Private Message for Melody

Can I post what I've come up with so far then?

The Colonels secret recipe for KFC spices? Original Seed for the Amish Brandwine tomatoes? I give up, but very interesting, indeed!!! Will "hover" and congratualte the winners!! Jo

If you feel you have it...go ahead. The only way I'll close this game early is if someone gets it right. I'll keep posting a few clues here and there..so start guessing!

I think one of the names is Mother Maybelle Carter. I'm also leaning towards the goodie being wine, but I haven't been able to find any information to back up my theory yet.

Profession would have to be music.

Joan is taking this seriously gang! Better get your thinking caps on. I'm gonna take a break and fix supper...got a big pot of ham'n beans.Gonna make cornbread and open a jar of Chow-Chow.
We're gonna feast like royalty!

Later ya'll...I'll check in tonight!

I'm just gonna sit and wait on Joan, my eyes are crossed, and I know 10 times more about tomatoes than I did this morning and still don't have a clue:)

Well, Clue was always my favorite board game, so this is right up my alley for Saturday evening entertainment.

see, I was never any good at it:)!!

Awe, come on tiG! Together we can figure this out.

I have been following this thread and I have no clue but it sure is fun waiting for the answer.You go Joan!

hmmm...you got some of Mama Hall's green tomato relish?
chow chow...ingredients?.....green tomatoes! Royalty? Google here I come again.

Oy Vay! I need a break from this. Gotta do the supper dishes, get bedding out of the dryer and make the beds in case someone wants to go to bed tonight, do a little cleaning up, and then I'll be back at it again. LOL! My goal for the weekend was to get some problems in my journal fixed, but oh well. This is more fun.

Come on you guys....help me figure out what this is, where it originated from and by whom? There's got to be more people wondering this than just me?

I'll be back!

What can I say?
Hehehehehe!

humph....I've been to England and visited royalty...I learned how to make chow chow...I've been to every winery and vinyard on the net...I've discovered gold in California...I've visited General Sutter... I learned about saw mills...I learned more about country music than I ever wanted to know...I've read every post that Melody and Brook have posted to...I've learned that Horseshoe won't help me...

I need more clues!!!!!!

This message was edited Sunday, Mar 10th 12:49 AM

same here Joan!!! I never knew there were so many tomatoes! I was hoping your post was the answer cause I think I've already checked out every search engine and every word in this thread!

Joan...JOan ....JOan!!! You are SO close!!! You know the name(s)! You know the ingredients! Oh my my my....! Now, like a good cook in the kitchen, you just read your ingredients and put them all together.
tiG, don't give up. (I'd give up thinking tomatoes tho.) You still have a chance at this!

oh heavens, now I've even gone back and read the dibber thread, but Melody wasn't in on that. I'm going to bed, I dont have a Clue, I don't like Clue :) hopefully the answer will be here in the morning!!!

I'm calling it a night. Hopefully someone will have guessed it by morning, or there will be more clues.

Since my last post, I've learned:

that there's an International Vinegar Museum in Roslyn SD, and Vinegar Man meets you at the door.

I've learned that Red Foley was born in Blue Lick KY...hmmm Melody's from Kentucky...

I've learned that Red Foley's daughter was married to Pat Boone....decendant of Daniel Boone....does Boone's Farm Wine fit in here somewhere?.....

I'm brain dead and going nighty night.

So much for sleep.

Melody said in this thread yesterday..."As to what I've got,I mentioned several weeks back in another forum to Brook that he'll really want one of these and that I'll have one to tempt him with."

Melody says to Brooke in another thread..."I'll come up with a couple of 'heirloom recipes' and tempt you with a couple of jars.Then hang the recipe in front of your nose and watch you drool!!!."

Shoe says to me..."You know the ingredients! Oh my my my....! Now, like a good cook in the kitchen, you just read your ingredients and put them all together."

Now I'm thinking it's an heirloom recipe, maybe from Ma Carter's family for something like Chow Chow?

Back to bed to think on this some more.

BINGO!!!!!!

WE HAVE A WINNER GANG!!!!!! At nearly 4 AM DG time!!

Joan has identified the person,and the item. I have Mother Maybelle Carter's Chow Chow recipe. I've also got jars of chow chow for the winners.(and Brook)

This recipe came to me through the family of Jimmie Rodgers..aka The Father of Country Music.We met Sonny Rodgers on one of our adventures a few years ago. Keith and I love music and travel a lot to play and listen to any kind of good music.

We were in Mt.View, AR at a festival and he came up to us and was admiring one of Keith's guitars.He asked if he could play it and offered his for Keith.Sure,we said.
Well he pulls out of the case a REAL Jimmie Rodgers guitar!We were blown over. He then explained who he was and that he traveled around the country for the Jimmie Rodgers Foundation.We took a liking to each other and tried to meet at least once a year somewhere in the country to visit and play music. His dad and Jimmie were first cousins.
We brought little homemade gifts each time we met and he got samples of my bread and butter pickles and Mama Hall's Green Tomato Ketchup. Last spring he brought me the Chow Chow and the recipe.He said that the Carters and Jimmie were close and it had been in the family for as long as he could remember.
I was blown away and vowed to use this treat to get the most mileage that I could out of it.

Sonny passed away this last fall and we miss him bunches..he was one of those characters that you'll always remember.
And so that's it!!!
Hope it was fun for everyone.

very cool, this was tons of fun. Mel, my email is messing up, if you got it 3 times, I'm sorry, if you don't get it let me know.
Joan, congrats you worked hard girl!!

My mouth is just a watering, Mel. Send it on. With the recipe, I hope.

Which reminds me. I still owe you the radish relish recipe. How'd your uncle like it?



Brook

Well shut mah mouth! Or should I say, "Well open my pie-hole!"
I was flabbergasted when JoanJ IM'd me and told me her guess (she had gotten the Maybelle Carter name) at that time.
Mercy, ya'll did you! As for me, I didn't know you had Jars of the finished product Melody...thought you'd send me the recipe. If so, you can either copy it or scan it and send it via email.
Thanks folks, great fun!
And now Brook is already planning his next meal around chowchow, right Brook?

Yay!! This was a lot of fun and I learned tons of interesting things in my search.

I love the story of how you came to have the recipe Mel. I can't wait to try it.

Thanks for all the great fun.

Joan

Owen,

How old was your grandmother?

Reason I ask, is that it used to be common for young girls to keep recipe books, which were called "books of cookery." They would take their mothers book, re-arranging as necessary (they actually were indexed books), and copying it out. Then she would add new recipes as she amassed them.

The books often were worked from both ends. One side would be "Mary Smith's Book of Cookery," and the other end would be "Mary Smith's Book of Sweets." Eventually, her daughter would do the same thing.

In the 19th century, when commercial cookbooks became more common, the practice waned; unfortunately. A lot of what we know about what was eaten and how it was prepared comes from these books.

This thread has been fun to watch - I would have never guessed it in a million years, so Joan - you go girl!

Now I guess I'm ready to try to identify heirloom seeds if I can find someone in this area that has some stashed away and willing to share. Working on that.

I've been out all day and just got back. Glad to see that everyone was pleased with the outcome. I could feel Sonny sitting over my shoulder the whole time chuckling as this played out.

First,Shoe...you'd actually think I'd start this without something to back it all up with??? Of course I've got jars!
And I'll bet you have your beans already soaking just waiting for your parcel to arrive.
You ,Brook,and Joan get pints. tiG gets a small jelly type jar of it.(she gets tomato seeds too)

Brook,the radish relish was delightful.We had it with brisket and Uncle Joe loved it.I need the recipe for sure!It needs to be added to my collection.

Everyone else gets the recipe.

Now,do I post it here for the 'faithful' who followed this little adventure,or do I put it in the recipe forum with a hyperlink for the whole garden?
Ya'll decide.

I am honored melody. My DH will be thrilled and to be able to have the recipe was worth all the reading and ciphering!!

Whoa, Mel!

Basic rule: if you don't pay you don't play. The folks who rode it out on this thread deserve the gravy. So post it here rather than the recipe forum. That's the way I'd do it, anyway.

I agree with Brook, but then I spent mega hours trying to figure this out. LOL!!! Once I get onto something, I have a hard time leaving it be, because this inquiring mind won't let it rest until I know all the details. I really don't care, I had lots of fun researching and thinking on this. Helps keep my noggin' working like it should. Maybe post it here for everyone still with this thread and then later in the recipes forum?

Thanks for all the fun Mel, and I can't wait for a taste of the chow chow. Gonna have to plant more 'maters so I have enough green ones for chow chow, let some get ripe for eating, and still have enough to save seed.

What's the best tomato for the chow chow by the way?

good question Joan, I need to know to get the right ones started. Just started quite a few heirlooms, thanks to all y'alls talking about them, and just can't wait for summer!!

The best green tomatoes for relish,chow chow or frying ,are the ones you can bear to part with before they get ripe! I usually just thin the crop on vines that look like they are a bit heavy with fruit. Green tomatoes are pretty much the same when they are at that stage as far as I'm concerned.

I'm glad ya'll feel that the recipe should be posted on this thread...I agree completely. I just wanted some input in case it looked selfish or something.

And now.....Drum Roll((((((***

Mother Maybelle Carter's Chow Chow Recipe

I have constructed this recipe exactly as given to me except for 2 minor variations.I don't feel that either change the recipe,but I thought you ought to know. (Seed Purity and all)
The jar of chow chow that I was given by Sonny had all of the veggies shredded by what looked like the same mill.They were a uniform size and shape. Not knowing exactly how Mother Maybelle prepared her veggies gave me some lee way in how I prepared mine.I sliced the onions into thin rings,the carrots into rounds,the cabbage into shreds about 2 or 3 inches long,the peppers were chunked and the tomatoes were chopped fine.This gave a prettier presentation in the jar,but changed nothing as far as ingredients were concerned. The other thing I did,was to use 2 heaping Tblsp.of horseradish(most likely close to 3) I like the 'bite' but wanted to keep the recipe pure.The recipe as it is written here is exactly as it was given to me. You could 'doctor' on it I guess..but the way I feel about it..use as is..or use another recipe. I guess that's the Heirloom grower in me.

OK...that said...here we go...

1 gallon green tomatoes(I used 1 gallon whole,before cutting)
1 head cabbage
3 sweet peppers
2 large onions
6 ears of corn(cut off cob)
6 large carrots
1/2 cup canning salt
3 cups packed brown sugar
3 Tblsp nutmeg
2 Tblsp horseradish
2 Tblsp mustard seed
1 Tblsp celery seed
1 quart vinegar

Chop and mix vegetables with salt.Let stand overnight.Drain well..
Mix sugar,seasonings and vinegar,Boil 1 minute.
Add vegetables,bring to boil.Boil 2 minutes.Stir to mix everything while cooking.
Take off heat and pack into jars and seal.

Now the recipe did not call for it,but I processed in boiling water bath for 7 minutes. Just good practice...and they did not think of such back then.

And there you have it. A true heirloom recipe.Add it to your files and pass it down with the story of how YOUR family got it!

I have printed this ENTIRE thread for my files. There will be no doubt when I die how I came to have this recipe.

Mel, ya got any other goodies for me to add along with this for historical purposes? I'd love to have any additional information you may have to file away with a copy of this thread.



This message was edited Monday, Mar 11th 1:01 AM

>The best green tomatoes for relish,chow chow or frying ,<

With one caveat, Mel. Obviously, given the nature of this recipe, hybrids are not permitted. Heirloom tomatoes only for an heirloom recipe.

Mel, that is wonderful! and I promise to only use heirloom tomatoes Brook. I only planted 8 var. of heirlooms, and only 6 plants each. Think I'll go back this morning and start more:)

tiG...wait till your seeds get to you from me!!I'm sending you several varieties.

Brook....the thought of using anything but a heirloom didn't even cross my mind,but it most likely needed to be made clear for those who don't frequent the heirloom forum.

What kind of stuff are you wanting Joan? You obviously know more about chow chow and Mother Maybelle than any of us at this point!! (heh heh)

Sonny lived in Columbia,SC and would drive his big old Lincoln Towncar all over the country right up until almost the end.He finally lost his battle to cancer,but was cheerful and quite a character the whole time.

What sort of stuff are you looking for?If I've got it,it's yours.

ROFLOL' Fun thread team,thanks,now another Chow Chow to add to mine,appreciate it' I did know the answer too but just wanted to see how long this thread would get,lol'

You guys remember Spy Vs. Spy in Mad Magazine. This thread has been something like that; hijacked, they rehijacked.

Started out about seed trading. Then talked about gambling. Then went into a mystery solving mode (hmmmmm. It was Ms Marple, in the gazebo....). And then became a cooking show.

Ain't it nice that Dave worked so hard on all those forum names. :-)