Mamaw Smith's Recipe

We are collecting my "Mamaw Smith's" recipes for further use by future generations. It will be available for free to those on this forum. All recipes will be from her memory growing up in the hills of east Tennessee and ones that she has never written down but will do so in the autumn of her years. I have generated a poem that will front the minor publication and I have attached it for your review.

Mamaw Smith never had the opportunity to read a recipe and she does what has been featured here on roadfood most recently as she does not measure. We have requested that she do so, that other may learn. I guess it is a little bit like a artist. They do what they do because they can.

I have posted many times over the years of being on this board Mamaw Smiths thoughts, recipes and cooking.

Here is my opening poem. I damn sure ain't no Shakespeare or Longfellow.

The recipes are authenic East Tennessee mountain cooking.


When I was a little girl
I grew up on the Harmon farm
We lived off the land
In the food there was no harm

When I was just a child
I watched my momma cook
Nothing was written down
I learned how to look

I watched what she made
And what went in the pot
I remembered how she cooked
I retained the lot

I’ve written down
What I have cooked over the ages
I have carefully with love
Transcribed them in the attached pages

These are recipes my family liked
I have made them many times
I have cooked them for church and friends
I consider them treasured finds

I have spent hours and hours
Collecting these culinary prose
After considering what I should share
I can finally bring this to a close.

I do not want to leave my cooking legacy a blank
I want to make sure these recipes are properly notated
I do not want you to have to look to learn how to cook
I have made sure they are not belated.

I hope these recipes fare you well
I want to share them with you
Please share them with your family and friends
This is something I wanted to do

Pauline Harmon Smith
“MAMAW”

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Paul, what a fabulous idea!! You can't buy in books the kind of knowledge Mamaw Smith has learned over the years. I can hardly wait to see it made available. Hope you'll get some of her acquired wisdom as well and put it with the recipes. What a marvelous undertaking!!!

Paul, one other thing, Fred Sauceman would have a great interest in this so please make sure he is aware of it and you might even suggest it as a possible story to him for his radio show.

Sundancer, what a truly beautiful tribute to your Mother, and what a wonderful legacy for your family. It brought tears to my eyes, reminding me of my Mother, my Grandmother, and wonderful Mother-in-law, all of whom are long gone.

And surprisingly, this came on the day that one of my daughters-in-law, my niece and I committed ourselves to doing a family cookbook of favorite recipes that have been handed down in our families, to be printed, bound and given as gifts to our family members as keepsakes.

What a wonderful idea you've had and good luck with it. Your Mother sounds like a lovely lady and a grand cook.

Donna

Sundancer Wow Put me down for a copy of this book!
What a treasure it will be.

My great aunt did this when my great grandmother was still alive. Of course, she never had recipes written down eather. The ravioli recipe goes on for three pages.......the one for bread starts out "get a 5 cent cake of yeast"......the chicken stew starts "go out in the garden and kill a nice chicken". It's priceless.
Also, nice poetry!

This is wonderful!!! Paul--it would be an honor to have a copy when its ready! 'm looking forward to cooking ALL of them in my new kitchen in the country!

This sounds just wonderful. It's a lovely poem and a lovely tribute.

As a poet your a great cook....... just kidding, I think it was great.. great idea for the book as well.. My moms mom was the eldest of 15, 4 of whom are still alive, the youngest being 87, mom has 12 siblings and 164 cousins so a family reunion is a HUGE affair. A cookbook was proposed recently and is in the first stages of being compiled..

That's going to be a beautiful book. What a lovely idea!

What a wondeful idea, Sundancer. My mouth starts to water whenever you post what Mamaw Smith's been up to in the kitchen.

Sundance, that's GREAT news!

I always hoped you'd put her recipes together. Should be a fun endeavor and a true legacy for your family.

That's a great idea. I wish I had my granny's recipes.

What a great thing! Thanks

How wonderful! I, too, would love to get a copy. Can't wait! Thank you for being willing to share it with the forum members.

That is wonderful - I am sure she has many great recipes.

Bad news!!!!!

Mamaw Smith fell down the basement steps today and had multiple compoud fracture in her wrist. Blood was everywhere. Major crushed bones in her wrist. She went into surgery at 5:30PM and just got out (8:00PM). She is in for a long convalescence and it appears better than four months.

She is a tough lady. She lives next door and she come walking calmly over to our house with her arm hanging down and blood dripping down saying that she tought she may have broker her arm or wrist.

It looked nasty and the appearance made my crouch hurt

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Luckily she has a good next door neighbor who will be there to help her. Sounds like it could have been much worse. Keep us posted of her condition.

Paul, Please share our best wishes for a speedy and comfortable recovery time with you Mom.

I sure hope Mamaw Smith recovers soon. Please keep us updated on her progress. We will be thinking of her.

Paul,
Please let Mamaw Smith know that all of Philadelphia is thinking of her. Hopefully, her recovery time will whiz by. Is there any chance of her telling you her recipes during this recovery period? Could be a great time to collect her thoughts and recollections too.

Paul, I am so sorry to hear of your mother's bad fall and want you to know she will be in my thoughts and prayers for the best of recoveries. She sounds like quite a lady and luckily you are closeby so she can be well cared for.

Donna

quote:

Originally posted by Donna Douglass

Paul, I am so sorry to hear of your mother's bad fall and want you to know she will be in my thoughts and prayers for the best of recoveries. She sounds like quite a lady and luckily you are closeby so she can be well cared for.

Donna

Donna has said it perfectly. Is there any chance that you would post her address so that we might "shower" her with get well cards?

An update on Mamaw Smith for those who may have an interest. She had been picking beans in the communal garden in 100 F weather. She was leaning over to pick them and when she washed them off, she was also leaning over. Apparently as she assumed the erect position and climbing up the stairs from her basement to her residence, she passed out and fell down the steps. It was a nasty crash. She had a major compound fracture to almost every bone in her right hand. It punctured the skins and her blood loss was significant. She was in surgery for two hours and according to her orthepedic surgeon, she will be in a cast for four months and have significant loss of motion in her right hand for the rest of her life. She was alert today and in a very good mood although in a great deal of pain and really pissed off that she had a hard time reading the Sunday paper and now has to be a southpaw.

We pray that it was the heat and not a stroke.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Wow, that's truly horrible. Here's hoping she recovers well and regains her spirits.

And it's not so bad to be a southpaw. Although I don't think I would've like to try it at such an advanced age.

Sorry to hear this, and thanks for the update. We have recently dealt with a broken arm of my 89 year old Father in law who lives with us. He made a good recovery; and the docs said his muscle tone and bone strength was fairly remarkable. As active as Mamaw is (picking beans in hundred degree heat?) and hearing that she has her spirits up, I believe indicates a good recovery.

Paul,

Just read the news about Mamaw. I hope for a quick and speedy recovery.

Paul ...

First of all thanks for the reports.

I don't know why, but I feel it -- notsomuch as you and your family does, but in another way ... I travel alot and have been fortunate to understand the tremendous values of many families in the south. In my mind your's is such a family.

I am, as I am guessing many others are, envious of families with such roots.

You are blessed to have Mamaw ... and she is blessed to have such a good, solid family.

This is not the first time you brought her up -- and it isn't the first time I have appreciated her from afar. I wish her the best.

The reality is, she won't be around forever -- although this will probably not be the crushing blow. That said, be sure to appreciate her everyday. (I'm thinking that I'll make it a point to appreciate my 79 y/o mom right now ... but that is an aside.)

THAT said, I am sure you DO appreciate her everyday.

Life is Good"

Meanwhile. Selfishly, perhaps ... when she's ready to do some cookin' videotape her. I've heard that is the best way to preserve the magic.

... Best regards ... Gregg

Please add me to the list of people who wish her godspeed and a painless recovery from her fall. Since I had to take my mother to the hospital this winter for a bad reaction to a drug, I understand the stress of how you're feeling.
Christine.

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

We pray that it was the heat and not a stroke.

Paul:

Each of you is blessed by the other's presence in his life, and you'll be in our prayers here. A moderately educated guess is that it sounds like postural hypotension to me, but you'd do better to ask a doc or EMS person.

Anyhow, continue in the endeavor. Remember RedTressed's book last winter? I'd love to see this turn out the same way.

Rick