Century Of Recipes, Kitchen Advice, Stories From Around The Table
BY CHRISTINE GARDNER
Food Editor
When you look at Mary Lynn Thompson and Jane Ondocin, you see two women who have such great love for their families that it overflows to everyone they meet. From the moment they open their door you can see they take great joy in feeding not just their families, but anyone who enters their home. You are welcomed with a smile and genuine kindness that is reminiscent of your own mother's kitchen.
Food Editor
When you look at Mary Lynn Thompson and Jane Ondocin, you see two women who have such great love for their families that it overflows to everyone they meet. From the moment they open their door you can see they take great joy in feeding not just their families, but anyone who enters their home. You are welcomed with a smile and genuine kindness that is reminiscent of your own mother's kitchen.
What is not so obvious is how they embody five generations of classic home-cooking. From 1905 when Mary Lynn Thompson's mother was born, to 2011 as Jane Ondocin teaches her children to make the family classics, together they represent more than 100 years of recipes, kitchen advice and stories from around the table.
Ms. Thompson was born on a farm in Kosse in 1932. The oldest of three girls, everything on their table was fresh from the farm.
"I can remember like it was yesterday the first nice Sunday of spring was when Mother would make the first fried chicken," Ms. Thompson said. "It was the biggest treat when we had English peas and fried chicken."
They lived almost entirely off the land. They raised chickens, pigs and dairy cows and grew fruits and vegetables. Her mother thought it was a crime if you lived on a farm and did not own a cow. Fresh milk, cream, clabber and butter were always available -- and her mother was very proud of her butter.
"She would work that butter until every bit of moisture was gone," Ms. Thompson said. "It's so much fun to think about growing up that way. I wish kids these days could experience that."
Their lives changed during World War II when they moved to Houston. Her father worked in the shipyards and they lived in a one-room downtown apartment. They no longer had the fresh food from the farm and instead had to begin shopping in the grocery store. Times were hard but there was always food on the table.
"We were as poor as church mice, but I never cared because I knew how much my parents loved me and nothing else mattered," Ms. Thompson said.
She went on to raise her own family with the same copious amounts of homegrown love and fellowship around the table. She and her husband, Tommy, raised their two daughters, Shelly and Callie, in El Paso and Denver. They always ate at home and usually with food grown from the garden, or what daughter Callie would call the "catch of the day."
"Dad was always hunting or fishing," Callie said. "Rainbow trout, pheasant, grouse and quail were frequently on the table."
Because of the garden and Mr. Thompson's love for fishing and hunting, the family had extra money from fewer trips to the grocery store.
"Whatever money was saved from not shopping at the market, I would donate to the missions program at church," Ms. Thompson said.
In 1964 Ms. Thompson had saved enough green stamps to buy the "Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook." Even today it is the first cookbook she references when trying something new.
"The girls would come home from school and see that cookbook out and say, 'Oh no, she is trying something new,'" Ms. Thompson said.
"But it was always good," Callie said. "Then we would want her to make it again."
The family favorite, which came from the Betty Crocker book, is coconut cake. The recipe has evolved over the years but she has been making that cake for almost 50 years and just made another last weekend for Easter.
"Although this time I had to make it gluten-free," Ms. Thompson said.
Ms. Thompson now has five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. In the past several years some members of the family have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Her granddaughter, Mary Ellen, who is 11, still loves her grandmother's baking even though she has to eat gluten free. "I love her pineapple upside down cake," she said.
"And I taught her how to make cornbread and she loves that, too," Ms. Thompson said.
"Mother always loves the opportunity to learn something new," Callie said. "In El Paso it was Mexican food, in Denver there was a big Italian influence, and in recent years she learned how to cook gluten-free. But we still had the Southern classics like fried chicken, chicken and dressing, pot roast and coconut cake."
Ms. Thompson's other daughter, Shelly, also has fond memories from around the family table, "The food was always delicious, nutritious, usually simple and anyone was welcome. There was plenty of food and the door was always open and we could always add another plate."
Ms. Thompson summed it up best when she said, "Feeding people is very important to me. Nurturing them not just physically, but also spiritually and emotionally. It does so much to keep a family together. It is so important to gather around the table."
MARY LYNN THOMPSON'S COCONUT CAKE
MARY LYNN THOMPSON'S COCONUT CAKE
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
1 package white cake mix
1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup chopped pecans
For the frosting:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag of sweetened coconut flakes
DIRECTIONS
For the cake, combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil and eggs; beat for 4 minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove cakes from the pans and let cool completely.
For the frosting, mix sugar, corn starch and water in the top of a double boiler. Stir together and then add egg whites. Place over boiling water and beat with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla. Frost the tops of two of the cake layers. Add coconut on top of the frosting. Stack the layers using the unfrosted layer as the top layer. Frost the sides and then the top. After frosting the entire cake, gently press coconut flakes into the sides of the cake and then sprinkle over the top.
For the cake:
1 package white cake mix
1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1 cup chopped pecans
For the frosting:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag of sweetened coconut flakes
DIRECTIONS
For the cake, combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil and eggs; beat for 4 minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove cakes from the pans and let cool completely.
For the frosting, mix sugar, corn starch and water in the top of a double boiler. Stir together and then add egg whites. Place over boiling water and beat with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla. Frost the tops of two of the cake layers. Add coconut on top of the frosting. Stack the layers using the unfrosted layer as the top layer. Frost the sides and then the top. After frosting the entire cake, gently press coconut flakes into the sides of the cake and then sprinkle over the top.
