Amanda Miller
Columnist
Lettuce Eat Local
O my. The letter “O” doesn’t weigh more than any of the other letters of the alphabet, but writing about it this week is definitely heavier than normal.
That’s because it corresponds with the death and burial of my precious one-hundred-year-old grandma. Often the transpirings of my life take precedence over culinary topics even though this is technically a food column, but Grandma Weber lived out much of her remarkable generosity from the space of her kitchen, so she fits right in here.
Remembering Grandma on “O” week seemed quite timely as I was full of ideas right away. She played such an indelible role in my life that I might feel that about every letter, but oh well. Even just talking about letters is such a Grandma thing, since she was an avid Scrabble player for decades — so much so that she played a game of it every day for years. It’s my favorite game, too, perhaps not by coincidence.
O tiles are only worth one point each in Scrabble, but lots of points in this context. I was chatting with cousins about my article trajectory after the visitation, and they were immediately coming up with ideas too.
Oatmeal was one of the first suggestions. Now, my family loves oatmeal; Benson has been a fan of it all his life, and I do use it in some less-common ways, but Grandma might have us beat both in longevity and creativity. Apparently she enjoyed a breakfast concoction consisting of sauteed onions and celery, an egg, and toasted bread cubes atop a bowl of cooked oats, garnished with a dollop of her signature mustard dip — I’m sure that could be on a fancy tasting menu somewhere, but not in my kitchen.
I also have a handwritten copy of one of her recipes which comprises oats, brown sugar…and sausage and sauerkraut. My mom’s note on it, “Better than you think :),” echoes my sentiments, which I admit may not be saying much.
Onions were also pulled up instantly from my treasure trove of memories, this time an example of her avidity in trying home remedies. I’ll never forget how we kids were staying at our grandparents’ house one time, and my older brother had a little cough. Grandma made him eat a raw onion and sit on the couch all day, while my younger brother and I had a high time running around outside and cackling at his misfortune. I’m guessing my son would stop faking a cough around his grandma if she had a pocketful of onions instead of cough drops.
Okra has to be mentioned since she lived in the deep South for 65 years. My dad, the youngest of their seven children, said he couldn’t remember much of what she actually cooked as it was more for quantity than quality, but her cornmeal-fried okra was crisp and good (“Put ketchup on and anything is good.”). I heard recently that “okra water” is getting popular for people who like extra healthy (and slimy) beverages, and I have to wonder if Grandma didn’t try that at some point — she used to take a spoonful of minced garlic plus strawberry yogurt at bedtime because she read somewhere it was healthy.
It’d be easier to question her judgment on some of these things if she hadn’t lived to be 100.
The really amazing part isn’t her living that long, it’s the way she lived those many years full of integrity: strength and gentleness, faithfulness and generosity. Her guestbooks show proof of how she was always hosting, how she fed thousands of people throughout her century. Grandma’s food nourished souls as well as bodies, because she gave it so generously.
This will be published the week of Thanksgiving, which again feels extremely timely. If I can be even a little bit like her, I’ll be doing well…although I might skip the raw onion bit. See you later, Grandma.
Grandma’s Sauerkraut Casserole
Grandma’s food was not gourmet, but she was a good cook, and she excelled at hospitality. As stories were shared about her, it only became more and more evident how generously open-handed she was in the home she made for her family and everyone they (often unexpectedly) brought to the table — even though she did all this in an era of huge gardens and slow food instead of UberEats and fast food. This unusual dish is incredibly simple to prepare, with easy to use ingredients, and can be economically stretched to feed surprise guests. It’s different…but honestly, as mentioned, it is better than your think! I’m very curious if anyone else has seen a recipe like this, so please email and let me know if you have!
Prep tips: I’m sure Grandma used home-canned sauerkraut, but any will do as long as there is plenty of juice — I’m going to be honest, I haven’t made this for a while, and don’t feel the need to at this moment, so I don’t remember if I added water or not; use your own judgment. If I made it again, I would add black and red pepper, and some fresh herbs, maybe some melty cheese.
1 pound [2 cups] sauerkraut
1 pound polish sausage
1 ¾ cups oatmeal (rolled oats)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Mix well and bake 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees°.
