Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

There are certain smells and recipes that are tied to loved ones in my life that easily drift back into my senses when I think of them.  My great aunt and her Sassafras tea…My late grandmother and her green beans that I will probably never experience again, as she never recorded her genius creations.  Oh what I wouldn’t give to share her recipes on my blog.  My Grandma Anne, well, I can’t say that a particular taste comes to mind, but I had the time of my life making cookies at her little table in her kitchen adorned with untouched, classic 50’s decor.  I can still feel the big wooden spoon in my small hand as I kneeled in the chair, stirring together our magic recipe that was so conveniently written on the back of every chocolate chip bag I might add. It wasn’t the smell of baking cookies that brings the memory of her rushing back-it’s the smell of a gas oven when you fire it up to bake.  She had a beautiful, white Chambers stove that had to be lit with a match.  She’d turn on the gas and stick her head in that oven and WHOOSH!  I always worried that one day my grandma would go flying out her screen door, butt first, and plant in her giant snowball bush in the yard.  I was fortunate enough to add a gas stove to our kitchen during our remodel about 5 years ago and every time I turn it on, I think of her.  Thankfully, my modern version has an electric igniter.

All of these legendary women in my life have left us, but when I met my dear husband I got a new set of country powerhouse cooks that have blessed me with new recipes, aromas and memories in the kitchen.  We’ll start with my wonderful mother-in- law, Faye.  She has made me feel welcome from the first time I met her…  He had brought me home to meet his parents on a Saturday night for a home cooked dinner, which actually turned into a fantastic country breakfast the next morning.  Now, don’t get any ideas-it’s not what you think.  I was so nervous to meet them that when I stopped to check my hair and makeup in the mirror before meeting him in the driveway-I unknowingly locked my keys in my car!  He lived over an hour away from my parent’s house so when we discovered my dilemma late that night, the only option was to stay the night.  I was so embarrassed!  What would they think of me?  His mom could not have been more gracious and sweet.  She lent me some sweatpants to sleep in and showed me to the guest room.  I laid in bed, my mind racing… I had surely just ruined my chances with his family.  To my surprise, I woke up the next morning to the smell of homemade biscuits and I believe it was pork chops!  No evil mom-in-law glares, no judgement- just true country hospitality in its most genuine form.  

Now Faye and her sisters are also known for their amazing chicken and dumplings..They just have a habit of innocently leaving out tiny details which have proven to be very consequential to the end results.  It took several attempts and finally a phone call to Thelma, the third sister, to find out that Faye and Goldy, had forgotten to mention that dumplings included lard/crisco.  I had been wondering why I was creating chicken and hockey pucks instead. That’s a recipe for another time, but the missing link for this recipe was self-rising flour.  Cooks have standard ingredients in their pantry-I always have All Purpose flour and cook with it unless otherwise instructed. Well, their pantry staple was flour of the self-rising variety.  Very important detail to getting Faye’s cobbler right.  I kept thinking…how could I be getting this wrong?…only four basic ingredients…did she have a magic oven?  Were they secretly testing my skills to see if I was worthy of a spot in their kitchen at the holidays?  Nope, turns out that the flour was the key.  Once I had cracked the code-the cobbler possibilities were endless.  And yes, you can find substitutions for self-rising flour (just add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to AP flour) but it doesn’t turn out the same.  Before blogs, the internet and professional test kitchens, the best recipes were tested and perfected through generations in loving country kitchens just like Faye’s.

Over the years she has magically created that same feeling of unconditional love and acceptance every time we go home to visit.  Everything she makes is amazing, but this one is just so easy, but so perfect and a tradition in our family and I feel you all should try it too…Faye’s Cobbler.  She usually treats us to peach or cherry, but I love the combination of strawberry and rhubarb….So here you go…Just a good ol’ country recipe with a twist from a young city girl who fell in love one day.