Mom's Table

When Mom & Dad moved back to West Texas, they lived west of Rochester in a little community called Jud. Dad farmed some but worked with horses too. I can remember if he was plowing anywhere near the house, when Mom had lunch ready she would walk out to where he could see her and wave a white dish towel and he would know that it was"chow" time.
Now you have to remember that back then people didn't eat as many sandwiches or quick-fix meals as we do today. For one thing it was too costly and the other thing was Mom loved to cook--and I do mean that she liked it and was a VERY good cook as many of you remember. I am sure that you also recall that when she knew you were coming to see them that she would have the foods that she knew where your favorites.
Daddy liked for everything that he may want to use with his meal to be on the table , so in the middle of the table you could find --the pepper, salt, ketchup,pepper sauce, pickles,chow-chow and most of the time some jam or jelly.Really I think that most people did that as I remember Ma Blanche kept all of her pantry in the middle of the
table or at least it seemed so. My better half would love it if I did--get rid of the cutesy flowers and put the grub on the table!
Mom could make the most ordinary meal seem like a feast from her hot rolls to the melt in your mouth cakes and pies--the woman was a master in the kitchen. Many may say that she couldn't fry meat , but Daddy liked his meat well done and by that I mean that unless it was hard to stick a fork into and would make a hollow sound when you dropped it on the platter--than you best cook that sucker a little more! Most of the children followed in his footsteps-- you know its what you were raised with is what you like. My little brother Mike, would eat raw oysters after he was grown and Daddy would shiver from the thought.
I agree with Jerry Ann, one time we were talking about steaks cooked rare and that we would not eat it, she said " I may die from lots of things, but I promise you it won't be from eating raw meat." We had a Uncle that would eat his steak so rare that the meat would be floating in the blood. Daddy always said that he wasn't "real bright" was why he ate it like that---hey, it made sense to us!!