Cookbook-writing caterer extraordinaire Debbi Covington dishes about food.
Remembering My Daddy
Written by Debbi Covington
Tuesday, 05 June 2012 11:51
I loved cooking for my father! Daddy's favorite foods were few in number, and as a young girl, they were the first things that I learned how to prepare. Almost every Saturday morning, when I was in junior high, I used to bake a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. The cake would still be warm when Daddy came in around lunchtime expecting a slice. I can almost hear him saying “Sugar, is that cake ready yet? How about a taste?”
It's that time of year again – Blueberry Season! South Carolina summers bring ripe blueberries to roadside stands, farmers’ markets and local grocery stores. Round and smooth-skinned blueberries are juicy and sweet. Cultivated blueberries comprise the majority of those that reach the market and the season can span from May through October.
We Southerners revere our mothers! Since 1912, the second Sunday in May has been set aside to commemorate motherhood. The mid-spring celebration comes when days are long, gardens are lush with flowers and the promise of summer is in the air. What better time to honor our Mamas!
Strawberries are the first fruit to come into season in the Lowcountry. When the strawberry farms open, we flock out to the fields to get our first taste of spring. Strawberries can be traced back to the Greeks and the Romans. Medieval stonemasons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals, symbolizing perfection and righteousness.
“I well remember that last meal on the Titanic. We had a big vase of beautiful daffodils on the table, as fresh as if they had just been picked. Everybody was gay, and people were making bets on the probable time of this record-breaking voyage.” ---First-class passenger Lady Duff-Gordon