Rita Cole

“It is a blessing to be able to cook and provide people with a necessity,” said Rita Cole of Calhoun City, but, “I like feeding people more than I like to cook.” Rita could not cook when she and husband, Jim, married, and literally taught herself. She said she didn’t know the difference between lettuce and cabbage, and remembers stocking her kitchen for the very first time 45 years ago for $26. She is thankful her husband is one who will eat “absolutely anything except boiled okra. He has eaten anything I’ve experimented with,” she said. His favorite is butterbeans and cornbread. Her is Chinese Lo Mein or just a plain, baked sweet potato.

Rita has been a member of the Happy Homemakers’ Club for over 30 years and says there are a lot of really good cooks in the club that she has exchanged recipes with. She also has three sisters-in-law  (one is Rose Mary Cole Shelton of Bruce) with which she share recipes. Rita loves cookbooks and her club has done at least two. One of them was a fundraiser for an ice machine for the multi-purpose building in Pittsboro. It was called simply “Ice Machine Cookbook.”

She tried and quit years ago to make another of her husband’s favorites, divinity, and says she’s never made yeast rolls. Her first disaster was a deer roast. “It had to be thrown out. The smell was awful.”

The recipes she provided are her most requested. For several years, she has made dessert for the Calhoun City Fire Department, of which her husband is retired. She says she makes six to eight times the recipe, according to what they have going on at the meeting. She has “begged them to let me fix something else, but no, they want the pudding!”

The gumbo recipe was given to her from a lady in Coffeeville which originally used duck and she changed it to chicken. She recently noticed in a store that Tony Chachere’s now makes a roux mix, but she hasn’t tried it yet. The Mexican Stack-Up is something their daughter, Susan, got from a youth director several years ago, that has become a tradition with their family. She sometimes makes the cheeseball for showers, etc., and not just for the holidays. It is one she got from Millie Goforth probably 30 years ago.

Old Fashion Banana Pudding
1 cup sugar
3 heaping tsp. flour
3 eggs
2 cups milk
3 bananas
Vanilla Wafers
In a medium saucepan, mix sugar and flour well. Add egg yolks and milk; heating on medium and mixing slowly to avoid lumps. Stir often until thickened. Make one layer of bananas and wafers. Add 1/2 mixture, then repeat. Beat egg whites and smooth over top of pudding. Brown in 400° oven for 10 minutes. Serves 8.

Mexican Stack-Up
Susan Cole
Shredded lettuce
Prepared white or brown rice
Chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapenos
Shredded cheese, your choice
2 lbs. hamburger meat
2 packs taco mix
Prepared Rotel dip (2 cans Rotel and 2 lbs. Velveeta)
Prepared guacamole
Chopped pecans
Shredded coconut
Dried cranberries or raisins
Sour cream
Salsa mix
Nacho chips
Prepare hamburger meat and taco mix by package. Put all other items in individual bowls. Everyone fixes their own plate. It is only necessary to have the items your family prefers. This is a great idea for potluck. Everybody brings a different item.

Christmas Cheeseball
Millie Goforth
2-8 oz. pkg. softened cream cheese
2 cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp. chopped pimiento
1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Dash of cayenne and salt
Thoroughly mix. Makes two balls. Roll in chopped pecans.

Chicken Gumbo
2 large chickens, boiled and deboned
1 1/2 sticks margarine or butter
1 cup flour
2 qts. broth
1-5 oz. can tomato paste
4 large onions, chopped
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2-#2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 Tbsp. season salt
2 Tbsp. dry parsley
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. thyme
2 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. file gumbo
1 tsp. red pepper, optional
Make roux with margarine, flour and broth. Add all other ingredients. Mix well. Simmer 2 hours. Serve over rice. (Chicken can be replaced with 1 lb. smoked sausage or shrimp.
Orange Cake

Brenda Cannon
1 box orange cake mix
1-3 oz. orange jello mixed with one cup hot water
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
Mix above and bake in large pyrex dish at 350° for 40 minutes.
Frosting:
1 box powdered sugar
1 medium can crushed pineapple
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Mix above and pour over cake while cake is still hot.