When time comes around at the end of each week I start planning the column to be submitted to the Franklin County Times for the present week.  Sometimes it is hard but this week it has been easy.

Special people in our lives reach out to us and give us ideas.  This week Mary Robinson sent us some great new recipes.  It made me recall all the special people in Franklin County who have shared with us. We are beginning our fourth year of sending you recipes and it has been a great way to make new friends and acquaintances.  Many of you talk to me in the grocery stores and other places we might run into each other.  We sometimes end up sharing a recipe or talking about one we have enjoyed.

Southerners seem to have a generous way of sharing with others the things that have been helpful to them.  If you are planning to do some canning, for example, contact an older cook who has canned for years.  You can learn more from them then you can in a book.  When you cook your jelly, for example, they can tell you how the juice drips off the spoon to show it is ready to be removed from the stove. 

When first married, there were so many things I wanted to learn to cook, and my husband wanted me to learn to cook too.  What do you do?  Go to your Mother or Grandmother.  They can begin by letting you help them as they prepare their meals.  This is the way many young brides learned to cook.  You will not only learn new recipes, but will understand the reason why certain dishes and pans are used to prepare the meals.  If you are not near your Mother or Grandmother ask a friend who has been cooking for some time to help you.

Also, in some areas you can find cooking classes.  Most of the time people, especially friends, are anxious to help.  We are still cooking Mother’s pot roast recipe in a 53-year-old Dutch oven like the one Mother used. She told me exactly what to do and how long to cook the roast.  We ate a lot of pot roast that first year of marriage.  It was good too!

Sharing is a beautiful thing.  It makes the giver fill better than the receiver.  Don’t forget, you can send your favorite recipes to me at:

 

What’s Cooking Suzanne

Box # 633

Russellville, Ala. 35653

 

Once again, thank you to all who have shared your recipes.  You Light Up My Life.