Edna Lewis, the Grand Dame of Southern Cuisine

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My favorite excerpt from The Taste of Country Cooking by Ms. Edna Lewis:

“I will never forget spring mornings in Virginia.  A warm morning and a red sun rising behind a thick fog gave the image of a pale pink veil supported by a gentle breeze that flew or thin marquisette curtains out into the living room, leaving them to fall lazily back.  Being awakened by this irresistible atmosphere we would hop out of bed, clothes in hand, rush downstairs, dress in a sunny spot, and rush out to the barn to find a sweet-faced calf, baby pigs, or perhaps a colt.  We always stopped by the hen house to look at the setting hens sitting in their row of nests along the wall.  They had to be checked often to see if the eggs were moist enough to hatch properly.  I can still remember the moist smell of chickens hatching and making quiet, cuddly noises.  The mother hen would fuss and ruffle her feathers, very annoyed at my mother for lifting her from the nest to sprinkle the eggs.  There would be guineas setting under the woodpile where no one could reach and they would appear one day with a brood that was so swift of movement that one could only get a glimpse of them scampering through the weeds.

This was truly a time of birth and rebirth in barnyard, field, and forest.  Early morning visits to the barnyard extended into the woods as well, which was just across the stream from the barn.  The quiet beauty in rebirth there was so enchanting it caused us to stand still in silence and absorb all we heard and saw.  The palest liverwort, the elegant pink lady’s-slipper displayed against the velvety green path of moss leading endlessly through the woods.  Birds flitting back and forth knowing it was spring and looking for food, a spider winding in his catch while his beautiful dew-laden web shimmered and glistened in the early morning sunshine, the early morning sound of the mournful dove, the caw caw of a crow looking for food.

A stream, filled from the melted snows of winter, would flow quietly by us, gurgling softly and gently pulling the leaf of a fern that hung lazily from the side of its bank.  After moments of complete exhilaration we would return joyfully to the house for breakfast.  Floating out to greet us was the aroma of coffee cooking and meat frying, mingled with the smell of oak burning in the cookstove.  We would wash our hands and take our places on the bench behind the table made for children.

Breakfast was about the best part of the day.  There was an almost mysterious feeling about passing through the night and awakening to a new day.  Everyone greeted each other in the morning with gladness and a real sense of gratefulness to see the new day.  If it was a particularly beautiful morning it was expressed in the grace.  Spring would bring our first and just about only fish -- shad.  It would always be served for breakfast, soaked in salt water for an hour or so, rolled in seasoned cornmeal, and fried carefully in home-rendered lard with a slice of smoked shoulder for added flavor.  There were crispy fried white potatoes, fried onions, batter bread, any food left over from supper, blackberry jelly, delicious hot coffee, and cocoa for the children.  And perhaps if a neighbor dropped in, dandelion wine was added.  With the morning feeding of the animals out of the way, breakfast was enjoyable and leisurely.

... First spring meals would always be made of many uncultivated plants.  We would relish a dish of mixed greens -- poke leaves before they unfurled, lamb’s-quarters, and wild mustard.  We also had a salad for a short period made of either Black-Seeded Simpson or Grand Rapids, loose-leaf lettuce which bolted as soon as the weather became warm.  It was served with thin slices of onion before they begin to shape into a bulb -- the tops used as well -- in a dressing of vinegar, sugar, and black pepper.  It was really more of a soup salad.  We would fill our plates after finishing our meal and we adored the sweet and pungent flavor against the crispy fresh flavor of the lettuce and onions.

One usually thinks of lamb as a spring dish but no one had the heart to kill a lamb.  The lambs were sold at the proper time and the sheep would be culled -- some sold and a few butchered.  My mother would usually buy the head and the forequarter of the mutton, which she cooked by braising or boiling and served with the first asparagus that appeared along the fence row, grown from seed the birds dropped.  There were the unforgettable English peas, first-of-the-season garden crop cooked and served in heavy cream along with sauteed first-of-the-season chicken.  As the new calves came, we would have an abundance of milk and butter, as well as buttermilk rich with flecks of butter.  Rich milk was used in the making of gravies, blanc mange, custards, creamed minced ham, buttermilk biscuits, and batter breads, as well as sour-milk pancakes.  And we would gather wild honey from the hollow of oak trees to go with the hot biscuits and pick wild strawberries to go with the heavy cream.

Freetown was a beehive of activity, with everyone caring for crops of new animals, poultry, and garden, gathering dandelions and setting them to wine.  People also helped each other by trading seed, setting hens, and exchanging ideas as well.  Although this was a hectic time and visiting was put off for a calmer time of year, the neighbors still found time for unforgettable pleasantries.”

Exceptional video on Ms. Lewis’ life from Gourmet Magazine, January 2008

Biography of Edna Lewis on Wikipedia

Another bio from About.com

Cookbooks by Edna Lewis:

The Edna Lewis Cookbook, by Edna Lewis & Evangeline Peterson (1972)

The Taste of Country Cooking (1976)

In Pursuit of Flavor (1988)

The Gift of Southern Cooking, by Edna Lewis & Scott Peacock (2003)

 

Comments

[Bailey Barash]

Hello -
I am a filmmaker in Atlanta. I just wanted to let you know I produced a 21 minute documentary about Miss Edna Lewis. The film is called "Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie".

It is viewable in its entirety on Internet at a Gourmet Magazine website:

http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/01/Edna

and at this Library of Virginia website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl6JVMoMN44&feature=channel_page

My website, http://bbarash.com/bb_friedchicken.htm

has more information about the film and the story of Miss Lewis.

Sincerely,
Bailey Barash