Mapleheightspress.com - The Way It Was: Recalling various gravy recipes

by John Straka
My March 13 column featured a letter from a reader named Bernice who asked if I had a recipe for dill gravy. I do! Actually I have three recipes.

Gayle Holman sent a letter that included two recipes from the 1950s Holy Family P.T.U. Bohemian/American cookbook. The first one calls for 1 quart buttermilk, 2 teaspoons salt, a bunch of fresh dill chopped, 6 to 8 eggs, 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons vinegar and 1 cup milk. Bring the buttermilk to a boil. Mix salt and flour with the milk and add to the buttermilk to thicken. Beat with egg beater until smooth. Add the dill. Poach the eggs in the gravy. Do not stir -- just simmer until the eggs are set. Serve over plain boiled potatoes.

The second recipe is called Economical Dill Gravy and calls for 2 quarts water, 2 or more potatoes, 6 or more eggs, half a teaspoon of salt and a bunch of fresh dill and a half pint sour cream. Clean the dill, remove tough stems, chop and set aside. Clean, peel and cube potatoes. Add to the water and boil until cooked. Add salt and dill. When five minutes has passed, break the eggs and drop into boiling mixture. Cook over low fire until eggs are cooked. Add sour cream remove from heat and serve hot. If you like it thicker, blend 2 tablespoons flour in 1/4 cup water and add to the gravy before removing it from the fire.

The third recipe is mine and I don't remember where I got it from. Peel and slice three hard boiled eggs. Mash two or more potatoes with milk and butter, and a fried chopped onion. Keep the potatoes warm in the oven. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add 1.5 tablespoons flour and stir until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, slowly add 2 cups hot mil and boil over very low heat until it thickens. When ready to serve, add 2 tablespoons (or more) vinegar and serve over the mashed potatoes.

All the ingredients in the three recipes seem to be quite adaptable in quantities. You can use more or less to suit your taste. The third recipe (mine) does not call for dill, but I think my mom made it that way when fresh dill was in season. I like more vinegar, lots of black pepper and more flour to thicken the gravy. I guess you could add a hint of garlic to the mashed potatoes, too.

Gayle also responded to another part of that same column. I wrote about how I have not seen a $2 bill in circulation for many, many years now and wondered if the U.S. still prints them.

Gayle says "The government is still printing $2 bills. I get them at my bank, even have them order new bills which I enclose in childrens' birthday cards. I'm enclosing one for your pleasure and curiosity."

Well! Thank you! What a nice surprise. The bill is crisp and clean and dated "series 2003." It was issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Minnesota and bears the portrait of Thomas Jefferson. I have a couple of old $2 bills around somewhere that are showing their age. I wonder what the younger clerks in our modern day stores say when a customer presents a $2 bill or a silver dollar. Does it mater to them if the money is brand new or old and worn?

At the end of last week's column I wrote about how roads came to be numbered so automobile drivers could find their way from place to place. Imagine what it must have been like before autos, when the only way people could get anyplace was to walk. Only wealthy people could afford horses or other animals for transportation and even then, a horse doesn't move very fast when compared to a car.

A hundred years ago a driver needed to ask for directions or consult a map and neither of those options were very reliable. As cars and roads improved, the need for accurate up to date maps grew. Oil companies expanded, service stations were built on nearly every street corner, and one of the many services provided by a "service station" was to assist motorists in getting to where they wanted to go. That meant a knowledge of local roadways and maps.

When a motorist stopped for gas, the attendant filled the gas tank, checked the oil adding a quart if needed, added water to the radiator and battery, checked the air pressure in the tires, looked under the hood for oil leaks or loose belts and worn hoses, and washed all the windows. Meanwhile the driver checked out a rack full of FREE maps and consulted station employees about the best way out of town and toward his destination.

Now it's all self serve. All automatic. Batteries are sealed. Credit cards replace cash. Before long, radiators will be sealed, too. The only window to get washed is the windshield and that is done by the touch of a button. In-car GPS navigation systems will soon make paper maps obsolete and work is already being done on cars that will not need a driver. Really!