Museum Foodies: The Lynchburg Museum System Shares Our Favorite Food Traditions, Part Two
We think the holidays are a good time to reflect on something that connects people from all walks of life -- food. Read this series to discover a grandmother’s biscuit recipe, a dog’s favorite treat, and other food memories we treasure.
History is not just stories from long ago. We believe traditions are a kind of present-day history, so we would love to hear your favorite food traditions, too. Comment below or tag us on social media. How are you making local history?
Face-Slappin’-Good Biscuits
By Glenda Blanks, Museum Guide
Granny’s biscuit-making rolling pin
I miss my Granny’s biscuits -- they were SOOO good! I can see her now, rolling out the dough with her rolling pin, flouring the dough and the rolling pin so it wouldn’t stick, cutting out the biscuits and placing them on the pan. With the leftover dough she would make a hoecake. Getting the biscuits hot out of the oven with butter on them (not margarine) was the closest thing to heaven. Like the saying goes, “That tastes so good, if you put it on your head, your tongue would slap your face tryin’ to get to it.”
I still have Granny’s rolling pin and her flour sifter.
A Top-Secret Fruitcake
By Whitney Roberts, Museum Educator
Whitney R. is one of the privileged few with fruitcake know-how
When my grandfather was in the Air Force and stationed in Charleston, S.C., my grandmother and he lived next to an older lady who asked my grandmother to come help her make fruitcake. She explained this recipe was very old and she needed help making it. My grandmother helped her make it and wrote down the recipe after she returned home. She asked the lady to come over to watch her make it and give her pointers to make sure she was making it correctly.
My grandmother made that fruitcake every Christmas for as long as I can remember, and she would never give out the recipe. In December 2013, she asked me to help her make it so that I would know how to do it in the future. We made it together for a few years, and then she would watch me make it, offering suggestions as I went. This year will be my first year making it without her, but it will be a great way to keep her memory with us.
Thoughts on Grandmothers
By Ellen Glickman, Museum Guide
Grandmothers. That’s where my mind first goes when I think of food traditions, and I bet that’s where many of my colleagues’ thoughts will go, too.
Why?
Is it because cooking is a labor of love? Is it that simple?
Like most people, I’ve got two grandmothers -- Ellen and Sandy. Ellen passed away in 2002. Sandy’s still going strong at 85.
Lab mix Patuti tries to sample Grandma Ellen’s blonde brownies before they go in the oven
My mom, sister, and I often bake Grandma Ellen’s pie crust and blonde brownies. Mom always pulls out the recipes -- because she can’t remember, wishes to see her mom’s handwriting, or a bit of both, I’m not sure. She says even though I don’t have many memories of my grandma, I know her, because of moments like this.
And then there’s The Spread, which is how I think of all meals at Grandma Sandy’s. The food just keeps coming -- bagels, lox, cream cheese, sliced deli meats, fruit, Trader Joe’s treats galore. (Grandma Sandy doesn’t live in Lynchburg.) We all help out for The Spread, but Grandma Sandy is its center, moving about her kitchen slowly and steadily. She rocks a bit from side to side when she walks, being 85 and all. It’s one of the most endearing things I’ve ever seen. She will keep putzing around that kitchen, feeding her family for as long as she’s able.
“It’s the Food They’re After…”
By Laura Crumbley, Volunteer President and Gift Shop Manager
Edible Christmas gifts exchanged between Crumbley family and friends
It is well known in our family that most all of our gatherings center around food, the Christmas holiday especially. Since my children were 2 and 3 years old, the most anticipated piece of Christmas was the large basket of homemade goodies given to my husband at work. Judy and Kathy Mason gathered and presented the most beautiful and delicious basket you have ever seen. The children passed on their enthusiasm to their spouses and now their children. We continue to share food gifts with friends and family. A toy here and there, but it’s the food they are after.
No Christmas morning would be the same without Florence Perrow’s blueberry coffee cake! No Christmas day without Turkey, Oyster Dressing, Hot Spiced Fruit, and Connie Blackwell’s Mincemeat Pie. But, wait! Let me go back to Christmas Eve. Since 1986, I have prepared the same dinner: Beef Tenderloin, Twice-Baked Potatoes, and Spinach and Artichoke Casserole. If there is any casserole left over, we have it again Christmas day. It’s the big favorite. Last year, I went into the Junior League cookbook, Good Cookin’ from the Heart of Virginia, (where the recipe can be found) to copy the recipe for a friend. It has been years since I needed to look it up. At the end of the recipe was the contributor’s name, Catherine Whitehead. She was a Junior League friend 33 years ago. Today, she is Catherine Dalton, retired teacher (hardly ever saw her all those years) and staff member of the Lynchburg Museum System (see her all the time now). We have a very close connection (food) and are even better friends today!