Serve Up

We were discussing how different food service it today. Food service in the home, that is.

While growing up, there were 8 of us kids, and ice cream was a real treat. Bought ice cream.
Mama would open an ice cream by peeling the box off, then she would slice the ice cream cube in half then those half's were cut again.

I love that memory.

We always used the entire carton, No need to worry about freezing the rest.

We Never dipped the cream out unless it was the yummy Hand Cranked Home Made kind.

That was a special treat and we seemed to make it often in the summer months.

Mostly before Daddy passed away.

The old hand crank freezer would come out, Mama made her special recipe and someone would start cranking.

Daddy often did that, and I got to sit on the freezer to hold it down. At least until it was almost ready then my weight would hold nothing down. LOL



Cornbread, Our cornbread was ALWAYS baked in an iron skillet. The skillet was then turned over onto a plate as the Hot Cornbread tumbled out. It was so good.

Mama then cut it into pie shapes, little wedgies for the little kids and but ones for the bigger and adults.

Food was always put on the table in bowls. NEVER a pan.
OK there was a pan, it was a pan of biscuits. That kept them hot and buttery. We always buttered our biscuits when they came out of the oven.
I usually said, "I want the corner biscuit."

We never served ourselves from a sauce pan (as my Mom called them) and Food was passed in a flurry of "Please pass the Biscuits, Beans, Okra, Potatoes, Tomatoes, or what ever was cooked that day. (the day did not usually contain meat). OK by me.

The table was chaos for a minute or so, then we all began the pleasure of eating my Mamas cooking.

Man she could make the best pinto beans. Always perfect.

Fried Chicken was reserved for Sundays. Bologna could be fried for dinner that night but often veggies and home made biscuits or cornbread was served.

We always sat to eat, as a family. I never know of hit and miss eating. I think that was our best times. All sitting around a wooden table, (made by my Daddy) Kids were on a homemade bench, Bigger ones and Adults sat in Cane bottom chairs. Cane bottom chairs that were always worn down and the cane replaced by old inner tubes cut and woven through the chair bottoms. That did NOT wear out, The old tubing would get black on your clothes, when first used.

In fact I never recall seeing Cane bottoms in the house for any length of time. They were that fragile and we were a rowdy family. (except at meal time, Mama demanded, clean hands, shirts on the boys and proper behavior.)

Until, we moved into a big house and Mama got rid of the bench, table and old chairs, She graduated to a huge Formica table with 10 chairs. WOW!!!!!! I could finally get my own chair, and actually reach the table. This was 1957.

I was eleven years old.
I know there are more to service issues to post, Any one want to add to this? Please feel free.