Thursday, May 8, 2014

Soul Food aka Southern Cooking

I sat down this morning and checked out the new posts of several of the blogs I follow.  I saw that Carolyn over at Krazo Acres had a new post up. 
I had started to leave a comment and realized it was so long that I had the makings of a new post myself.  If you have been blogging any time at all you know that when you get an idea for a new post never turn it down! You run with it.  I'm going to put up her "homepage" link because you have GOT to read the one under it.  I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. 

And now for the comment I deleted over there.... Read on!

There was a time some years ago that I was really curious to find out what Soul Food really was.  I was around 20 when I finally found out.  There was a little cafe who'd just opened their doors and the sign on the building read Mama's Soul Food.  I was SO excited!!  I was going to finally find out what "Soul Food" really was.

 The big day came and a friend and I headed over to check out the place.  When we got there we found the cafe was sort of like a cafeteria type line where you got to choose what you'd like on your plate.  The menus were rotated out  day to day.  So that day there were fried pork chops and fried chicken with a beautiful crispy crust, There were turnips and turnip greens with bacon, fried cabbage w/ham,   black-eyed peas and
ham hocks, mashed potatoes and white gravy, pinto beans w/bacon (pork n beans southern style), fried squash,  cornbread and fresh baked rolls. For desert there was dewberry cobbler and banana pudding.  Everything looked so darn good but I still wanted to know where the soul food was.

  It seems I missed the days that they made things like chitterlings (pronounced chitlin's)  and pigs feet. Not that it made much difference to me because it wasn't like I'd not eaten those before.  I love me some chitlins! The cafe was only open for dinner (some folks call it lunch) from 11-2 on weekdays. If they ran out of food they just ran out of it.  Once it was gone that was it.  They had a chalk board with the menu printed out. They'd cross off what they ran out of.  It turned out to be a huge success with folks around town.  You would see business men in their work uniforms (suits) carpenters and craftsmen, folks from other service businesses.  If you wanted the best selection you had to show up early and stand in line for it.

The meal was wonderful but it was on that day  I finally found out that all the years I'd wondered just what Soul Food was that I'd been eating it all my life. For some reason that sort of bummed me out since  I pretty much cooked the same way at home as did my mom and grandma did. But it sure was a great place to go have what I call comfort food but apparently also called Soul Food. 

 One evening a week they served All You Can Eat Catfish n fixin's every Friday for supper!!! It was the only day of the week they would cook a dinner menu and reopen at 5 for the catfish supper.  Once it was gone they'd close the door.

 Unfortunately  Mama's Soul Food burned to the ground a few years after I'd found the place. They didn't have the money to rebuild.  What happened after that was amazing.  Folks started to donate money to help re-build the place.  There were "tip jars" on dozens of business' all over the place. Even the little hole in the wall bars were raising money for them. Even the local tv news stations were covering it.  It took over a year but they finally were able to re-open!  That shows you just how community can come together and make things happen.

18 comments:

  1. Ya got me drooling. I, like you, have eaten the same all my life. And never even knew it as soul food.

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    1. Funny how no one ever mentioned it to us isn't it? I'd said something to my Dad about it once and he just smiled and shook his head...

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  2. Bein' raised in the south all my life I too was raised on "soul food"...It is truly good for the soul *smile*...I too cook like my mama and her mama...Just they way it is with us folks from the south I guess...

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    1. Some things won't ever change. No matter what you call them.

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  3. A black guy that I used to work with was shocked when he found out that poor whites (and some not-so-poor ones) were raised on the same fare as poor blacks. I told him it wasn't "soul" food, it was "po' folk" food, and I grew up eating it sometimes myself. What makes it "soul" is that it's comfort food from our childhood, whether we're black or white.

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    1. LOL @ po' folk food!!! It truly is comfort food for me. Then again so is Chicken Fried Steak, mashed taters and cream gravy.
      I wish I'd learned more of my stepmom's signature dishes before she passed. She had some good ones for sure. Like her meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans (from the garden of course)

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  4. SCI,

    I love soul/southern food.........except for the chitlins or pigs feet!!!!
    Do you know what chitlins are girl????

    This picture of amazing food is actually making me want food right now.
    It's burgers on the grill tonight :-( not soul/southern food. Maybe I should
    head your way for a good soul meal, lol

    Are you both doing okay with the weather over there?
    Expecting crappy weather here.
    At least part of the weekend will be beautiful...........time to pull the fishing poles out again :-)

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    1. LOL Sandy! Why is it I can almost see you shaking your head and grossing out. Of course I know what chitlins are girl! Hey it's not like you don't eat pork rinds either is it? You name the date and I'll see what I can rustle up for ya'll. *wink*

      They say the suns supposed to show itself today. We'll see. We got some pretty good rain the past couple of days. Soaker rains. I'll take all I can get of those please!
      Good luck on ya'll perch jerkin'
      Sounds like fun!
      Sci

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  5. So I wonder, what is the Northern equivalent of Soul Food?
    And yes, that darned plate of food is making me hungry. Touche!

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    1. Hardy beef stew (or venison,) & bread rolls with melted butter - all of it homemade of course:)

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    2. LOL Carolyn sorry about the food porn. You know I just can't help myself sometimes.

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    3. LL
      Now doesn't that sound good! One of the things my stepmom used to make was a beef (or venison) "Irish Stew" Now I have no idea what Irish Stew really is, I just know I loved hers!

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  6. That's what is great about the South. I'm a Yankee. My Mom barely cooked. She didn't teach me; and I was too stupid when I was young to ask my Granny to teach me.
    Y'all are very blessed.

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    1. LindaG
      it truly is one of the finer aspects of Southern life. Did you break the cycle of not teaching the kids to cook? I don't know why but I'm betting you did. :-)

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  7. The only thing I cannot eat is okra in any form! All these things are what we ate. Did you leave off beans? I suppose folk missed the delicious food. That was a generous town. Good post.

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    1. Dang Linda,
      Sucks to be you for not loving fried okra:-)
      I don't really care much for okra either unless it's fried. Or pickled. Or in gumbo. Or Tomatoes and okra.
      Hmmm I'm starting to see a pattern here! LOL

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  8. That is so cool! I so get this. We always ate a noon time dinner. When I went to college, I think I nearly sent folks into shock when I "checked out" the kitchen key to make homemade bread. Love that the community pulled together for other locals!

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    1. LL,
      I would have loved seeing the look on their faces as you just "whipped up" some bread! I bet you had them all drooling by the time it came out of the oven.
      It was funny but it's just about the only time I can remember that so many folks from so many different places actually pulled together without politics getting in the way.
      Sci

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