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Decorating the Southern Home…

imageNo matter what the budget is, Southerners love to decorate their homes at Christmas! A beautiful Christmas tree, a wreath on the door, family heirlooms or sentimental ornaments gathered throughout the years and fresh poinsettias are particularly well suited to the Southern home. The very best holiday decorating includes the home’s year round décor worked in with special holiday touches. Pine is a particularly Southern fragrance, they grow prolifically in the South, and we all love to gather pinecones. I personally love Loblolly Pinecones- perfectly formed or Longleaf pinecones- huge and beautiful. Gathering pinecones to pile in a basket feels just right at Christmas.

The beautiful photographs represent two homes where budget is not a consideration, however we all love to be inspired by Southern beauty wherever we find it.

I hope it puts you in the I’ll be Home for Christmas Mood– if only in your dreams. I am so proud to tell you that my sister supervised the decorating of the gorgeous tree in the top photograph I enhanced her photograph- and the rest are from her very own home! Also edited and enhanced by me…now, really y’all- it sure is pretty! She is an amazing decorator with impeccable taste in her home and beyond and the epitome of a sweet, spunky, smart Southern Lady!

Love y’all, Camellia

*The photograph of the Longleaf Pine may be subject to copyright, the sized pinecones photograph is from http://www.mr.lsu.edu -*please note a Longleaf Pinecone is very large often up to 9 inches in length, the Loblolly pinecone photograph is my own photograph. The personal photographs should not be used without permission!

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Christmas Bride…

‘In her soul- a woman never forgets a man who has occupied her heart so many years’                                                                                                                Author Unknown

I met him when I was a freshman at the University of Alabama. His date was beautiful, mine wasn’t exactly Prince Charming. I looked across the room and saw him, there was a knowing. I went back to my dorm and told my roommate and two other friends that I believed I had met the man I was going to marry.  It was a turbulent time, my cousin had died in Vietnam the previous summer just three days after his arrival;  yet on that beautiful Tuscaloosa campus there were protests against the Viet Nam war. And I had met a brown eyed handsome man, who was a gentleman, clean cut and the most decent person I had ever met. He still is. I felt calm when I was with him. I still do. Our first date was on Valentine’s Day, 1970. He loaded his old car with my friends and took us anywhere we wanted to go. He still prefers old cars to new ones, gets sentimental amount them. I appreciate this now that I’m an older model myself. He was athletic, had been All County in Football and Baseball, he was in a Tank Unit in the Alabama National Guard and went on to become a paratrooper Special Forces Green Beret. He was unpretentious, and even after a lifetime of achievements- he still is. His favorite TV Show was Andy Griffith, it still is. He liked Country and Classical, I liked Motown and Soul music. His Chet Atkins’ style guitar-playing won me over. I still love the songs he played back then- Silver Wings, Long Black Limousine, Miller’s Cave and Windy and Warm. When he finally got that Country Gentleman Gretsch™ Guitar, like Chet’s it sounded even better!

He made me laugh with his  dry sense of humor, like the time I asked him-

  • ‘Do these shoes look funny?’
  • ‘Well, they’re not hilarious.’

We married ten months after we met. I was a Christmas Bride.2014-12-11 16.50.53

We were told we would never have children, for eight years we didn’t. Then just 21 months apart, we had two delightful baby girls. This Christmas Bride found out we were expecting, not once but twice, just days before Christmas! We would never get over our miracle babies. We’ve enjoyed every minute of being their parents. Given the chance we would do it all over again. Our children are the joy of our lives. They have made us better people. During these many years, we have known-

  • better and worse,
  • richer and poorer,
  • sickness and health–
  • yet we have never forsaken each other.

Those vows I made as a Christmas Bride were easy to keep because of the man I married. He has made my life richer in so many ways and through so many folks we have known. Our life has been full of rich experiences. Everyday he still makes me laugh and every single day he brings music into our home. img_0512

I have embraced his deepest beliefs as my own- Don’t Mistreat People. Do What You Can to Help. Pay your respects. Never forget the folks who helped us. Be there. He’s better at it than I am-but I know this to be true:

We honor our vows when we honor those beliefs.

This man has occupied my heart for  many years; I became his Christmas Bride on the twelfth day of December. Dare I say it? Young Love is sweet but Old Love is best.

Take it away Chet! And Happy Anniversary Darlin’, Camellia

 

Posted on by Camellia's Cottage · 14 Comments

Christmas Rolls…

img_1852Whether you can make them or not- give the gift of Christmas Rolls. One of the most thoughtful things you can do is provide good rolls. Southerners love yeast rolls, especially during the holidays. Old Holiday Menus set our mouths watering with visions of  hot yeast rolls and melted butter dancing in our heads. We cut our teeth on yeast rolls made for special occasions. The best memories are conjured up when we smell fresh baked rolls.

  • We remember yeasty rolls made in school lunchrooms, we can still smell them.
  • Tiny soft rolls were made for teas, luncheons, bereavement tables or bridge parties.
  • Ladies went to Cobb Lane for the tiny Orange Rolls.
  • Even big men delighted in the basket of Orange Rolls brought out in Bogue’s Restaurant while they waited for their Meat and Three lunches.
  • Cinnamon rolls from The Electric Maid were a special treat.
  • Hand rolled to order, someone was assigned to pick up the rolls at Savage’s Bakery.img_1858

Some ladies had household help or a family member who always made the yeast rolls. Cookbooks abound with recipes for them, with notations:

  • These make a soft tender dinner roll. 
  • These can be made ahead, just allow 2-3 hours for them to rise. 
  • Can be shaped as desired but cloverleaf is best.
  • Allow several rolls for each dinner guest, be prepared with extra to run in the oven, if needed.

There were recipes for Bride’s Rolls, which were said to be easy- though most have so many steps I can imagine a young bride being reduced to tears.  Ice Box Rolls for the busy housewife who could make yeast rolls days in advance or even the night before. Then there are the full-on – you-better-know-what-you’re-doing recipes for Parker House Rolls, which came di-rect from Boston. Only the most experienced baker would attempt these!

I am always amazed at how many men can artfully discuss their memories of yeast rolls from days gone by. I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with yeast. As a bride I could not figure out for the life of me, how to make a decent dinner roll! The shame of serving Brown and Serve rolls that came in plastic bags from the grocery store. Apparently I was not alone. Along came Sister Schubert® rolls, busy Southern cooks breathed a sigh of relief. The holiday menus began to add her rolls – ‘Are you going to bring the rolls? get Sister Schubert’s®. Even Julia Reed, the famous southern journalist served them at her swank dinner parties in New York City. They still rule the holiday dinner tables. I now have another favorite. img_1850

A lady named Millie Ray began making wonderful rolls for her bridge parties in the late 1970’s, they became so famous in the Birmingham area and beyond that in 2010, Millie Ray’s® went commercial. I love her rolls! Instead of Sister’s round pan, Millie Ray’s come in a square tin. Her rolls are still hand rolled and cut for the homemade look. Busy ladies simply do not have or take the time to make homemade rolls often, but we want them! I once gave a busy lady with a large family a stack of these delicious rolls- she still says it was one of the best gifts she ever received. Are you looking for a last minute gift for the one who has everything but time on her hands? Make her Christmas morning easier! Whether you buy Sister’s or Millie Ray’s- buy at least three types.  I buy Orange Rolls which can be served any time, Yeast or Dinner Rolls and Cinnamon Rolls. Stacked and tied with a red bow- add a Christmas Card with a personal greeting- ‘Don’t worry about the rolls Darlin’.  img_1854

For Christmas morning- all three can be used on a Breakfast Buffet, Orange and Cinnamon Rolls and Yeast Rolls filled with a sliver or two of Ham, truly an entire meal from just a stack of rolls!  Christmas Rolls may be the perfect gift- delicious, consumed and well remembered, a welcome addition to any meal. Give the gift of Christmas Rolls!

Love y’all, Camellia

* This post is not a paid advertisement for either Sister Schubert’s® or Millie Ray’s® I just happen to love them! And they are made right here in Alabama! As are Marshall’s Biscuits® which wouldn’t be a shabby addition to the stack of yeast rolls! That makes them extra good in my book.  Look for them online or if you are extra blessed, in your local grocery store’s frozen food section. All photographs are obviously mine.

Posted on by Camellia's Cottage · 28 Comments

Give me some Sugah!

img_1839What the South lacks in snowy white winters, we more than make up for in Sugar! After all, how many regions can boast sugar plantations, big copper pots bubbling with molten  sugar for Pralines right on the streets, and Sugar Cane chopped and ready to make Sorghum Syrup? One of the joys of my childhood was getting a sliver of sugar cane and chewing on it at county fairs or farmers markets. Long jointed fat sugar canes stripped and chopped into three inch pieces were a special treat for adults and children alike. In the South,

  • Most of us are born with a Sweet Tooth.
  • Sugar is a pet name- pronounced- ‘Sugah’ even shortened to ‘Shug’ .
  • To say ‘Give me some Sugar.’ is to ask for a peck on the cheek or a Sweet Southern Kiss.

I admit to believing Sugar had it’s own special magical qualities. Cooks I knew would say: ‘Now, Betty Jo, you know we can’t make Divinity this week- it’s raining, we’ll have to wait until a good dry day or that Divinity will be as hard as a rock!’ The same was true for Pralines or Chocolate Fudge- make it on a rainy day and it would be grainy, they said- ‘Not fit to eat.’  And, horror of all horrors-  ‘Can you believe she put out that grainy Fudge and that hard Divinity? I almost died’.Sugar syrup is a staple in the Southern Pantry- a must have for iced tea or added with confectioner’s sugar to make Icing for cakes. Now, remember, we don’t say Frosting. For holiday candy making, making a sugar syrup with a candy thermometer is a must- it has to be bubbled to just the right temperature, for the type of candy you are making-img_1805

I have yet to per-fect even the first batch of Southern Pralines or Divinity- however they are on the culinary bucket list! I can make Snow White Marshmallows, a fairly decent caramel and if the weather conditions and the candy thermometer are just right, ButterToffee is one of my favorites! Topped with Chocolate and Chopped Pecans, I have to say- it is a little bite of heaven. img_1839

The mystery of sugar, the science of sugar, the timing, the weather conditions, the culinary art of candy making is daunting, yet somehow irresistible to me. I drag home five pound bags of sugar, dreaming of the perfect batch of Butter Toffee, Caramels or homemade Snow White Marshmallows, sugary visions dancing in my head. Give me some Sugar, a big pot and a candy thermometer and I’m transformed into a combination of Meteorologist, Mad Scientist and Cauldron Watcher. I feel very mysterious and sticky! If the candy doesn’t turn out- I throw it out and start all over! I never failed to be amazed how- cooking sugar to one temperature can result in an amber colored Butter Toffee and another temperature results in a perfect batch of Snow White Marshmallows- image

Here’s a photo journey- Butter Toffee first:

And Snow White Matshmallows:

Oh yes, Give me some Sugar! Pure Cane Sugar. Like I said, what we lack in Sugar White Snowfalls- we more than make it up in Granulated Sugar!  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Give me some Sugar and the Magic begins!

Love y’all, Camellia

*All photographs are mine.

 

Posted on by Camellia's Cottage · 16 Comments

Beauty born of Trouble…

imageWomen from the Deep Coastal South love our Pearls. The Mother of Pearls is the Oyster, one of our most highly prized culinary gifts from the sea. Especially in November and December when the waters are cold enough- out of our beloved bays and inlets fishermen retrieve the finest oysters in the world from their peaceful beds beneath the waters. Stormy rough waves or an out-of-the-blue rush of water- a grain of sand enters the rare oyster. The sharp edges bother and irritate the delicate flesh of the oyster. All oysters live in a close knit community called an Oyster Bed. image

A Pearl Oyster lives in secret pain- silent agony. The oyster has no means to rid itself of this tiny bit of trouble. Unnoticed by the others in the watery bed-the oyster is experiencing inner turmoil and pain from just a tiny errant grain of sand. It hurts the oyster, it bothers the bivalve- after all the oyster was just sitting there trying to survive when the grain of sand came out of nowhere. Troubles are often like that.  To survive, the pearl oyster must  decide-

  •  to accept the pain,
  • find a way to live with the pain,
  • cover the grain of sand,
  • round off the rough edges.

Oysters have a way to heal themselves of troubles which will not go away. Within the oyster’s delicate system there is a God given remedy for pain and heartache. The lowly oyster patiently secretes a substance which surrounds an aggravating bit of trouble. There are times in our lives when we endure trouble born out of a small things- secret living griefs that-

  •  must be endured,
  • knows no relief,
  • interrupts our sleep
  • and threatens our peace.

We do have choices- we can:

  • ignore the pain
  • hope it will go away-
  • minimize the trouble –
  • ‘Oh it’s just a small thing, I’ll be alright’-
  • wait in excruciating silence,
  • wonder how to endure a painful uncertain future. image

As the tiny grain of sand digs deeper, a constant nagging source of pain, the oyster may clamp shut hoping to avoid another grain of sand that could cause more pain , more trouble. When the oyster accepts the grain of sand– the oyster’s system takes over the healing process. Beauty will be born out of trouble. It takes a bit of effort on the part of the oyster- to survive, patience endurance is required. Bit by bit a milky substance is secreted-  the grain of sand becomes a part of the oyster. Hidden in the injured flesh of a lowly rustic living creature, a Pearl is being formed. With longsuffering patience, and in cooperation with the Merciful Provision of God- small irritations and troubles have the potential to be transformed into valuable luminous loveliness-Pearls. image

Born of Trouble, lonesome pain and solitary determination- the Oyster’s life work becomes  a thing of infinite beauty and value. So may our irritations and pain become tokens of beauty which glorify God. This morning our prayer is that the Lord will string together our heartaches and irritations and show us the gleaming luminosity of our lives- Beauty Born out of Trouble. On this, the Merciful Day of our Lord, may we ponder the dilemma of the Pearl Oyster- living proof that a thing of Beauty can be born out of Trouble.

Love y’all, Camellia

All photographs are mine