The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook

Most people who live outside of Mississippi's the Water Valley first heard of Alexe Van Beuren in this New York Times article about four women who moved to a little town in Mississippi and revived downtown.  The biggest change in downtown came from Van Beuren's B.T.C. grocery.  B.T.C. comes from a Gandhi quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  Rumor has it the towns folks thought it stood for Beans, Tomatoes, and Corn.

Now we all know gals who fix up dusty old building and say, "Let's start a galley!" Or theater, music venue, boutique, card shop, even bookstore!  But who opens a grocery store in the middle of nowhere?  Well, Alexe Van Beuren did.  The good news is, she had actually shopped in a grocery store.  But other than shopping in one, she knew very little, if anything about running a grocery.

It became clear that what B.T.C needed was a lunch crowd. The town needed a place for soup and sandwiches.  B.T.C. went through five cooks in six months and then, Dixie Grimes walked in, literally walked in off the street one morning. Here is her job interview:

Dixie: "Heard you were looking for a cook."
Alexe: "Know how to slice?"
Dixie: "Yes, ma'am."
Alexe: "Can you start right now?"

Dixie walked to the lunch counter, and the rest, as they say, is history.  This is the kind of story one sees on the Hallmark channel.  The kind of story that makes you think it IS a story and not real life.  But there you have it.  Well, now here you have it as Alexe and Dixie wrote a cookbook.  The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook.

The book is true to its name, it is an old-fashioned grocery store cookbook.  There is pimiento cheese, tomato soup, meatloaf, catfish, fried pies, and lane cake. There are several recipes for squash casserole.  We just took the last bag of last summer's squash out of the freezer to make squash casserole. Here is B.T.C.'s recipe.

Southern Yellow Squash Casserole

2 pound(s) yellow squash, chopped

1 medium yellow onions, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper

1/4 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1/4 pound pepper jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1 (4 ounces) jar diced pimientos, drained

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise

1 tablespoon dry vermouth

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Dash of Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon granulated onion

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/8 teaspoon sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9- by 13-inch casserole dishes with non-stick cooking.

In an 8-quart stockpot set over medium heat, combine the squash, onion, and bell pepper. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook until squash is just soft, 10 minutes. Drain the mixture, discarding the liquid, and return to the pot. Add the cheeses, pimentos, eggs, mayonnaise, vermouth, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, basil, granulated onion, granulated garlic, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well, scoop into prepared casserole dish, and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.

Bake until golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes.

 While you might think there are no groundbreaking recipes in this cookbook,  you will find one groundbreaking (or shall we say, universal) concept -- people want to eat good food.  Not hot dogs and chips, not nachos with liquid cheese, not ding dongs, not 7-11.  

There are millions of people, many elderly that live in food deserts.   Food deserts exist in metropolitan areas and rural areas.  A rural food desert is a county where residents must drive more than 10 miles to the nearest supermarket chain.  (For example, we drive 15 miles to the nearest small grocery and 34 miles to the nearest Kroger. We are ambulatory and have a car.)  So the next time you are looking for a small business to start, skip the gallery and go with the grocery.  Buy the The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook and you will have a fine blueprint, not to mention a fine squash casserole recipe!

The Perfect Hostess Cook Book

Mildred Knopf was married to the film producer, Edwin Knopf. She grew up in the New York City inhabited by doyennes with the servants that Lila Seely sent into their great houses. Actually, Mildred Knopf’s mother ventured to Ellis Island and found her cook on her own. Marie Agress had been an apprentice in the kitchens of Kaiser Franz Josef’s palace. When her paramour drowned, the distraught young woman came to America.

For twenty-five years she cooked for Mildred Knopf’s mother. Only twice, once for a wedding and once for a funeral, did she take a day off. Mildred Knopf learned to cook from Marie. She then ventured around the world, collecting recipes and sharing them with family and friends in a series of cookbooks.

Knopf has rules to make you a “perfect” cook. Her four rules:

FIRST: Enthusiasm.
SECOND: Pride in what you serve.
THIRD: confidence in yourself.
Forth: Confidence once again.

In her book there is recipe for squash purée. As a child I loved summer squash served this way. As a teenager, I opted for a strict vegetarian diet and instead of squash puree, I at summer squash simply sliced and boiled. It was quite bland and I soon grew out of my vegetarian phase. My great-aunts, however, had no recollection of my ending this phase, at least not where squash was concerned. Every time I came home, one of them would bring out a bowl of plain, unseasoned squash floating in a puddle of water. It became a common event that I am sure occurs at many family reunions. The first time, I was touched they remembered, so I said nothing. The next time I hinted it was OK to feed me squash like everyone else. The third time, it would have been rude to mention it as I had not mentioned it before, so for years, I ate boiled, unseasoned squash.

Squash Purée

2 pounds summer squash
1 large onion
2 ounces butter
salt, pepper
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

FIRST Cut young summer squash into quarters. Boil with 1 large onion, also cut in quarters. Salt to taste.

SECOND When the squash is tender, remove and discard the onion. Place the squash in a sieve and drain thoroughly. Press it lightly to remove any excess water. (Squash has a tendency to sponge up water). Rub through the sieve into a bowl. Mash with a potato-masher and stir in 2 ounces of butter. Season to taste.

NOTE Parmesan cheese may be sprinkled on top if desired.

For me, simply drain the squash and onion, add the butter and mash it up with a fork. And remember, if you develop a quirky eating habit or bizarre practice as a child, you may be eating it till kingdom come, so speak up!