Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Cooking Like My Mother

Mama wasn’t a fancy cook but we cleaned our plates at every meal. Fruit cobblers and pies and chicken and dumplings and fried chicken and all kinds of vegetables were common fare at our table. And most of her recipes were in her head. Bon Appitet and Julia Child’s cookbooks never darkened the door of her kitchen. She cooked with fat meat, pure butter, whole milk and anything else that had a fair amount of cholesterol in its ingredients. Back then we didn’t know what cholesterol was, and to quote Carl Hurley, "If we had of known about it we would have fried it." Still, most of her kids lived to defy the statistics that say too much fat in your diet will kill you.

When it came to cooking fresh green beans, Mama’s method was very simple. Take the strings off, break them up, cover them with water and a little salt, add a chunk of fat back, and let them simmer for about 2-1/2 hours until all the liquid is cooked down.  Never, never leave them swimming in water.  When I’m at a potluck and I see watery green beans, I think of how disapproving my mother would be. I cook them the way Mama did but I substitute cooking oil for the fat back.  No need to tempt fate at my age.

When I was at the farmers’ market yesterday, I learned something I didn’t know. I am acquainted with most of the variety of green beans grown in this area, but when I saw a sign that said Turkey Beans, I asked the vendor about them. She said it was a bean that was planted by a farmer in 1802 in the mountains of Kentucky. Then she went on to tell me the origin of the bean.

The farmer had killed a turkey and in its craw he found several whole beans. He saved the beans and planted them. They grew and yielded a bean with a bright green hull and a fat white bean inside that strings easily and is crisp when broken. I have a mess cooking on the stove right now and will tell you how they taste when I eat them for supper tonight. They look like white half-runners but I will see if that’s where the resemblance ends.

Do you remember when Hickory King was the king of all corn? I asked the vendors about that too. They didn’t know why its popularity had diminished in the past few years, but I remember when I was growing up, it was about all you could find. Also Silver Queen. To me it’s the best, but finding it is like searching for the Holy Grail. When they tell me that Golden Queen is just as good, I find that it doesn’t have the sweet taste as Silver Queen. I fail to see why they don’t plant Silver Queen and Hickory King since they are both are/were so popular.

Farmers? Can you enlighten us on this?

In  any case, I have been pigging out this summer because I know the season will end soon. But hasn’t it been a blessing?

This is the way my mother fixed fried corn.  It is second only to boiled corn on the cob

Fresh Cream-Style Corn

6 ears fresh corn

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon flour blended with 1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

3/4 cup milk or half-and-half

Cut corn from cobs then scrape with a sharp knife to get all of the milk and pulp. Melt butter in a large skillet. Stir in corn and juices, the 3 tablespoons water, and sugar. Cook until corn is tender. Stir in flour-water mixture, salt, and pepper, blending well. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Cook for about 2 minutes longer. Do not let boil.

Serves 4 to 6.