SENIOR MOMENT: Lovin’ from the oven

By BETTY MUNSEY/Columnist

Pillsbury’s famous commercial reminds us that “nothing says loving like something from the oven.” Country women are notoriously good cooks who love sharing their recipes along with their delicious dishes. They consider it a privilege, not a chore, to prepare their specialties for church suppers, community picnics and even for grieving neighbors who have experienced the death of a family member.
Most of their tasty treats originated several generations removed and continue with only oral instructions. Their recipes have never seen the inside of a recipe book or computer screen. Often the dishes are heaping with butter, heavy cream, hunks of shortening and cups of sugar. Richard Simmons would stroke-out if he calculated the calorie or cholesterol counts of these delicious dishes.
Those fortunate enough to sample these culinary creations can’t seem to stop with only one spoonful, returning often for just a little bit more, preferring to worry tomorrow about today’s weight gain.
This past weekend I attended one of my favorite end-of-summer events¬—a large community picnic in a neighboring valley known for its good cooks. The host and hostess probably devoted days to preparing for this annual picnic by erecting tents, moving picnic tables, purchasing supplies and foods, and even barbecuing a whole hog.  North Carolina may be known for its barbeque, but it can’t surpass the tender tasty pieces of pork served at this picnic.
God provided a perfectly clear autumn evening and some of the most beautiful scenery in our neck of the woods, but it was the genuine hospitality and delicious foods that will be remembered longest.
Tables were covered with row after row of homemade goodies—¬chocolate chip cookies, homemade coconut cakes, pans of brownies, pound cakes, fruit cobblers using locally picked berries, and those are only a couple of the available desserts. Casseroles of every description filled another table and were pretty-well eaten when the last person in line filled his plate. Martha Stewart might prefer high society cuisine, but give me Southwest Virginia cooking any day!
My personal vision of Heaven resembles a community picnic with lots of hugging, hand shaking, smiles, a few joyful tears, reacquainting with long lost friends, and of course, delicious foods. Charles Schultz, creator of the famous Peanuts cartoon series, noted “The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.  They are the ones that care.”
Mr. Schultz, now deceased, would have enjoyed this picnic punctuated with lots of neighborly love and genuine hospitality. For a few hours, we could forget America’s financial mess, the upcoming presidential election, or the latest crisis in the Middle East. Most of our conversations started with “How are you doing? Or what are you doing these days? Or would you share your recipe for…” Gatherings of this nature not only satisfy our appetites but prepare us emotionally for the long days ahead.
A retired Extension agent, Betty Munsey lives and farms in Bland County.