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National Coffee Day!

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I started drinking at a very early age, coffee that is…Our next door neighbor, Margaret made coffee for me every weekday morning for almost two years! My older sister was in school, and I was four years old. Margaret made lunch for her elderly mother everyday- sometimes I would even get to go to her mother’s house.  I loved it when Margaret made cake batter- whisking it by hand, and sometimes if I was lucky she would sit and drink coffee with me while things were cooking in Margaret’s sunny kitchen. Some of my earliest memories are of coffee perking away on a gas stovetop at my grandmother’s house- she let me drink coffee too. These ladies made it thick with sugar and cream for me, so I loved it. However I now prefer my coffee-Columbian and black- unless- I can get a Cappuccino made like it is supposed to be made, or a real Cubano Espresso, which is half sugar and half espresso or lovely bitter chicory coffee at Café Du Monde in New Orleans! image

Beautifully Made Cappuccino in NYC.

It may seem odd that a confirmed Southerner loves coffee- but wait not so fast! With coffee plantations in the Caribbean since the eighteenth century, how could we not love coffee? It’s been said that Americans began their love affair with coffee after the Boston Tea Party, when it was considered unpatriotic to drink coffee…but of course we couldn’t lay off the Tea for very long! I’m a huge fan of Luzianne Tea, which is the taste of tea from my youth. However, Alabama is home to Royal Cup Coffee and Red Diamond Tea and Coffee! So, I love those brands too! I once toured the Red Diamond plant and it smelled so divine- I asked them for a job! They turned me down, I think because they knew it wouldn’t be profitable.

I am considered odd because I drink coffee even when it is boiling hot outside– I hold to this tradition because I personally believe that when the inside of the body is a higher temperature than the outside – well you get the picture- it seems to cool me off! It is one of those superstitions I hang on to!

For years I’ve been collecting ‘facts’ about coffee! Sorry I didn’t save the sources but here goes:

  • Most Americans drink coffee in the morning- except me, I can drink it all day long!
  • Coffee is full of antioxidants and may lower risk of several types of cancer including skin cancer- but don’t stop using your sunscreen!
  • Your morning workout may be less painful if you drink coffee beforehand!
  • Your mind will be stimulated, alert and your memory sharper, not to mention your energy levels will increase after drinking that morning cup of coffee.
  • Now, don’t get too excited but coffee does tend to suppress the appetite– if you’re drinking it with heavy cream and sugar don’t expect the pounds to drop off!
  • Of course, too much coffee can cause insomnia and a slight rise in blood pressure.
  • Some folks like me- who drink lots of coffee can experience an increase in heart rate- to avoid this I drink decaffeinated coffee.
  • Columbian coffee is naturally decaffeinated.
  • Too much caffeine makes me jittery and nervous- but a moderate amount of coffee seems to have some heart benefits, probably those antioxidants.

If you start drinking early like me…Drink in moderation! It’s so satisfying to sip a cup of coffee and collect my thoughts first thing in the morning. But please don’t always drink your coffee alone…Call and friend and go have coffee! Having coffee with friends increases stamina, lifts the spirits and some have suggested there may be a higher tolerance for aches and pains; now that’s good news! So, to all you fellow coffee lovers- be like nice southern ladies…Don’t drink…Sip.

Love y’all, Camellia

For those who would like even more tips about Coffee- go to Royal Cup Coffee Company’s site- http://www.royalcupcoffee.com/blog, you’ll be glad you did!

Images are from AOL and may be subject to copyright.

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Dream of Peace…

Born in Poland, bravely married his sweetheart, Sonya during World War ll, attended Harvard, rose to power as Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shimon Peres was, above all a dreamer. The Star of David shone brighter because he dared to dream of peace for his people and his neighbors. May his life continue to inspire us all to become peacemakers.

shimon-peres                                                         Shimon Peres 1923-2016

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love you…’ Psalm 122:6-8′

‘Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God’ Matthew 5:9

Love y’all, Camellia

*AOL image of Shimon Peres may be subject to copyright

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Reading List…

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What we’re reading at Camellia’s Cottage right now may surprise you! We love to read cookbooks! Regional Cookbooks from folks who are known and better yet, not well known at all! I have one irreplaceable cookbook written by double first cousins on my grandmother’s side of the family, the stories and tips are delightful! Then there are the Junior League Cookbooks, which never fail to amuse me; not to mention the mouthwatering recipes in each and every one! I also love to read the Lee Brothers Cookbooks and the legendary Pat Conroy’s Cookbook has amazing recipes and stories. There were two fictional books by Southern Authors, The Path of the Child by Sojourner McConnell and All Over but the Shoutin’ by Pulitizer Prize winning- Rick Bragg; both are wonderfully written novels but I found myself drawn to the food in each! Sojourner’s Thanksgiving feast and Rick Bragg’s momma going out in early fall and finding a ‘hardheaded cabbage’ brought about sensory images!  Reading cookbooks as literature is fun! image

The added information is priceless. In Recipe Jubilee, the Junior League of Mobile cookbook-One lady says ‘ Crumble bacon with your fingers until it is pulverized’ What? Another gives the recipe for  Pommes de Terre Souffles, a fancy way of making French Fries- when she says – ‘If they don’t puff up- start over’ – my hearts sinks over that one! Then in the Party Punch section, one lady who undoubtedly is- pre-Cise …submitted a punch recipe with an enormous amount of likker (liquor) which serves 98-100 people! The very next recipe has an enormous amount of spirits as well, yet she ends her recipe by saying ‘It serves…well, I don’t know your guests!’ I love this lady! She is not precise, she shows her humor is a delightful way!silver-punch-bowl

Folks from Mobile are blessed- they can just scoot over to New Orleans in a few hours…so you will find recipes from famous restaurants submitted by – I feel certain-formidable society ladies like Mrs. Frank Webb. Read this Pineapple and Yam concoction-

Arnaud’s Pineapple and Louisiana Yams Flambe a la Germaine

Boil 2 yams and slice. Roll 4 slices of pineapple and sliced yams in flour, then milk, then flour again. Fry pineapple and yams in oil or shortening until golden brown. Place a cherry in center of each pineapple. Place pineapple and yams in oven dish and cover freely with sugar. Bake in moderate oven for five minutes. When ready to serve, pour rum over mixture and light with a match and then, pour sherry wine over all. Serves 4.

Just the name of the recipe is a mouthful! It occurred to me how much trouble this recipe would be just for 4 people! Not to mention the risk in burning down the house!  Mostly I thought this recipe for pineapple and yams from the famous Arnaud’s and other recipes might deliberately be vague since there is not quite enough information to actually make them.I am completely enamored by the names of recipes found in local cookbooks– like-

  • Elegant Spinach, No Peep Stew, Yellow Birds, Oyster Crackers Deluxe
  • Dump Cake, Florida Snowball, Dirt Cake, Mama Dee’s End of Summer Soup
  • ‘Ain’t Mad at Nobody’ Turnip Green Casserole, Elephant Stew
  • Bob’s Firehall Potatoes, Barbi’s Spinach Dip and Bread
  • Wanda’s Cheese and Beef Spread, Baptist Pound Cake, Preacher Cookies
  • Dixie’s Favorite Gingerbread, Christmas Rocks, Pecan Cocoons
  • Chicken Barbequed with a Spanish Flair and Marinate these- quicker than you can say the name- ‘Quick’ Italian Marinated Japanese Mixed Vegetables’

And these recipes just scratch the surface! My mother’s double first cousin even devoted an entire page to ‘Perfect Iced Tea’. You can’t make this stuff up, y’all- it is high drama to me! Imagine the meetings and the tastings and the jockeying for space -whether by a bunch of cousins or society ladies! The Lee Brothers Cookbooks and Pat Conroy’s cookbook- Recipes of My Life- have stories that  capture and hold the imagination! image

Then there are the most highly prized recipes of all– the ones handed down, like my grandmother’s Macaroni and Cheese which is fairly precise in measurement, yet written by a person who truly cooked by taste and feel. This macaroni and cheese is more like a soufflé than the standard recipe made with a white sauce- it is one of the comfort foods of my childhood.

Mimi’s Macaroni and Cheese

Preheat oven to 350. 1 cup of cooked elbow macaroni (yes just one cup) 1 Large Block of fresh grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese ( I use 12 oz.) 4-6 Large eggs, milk? I use about 1/4 cup whole milk-( I use approx. 1/3 cup) melted and cooled butter, salt, cayenne pepper to taste.(Start with a pinch though I use 1/2 teaspoon) Butter a 8 inch wide/3 inch deep round oven proof dish or soufflé bowl. In a bowl, crack eggs and beat. Add milk, salt, cayenne to taste to the eggs. Add 1/2 of grated cheese and cooked elbow macaroni. Pour into buttered baking dish, top with the other half of the cheese. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until egg mixture is set and cheese is bubbling. Serve hot. *This is very good.

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I think I’ve gained weight just reading these wonderful cookbooks and more! Try reading a local cookbook or one of these! Let me know what cookbooks you’re reading! I hope you’re enjoying them as much as we do here at Camellia’s Cottage!

Love y’all, Camellia

Here are a few to get you started:

Recipe Jubilee is a retired cookbook from The Junior League of Mobile Alabama

Pat Conroy Cookbook Pat Conroy is from South Carolina

The Path of a Child by Sojourner McConnell from Birmingham, Alabama

Lee Brothers Cookbooks – Matt and Ted Lee are from Charleston

All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg from Piedmont, Alabama

AOL image of Silver Punch Bowl may be subject to copyright

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If…

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Such a little word…IF. Right in the middle of the word ‘Life’ is that tiny word – If… Part of the human experience uses the word- If… generally in a ‘looking back sort of way’. IF often stands for questioning regrets, the ‘what-if’s’ -the ‘if only’s’ which haunt us, disappointments with life and with God…

  • Lord, if You had been here…
  • Lord, if You had not allowed this.
  • Lord, if You loved us…

‘Help us Lord, to watch for that day, when our eyes see You. Give us that gift of faith, which believes when all else says impossible. While we are waiting for You to heal our broken hearts, to straighten out our paths- give us Light for an unsure future- let us see a shimmering glimmer of You. You know there are hidden places in our hearts where we just gave up. Help us renew our commitment to believe, until You reveal Your purposes in circumstances that puzzle us, in situations that are stubborn and have not changed in many years. Whenever we stumbled; whatever happened that made us stop believing; wherever the IF’s are in Life, wherever we were-whether by the grave or by the way, give to us the courage to lay down the IF’s; so that we might pick up our faith once more. In the Strong Name of Jesus Christ. Amen’

Trouble, regrets and storms are a part of life, I hope we won’t waste too much time using that ol’ word IF. Remember the old saying? ‘We can’t always control the wind, but we can adjust our sails’ as you listen to this beautiful meditative version of ‘Sails’ by Chet Atkins!https://youtu.be/TkVKPfEBoiE

Love y’all, Camellia

Top photograph- the Beautiful Sunset by our photographer friend -Jeremy Miniard. Prayer and Excerpt from Chapter 7- If is a Part of Life, page 48 of ‘Four Days-the Lazarus Principle’ by Brenda Wyatt- more information on ‘About Us’ page Bottom photograph by Tony Marlar for his YouTube video of ‘Sails’ by Chet Atkins

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Tacky or Tasteful #3…

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The South is a Matriarchal society. There’s a reason our Daddies said, ‘Ask your momma’. For all our feminine clothes and flirting…it’s true y’all, Southern Women are ‘Steel Magnolias’, who rule the roost with an Iron Hand whether the Roost is the size of the Chicken coop or a Big House on a hill. They insisted on- Tradition, Tact and Taste- otherwise their families would erode into Tacky or even worse- Trashy. They knew that classic dressing would last- if you had a Nice Black Dress and a Good White Blouse- you could dress Tastefully whether you had a fortune or lost one.

A whole lot of us, including me, wore a mix of new, homemade and hand-me-down clothing. We were not poor, I just had an older sister. If garments were well made and classic, they stood the test of time. Then there were some who learned the art of Tasteful Fashion by association with friends who had Mothers who insisted that Dressin’ Decent was the right thing to do. It boiled down to self respect and respect for others. I still believe this. I can never forget hearin’ our mommas say– ‘Always leave something to the imagination darlin’

So, to end Fashion Week at Camellia’s Cottage, let’s talk Accessories and more…

  • Pearls
  • A Good Watch
  • A Nice Pocketbook
  • Monograms
  • Sunglasses, Diamond Studs and Lipstick

Some of us come from the school of wearing a Single Strand of Pearls- others like to pile them on! I’m with Chanel who wore ropes and ropes of them! Nothing dresses up the neckline of a blouse or a simple dress like Pearls. Just don’t wear your pearls on your wedding day – my grandmother thought wearing pearls on your wedding day signified a string of troubles! Though that is not a proven fact.

A good Watch, whether it’s Cartier or Timex sets off any outfit casual or dressy. Our mommas wanted us to have a Watch because they expected us to be on time– for school, work and get home when we were supposed to! jackie-kennedy-vintage-cartier-black-turtleneck

A Nice Pocketbook is always a necessity. Let’s face it- if Queen Elizabeth thinks carryin’ a pocketbook is the right thing to do- who’s gonna argue with her? The Fashion Icons carried them too!

Monograms-Give a Southern Woman a blank surface of fabric and we can figure out how to monogram it! Several years ago- I inherited a mink stroller from my friend’s mother – on the inside her name had been monogrammed. In the South, if we ever get a cool snap, we’ll throw on a fur coat- real or faux- with jeans or our finery. However, after inheriting the mink stroller, to be honest I never had the occasion to wear it until our family flew to Montreal one winter– I wore it on the plane. Of course I was burning up! I looked down and saw Sybil’s name monogrammed inside and immediately was horrified thinking- if that plane crashed- they would think Sybil had died all over again! I love monograms.  Monogrammed handkerchiefs, scarves and jewelry are classic.monogrammed-silver-bracelet

A great pair of Sunglasses can take you anywhere! Not only do they stave off cataracts at the beach, but protect the delicate skin around your eyes and are a touch of glamour! The Fashion Icons agree!

Jacqueline Kennedy (1929 – 1994) tours the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, during a visit to Northern Ireland, 7th September 1970. (Photo by London Daily Express/Getty Images)
Hold onto that thought… because I am about to share some well kept secrets–

Diamond Studs, real or faux, are appropriate for young ladies and the ah…Southern Belles who are aging gracefully. I’ll never forget when chandelier earrings became fashionable- a Southern Mother told her daughter-‘Ruth Anne, the only appropriate place for chandeliers to hang are from the ceiling!‘ The truth is- wearing earrings is fun when  you’re young…but when it comes time to get a job? Listen to the Southern Mothers- ‘Nobody’s gonna hire you if all they notice are those earbobs janglin’ around!’ Wear Diamond studs instead. Now,hang in there with me… Think- Sunglasses, Diamond Studs and Red Lipstick! 

American actress Grace Kelly (1929 – 1982) in a pink wrap, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The truth is- Red Lipstick in all of it’s varied shades is the most classic pick of all time– Red Revival from Maybelline™ and. Cherries in the Snow from Revlon™ are all time favorites. Red Revival on the left- Cherries in the Snow on the left. Both have that Hollywood glamour!

 Diamond Studs bring sparkle up higher on your face, actually brighten the eyes and detract from fine lines! For those times when you wouldn’t be caught dead actually getting out of the car but need to scoot to the drive thru window at the bank-Sunglasses and Red Lipstick are a lifesaver. And finally, darlin’ …if you are gonna inflict your bare feet on the general public- please paint those toenails Red!

I can’t resist showing you my ever glamourous friend, Lorrie- she’s worn Red Revival Lipstick for years!morton-tims-event-1-029

Oh, I’ve had so much fun laughing with you during our Fashion Week at Camellia’s Cottage. Don’t be Tacky, be Tasteful in all you do! Of course we’ll never run out of advice from our Southern Mothers!

Love y’all, Camellia

The top photograph is from my friend Paula’s personal collection. The bottom photograph is from my personal collection. Other images are from AOL and may be subject to copyright.