My husband
had a great-aunt who lived in the coal country of West Virginia. Lillie Mae Williams Taylor was a lovely lady,
widowed by the time I met her. Her husband had been a coal miner, and he died
of black lung. She lived in a house they had built, not far from Bluefield, on
a hill overlooking the tracks where coal trains rumbled by.
My husband
and I visited a couple of times, both in summer and in winter, on our way to or
from somewhere else. It was a bit like
stepping back in time. Part of her hospitality was making sure we ate well, and
as I remember it, she always had a pot of something between a stew and a soup
simmering on the back burner of her stove. Aunt Lillie kept a large vegetable
garden, and a lot of what she cooked came from that garden.
The vegetable garden |
I guess
you'd have to say she was ahead of her time:
if you're talking about farm to table, the distance at Aunt Lillie's was
about forty feet. She grew no-nonsense things like onions and potatoes, and she
also grew a kind of bean that I'd never seen before. If I remember correctly (sorry, I wasn't
taking food pictures that early), it was kind of speckled, and she used them
fresh, not dried, saving the seeds over the winter for the next season. (I
subscribe to the Seed Savers Exchange catalog from Seed Savers Exchange,
and it could be one of the beans there, or it could be something with no name
that had been passed down for generations.) She didn't do fancy, just good,
plain and very fresh food.
Aunt Lillie's kitchen |
My husband
and I were comparing our memories and we couldn't agree whether there was meat
involved in that always-simmering soup pot.
I don't remember it, but it's easy to picture some ham or bacon going
in. I don't remember herbs or spices or
even garlic—which is kind of a testament for fresh vegetables. This was a
stew/soup that was all about the vegetables, slow-cooked together for a long
time, waiting for the next guest to appear.
Aunt Lillie
never used a recipe—she just added some of that and a bit of whatever was ripe
from the garden. I'm not sure she knew what an herb or spice was. I can't claim
that this is Aunt Lillie's recipe, but it's as close as I can come. It makes a
good side dish with dinner, or a good soup with some bread or cornbread alongside.
Aunt
Lillie's Vegetable Stew
1 pound
fresh green beans, cut into 2" pieces
2 lbs
potatoes (use russet/bakers, not the waxy kind. If they're large, peel and cut
into 1" cubes; if they're small, skip the peeling. I used Yukon Gold new potatoes.)
2 onions,
coarsely diced
2 cups
water or broth (vegetable or chicken)
Cooking oil
Salt and
pepper to taste
In a large heavy pot, heat the oil and sauté the onions and potatoes and cook on medium-low for about ten minutes; add the green beans and cook for another five minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the
water or broth and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally. When you're ready to serve, taste for
seasoning, then mash a few of the potato pieces to thicken it.
And that's
it—simple food that tastes good. There's no reason you couldn't add
some left-over veggies, or carrots (as I did), or maybe some cabbage. And herbs. A lot of
recipes of this kind call for tomatoes, but that makes it a different
soup. Summer versions often suggest
squash, but that would disintegrate if cooked for long. But don't be shy about adding whatever you
have on hand—as long as it's fresh!
My granny lived in Virginia and across the road were the train tracks that probably carried that same coal. My uncle did coal mining as well. Granny had a small farm so we always had chicken and tons of fresh and fresh canned veggies. They raised a calf every year then we had fresh beef for a year. They also raised a hog so we had pork. My favorite thing she made was apple butter. She had a big castiron kettle she cooked the apples and spices in. The whole house smelled sooo good when she made it. She also made pear butter. I think that was my favorite, but I can't find a recipe for it anywhere. The veggie stew you wrote about is similar to what granny would make, but she usually put a chunk of beef or, like you said pork in it. She never measured anything either thus when I try to make her recipes, I have to guestamate the amounts. Thanks for the trip down memory lane this snowy morning.
ReplyDeletePear butter is done just like apple butter. Cut them up, remove the cores, and cook away. Add some spices and water as needed.
DeleteI'm not fond of pears, but my sister got some bruised ones and cooked them up into butter. Now that I liked!
What a lovely tribute to Aunt Lillie. I live close to that part of the country and can tell you that in some cases, the glorious vegetable garden looks bigger than the house. We have a little country store that sells an assortment of those speckled beans in large bins. Sue, each year at the local festival, apple butter is cooked in a giant cast iron pot and sold on the spot.
ReplyDeleteLillie's soup certainly is healthy, and I bet it's delicious. I love mashing a few potatoes to thicken it. Thanks for sharing Aunt Lillie's story, Sheila.
~Krista
You're so right about the irony of today's hipsters embracing homesteading and farm-to-table eating. That wasn't so chic (to look poor and work in the dirt) when I was growing up! But Dad was raised on a small farm, and so we grew our own vegetables and my mother and aunt cooked (also not chic or progressive for women to cook, right)? Ah, the trends, how they swing. But freshly picked food and home-cooked meals endured as a thing of value, and I'm so glad they did. Lovely post, Sheila. Men in my family worked in the steel mills (in Western PA), and we had friends in WV coal country, so I can very much relate to your great-aunt, and I'm sure this will strike a chord with many of our followers, too.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend,
~ Cleo
Looks yummy, Sheila, and so simple. Oh, to have big gardens. That's what farmers markets are for, right?
ReplyDeleteCongrats on another week on the NYT. Yay!
Daryl aka Avery
I like your Aunt Lillie. I miss my garden.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is, we had a lot of overhanging tree limbs removed earlier this year, so my garden will get more light. The bad news is, the tree guys with the heavy machines kinda trashed the garden in the process. Now I'm looking at the wreckage and trying to decide what I want to do. I like growing beans, when I have enough light--maybe I can track down Aunt Lillie's.
ReplyDeleteAunt Lillie's Stew must mean that spring is not that far away. I think I would really like the stew with a cheddar scone or a bacon chive scone. Thanks for sharing memories & recipe.
ReplyDeleteI love the posts with stories and photos of your relatives, Sheila. And the recipes too. This looks very good.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on nailing that NYT spot AGAIN!!!
MJ