mae. I was too dumb to know better but she taught me many things without me even knowing. She planted seeds of music that would lay long dormant until much, much later. She taught me about passion. She was never really concerned with keeping me entertained, she just did what she did every day. She never lectured me. She laughed and sometimes she shed a quiet little tear. She planted those seeds of self-confidence that didn’t mature until I was well past being mature and she was long gone!

Yes, I can cook and pretty darn good too! I can do a lot of things! I am special and Grandma Mae made me realize it without ever telling me! Although Grandma Mae never saw Star Wars she was way ahead of Yoda! She taught me that there is “no try, there is only do!” There is a piece of me that will always be linked to her and her kind, quiet, loving attitude. I wish I had paid more attention!

Peace and love to you all!

Mike