SALTILLO For Martha Webb, cooking is all about using the best and freshest ingredients available.
If you dont use good ingredients, youre not going to end up with something thats fit to eat, said Webb, 59.
Her husband, Raymond, regularly travels to Pontotoc County to buy her butter that folks in the Amish community make, and she grows many of her own vegetables and herbs.
Her side yard in Saltillo is planted with huge beds of rosemary, basil, dill, oregano, sage, Italian parsley and cilantro. Come summer, shell have tomatoes, running beans, squash and bell peppers.
Ive planted new potatoes for the grandkids to dig up and my asparagus is just about gone, she said. We had 60 heads of Romaine lettuce but only three are left now. And I love my herbs. I cant cook without fresh herbs.
The mother of two and grandmother of three learned gardening as a child.
When I was growing up, if we didnt grow it or kill it, we didnt eat it, Webb said. Daddy had a truck patch and my brothers hunted and fished and I hunted and fished, she said. The only thing Mama went to the store for was staples.
Webb, who was raised in Union County but now lives in Saltillo, went to college at Bethel University in Tennessee where she had a double major: piano and drama. She taught music at South Pontotoc and at Plantersville before moving to the Fillmore Center, an alternative school in Tupelo, to teach English.
Fillmore was an interesting job, she said. I loved those kids. The ones you could help made up for the ones you couldnt.
Webb retired early from teaching in 2015 due to rheumatoid arthritis. As long as her hands will allow her, shell continue to play the piano at Wesley United Methodist Church, a job shes held for 23 years.
Because shes busy with church Sunday mornings, she gets her Sunday dinner started early. She plans the menu on Wednesday and starts cooking on Saturday. She might serve Hawaiian ham with peas, greens and a salad, or a beef roast with potatoes and carrots, green beans and slaw.
Sometimes we have chicken, sometimes meatloaf, and sometimes my husband will smoke a pork loin or pork butt, she said. My kids have never known not having Sunday dinner. Even growing up, we had dinner together every night at the table. If you werent dead, then youd better be there.
Webb actually uses the weekends to get most of her meals ready for the week ahead.
I do quality cooking I dont just run in there and make Hamburger Helper, she said. Both my daughters can cook. Whatever is important to you is going to be important to your kids. I have the best children and the best life and I feel guilty every day for what God has given me.
1 box Duncan Hines lemon supreme cake mix
1 small box instant lemon pudding mix
1/2 cup Limoncello liqueur
1/4 cup Limoncello liqueur
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 to 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, sour cream and Limoncello in a large bowl and beat for 2 minutes. Pour batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until cake lightly springs back when touched. Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cake plate. Dust with confectioners sugar or glaze with Limoncello Frosting.
For the frosting, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in Limoncello. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and using a mixer, whip in cream cheese and sugar until the frosting is thick, but still pourable. Drizzle over cooled cake.
1 precooked, smoked shank ham
1 large can sliced pineapple in heavy syrup
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup apricot preserves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly score ham. Mix the juice from the canned pineapple with the apricot nectar. Stir in brown sugar and cloves. Using an injector for meats, inject the solution liberally into the ham. Place in a roasting pan and cover with foil. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover the ham and, using toothpicks, place pineapple slices on the fat sides of the ham, with cherries in the center of the slices. Heat any remaining sauce and add preserves. Baste the ham with this sauce every 15 minutes as the ham bakes, uncovered, another 30 minutes.
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour
This recipe must be followed exactly and in order for the dough to have the right consistency.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
With a mixer on low speed, whip the butter until fluffy. Add oil, egg and flavorings. Add both sugars and beat until blended. Add flour a little at a time. The dough should be soft. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared cookie sheet. Press a smooth-bottomed drinking glass into extra granulated sugar and then press cookie balls to flatten. Bake until cookie edges are golden. Cool slightly then remove to paper towels to completely cool. Makes 3 1/2 to 4 dozen 3-inch cookies.
2 cups coarsely chopped, cooked squash
Cool squash, then mix in egg, onion and flour. Drop by rounded tablespoons into hot vegetable oil and cook until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
1 pound ground mild Italian sausage
2 pounds Angus ground chuck
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (28-ounce) can petite-diced tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
Brown sausage and ground chuck in olive oil. Drain off any fat. To the pan, add onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute a couple of minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer slowly for at least 1 hour (longer is better). Stir often and add water if sauce becomes too thick. This sauce freezes well.
4 small zucchini (8- to 10-inches)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
4 cups fresh corn (or 2 packages frozen, thawed)
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Slice zucchini lengthwise into quarters, then slice across into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Melt butter in a skillet and add onion and bell pepper. Saute a couple of minutes and stir in corn. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini and cook 2 or 3 minutes, covered. Remove from heat and stir in tomato and sprinkle with cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted. Serves 8.
1 flute or batard Italian bread
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1 to 2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Shredded Italian 5-cheese blend
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Slice bread into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Brush with olive oil and place on a greased cookie sheet. Place in oven until lightly crisped.
In a bowl, combine tomatoes, herbs, garlic and vinegar. Top bread slices with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with grated cheese and drizzle with balsamic glaze. Place back in oven until cheese is melted. Makes about 12.
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Retired teacher doesn't let arthritis slow her down - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal