CHOCOLATE WHAT?!?!?

GRAVY, of course

This calorie free read is a road trip through a classic Southern comfort food that many folks outside of the Ozarks and Appalachia have never experienced.

So..... where did Chocolate Gravy come from? The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America theorizes that Chocolate Gravy might have been an offshoot of a trading network between Spanish Louisiana and the settlers in the Tennessee Valley, bringing a Mexican style breakfast chocolate to the Appalachians.

The origins are hard to pin down because the practice of making this existed long before there was written documentation.

Another prevailing thought is that when Hershey’s cocoa first appeared on the shelves of country stores, in the 1890s, cooks devised ways to make treats, not just desserts from the precious powder in the brown can.

For decades breakfast biscuits had always been soaked in Sorghum when sugar was scarce. When the sugar tins were full, mountain folk dunked their biscuits into the morning coffee and sprinkled them with sugar to create “soakins”.

Perhaps Chocolate Gravy is well remembered because for a lot of people it was one of the few treats folk of these regions could look forward to in those hardscrabble decades. The rich smell of the decadent chocolate warming in the skillet.....equivalent to a warm hug from grandma.

Tradition prevails that the biscuits need to be crumbled so that the gravy really saturates. Though in diners today the gravy is ladled atop hot from the oven biscuits (preferably buttermilk biscuits).

The third scenario regarding the origin of Chocolate Gravy involves the resourceful wives making the most from shelf stable kitchen staples and farm fresh milk. The basic combination of cocoa, flour, milk, sugar and in some kitchens lard is no mere consolation prize. Locals gave it the nickname “soppin chocolate” for being the kind of thing worth scooping off a plate with a buttermilk biscuit.

Whatever the history, it is hard to eat in any diner in the Ozarks on weekends without seeing Chocolate Gravy on the chalkboard. It’s worth a try.

The custom has the gravy as a biscuit topping but today it goes so much further: pancakes, waffles, ice cream, pound cake, fruit dip. Endless ways to use this finger licking treat.

The recipe is extremely basic and below are three which give excellent results.

1. 3⁄4 cup white sugar

1⁄4 cup cocoa

3 T. all purpose flour

2 cups milk

1 T. softened butter

2. 1 cup white sugar

1⁄4 cup cocoa

2 cups milk

3 T. salted butter

3. 3⁄4 cup cocoa

3 T. all purpose flour

3⁄4 cup sugar

1⁄4 t salt

2 cups milk

1 T. softened butter

2 t. vanilla extract

If you are a modern cook who does not make homemade biscuits, ones in a tube that you rap on the edge of the counter work just as well.

AND BISCUITS!!!!!!

The construction is basically the same. Mix the dry ingredients and stir into the milk in a saucepan on medium. Stir. Stir, Stir. It takes about 10 minutes and the result is a scrumptious spoon licking treat that is thicker than Herseys syrup and thinner than chocolate pudding. It can successfully be refrigerated on the off chance that there is some left over.

Personally, I always put a rounded 1⁄8 t. of cornstarch per batch to give it a little more body.

Ozark Pantry, my company, makes hundreds of packets of this humble concoction as a mix in our Certified Kitchen in Mountain View. It is delivered to State Parks and gift shops throughout Arkansas and homes from coast to coast.

Follow Ozark Pantry on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OzarkPantry/ You will find Ozark Pantry delectables at the Arkansas Craft Gallery and the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View along with the Little Hill Shop at Skylark in Leslie.

Another tip is to not hesitate experimenting with the different types of cocoa powder out there. There is life after the iconic brown can. Hersey’s makes a deep rich almost heady gravy. But there are those of you who do not like dark chocolate. Consider Dutch Processed Cocoa which results in a more milk chocolate gravy.

As the old advertisement says: “Try it. You’ll like it”

Regards, Marie & Bruce

Pollinators Are Around Us

By now most of the human race knows the importance of pollinators and have some understanding of encouraging their existence.

Pollinators not only include bees and butterflies but also include birds, moths and flies. It is amazing how they survive the hot temps of August. That is why the importance of having native plants in your landscape as well as some water source available during this time.

A saucer of water with a few pebbles or a rock for a perch is a simple addition to the pollinator garden. Choose native plants and trees. They will require less maintenance once established and adapt well to the local climate. Plan to have blooms from spring until winter. Migrating Monarchs need those fall blooms of nectar for their flight to the mountains in Mexico. The New England Aster is a good fall flower for monarchs.

Some summer natives for pollinators include:

Garden Phlox

Button Bush

Boneset

Mountain Mint

Azure Blue Sage

Rattlesnake Master

Ironweed, Black eyed Susan’s Lead plants

Many varieties of Liatris. The showy yellow blooms of the Shrubby Saint John’s Wort will be buzzing with Bumble Bees.

Fall and spring are the most suitable times for planting to ensure sustainability but where there is a will there is a way. A good method of planting during the summer is to fill up the hole that has been dug 3 times with water before planting to assure sufficient moisture.

It is important to buy native pants from a reliable source. You can still add some hybrids in your garden for a good punch but natives are superior.

• Compton Gardens in Bentonville offers a native plant sale usually the end of March. You can find the Gardens on Facebook.

• Another good source is Pine Ridge Gardens In London, Arkansas. www.pineridgegardens.com.

• Several native plants can be bought at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View.

Get inspired and start researching the many internet sites available to find complete lists of Arkansas Native Plants. Those butterflies, bees, birds and moths will thank you with many visits to your garden. Arkansas Game and Fish has published an excellent brochure, Native Gardening for Arkansas Pollinators, from which some of this information was obtained for a cross reference.

Note from Joy…When I first met one of these fellows in my garden a few years ago I thought it was a child’s toy until it wiggled….spent the rest of the day trying to identify him. Then back to the leaf I met him on!

Plant a Spice Bush this fall and have this interesting caterpillar for a visitor in Spring! Spice Bush Swallowtail.

NOT YOUR GRANDMA’S CORNBREAD

1 pkg JIFFY Corn Muffin Mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

OPTION #1

1.Spray 8x8 pan. Preheat oven to 375.°

2.In large bowl, beat eggs; add sour cream, melted butter. Add box of mix and mix completely.

3.Spread mixture in pan in even layer

4.Bake for 17-20 minutes until golden brown and baked through.

OPTION #2

1.Place butter in 8” cast iron skillet in cold oven set at 400°.

2.In large bowl, beat eggs; add sour cream, then box of mix..

3.Remove skillet from oven. Pour most of the melted butter into the batter. (leave about 2 Tbs. in skillet and swirl around to coat sides of skillet.

4.Bake for 17-20 minutes until golden brown, with browning on edges and baked through. (opt #2 is Joy’s favorite…could eat the whole pan)

Brayden is going to make some girl very happy!

On weekends, when he comes to visit from college, Carole is teaching him how to really cook. This recipe has muffin mix in it but usually he’s making everything from scratch…and seems to really enjoy it…..

Bruce’s Spinach Salad 4 - 6 servings

1 pound fresh spinach, trimmed of tough stems, washed and dried

6 mushrooms sliced

1 cup sliced water chestnuts

6 slices of bacon, cooked crisp, drained and crumbled

3/4 c fresh bean sprouts (hard to find)

1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion.

Prepare salad ingredients a day ahead. Package separately bags and refrigerate. (Wrap spinach in paper towels before placing into the bag.)

Chutney Dressing

1/4 cup wine vinegar

2 - 3 t. Major Grey's Chutney

1 clove garlic crushed

2 T. coarse ground mustard

2 t. sugar

1/3 to 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper.

Put the above dressing ingredients into a blender or food processor then slowly drizzle the oil into the machine. Add salt & pepper to taste. Divine!! Bruce can make a meal out of this salad..

I heard from a little birdie that Cave City watermelons are up on Service Road across from Pizza Inn in Mountain View…. I’ll be getting one for sure!

The old fashioned garden phlox in Judy Bishops yard is a flutter of wings now in August.

- Impressions in Blue by Terri below -

Wouldn’t these be great spots for your advertisements?