Red Velvet Wisdom

I can’t even remember the first time I actually met Lottie Faye.  She is the grandmother of Shelia who has been my best friend since the age of 12, and that’s going on 20 years now so you can do the math there I guess.  Everybody who knows her refers to her as Mamaw, and she has that kind of sweet grandmotherly spirit you expect in a Mamaw.  She’s always there to offer you advice (sometimes even when you don’t want to hear it), and even though she is now well into her 80’s, she loves to help her granddaughters cook a good family meal when she can.  I have been lucky enough to have a few of these and I can tell you it’s always a treat.   At the end of this post I will even share one of her best recipes with y’all!

Lottie Faye remembers being a young woman during the depression, and she spoke very earnestly about how hard it was for everybody growing up during those times.  She grew up on a 60 acre cotton farm in Arkansas where she and her 5 siblings worked hard with their parents to provide for their family.   She describes in vivid detail how she milked cows, killed chickens, and ate almost every thing off of a wood burning stove, which she swears made everything taste better.   Lottie Faye said she first remembers her mother trying to teach her to cook around the age of 12, starting off with biscuits.  According to Lottie, “they were a FLOP.”  Never one to be deterred, she kept at, honing the skills that would one day feed her children and grandchildren.  She speaks fondly of her siblings, and remembers collecting something called “possum grapes,” with her brothers.  ( No idea what they are, as Mama says you may have to Google it).  She would take these possum grapes, and along with sugar and water, she would mash them up and then let them ferment in hidden jars in the barn.  Then she and her siblings would sneak out and have a little possum grape wine.   Apparently her parents never knew of this little detail, and you can see Lottie still has a devious little laugh about it, even after all these years.

Lottie Faye in her twenties.

Around the age of 18, Lottie’s father passed away, and her mother was left alone to finish raising the children.  It was a hardship on everyone, but Lottie made her contribution by working at the phone company.  Around the age of 23, she met a man named Milton on a blind date.  Lottie remembers that she wore a very brightly colored pants suit to the date, and Milton commented the he didn’t care for it at all.  Now normally this would seem like something that would run a girl off, but Lottie Faye herself has a very tell it like it is personality herself, and I think she must have appreciated it because a year later they were married. (To demonstrate how blunt Lottie can be, she once told me, “Joy, your hair is almost back to a natural color, I’m really happy for you.”)

Soon after getting married, Lottie Faye and Milton added two boys to their family, Rodney and Tony.  Over the years the boys grew up and had families of their own, and so Lottie Faye was christened Mamaw, which she would be called frequently for the rest of her days.    She raised her children and helped care for her grandchildren with the same no-nonsense style that she still speaks with even now.  I remember Shelia saying on more than one occasion that
Mamaw had to discipline her and sister Nicole after one of their rowdy childhood battles with each other (some of which were epic, to this I can attest.)  In the late 1990’s Lottie lost her beloved Milton, and in 2006, she endured the loss of her son Tony.   She still talks about both of them in the present tense at times, and it’s plain to see that though she has persevered, and seems to be enjoying her life in Central Arkansas these days, those men are never far from her heart and mind.

Lottie Faye today.

And now, without further ado, here is one of her best recipes.  It is the most requested from her family, and I feel very privileged to be able to share it with you all.

Chicken and Dumplings

• 1 whole chicken
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 can of chunky chicken soup or a can of chicken spread
• 4 cups of all purpose flour

Boil the chicken until it is cooked through and tender.  Add salt and paper (to taste) to the water that the chicken is boiling in.  Take the chicken out to cool, and reserve 2 cups of the broth and set aside.  To the remaining water in the pot, add cream of chicken soup, the chunky soup or spread, and at this point you will want to add enough water so that it is the consistency of stock that you want to boil your dumplings in.   This may be a little thicker or thinner for everybody.  Let this simmer on a low heat while you make your dumplings.

For the dumplings, you will take the reserved broth (after it has cooled to at least room temperature) and add the two eggs and mix together until well blended.   Slowly add the broth mixture to the 4 cups of flour until it is “about right” for dumplings.  Roll the dough out flat  onto a floured surface (you will probably want to split the dough in half to make it easier to work with).   Mamaw likes her to be rolled thin and cut into small strips, but again you can make this somewhat to you own liking, but make sure you cook them accordingly.   Drop the dumplings in as you cut them, now turning up the heat so you can cook the dough (don’t overcook them or they will get too mushy she says).  Add your de-boned and de-skinned chicken to the pot, and again add salt and pepper at this stage if you feel it needs more.

Monday, October 5th, 2009, 11:41 pm   |   Well Seasoned  |  RSS feed Comments and pings are currently closed.