Emma Ruth's Family Recipes Restaurant

 My youngest son, David, had been asking me about family recipes for a few months.   He is the one who made the Red Beans and Rice in an earlier post.  There had been some casual talk about opening a restaurant, using family recipes to make from scratch dishes.  Everyone thought naming it for his, and wife Kim's grandmothers, the inspiration and origin of many of the recipes, was a good idea.  That, in a nutshell, mixed with his entrepreneurial spirit, is how Emma Ruth's Family Recipes restaurant was born. The doors opened at the end of February, and I am proud to report that the cooked from scratch, home cooking restaurant has been quite successful so far.  The food is very good.  If you are even in Bentonville Arkansas, stop in for a good meal, or just to say hey, y'all!

Many of the recipes for their dishes are on this blog.  I am proud of you, David and Kim!

West Nile Outbreak in Dallas

I'm sure most  you have heard of the West Nile epidemic in Texas, mostly in the DFW area.  300+ cases, 15 deaths so far. Dallas, and the suburbs south of us, have finally started aerial spraying. Our neighborhood is gated, so our HOA does it's own spraying. There are several lakes and creeks here, as well as a wetlands nature 

area. We try to eliminate standing water in our yards, and to balance what is good for the human residents, as well as the plentiful fauna in the area.  

I must say, with all due modesty, that mosquitoes LOVE me!  I show up outside, and they all come running! This is my back-up protection..my screened porch!  A soul soothing place...and mosquito free.

Hopefully, this epidemic will be resolved without further infections, or deaths.

The Colonel's Chow-Chow

The handsome WWII officer on the left is my father-in-law, Colonel Edwin Nelson Dodd Sr. He was born in Georgia on July 14, 1912.  He passed away at age 91, but the 100th anniversary of his birth is tomorrow.  Dad was a mixture of many things, loving, strict, a raconteur of the highest order, singer, a light footed-dancer, and excellent cook.  A lot of my recipes and cooking skills I learned from him.  A yearly ritual was making chow-chow to serve with vegetables, on a hot dog,  or even on a tomato sandwich.  It was his own concoction, and is delicious.  I helped him make it many times, and have made it for the family since he stopped doing it.  When I do make it, all of the siblings are happy to find a box containing  several jars in their mailboxes.  I wanted to share this today in memory of the Colonel, and to thank him for all the culinary lessons.  I love you Dad.

8 C green cabbage, chopped
8 C green tomatoes, chopped
2 C green bell pepper, chopped
1 C banana peppers + hot peppers to desired heat level
3 C Vidalia onion, chopped
1 C salt
Cheese cloth
Wash vegetables well and chop.  Put chopped vegetables in a large pot, add salt and cover with water.  Mix well, and let stand 4 hours, then drain well in cheese cloth, squeezing to remove as much liquid as possible, then return them to drained pot.  All liquid should be removed at this point


3 tsp. pickling spices, tied in cheesecloth bag
3 C sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 qt. white vinegar
Place bag of spices, sugar, mustard, pepper, garlic powder, turmeric and vinegar in a pot and boil for 15 minutes.  Pour over vegetables, and bring to a bubble...DO NOT BOIL veggies...simmer for a minute, then put in hot, clean jars immediately and seal tight.  I wash my jars in the dishwasher top rack, and let them go through drying cycle to sterilize them.  You can also boil the jars and lids to sterilize them as well.  I have never had any problem doing the jars like this, but use your own method if you prefer.  The main purpose being getting the jars clean and sterile.  The jars and chow-chow will be hot, so protect your hands from the heat.


Sharing on:
Mix it up Monday
On the Menu Monday
Tuesday At The Table

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesday Tasty Tidbits
Whimsy Wednesday
What's New Wednesday 

Wow Us Wednesdays
What's It Wednesday

Thriving On Thursdays
Taste This Thursday

Full Plate Thursday
Seasonal Sundays

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Your Cozy Home

Foodie Friday
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Link 'n Greet Party

Let's Dish
Seasonal Sundays

TAGGED!!!!

I was tagged by my sweet friend Sudha of Wit, Wok, and Wisdom to answer 12 questions about me that she composed.  For better or worse, here they are:

1. Given a choice, which profession would you love to choose? Homemaker and mother...I have a BSN from the Medical University of South Carolina, but have rarely worked out of the home.

2. What pleases you more – cooking or baking? I am pretty much a savory cook, but I am beginning to branch out into bread making with the help of our sweet Kitty, of Kitty's Kozy Kitchen! We live near each other, and have been friends for years.

3. Which movie is you favorite movie? The Quiet Man with John Wayne

4. If there was one thing that you could change in your family, what would it be? That my son Micheal had not suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2004, and that his life was not so sad and difficult.

5. If there was one thing that you could change in you, what would it be? My temper.

6. Do you feel the need to refer to cookbooks when you cook/bake? Give the reason why. Most of my cooking is done from memory. I make a lot of dishes that have been cooked by my family for generations...but I love trying new recipes!

7. Who is the greatest inspiration of your life? My husband, and his mother and my grandmother...those two exceptional ladies are deceased...and I miss them every day.

8. Which is the most recent book/magazine you have read? Southern Lady magazine.

9. What made you start blogging? I wanted to preserve and pass on to my grandchildren and nieces old family recipes, plus making a connection with others who love cooking as much as I do.

10. On an average, what percentage of time can you afford to spend on your blog in a day? A couple of hours in the evening, while my hubby watches TV.

11. Which feature of blogging do you like the most? Making new friends like you! :)

12. What feature in my blog do you like the most? Your comments, and lovely recipes!  I has been a pleasure getting to know you. 

Kin Folks and Celtic Things

Saint Patrick's Day is Saturday, so I have pulled out some of my favorite Celtic things to celebrate the day.  These three are particularly special, because my cousin made them for me.  Her real name is Gwendolyn, but I lovingly call her littlecousin.  Her grandfather, and my grandmother, were siblings.  I used to love to go to her grandfather's..my Great- Uncle Mercer's house to see his minnow ponds, and raid his peach trees.  He would have watermelon in the summer too!  At family reunions, there would always be several of them in a nearby creek, cooling for dessert...if you weren't already stuffed from eating the farm fresh meat and vegetable dishes ..plus the delectable pies and cakes the assorted aunts and cousins made!  Our Hodges-Thomas reunion sprung out of the yearly cemetery cleaning day.   Our Great-great-great-great grandparents were founding members of a Baptist church in our home town in 1825...and yes, it is still holding services every week.  Many of our ancestors are buried in the cemetery there, and the family would meet and clean the grave sites once a year.  The church eventually hired someone to maintain it, but our family kept the tradition of the reunion for decades, at a nearby state park.  (My grandmother had 64 double-first cousins!  I don't have a single one!) This is a small part of the history that my littlecousin and I share.  We are related on both our mother's, and father's sides of the family.  I mean, she is my COUSIN!  My grandmother used to say, "I'm so Southern, that I'm kin to myself."  A very large number of Southern people are descendants of Celts..Irish, Scottish, Welch.  That is in large part where we get our love of family, tradition, storytelling, and fun.  I am proud to be both!  Now, here are the things littlecousin has made for me incorporating Celtic knots.

A beautiful St. Patrick's Day apron with shamrocks.

With this wee fellow on the bottom of the apron.   Sláinte - pronounced "SLAWN-cha", means "health" in Irish, and as a salute means "Cheers" or "To your health" ...

I love a good cup of hot tea, so she made this lovely tea cozy for me, with a Celtic knot on the front...it has a thistle on the back, but don't tell the Irish!

She also embroidered a set of 12 napkins with our monogram, and Celtic knots.

I love and treasure these things, not only because of the designs, but mostly because they were created by my sweet cousin...I consider both a family treasure!

Thriving On Thursdays
Full Plate Thursday

Rock and Share

Seasonal Inspiration

Your Cozy Home

Foodie Friday

Cuisine Kathleen

Fun with Blog Friends!

I started this blog to save and share recipes...and especially to preserve and pass down old family favorites to my grandchildren and nieces.  My nieces and nephews call me Auntie Pattycakes...hence the blog title.

I have enjoyed doing this, but I have made a new discovery, and another reason to love blogging...making new friends.  I  have just learned how much fun it is to share comments and ideas with people who love cooking as much as I do.

Yesterday, I met my long time and dear friend Kitty, of Kitty's Cozy Kitchen, and a new friend, Helen, of Miz Helen's Country Cottage for a lovely lunch.  We all connected immediately.  What a fun way to spend the afternoon...with good food and friends.  Both of these ladies are very special.  I have connected with many super people through blogging, and I look forward to making more friends!

Christmas at my great-great grandparents home, 1898

On this blog I post a lot of old family recipes, and talk about my love of Southern things and people.  I wanted to share this 1898 newspaper article from my home town newspaper.  My hero, mentor, role model and very special grandmother was one of this lovely couple's grandchildren, and was at this Christmas celebration.  I would have loved to have been there!  Merry Christmas y'all!

Goodbye Thanksgiving, Hello Christmas!

The Fall decorations are put away, all the leftovers eaten, so now it's time to get ready for Christmas! Today was my 69th birthday, and it was a good one. Slept late this morning, then my husband and middle son took me out for a great meal. Our son Michael has lived with us since 2007. He had a frontal lobe aneurysm, and is disabled.


I spent a lot of the day talking with dear friends and family on the phone, and "chatting" on fb. I enjoyed some long telephone conversations with my college aged grandchildren...and my three year old great-grandson called and sang "Happy Birthday"! Now, that was quite a treat!


Bobby, my sweet husband of 51 years, decorated out Christmas tree yesterday. I somehow found the time today to do the rest of the house! I even pulled out the everyday kitchen Christmas dishes! The outdoor lights will go up this week...then on to the shopping, baking, cooking, wrapping...and all the fun things we do this time of year.


May I be one of the first to wish you a Merry Christmas! Even if it is not a part of your religion, I wish you all the joy and happiness this Holiday brings to me!