Recipes from James Still

Abstract

Memories of James Still Sidney Saylor Farr (bio) In the early nineteen-seventies when Loyal Jones was teaching at Berea College, he often had writers speak to his classes and invited James Still to be a speaker at one of them. I was not a student, but I was allowed to sit in on the class because of my friendship with Loyal. After hearing Mr. Still speak, I went up and introduced myself; that's how we first met. He invited me to visit him at his home in Hindman, Kentucky, which I did one day. At his house he fed me lunch while we discussed writing. After we got more acquainted, one day Mr. Still stopped in the Berea College Library where at the time I worked as an archivist in the Special Collections department. He said there was "fine cooking in the mountains, and it would be a shame if those recipes were lost; they ought to be saved for generations to come." He felt like recipes and the Appalachian culture surrounding food were becoming things of the past, and that I should collect them and write about them. I felt honored that he thought I could write such a book. I decided to write the cookbook to help me get the credits I needed to graduate. My proposal was accepted by the college for a collection of mountain recipes with corresponding anecdotal stories for each of the them, and I wrote the book as an independent study. After it was ready, I sent a summary of it to different publishers. I got mostly rejections. However I did later receive a telephone call from The University of Pittsburgh Press who said the rejection had been sent in error; that they were interested in seeing the collection. Of course I sent the manuscript right away. It was published as More Than Moonshine and was reviewed favorably in many newspapers. It went through six reprints and is still my most requested book. James Still was my mentor and inspiration from 1972 until his death in 2001. We exchanged letters, talked on the phone, and when he was in or near Berea, he stopped by the Berea College Library where I worked and we would go out for lunch or dinner. He often gave me advice about my writing. Sometimes he would talk about his own writing and he would give me examples of why and why not to use certain phrases or words. He would read some of my writing and would point out the stronger images as well as the weak ones. [End Page 45] Living alone, he developed many quick shortcuts and unusual ways of preparing his food. We talked about many things, writing primarily, but also gardening and cooking. He gave me three recipes that he especially liked. Beer Bread 2 cups self-rising flour 1 teaspoon salt 8 to 10 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted shortening Beer Add flour and salt. Add cooking oil and enough beer to make medium-thick dough. Grease and flour loaf pan and add dough. Bake at around 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread is nicely browned. Slice and serve hot. Strawberry Spread 3 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons water Fresh strawberries Put ingredients into saucepan and cook until berries just begin to break. Good on toast or hot biscuits. Quick Lemon Pie 1 can condensed milk ½ cup lemon juice 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese 3 egg yolks 1 teaspoon lemon peel 1 graham cracker crust Mix ingredients and put in crust. Chill until very cold. Tastes like a cross between cheesecake and lemon meringue pie. [End Page 46] Sidney Saylor Farr Sidney Saylor Farr served as editor of Appalachian Heritage from 1985 until 1999. The author of several books, including My Appalachia: A Memoir, published by the University Press of Kentucky, Farr grew up on Stoney Fork of Straight Creek in Bell County, Kentucky. Copyright © 2010 Berea College