Autumn Beet Soup

I love beets and I'm always looking for new ways to cook them. Unlike the other vegetables I cook with, beets can't be hidden in recipes with their bright red color and my family don't really like them.  I found a new recipe for beet soup that I tried but I changed it up adding potatoes to cut the really strong beet flavor.  I also added milk and cheese to make a creamier soup.  It turned out really good. I used striped beets so they didn't have the dark red color . My daughter, Tabitha, was visiting, I got her to try it and she liked it so much she took the rest back with her.  I made another batch using red beets and added a sweet potato as well as new potatoes and it was even better. The sweet potato really mellowed out the beets. The 2nd batch was a bright red color and very tasty. The soup is pureed and so creamy with the milk and cheese. I added goat cheese and shredded cheddar cheese. I also used the beet greens, making pesto with them and herbs plus putting in my stock scrap freezer bag for future stock. I take my lunch everyday to work so beet soup is now on my fall favorite list.

Here's the recipe:

Made with striped beets

Autumn Beet Soup

1 onion, chopped

1/2 c chopped sweet peppers

1 lb. beets, (5 or 6) chopped

1 medium sweet potato, chopped

6 to 8 new potatoes, chopped

1/4 t. ground ginger

1 t. each seasoned salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

4 c. water

Cook vegetables in water with bay leaf, ginger, seasoned salt and pepper for 30 minutes or until tender. Blend in blender or with emulsion blender until smooth.

Add 1 t. each parsley and thyme

1/2 c. milk

1 to 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, can also add goat cheese

Heat through until cheese is melted and soup is nice and creamy.

Enjoy,

Bamah

A treasure of old letters Part 2

This project has been very enlightening and inspiring to me as I've discovered even more about my amazing Grandma.  I can't imagine having anywhere from 20 to 40 people over every Sunday for lunch and all afternoon for several years but she did and influenced so many people. She developed several very close relationships with some of the "boys" that lasted for years.  They would send Christmas cards, visit and call.  I met several of them when I was young. In fact, my father was also one of the "boys" and that was how my parents met. He was an MP in the Air Force, stationed at Ardmore, heard about the great lunches, met and dated my mom then they were married when she graduated high school. Carroll was another of the boys that married a local girl, Patty, and they later settled in Ardmore. We visited back and forth with them my whole life.  My brother and I even stayed with them for a week when we were young when Mom and Grandma went out of town.  When Grandma passed away in 2003 they came to her funeral and opened their home to us after the graveside service feeding her family and sharing memories. Sharing a meal came full circle.

Grandma's house in Ardmore was 6 blocks from the church so the boys could either drive, several had cars, or walk. I think some of the women of the church helped provide part of the food. Grandma's specialty was fried chicken. Aunt Dorothy was the baker, she made cakes and pies for dessert plus homemade rolls.  My mom said that there were 2 small bedrooms upstairs, one for her, the other shared by Grandma and Aunt Dorothy. When the weather was nice, they set up a volley ball net in the yard and everyone played after lunch. Home away from home for service men.

Here's some more excerpts from letters:

From Ralph, service member shipped out to Korea, Sept 1954

"There was not a day that passed that I didn't think of you all. I saw Paul on the ship and we were talking about you all. Suppose you all are still having some of those wonderful fellowships. I don't think I have been to one as good as some of those since I left there. They were sure wonderful. Tell everyone I need their prayers and I will be doing the same for them."

Mrs. C, mother, from Ottumwa, Iowa, Aug 1954

"I received your letter on Wed and must say it gave us real pleasure to hear from you. It was very thoughtful of you to take time out to write us. I feel I owe you a debt of gratitude for what you have done for my son and the other boys who invade your home. He looks forward to Sundays and the fine friends he has made in Okla. He can't say enough good things about you all in Ardmore. It would be a great pleasure to have a personal visit with you some time so I will extend you an invitation, if you are ever in our town won't you make us a visit? Thank you again for being so hospitable to Howard."

Mrs. S, mother, from Rochester, Michigan, June 1954

"I just received your sweet, joyful, wonderful, thrilling letter and news of my only precious son, Elbert, of whom I've been praying, worrying, and crying for. It really brought tears of joy and so proud of the marvelous news also that he's been lead to you, dear, whom he told me how love, kind and sweet you are. Thank you so much."

Mrs.   R., mother from Quinton, Alabama, May 1954

"I was so proud to get a sweet letter from you. Bobby told me how good you were to him. You know I can't express words of thanks because you are so good to my only son."

Mrs.  R., aunt, from Windham, Ohio. May 1954

"I received you nice letter a few days ago, was very glad to hear from you and to know that Fred has such nice friends to spend his spare time with. I am proud that Fred mentioned my name as I have tried to do all I could for him and his brothers and sisters when their parents died. I worry about them, as if they were my own. It certainly would be wonderful if there were more people like you, that would try and look after the boys that are in service and so far away from home. I know there would be less trouble in the world. I want to thank you for the nice letter and also for welcoming Fred in your home."

Mrs. S, mother, from Sylvania, Ohio, May 1954

"My son Bobby has written so much about you and how good you are to him that I wanted to write and thank you for being so kind to him. It sure makes me feel better when he is so far from home to have someone so kind to him. I want you to know I certainly appreciate all you have done for Bobby."

There are still more excerpts so I'll do another post, part 3, next month and also share one of Grandma's recipes. It's amazing how letters and home cooked meals can impact so many lives. May we all be inspired to do likewise.

Enjoy,

Bamah

A treasure of old letters

I recently came across a stack of my grandmother's old letters from 1953,1954 and 1955.  As I started reading them, I remembered the stories told of when she lived in Ardmore, OK and would feed Air Force men after church on Sundays in her home.  I had no idea the extent of her ministry to these service men or her "boys" as she would call them.  Evidentially, she wrote their mothers or family members about how they were doing and these letters are people writing back to her. There are 49 letters in all, 30 from family members, 22 mothers, 5 of them wrote twice, 1 father, 1 sister and an aunt, 13 letters from the service men themselves, 2 of them wrote twice, and 6 other letters. 

Ardmore Air Force Base was opened in 1952 outside of Ardmore, Ok and closed in 1959.  There was a bus service to and from Ardmore on Sundays for those wanting to attend church services. My grandmother, her sister, Aunt Dorothy and my mother who was a teenager lived in a 2 story house, 800 square feet with 4 rooms,  1 bedroom and bathroom upstairs and the kitchen and living room downstairs. They attended the First Baptist Church. The pastor there wanted to do something more for the service members that were attending so approached Grandma about having them over for lunch after church.  They also had fellowships for them along with the teens from the church. I think he asked several women to host lunches but my Grandma's was the favorite. Her and Aunt Dorothy were really good cooks and a lot of fun to be around. The "boys" evidentially helped with the cooking, one told his mother about baking biscuits. They also cleaned up, washed and dried all the dishes. Several of the mothers thanked Grandma for Christmas gifts, one mentioned a pretty apron, probably sewn by Aunt Dorothy. The mothers commented that they felt they knew Grandma because their sons had talked or written about her so much. Many of the mothers wanted to meet Grandma in person or invited her to their homes for a visit. Several letters talked about how Grandma had nursed several of the "boys" when they were sick or injured. Grandma was an RN for over 50 years, nursing was second nature for her. As a thank you, several of the boys gave her a Mix Master in 1954. Several of the mothers wrote more than once so there were letters going back and forth between them and Grandma.  Several of the service members wrote her, Aunt Dorothy and Mom when they went home on leave, on training or when they were shipped out and evidentially she wrote them back from the responses. She must have written a lot of letters over these years.

The boys would ride the bus to church on Sunday mornings, then go to Grandma's for lunch and spend the afternoon there, go back to church that evening, then ride the bus back to base.  I don't know how many they had each afternoon but there had to be anywhere from 10 to 20 any given Sunday just from the volume of letters. The house was set back from the road and had a long driveway. I remember stories of how they played music outside and would dance, play games or just hang out there on the driveway.

Here's  excerpts from some of the letters. I'm going to do another post with more excerpts (part 2)since there's so many. For privacy, I'm not including last names.

Mrs.  T (mother) from McQuady, Kentucky, April 1954

"Was so glad to get your nice letter. I appreciate it and the interest you have in Ralph. I know it has meant so much to him. I want to tell you that I don't worry so much about Ralph since I've known about you. Also so glad that he goes to church. Thank you again for your letter and being so nice to Ralph."

Mrs.  P (mother) from Malvern, Arkansas, December 1953, also wrote again in April 1954

"I received your nice friendly letter and am so happy to know that you have taken an interest in my boy, Eugene. When he was home he told me all about you. How nice you were to him and all the boys. I want to thank you with all my heart and may God bless you all. I know Eugene appreciates it very much. I feel so happy to know that he has taken an interest in church work and attends regularly."

Mrs.  C (mother) from Owensboro, Kentucky, Feb 1954 and also in March 1954

"Surely did appreciate your letter last week. You can never know just how much it means for us for the interest you have taken in Bill and he really loves you too. It is worth so much to know he is among such good Christian people and I know he will never forget his days spent in Ardmore. We are so thankful he has had the privilege of being out there. Thank you so much for what you are doing for Bill."

Mr.  M, (father) from Milan, Tennessee, November 1953 

"You don't know how much I appreciated your sweet letter. I sure am proud of the interest you folks are taking in the soldier boys. William has told me you sure are friendly people. It does me so much good that the boys go to church like they did at home. I want to thank you again for your sweet letter."

Mrs.  A (mother) from Many, Louisiana, January 1954

"Thank you so very much for the lovely gift. We are so glad that George is at work in the church there. We want to thank all of you good people for being so nice to him. It makes us feel good to know that he has good friends up there."