Faith, Folklore, and Friends

I don't usually buy food that has already been prepared; the one exception is rotisserie chicken.  At Sam's Club, this approximately three-pound chicken is $4.89.  They are cooked there, not in some foreign place that I can't pronounce, and they are always fresh and good. At most places, a good hamburger is more than $5, with extra costs for sides and drinks.   Here is how I stretched one rotisserie chicken: On the first day, Hub and I had the legs and thighs with salad and cantaloupe. On the second day, we had sliced breast sandwiches with jalapeno cheese and pickles. On the third day, we chopped up the remaining breast meat and made chicken fajitas. At that was left was the carcass, At one time, I threw them out at this point, but not anymore.  I use it to make broth.  Here is how I do it. Put the chicken in a large sauce pan,  and cover it with three or four pints of water.  If I'm using raw chicken, I would add salt and pepper....

Peas. They have been a staple of my diet all my life. My siblings and I even sung about them: Peas, peas, peas, eating goober peas . Thankfully, I don't remember the rest of the song. From July to early October, in good years, they were on the table at dinner and supper. Beautiful peas. After the season had passed, we would have them canned or dried. Oh, NOW I remember why we didn't get bored during the summer. We shelled peas for canning! My parents planted rows and rows of peas, their purple hulls calling to us. We picked them in half-bushel baskets and five-gallon buckets. Because our family liked the purple hull variety, our thumbs and fingertips would retain their purplish color for weeks. After Mama had canned all she needed, the rest of the peas were allowed to dry on the vine. When they were completely dry, we would pick them and store them in tow sacks (burlap bags). On some cool October Saturday, when the sky was so blue you cried and a brisk breeze was blowing, we ha...