Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1979)
* , The Heritage Cooking Series Portland Observer Thursday, August 14. 1979 Page 7 Breaking bread in the Low Country by P. Elizabeth Wilson* As the fog began to lift higher and higher and the sun peered through the thick clouds, we could see a boat, tiny in the distance. We knew within minutes we would sail across 35 miles, northeast o f Savannah, and break on Daufuskie Island after all. Daufuskie Island, known for its deviled crab, is said to be all o f 100 years behind civilization. Even today you can see ox-driven carts. The homes o f a large majority o f the 30 or so Black families are built o f logs and located several miles apart. A few years ago the people formed the Daufuskie Island Cooperative, In corporated and built a fine general store and adjoining pavilion. It is here in the pavilion that deviled crab is prepared and purchased, usually by the half-dozen, tucked in the safest o f places and carried away to be savored at another time. While on the island, tourists dine on deviled crab, red rice and cole slaw. On Daufuskie we had the pleasure o f talking at length with Ms. Francis jbnes who is a life-long resident o f the Low Country. A retired school teacher, Ms. Jones is an active com munity leader, a board member of the C ooperative, and lo vin g ly revered as the "o ld soldier.” Ms. Jones related how country establishments were largely self- sustaining on the island, that local specialties served on these tidewater tables were taken from the family’s vegetable gardens and rice patch — o kra, tomatoes, butter beans, squash and eggplant, and, o f course, rice. They hunted for deer, coon, squirrels, rabbits and fished for sea food that they prepared ‘ ‘ every which-a-way.” Her favorite cuisine was stewed cabbage that she still steams down with a little salt pork. Thyme, m int, catnip, parsley and garlic are herbs very common to the Low Country. Ms. Jones remembers her grandmother making bread pud- din’ and cornstarch pie fillin '. She says they seemed to always have stone-ground grits and corn and home-grown rice. Varieties o f peaches, pears and figs were plentiful and wines were made from grapes, plums, blackberries, mulberries and pears. On holidays, oyster stuffing was the thing, although rice or corn meal was sometimes used. S till prom inent on Daufuskie Island are some o f the creative crafts handed down from generation to generation in the form o f quilting and basket weaving, in both o f which Ms. Jones is quite the expert crafts- person. During the tourist season ar tifacts exquisitely reflecting Low Country life styles of yesterday and today are on display in the island’ s pavilion. Across Calibogue Sound, a heavy fragrance m otionless as though having lost its way in the air was fixed above the oven as we entered the home of Mrs Rosalie Barnwell in M rs Rosalie B arnw ell of H ilton Head Island serves a p o ta to pone th a t co u ld m ake C h ristm a s an everyday event. H ilto n Head Island. She had prepared an e xtravagantly rich potato pone that she enjoyed during her childhood much the same as we enjoy fruitcake today. It was the Christmas specialty and it was grand. Potato pone represents one o f the many imaginative uses found for the sweet potato decades ago. To this day, many places in the South, if you ask for potatoes w ill be served sweet potatoes. If you want white potatoes you must say Irish potatoes. Sweet potato dishes from the Low Country are simple but distinctive, subtly sea soned and a welcome change served with the meal or at dessert. It’s not just the potato pone, but H ilto n Head Island its e lf th a t's grand. Steeped in h isto rica l significance, it is alive. With varied w ild life , lush vegetation and is favored with some o f the most beau tifu l beaches in the world. Twenty- four plantations were in operation on the island in I860, most ol which cultivated cotton, but also indigo, sugar cane and rice. However, for the past century, the islanders' prin cipal industry has been shrimping, oystering and crabbing. But no matter how you look at it. Blacks have always been closely as sociated with the land and the food. P lanting, p ickin g , creating and eating. This is especially true o f Southerners. Though thousands ol dishes are part of our heritage, w rit ten recipes for them are surprisingly rare. Consequently, no cookbook will suffice. To discover, then, the wonder o f our food heritage, we have to meet the people During the time when Hilton Head was sim ply that narrow belt ot land neighboring the Atlantic, the tides would be used to flood and dram the fields that Mrs. Nellie White worked many rains ago When you see and hear and understand the DO YOU NEED HELP? Is the DEVIL working against your home, nature, job, church, money, child ren, sex, neighbor, health, sick, family, loved ones? Are there demons on your body or in your home? Have you been in a fix where you cannot keep or find the RIGHT man or woman? If you need help with any or all of these problems you should call me NOW!! Tomorrow may be too late!!! Does your luck pass you by? If so, I have lucky hands to help you be a winner in all GAMES OF CHANCE Bingo, Reno, Tahoe, Las Vegas, Special, Miami, Fla., etc. If you are a spiritual seeker who needs help not promises "God Gifted" man. I can help you in a hurry. call me. strength o f mind w ith which (his gracious 83-year-old woman says, ” 1 was a farm er," you sense a period o f well-rounded salubrious living and, w itho ut hesitation, you f i l l your bowl with her favorite okra soup. Our visit was beautiful. We learned that the slippery quality cooked okra sometimes takes, liked by some but disliked by most, can be overcome and the full and unusual flavor o f okra enjoyed i f you cook it in a skillet with some drippings and a lit tle vinegar, stirring constantly. We also learned from Mrs. White and her daughter M rs. Barnwell about the big iron pots used to make bennte (sesame) candy; the aroma o f hot peas cooking (the portent o f som ething special); grits w ith oysters, shrimp or fish; hard melon preserves; the days o f talking pic tures and o f taking a sail or steam boat to Savannah to shop. Yes, it was grand. If only one memory could be form ed from our trip, it would be that life in the Low Country has never been short on appetite or regional delica cies to appease it, nor has it been short o f a family table around which to enjoy it. Our experience is already reduced to impressions, encircled within our personalities and cannot be pierced even by those voices we may conjecture to be coming to us or from us. W'e hardly have tim e to make theories about them . What we have now to do is be forever curiously testing new opinions and recipes and courting new impressions— never yielding to generally accepted views. GROUND BEEF H teaspoon cinnamon H teaspoon ginger Combine ingredients; mix well. Pour into 10x6-inch baking dish. Bake at 360°, 1 hour and 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold. Six to eight ser vings. DEVILED CRAB 3 cups soft bread crumbs 2 6-oz. pkgs. frozen crabm eat, thawed, drained, flaked 34 cup chopped celery 3$ cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion 2 teaspoons prepared mustard 34 teaspoon cayenne % teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons margarine, melted From all Chuck 80% Lean Le» than 20% Fat DISH ALL Combine 2 cups bread crumbs, crabm eat, celery, mayonnaise, onion, mustard and seasonings, mix well. Place mixture in six individual seafood shells or 6-oz. custard cups. Top with remaining bread crumbs tossed with margarine Bake at 350°, 30 minutes. Six servings. Variation: substitute tw o 7-oz. cans water packed tuna for crab meat. Fri«* m dvtfti cenn off label E- L__ SMOP ____ lENOW'S FOR ■ B BB R S A N D S y au lin aw VARIETIES Vau lih a SIZES you w a n t • »411 The Fr^ndlre.l | In 1 ,.n SWEET POTATO PONE $•«•«« ISOS 4 cups grated sweet potatoes 34 cup packed brown sugar 34 cup milk 34 cup margarine, melted 34 cup dark corn syrup 2 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon grated orange rind • • • • M 1.1 M l l w e w l n . IS r» • l a » t u r a . M . I U n 4 » N I •)> •» « N L s m S a n * a l O r a a la y S a l a i* » H i l l , P l a i e I l N a l l d , . i » m i A t.t. BUrn—R • 1er» « I I. 0 1.1,1 m . J J ,» < M l . M e s ,« » . . W .,i s .™ ,14. a l a a . O ,w a a a N I » « a « l a , CH» • Oaa e r a . . aasasMs os v m i i i CAocias Low C ou ntry cra fts m e n have been fashioning baskets fo r cen turies (Photo: H ilton Head Island Public Library.) LO V IN G M E M O R Y Dominic Chris .¿->hnr Joseph March 14, 1960-August 15, 1978 7 here are always t wo sides, the good and the bad, The dark and the light, the sad and the glad, Hut looking back over the good and the had, H e are a ware o f the number o f good things we 've had. •I nd in counting our blessings, we fin d when we 're through, H e've no reason at all to complain or be blue. So thank Hod fo r the good things he's always done, .4 nd be grateful to him fo r the battles y o u ’ve won. And know that the same Hod who helped vou before. Is ready and willing to help you once more. hv Dominic 1976 fage 16) Corn m u ffin tins used by local Black cooks w ere am ong the antiques displayed in a special e xhibit. R eflections o f Low C ountry Life S tyle s," at the H ilton Head Island Public Library (Photo H ilton Head Island Public Library.) Your Devoted Family Peggy, Vernon, Roberta —Washington, D.C. Randell, Harry, Amelia, Vernon, Sr. —Portland J • provided by Kraft, Inc. ALLEN TEMPLE CME CHURCH HUGHES M EM ORIAL UNITED M ETHODIST CHURCH Corner of 8th and S kidm ore Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Sunday Worship 11:00 a.m. Christian Youth Fellowship 6:00 p.m. (Second and Fourth Sundays) REV A U S T IN V HAY, M INISTER 111 N.E. FAILING Dial A Prayer 284 0684 Worship I I 00 a m Church School 9 45 a m. Office 281 2332 Specializing tn Individual • Slurnaite and kam ilv » G ro u p Therapy am a Reverend Thomas L. Stravhand, Minister The C hurch W h e re N o S tra n g e r Feela S tra n g e TESTIMONIALS II Miss Joyce J.W , Portland, OR . was in a fix where she could not find or keep a good man. I, Rev Hoskins, removed the fix and the jinx from her NOW she can draw the man of her desire to her like a magnet 2) M r. ft M rs C.P. of C om pton, CA., could not win the BIG one. They called Rev. Hoskins and Rev. sent them a forsure win blessing money hand. They went to Las Vegas and their luck kept on coming, winning more than $16,000 3) Ms. Barbara T., In gle w o od . CA , had a man who left home for another woman. She called Rev Hoskins with tears in her voice. She want ed him back!! Now he is back and eating out of her hand. 4) M r Paul. Los Angeles. CA , was in a fix and rooted by this woman. As a result he lost his nature for other women, but through Rev. Hoskins' work, Paul regained his nature and became luckier than ever with women, money and his business. 61 Mrs. O .I.. Long Beach, CA., had demons in her body, and in her home, causing all kinds of bad luck, and unnatural sickness. She called Rev Hoskins and in 72 hours her home and body were free of unclean spirits. (The names in the above testimonies have been changed for the protec tion of the individual.) I guarantee to do what I say I can do I have a big re putation to protect. I know the power of the SPIRIT. Don't put it off Don't let distance keep you from calling. Call now!!! You will be glad you did. Tell a friend where to get HELP today RESULTS GUARANTEED REVEREND C LA U D E H O S K IN S 553 G LE N V IE W A V E N U E O A K L A N D , C A L IF O R N IA 94610 TELEPHONE: ( 415) 444 4883 Paid Advertisement ST. ANDREWS CATHOLIC CHURCH 806 N.E. Alberta Street Reverend Bertram G riffin, Pastor 281 4429 M asses 5 0 0 p m V ig il S a tu rd a y 10 00 a m C hoir Sunday 12 00 p m Folk Sunday ST. ANDREW C O M M U N ITY SCHOOL 4919 N E 9th A ve M o n ta Kelly P rincip al Phone 784 1620 G rades 1 th ro u g h 8 You are Welcome to Worship at NEW HOPE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH REVEREND A. BERNARD DEVERS PASTOR THE CHURCH DESIGNED TO MEET YOUR NEED Sunday School Morning Worship Evening Service 2nd. 4th and 5th Sundays Communion 1st Sunday W ed Family Prayer Meeting and Bible Study Fndey Brotherhood Fellowship Service with Morning S t,r 3rd Sunday THE ARK OF SAFETY CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST 9:30a.m. to 30a.m "A warm spirit o f fellowship always" The Honorable Bishop U.V. Peterson, D D. ‘ ‘ The Holiness Preacher," Pastor 7 00 p m. 5 00 p m 7:30p.m. 7 :0 0 p m , Prayer and Pastor Phone 281 6476 Church Phone: 281 0163 3725 N. Gantenbein Avenue,! *ortlend. Oregon 97227 Sunday Sunday School Morning Worship 9:15 am ,1 :1 5 a m Showers o f Blessings B roadcast' KGAR ,560 ,1:30 am 12:30 pm Fvengehshc Worship Tueaday Friday BOOpm Noon b e y Prayer YMC SSOfBW Tuesday Bible B an d/Jr. Church Wednesday Choir Rehearsal - l!*O«<*Seeal,. 7:30 ( 7 00« 7M p _________ ", *8' OWB I
