I have a new book titled Gullah Geechee Home Cooking, Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island, (South Carolina), Emily Meggett. When my sister, Isabel, who lives a little way from Charleston, found out the book was available, she bought one for herself and had one shipped to me.
I intend to ‘wow’ you with lots of super recipes, over the coming days, with which the book abounds. Mrs. Meggett is a wonderful, beautiful person, almost ninety years old, who loves her community and demonstrates that love by feeding any of her neighbors who show up at her open door! Consequently, her neighbors shower her with love and all manner of foods including baskets of seafood and vegetables which she lovingly prepares. I know you will grow to love her and her recipes.
We’ll start with Mrs. Meggett’s Fried Fish, followed by her Hushpuppies, which serves from 6 to 8 people.
Scalloped potatoes from the Apopka Historical Society’s Preserving the Big Potato is simple and delicious. It uses fat-free milk and canned reduced-fat cream of celery soup.
From Field to Feast, we have a wonderful recipe from Muriel Olivares. She is one of the new generation of urban farmers, with her quarter-acre Little River Market Garden tucked in a Northeast Miami neighborhood known as Little Haiti. Callaloo and okra thrive in South Florida summers. “This quiche is one of my favorites because the flavor of the vegetables is nicely complemented by the eggs, and the crust recipe is a family tradition passed down by my wonderfully healthy grandmother, Ana Maria,” she says. Callaloo greens are the large, edible leaves of the taro root. Swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens, or turnip greens are good substitutes.
Earl Coell’s Cheese Biscuits is another winner we pulled from The Apopka Citizen Police Alumni Association’s Sharing Our Finest Cookbook.
Cyndi Wright’s Shells and Grape Salad comes from Apopka Citizen Police Alumni Association’s Sharing Our Finest Cookbook. We thank Cyndi for sharing her recipe with us.
From our friends at the Apopka Woman’s Club What’s Cookin’?, a basic ice cream recipe from Jane Shepherd produces a versatile and very easy instruction for home churned ice cream.
MRS. EMILY MEGGETT’S
FRIED FISH
Gullah Geechee Home Cooking,
Recipes from the Matriarch of
Edisto Island, Emily Meggett
5 pounds whiting, catfish, or fish of your choice
2 tablespoons seasoning salt
2 cups vegetable oil
1/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
Clean, rinse, and fillet the fish. Season fillets with seasoning salt and set aside. In large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. In a brown paper bag, combine flour and cornmeal. Place all the seasoned fish in the bag. Grip the top of the bag tightly and shake the bag until all of the fish is well coated. Be careful to hold bottom and top of the bag while shaking so flour and cornmeal don’t leak. The key here is to bread your fish, but not too much. A few good shakes of the fish and flour mixture should do the trick. Once all the fish are coated, place each piece of fish in the hot oil, one by one. Make sure that the oil is very hot; otherwise, the fish will break apart. Fry the fish over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Line a plate with two paper towels. Using tongs or a large fork, place the fish on the paper towels so the extra oil can drain. Serve immediately.
MRS. EMILY MEGGETT’S
HUSHPUPPIES
Gullah Geechee Home Cooking,
Recipes from the Matriarch of
Edisto Island, Emily Meggett
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup vegetable oil, plus 2 cups for frying
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups yellow cornmeal
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/4 cups milk, whole or 2-percent
1 cup grated onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a large mixing bowl, use a spoon to beat together the egg, sugar, and 1 cup of the oil.
Add the flour, salt, cornmeal, and baking powder. Mix well.
Add the milk and mix. Add the onion, bell pepper, and cayenne pepper. Mix the ingredients together until well combined.
In a large skillet, heat 2 cups oil over high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, reduce the heat to medium. In batches, take heaping tablespoons of the cornmeal mixture and drop them in the oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown. You’ll know they’re done when the hushpuppies float. Drain the hushpuppies on a plate covered with a paper towel, and serve.
SCALLOPED POTATOES
Recipe from Apopka Historical
Society Preserving the Big Potato
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
10-1/4 ounce can condensed
reduced-fat cream of celery soup
1/2 cup 1-percent milk
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a 1-1/2 to 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Place potatoes and then onions into dish. Mix soup and milk together and pour over potatoes and onions. Bake 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until potatoes are tender.
MURIEL OLIVARES’
CALLALOO AND OKRA
SUMMER QUICHE
Recipe from Field to Feast
CRUST:
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
FILLING:
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
10 medium okra pods, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 bunch callaloo leaves, coarsely chopped
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 eggs
MAKE THE CRUST:
Mix the flour, water, oil, and salt directly in a 9-inch pie dish until a dough forms. Handle as little as possible since separation between oil and water is what will give you a flaky crust. Use your knuckles to evenly press the dough into the dish.
MAKE THE FILLING AND BAKE THE QUICHE:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. Saute onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in okra and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden. Add callaloo and immediately remove skillet from heat. Continue stirring until greens wilt. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Pour vegetables into crust.
4. Beat eggs in a bowl until frothy. Pour eggs over vegetables.
5. Bake 30 to 45 minutes, or until filling is firm but not dry. Serve warm.
EARL COELL’S
CHEESE BISCUITS
Recipe from Apopka Citizen
Police Alumni Association,
Sharing Our Finest Cookbook
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/4 pound grated cheese
1/4 pound butter
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons ice water
Mix quickly. Roll thin. Cut with cookie cutter. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes.
CYNDI WRIGHT’S
SHELLS AND GRAPE SALAD
Recipe from Apopka Citizen
Police Alumni Association,
Sharing Our Finest Cookbook
8 ounces shell pasta, cooked
al dente
4 cups red seedless grapes
1/2 cup chopped green onion
3 ounces blue cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
While pasta is hot, mix all ingredients. Cool at least two hours.
JANE SHEPHERD’S
BASIC ICE CREAM
Recipe from The Apopka Woman’s Club, Apopka, Florida
What’s Cookin’?
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
Beat well with electric mixer
at high speed.
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can condensed milk
1 large can fruit or package
of frozen fruit
pinch of salt
Pour all of this into churn.
Then add homogenized milk to fill churn.
