Oakie's Heartland Clippings

Vol. 75, No. 37, Thursday, August 19, 1999

Ancient Family Traditions
(Generations of Sweet Memories)

With the rising of the sun, the rooster would crow, and Grandma would be in the kitchen making me chocolate gravy and eggs and biscuits. A better breakfast can not be found." "Summer Vacations, " by Ron Farrow.

I have a friend up north (Canada) that I borrowed this quote from, "Some memories may be made with time, but never the memories of the heart and soul."

Some of these sweet memories of the heart and soul are the special family recipes of love passed from generation to generation. I love the stories and memories that go along with those recipes. Many more so than the recipes themselves. BUT...I like them all!

Last week the mention of "Chocolate Gravy" sparked my curiosity. Although, I've never experienced "Chocolate Gravy," it sounds delicious.

After some searching for the origin of this special, family recipe, I've found out that this treat seems to have been served on the weekends - on special occasions - a lot of fathers made it for their children on Sunday - and some ate it over rice, mashed potatoes or biscuits.

A lady in her mid-fifties who grew up in Illinois remembers her mother making chocolate gravy as a treat for the weekends, when friends would be over. She would surprise them with this sweet breakfast treat. Her parents were born and raised in Arkansas and this would place chocolate gravy in that area around the early 1900's.

Here's a recipe for Chocolate Gravy: 1 cup white sugar; 2 1/3 tablespoons cocoa; 3 tablespoons flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 3 1/2 cups whole milk; 1/2 stick margarine. Mix all dry ingredients well and gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Melt margarine in an iron skillet. Ad mixture and cook until the consistency of regular gravy. Serve over homemade biscuits. -- By Virginia Maye Courtney.

I heard on the news that chocolate, it turns out, may be good for your health and fighting off heart attacks because of some ingredient in it. That should be good news to all those choclate addicts out there. Including me in them!

Chocolate was first manufactured in the United States at Milton Lower Mills, near Dorchester, Mass., in 1765. About 1876, M. D. Peter of Vevey, Switzerland, perfected a process of making milk chocolate by combining the cocoa nib, sugar, fat, and condensed milk. The United States has the world's largest chocolate manufacturing industry.

Another recipe for the gravy: The honey makes this wonderful and adding more butter makes this taste even better. Chocolate Gravy Desert--Pudding. 4 cups milk, 1 cup sugar, 9 tablespoons flour, 1/8 cup honey, 2 tablespoons cocoa, 3 tbsp. butter. Mix dry ingredients. Pour in milk and cook over med-high heat. Stir constantly, till boiling and thick. Remove from heat and add butter and honey. Pour over biscuits fresh out of the oven.

Another Chocolater Gravy Recipe: Pour 3 cups milk in a skillet. In another bowl, mix the following dry ingredients: 2 1/2 cups sugar; 1/4 cup hershey dry cocoa; 1/3 cup flour. Shake/mix these dry ingredients. Then pour them into the skillet of milk. heat and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Serve over hot biscuits and butter. --- Janice Call.

Francis Griffith's Biscuits -- 2 cups self-rising flour; 1/2 cup Crisco; 2 tablespoons baking powder; 3/4 cup buttermilk or enough to make a moist dough. pat out, cut and bake at 450 to 475 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Chocolate is a proucet in which the cocoa butter has been retained. Cacao products have a high food value because of the large proportion of fat, carbohydrats, and protein.

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