Staples, Gravy & Almond Milk: Then & Now

What would my Big Mamma have thought of almond milk?

My Great Grandmother was kind and sweet and soft. Her name was Minnie Lee, but we only knew her as Big Mamma. She always smelled clean and said nice things. The only time she ever became noticeably frustrated was when a housefly was faster than she was with her fly swatter. The only evidence of her frustration was that she would say "I'll git that darned ole' fly." Oh, and she would sometimes seem mildly perturbed at my Nanny (Big Mamma's daughter) if Nanny fussed at Big Mamma about staying on her feet too long in the kitchen and doing the dishes. She seemed happy about everything else, especially watching her "stories" (soap operas), letting my brother "muss" her hair, making pictures (coloring), doing word find puzzles, eating sweets, doing the dishes and cooking.

My Nanny Negotiating Snack Time

The things I remember Big Mamma cooking the most were chicken with dumplings and biscuits with gravy. Since I was only a little girl watching this kitchen magic, I didn't quite learn the process. But I did pick up on some things that I've been able to capitalize on as the "Big Mamma" of my own kitchen, two of which I am going to share with you: staples and gravy, with a bonus bit on almond milk!

So, you can imagine that when the women of my family mentioned needing "staples" from the grocery store, it was a bit confusing. I knew what staples were at school (dangerous when shot across the room by irritating little boys), and I knew what kinds of things were found in the grocery store; I could not quite figure out how the two intersected. What I did know was that it was a dreaded misfortune to run out of "staples" in one's kitchen! I eventually realized that staples for my family included flour, sugar, table salt, milk, cereal, eggs, jumbo iced tea bags, coffee, sandwich bread, cheese slices, peanut butter, jelly, crackers and cans of tomatoes, green beans, tomato soup, chicken noodle soup and creamed corn. And for reasons beyond my comprehension, Little Debbie Cakes weren't allowed to run low in our house either. In retrospect, I believe that you can tell a lot about the identity and era of a family by the staples on their grocery list. In fact, just remembering our basic list brings up all kinds of stories and emotions associated with our kitchen and mealtimes growing up. I love remembering, for example, the time my annoying little brother got caught sneaking Little Debbie Cakes from the canister set (that I still own and keep my various nuts and grains in)  during early morning cartoons before anyone woke up and hiding the wrappers under his bed. Heehee...big trouble, Freakazoid!

Baby Bro in Cartoon-watching Position

I could launch into an unflattering memoryfest, but instead I want to encourage you to know your staples and make small improvements for a healthier kitchen and body, when you feel like it. What goes on that list also goes into your body almost every day, so it really defines what you are made of and how you feel. And because I have an abnormal fascination with people and their relationship with food, I would enjoy a party game where everyone anonymously adds their staple grocery list to a hat then everyone draws one and tries to guess who it belongs to. Here's what mine would look like these days:

• local eggs, whole plain yogurt, unsalted butter (for making ghee), olive oil
• raw almonds (for making almond milk and flour), salted cashews/peanuts/walnuts
• whole grain bread flour, lentils, basmati rice
• sea salt, cumin, turmeric, white & black pepper, dried red peppers, umeboshi plum vinegar
• ginger, garlic, onions, lemons, frozen berries, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, carrots, celery, romaine lettuce and leafy greens (cabbage, kale, chard, spinach) that are in season
• dark chocolate, maple syrup, honey, jam, blackstrap molasses
• herbal and green tea, fair trade coffee, lemon juice

Now the thing is that I enjoy creative cooking, and I rarely have a plan before I enter the kitchen, so I keep a lot of staples to work with. Even though I run a pretty conscientious kitchen, there is always something to improve. For example, I have just taken a look at my staple list and realized that I could learn to make my own honey mustard dressing with very few simply ingredients instead of buying the bottled version that is expensive and has unnecessary preservatives. I notice that I could upgrade my basmati white rice by buying brown rice instead for an excellent fiber source. I could even re-try an alternative grain that is produced more sustainably with great health benefits like quinoa or millet. If I really want to go big on a new version of an old staple, I could learn to put up my own jam after each season's U-pick fruit adventures.

My most recent staple improvements included adding lentils for more vegetarian Indian food, learning to sprout beans and seeds for yummy stacks and toppings, and making my own almond milk instead of buying it full of shelf-life preservatives. A great side effect of making milk is the almond pulp that's left over. I discovered that this pulp (almond meal/flour) makes an EXCELLENT version of my Big Mamma's red-eye gravy.

Big Mamma: Absorbed in her Creation

Big Mamma, and subsequently all the women in my family, can make biscuits and gravy with bacon and scrambled eggs that draws even the brooding teenagers out of bed early in the morning. To make the gravy, she would fry bacon and then leave the hot grease in the skillet. She would bring it to a sizzling high heat then sprinkle flour in, while smashing it and stirring it with a fork until there was a burning paste. Then she would make a big SWOOSH sound by quickly pouring in a little cold water and canned crushed tomatoes...continuing to stir until there were no flour lumps and the liquid began to boil. She would then turn it down to a simmer and add lots of salt and black pepper to taste. This is AMAZING over fresh biscuits.

Since I became a grown up, my version has gone through many experiments such as using coconut oil instead of bacon grease, using milk and white pepper instead of tomatoes and black pepper, adding onions and garlic and other fresh vegetables just to see what would happen, and finally using various types of flours to create richer gravies. As it turns out, the byproduct of making my own almond milk (the leftover pulp) makes for the the best gravy I've had yet! Here's a two-for-one:

Almond Milk:

1. Soak one cup of almonds over night and drain the next morning.
2. Put almonds in blender with 4 cups of fresh water and blend high until frothy white.
3. Pour the liquid through a small strainer into a big mason jar or jug for your milk to be stored in the fridge.
4. Scrape the almond pulp from the strainer into a bowl or jar for later use (gravy, cookies, pancakes, nutbutter balls, etc.)

Milk Notes: Shake then pour almond milk ANYwhere you might otherwise use other milks. It's perfect in my coffee, over granola, in my cooking, etc. It truly tastes better than the cartons you buy from the store and is SO much cheaper and healthier. The only catch is that it only has about a four day fridge life, so make it in these small batches. No worries about keeping track of time, your nose with know if the milk has gone south.

Gravy:

1. Heat a high-heat oil or fat of your choice in a skillet until it just starts smoking.
2. Sprinkle in the almond pulp and stir/smash with fork until it's a mildly burnt paste.
3. Pour in cold liquid of your choice (crushed tomatoes, water, milk of any kind) and stir until no lumps are noticeable and until the liquid begins to boil.
4. Turn down to simmer and season, taste, stir...until the gravy is the consistency and flavor you like.
5. Pour over breads, meats, beans, peas, or rice (grains) and say "Thanks, Big!" in your most southern accent.

Gravy Tips:

• If your gravy never seems to thicken, add more flour (almond pulp, in this case).
• If you gravy is too thick, add more liquid.
• Don't get distracted because gravy happens fast, demands undivided attention, requires almost constant stirring, and should be made last and served immediately.
• White pepper is yummy in milky gravies and black pepper is yummy in brown gravies.
• Bacon grease ROCKS for a gravy base, no matter what era you are living in!

Now, I just have one more thing to say... my Nanny's biscuits and red-eye gravy (named for the tomatoes) always turned out the better than anyone else's. My Big Mamma's chicken and dumplings always turned out the best, and my Mom's tea cakes always turn out the best. I hope I'm around long enough to have grands and to nurture them with good memories around lovingly prepared foods. I also hope to get sweeter and sweeter throughout life so that eventually I'm as sweet as my Big Mamma was (without having to eat Little Debbie Cakes)!

Next up... an Indian kitchen adventure the blew my mind and expanded my world!