The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush

Aunt Hetty frowned. “Has that news got out already?”


“Well, it’s nothing official, the way I understand it,” Beulah said. “But Verna told me that Mr. Duffy has talked to both of them. Mr. Moseley has drawn up the paperwork for them to sign, and the bank in New Orleans has agreed. Maybe there’ll be a piece in the Dispatch on Friday.”

“Well,” Aunt Hetty said in a knowing tone, “things are likely to be a little bit exciting when those two women start working together.”

“Why, how’s that?” Bettina wanted to know.

“Because . . .” Aunt Hetty stopped. “Well, it’s a long story, and it goes back quite a ways. We’ll just have to hear it another time.”

And with that, the Dahlias had to be satisfied.





Recipes


In the 1930s, many Southerners lived where fresh unhomogenized, unpasteurized milk was readily available, and many households produced their own butter, buttermilk, cream, and naturally soured cream. Many recipes from the period call for sour cream. The Southern cook would have understood that soured “top milk” could also be used. (When unhomogenized milk was allowed to sit, the cream rose to the top and was skimmed off. The layer just below the cream was “top milk,” and had slightly less butterfat than the cream itself.) Now, sour cream is commercially produced and is less often used as an ingredient in baked foods.

Raylene’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumb Pie Most Darling cooks would never dream of using coriander in a pie. But that’s what makes Raylene Riggs’ cooking so special. She does the undreamed of—and everybody raves.

3 cups fresh rhubarb, thinly sliced, or sliced frozen rhubarb*

1 pint fresh strawberries, halved 1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

? teaspoon coriander

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell TOPPING:

? cup all-purpose flour

? cup packed brown sugar

? cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats ? teaspoon nutmeg

? cup cold butter, cut in small pieces Sour cream for serving

Preheat oven to 400°F. Put rhubarb and strawberries in a large bowl and gently stir to mix. In a medium bowl, beat egg and vanilla. Beat in sugar, coriander, and flour, mixing well. Pour over fruit and stir to combine. Pour into pie shell.

For the topping, mix flour, brown sugar, oats, and nutmeg in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit.

Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and bake for 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

*If you’re using frozen rhubarb, measure it while it is frozen. Thaw in a colander to drain, but do not press out the juice.

Mrs. Meeks’ Rhubarb-and-Sour-Cream Cake Mrs. Meeks runs a boardinghouse for men only near the railroad tracks in Darling. She likes to make hearty desserts that go a long way. She says, “This cake can be made with either fresh or canned rhubarb. If you use fresh, be sure and slice it thin. If you run out of rhubarb and your zucchini plants have started producing, you can substitute 3 cups of sliced zucchinis and 1 cup of canned pineapple and a teaspoon of powdered ginger.” Mrs. Meeks says there are lots of ways to skin a cat.

? cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1? cups lightly packed brown sugar 1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1? cups all-purpose flour, sifted 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sour cream

4 cups sliced rhubarb (?-inch pieces) ? cup sugar

? teaspoon cinnamon

? teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter an 8-by-5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment or waxed paper. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3–4 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Fold in flour and baking powder alternately with sour cream and rhubarb. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and sprinkle over cake mixture. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before turning out.

Bessie Bloodworth’s Sour Cream Cookies 1 cup butter