Fish Fry in North Carolina

If you haven’t had the chance to hang out with senior citizens lately, you should really put that on your list of things to do.  They are wise, funny, talkative, and grateful for life.  My sister and I headed up to my parents mountain cabin in NC earlier this week to partake in a family fish fry.  Two of my mom’s remaining 3 brothers and their wives were there, along with longtime family friends and there were four senior couples in all.  These folks have known each other since young adulthood and really grew up together, having their families and doing life together all these years.  My mom had 7 children in her family and now there are 4 left.  She’s the only girl remaining, with 3 younger brothers.

We know that we cannot take any of these days for granted any longer.  We simply don’t know what the next few years will bring, so we cherish every moment like this that we have.  I’ve shared my parents mountain house many times over the years and wrote a special post about this place earlier this year.  It’s in Murphy, NC,  2 hours north of Marietta, GA, where they live fulltime.  We aren’t sure how long my parents will hang onto this house, as planting 2 gardens is becoming harder and harder for my dad.  We have encouraged him to just keep the Marietta garden going and not do this one in the mountains next year.  We will see how that goes.  He loves his gardens!  But, taking care of 2 places is starting to catch up with them.

My mom’s brother, my Uncle Eugene and his wife, Mary, have spent many summers at this house in August, helping them pick, shuck, cut up and freeze the corn crop.  It’s a big job and they love to come up and participate in the process.  I love my family and enjoy so much being around these wonderful people who have always been a part of my life too.  My mom’s family is a God-fearing family.  She married a preacher and 2 of her brothers also became ministers of the gospel, so that has been a wonderful heritage to be raised in.

Dad’s tractor, which helps him plant his garden.  It needs some work and they couldn’t get it started again, so that’s why it’s stopped in front of the house.

He’s right at home on this tractor.

The bridge my dad built over the front yard stream, many years ago.  Lauren, my niece, was a child when she first started going to this mountain house and spent many summers playing in this creek.

The trickling creek in front of the house.

Moss ferns and stones, are part of the mountain scenery that we love so much about NC.

Dad, sitting in his swing that he loves so much.

My Uncle Eugene (mom’s brother) and one of the best fishermen I know. They live near Plant City, FL and go fishing in the lakes down there to catch this wonderful speckled perch or crappie fish.  He fillets them and freezes them and has many fish fries during the year.  We are the beneficiaries of his fish fries.

Floured and ready to fry in the deep fryer.

He has fish frying down to a science and knows just how to cook them up brown and crispy.

And they come out like this.  He fried up a pile of fish and we didn’t eat it all.

My Aunt Mary is also a great cook. She and mom are super close and have always worked side by side in the kitchen.  Aunt Mary is making her corn bread and tomato hush puppies.

Aunt Mary’s Hush Puppies

(serves 10 people)

1 1/2 cups self-rising corn meal

1 cup self-rising flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Sprinkle of salt

1 tsp. sugar

3 med. chopped onions (they like lots)

Canned tomatoes or Rotel.  Add one can Rotel Tomatoes or fresh canned tomatoes.

Mix all together. Batter should be fairly thick but not too dry or runny.  See Aunt Mary’s pic above.  She spoons it and drops in HOT grease to cook and brown.  Try it and tweak for yourself.

Mixing in canned tomatoes to the corn bread batter.

After frying, the hush puppies are nice and brown.

Mom and dad always have vegetables laying out on a table on the porch. That’s summer in the mountains.

This place is peaceful and serene with wild ferns growing all around the mountain banks by their house.

Mom, finishing up lunch and we are about ready to eat.  This is what we do in the mountains.  Eat and visit on the porch!

The 4 men sat at the kitchen table.  My dad’s longtime friend, Harris and his wife, Ann came over to join us for the day too.  They all went to Bible school together, got married, had kids and settled into their churches.  Harris pastored for many years in the Atlanta area at a neighboring church in Smyrna, along with my dad in Marietta and they have been close friends for years.  Back in the day, they played many games of golf together.

The four senior couples ranged in age from 78 to 87, my dad being the oldest.  They don’t mind telling their age at all or talking about aging.  I think they are all grateful to be doing as well as they do.

And there were 6 of us women, so we got the big table in the dining room.  It was a feast of fried perch, baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw and hush puppies. Yes, it was as delish as it looks!

The 6 women, enjoying the lunch and company.  My Aunt Mary is in green, my sister to the right of her, then Ann, wife of Harris, and my Aunt Frances on the end.  Mom is in the pink, of course.

My plate of fried fish goodness.  I ate every mouthful and more fish!

Aunt Mary’s Tomato Cole Slaw

(serves 12 people)

2 1/2 pounds cabbage

1 carrot

Use food processor to shred cabbage and carrot.

Sprinkle with salt and 3 TBL white vinegar.  Stir well.  Spread 3 big TBL mayo on cabbage.  Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar on top of mayo and left melt.  Stir well again.  Taste to add more mayo or sugar (to taste).  Just before serving, add one chopped tomato and 1 cubed cucumber.

Next it was time for homemade peach ice cream, always a family treat during the summer months.  It’s been awhile since we’ve made it and it was enjoyed by all.  Mom dipped up bowls for everyone.

Dad, doing what he does best.  Lounging in his swing and eating something sweet.

Of course, I got in on the ice cream too.  I never pass up ice cream and sitting in this lounge chair on the porch is always a highlight for me.

This porch has been privy to many conversations over the years, you can bet on that.  It’s where we all gather, enjoying a cool breeze in the mountains when we are lucky enough to get one.  It’s usually 10 degrees color up here than it is in Atlanta during the summer, so that’s always nice too.  Having a porch is a must.

Lots of conversations happen on this porch and I’ve listened in on many of them.

The men getting animated about something.

Enjoying each other’s company and just resting on the porch is a big part of the mountains.  There’s not a lot to do up here, but they do have satellite TV, which is a must. My dad loves his TV too.

We never know what conversations are going to be had on this porch. This time it was a lively discussion on the pros and cons of cremating vs. the traditional burial method of a casket and funeral, with my uncle declaring that you could sure save a lot of money with cremation.  Why spend all that money on a casket and traditional burial, when it all does the same thing anyway?    That’s what happens when you are senior citizens, I guess.  You know that life is not going on forever and they can at least laugh and joke about it.

My sister and I were howling with laughter over that conversation.

After lunch, I headed down with the men to the garden to take pics.  Blueberries are getting ripe now too, so we took time to pick a few and bring them home.

Nothing better than NC blueberries, basking in the sun and turning deep blue.

They spent last week putting up corn, but dad left enough on the stalks to pick a final picking for corn on the cobb.  We all love corn on the cobb, what a treat!  He planted Silver King corn this year and it is so delicious.

Four men heading to the garden.   What a sight!

Corn ready and waiting to be picked.

Dad took his 5 gallon buckets and we filled them up.

He’s looking for a squash or two while he’s down there.

I took one good pic of mom and her two brothers, since they don’t all get together all that often these days.  I wanted to document the day and remember it forever.  You can’t deny the family resemblance in this family, can you?  Uncle Edward is on the left and Uncle Eugene on the right.  Uncle Ed is also a minister and is now retired in Greenville, SC, where he spent many years pastoring.

We came home with fresh corn and blueberries right off the bushes.  It’s such a treat to have this right at our fingertips and it will be sad when the garden is gone.  I will have to learn how to plant tomatoes myself one day.

I’m so grateful for my family and the heritage I was raised in.  I don’t take any of that for granted anymore and realize how very blessed we are to have a family like this.  Thanks for enjoying my family too, that’s means a lot to me.

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