Faith, Folklore, and Friends

There's no way you can make good corn bread dressing without sage. My mother never grew oregano, rosemary, or basil.  She didn't have clumps of chives or thyme.  But like most all the people we knew, she had sage growing in a garden corner.  You had to have sage to season  pork sausage and Thanksgiving dressing. This is what real sage looks like--not that powdery stuff that comes from the store.  This fresh sage is so pungent that a little goes a long way.  Two chopped leaves are plenty for a big pan of dressing.  It tastes so much better than the canned powder. This sage has been growing in a container by the garage for three years now.  We have had a hard freeze already, and it is fine.  It can be dried by picking the leaves off and storing them in a dry place, but I can see no reason to do that because it stays green all year here. I'll be happy to share a leaf with you if you want to try the real thing in your dressing to...

If you can't think of anything to be thankful for during this season of thanksgiving, think about corn bread. Corn bread is the oldest bread in the United States.  The Native Americans had been feasting on it for years before the colonists got off their boats.  Thanks to the generosity of the Native Americans, many colonists were kept from starving by this staple. Corn bread is the cornerstone of Southern cooking.  Because the early settlers could grow and grind their own corn, corn bread was served three times a day in many homes.  For breakfast, the hot corn bread was covered with butter and molasses.  For dinner and supper, it was served with meat and vegetables.  My mother would not have thought about setting the table without some corn bread. For Sunday supper, we had beans with ham and corn bread, with a little onion on the side.  It is Hub's favorite meal. He loves cooking bread in this skillet with wedges, because every piece ...