"Why is it all grandmothers know how to cook well?" Neda Hill’s grandson once asked her.

But Neda is one grandmother whose story might be a little different from most.

"My mother died when I was only six, and I was adopted by friends of the family who never knew my birth mother. My adoptive parents had both been school teachers, and my father thought he could retire and get rich as a cotton farmer. Cotton farmers were generally rather well-heeled at the time, so he bought a farm on the Mississippi Delta, and I lived on that farm through my 9th grade year. After that, I lived year-round at boarding school until I finished Blue Mountain College," recounted Neda.

And the same month she graduated, Neda married her husband Carl.

"He was a student at Mississippi State, which was mainly a male campus at that time. The Mississippi State boys called Blue Mountain ‘Angel Hill,’ and I met Carl when our Baptist Student Unions would have joint functions. Carl had a girlfriend at MSCW, but when the Tombigbee River would flood, he couldn’t get there and he’d come to Angel Hill," said Neda of her husband of 60 years.

"So, I’ve always fought flood control. Otherwise, us Blue Mountain girls wouldn’t stand a chance," she joked.

Carl was raised on a truck farm in Mississippi, but Neda said their backgrounds were quite different.

"Drying dishes and dusting house were about the extent of my labors as a girl, but Carl came from a working farm, and his mother was not well a good deal of the time. As the oldest of four children, he helped her anyway he could, which included learning to cook," Neda explained.

"He told me if I’d marry him, he’d teach me to cook. When we married, I could make Pea and Cheese Salad, Fried Chicken and Lemon Ice Box Pie. Since then I’ve made a hobby of collecting recipes, and I have learned from failure along the way," Neda said, admitting there were some kitchen missteps early on.

But Neda is a lady of fortitude, and she worked through her early uncertainties to become an accomplished cook.

"Carl and I are as well-fed as any retired couple. We go out to eat on Sundays, but I cook all our meals otherwise. I cook enough to freeze, and I add to leftovers, and we always have dessert even though it may not be something I’d wish to serve guests," she said.

And one of Neda’s greatest joys has been cooking for her grandson Ethan.

"When he comes over, he says hello then raids the refrigerator. He loves my green beans and doesn’t care if I have anything else at all if there are green beans for him," she said.

And from her large recipe collection, Neda several years ago compiled a two-volume recipe book as a Christmas gift for Ethan.

"Since then, I’ve added to my own collection, so that will have to be volume three, I guess," she added.

"If I cook something, I want it to be enjoyed, not just eaten," Neda said, and the recipes she shares with the Co-op Pantry are no exception. Along with dishes like Pecan-Crusted Chicken and Walnut Grove Salad, Neda reached back to the beginning of her recipe collection for Pea and Cheese Salad.

"When I was in college, this dish from Indiana was a late-night snack. The reason for inexact measurements is our lack of measuring utensils in the dorm. We simply poured and mixed. It is one of my husband’s favorites, perhaps because it is one of the few foods I knew how to prepare when we married," Neda said.

Kellie Henderson is a freelance writer from Troy.

Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add roast when oil is hot, browning meat on both sides.

Combine sugar, ginger, cloves, allspice, salt, pepper, onion, 1 cup water and vinegar. Mix well. Add bay leaf. Pour over roast. Cover. Simmer for 1½ -2 hours or until tender. Remove to platter. Mix flour and remaining ½ cup water until smooth. Add to pan drippings, stirring until thick. Pour over roast. Serves 10-12.

Combine first five ingredients, stirring well. Set aside.

Combine crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

With mallet, flatten breasts to ¼-inch thickness. Sprinkle with red pepper, if desired. Place spinach mix at wider edge of breasts, roll to other edge; secure with toothpick. Carefully roll breast in prepared crumbs. Place in lightly oiled 12 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350o for 35 to 40 minutes. Serves 6.

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Combine honey, Dijon mustard and garlic powder.  Dredge chicken in mixture, covering both sides. Roll dredged breasts in crushed cornflakes tossed with pecans. Place chicken in slightly oiled 1-quart casserole dish. Spray chicken with oil. Bake at 400o for 40 minutes. Serves 4.

Place chicken in greased 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread sauerkraut evenly over chicken. Top with cheese slices. Pour Thousand Island dressing evenly over all. Cover dish with foil. Bake at 375o for 45 minutes or until chicken is tender and cheese is melted. Serves 8.

Waldorf Slaw

Combine first four ingredients in mixing bowl. Pour dressing over all. Mix well. Refrigerate. Serves 8.

Walnut Grove Salad

1 small head cabbage (red, green or combination of the two)
1 carrot, grated
1 cup toasted walnuts (or pecans), chopped
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, shredded or finely chopped
6 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons dry mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine cabbage, carrot, nuts, avocado and onions. Mix oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over salad and toss carefully to avoid bruising avocado. Refrigerate. Serves 8.

Gently mix all ingredients and serve as a salad or a side dish. Refrigerate until serving time.

In mixing bowl combine first seven ingredients. Mix in nuts. Pour mixture into buttered 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 325o. Top with whipped cream, whipped topping or ice cream as desired.

Mix gingersnaps, ¼ cup sugar and butter; press in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch buttered pie plate to form crust. Bake 10-12 minutes in preheated 375o oven.

Cook egg yolks, milk, remaining sugar and cornstarch on medium heat until spoon is thickly coated. Stir in dissolved gelatin, mixing well.

Remove 1/3 of cooked custard and mix with melted chocolate; add vanilla extract. Spread mixture into prepared pie shell. Cool remaining mixture.

Whip egg whites to standing peaks; flavor with rum and nutmeg. Fold into remaining cooled custard. Pour over cooled chocolate layer. Cover. Refrigerate to chill. Top with whipped cream and grated chocolate. Refrigerate until serving time. (One pie equals 6-8 servings.)

Cherry/Berry Dessert

Base:
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
20 saltine crackers, coarsely crushed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2/3 cup pecans or walnuts

Beat egg whites until stiff, gradually adding sugar. Fold in crackers and vanilla. Add baking powder, vinegar and nuts. Mix gently. Spread into buttered 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish. Bake at 325^o for 25 minutes or until light brown.

Topping:
1 medium carton whipped topping
1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 can cherry or blueberry pie filling

Beat whipped topping, cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until light and well combined. Spread over crust. Dribble pie filling over the top. Refrigerate several hours before serving. Cut like sheet cake to serve. Serves 12.

Curried Fruit

1 (29 oz) can pears, drained
1 (29 oz) can peach halves, drained
2 (16 oz) cans apricots, drained
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 (20 oz) can sliced pineapple, drained
1 (4 oz) jar maraschino cherries, drained
3½ ounces toasted almonds, sliced or slivered
1½ cups light-brown sugar, firmly-packed
2 to 3 Tablespoons curry powder, depending on desired spicy-hotness
½ cup butter, melted (no substitutes)

Place fruit in a buttered 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish alternating layers of fruit, but place sliced pineapple as top layer with cherry in center of each slice.

Combine brown sugar, curry and butter. Sprinkle over top of fruit. Bake at 325^o for 1 hour.

Note: Any of the fruits may be deleted and replaced with an equivalent amount of any other. It is also possible to cut the fat content slightly by substituting ¼ cup pineapple juice for ¼ cup butter. The dish may be made in advance and reheated without changing flavor. Serves 12-14.