The Berry Queens produced a cookbook as a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanities in New Iberia. It must have done very well. Apparently only 15 books remain. If you were not lucky enough to get one, contact Leah at the Habitat office and she can help you out as long as supplies last. 

Sharing favorite dishes works anytime

Today is the annual Tasting Luncheon hosted by the Women’s Ministry at First United Methodist Church. If you’ve been there before, chances are you have bought your $10 ticket for the feast that will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 119 Jefferson St. If you are a late reader and missed the early notices, you missed some good cooking.

Writing this the day before is not a testimony of the great dishes being served, but experience has proved the bragging to be true. The volunteers from the ministry and friends prepare home cooked dishes year after year by pulling out their favorite family recipes — proven crowd pleasers. This keeps supporters from around the community coming back year after year.

If you are a morning reader, there is still time to get in on the fundraiser that will provide the women’s ministry opportunities to do good in the community.

Remembering the dishes from last year, and the year before, it’s hard to decide which is better — go early and get the pick of the first dishes out, or lag behind toward the end when the good stuff is still coming out. I’ve done both. If you like leftovers, they’ll send you home with some, too.

Long-standing Traditions

Eating potluck dinners at church has a long-standing tradition far beyond the FUMC Tasting Luncheon. Stories from my parents of their childhood include “picnics on the grounds.”

My dad was raised in a community barely standing today except for the more than 150-year-old white wooden church that sits on the banks of a little creek in the rural most part of rural Mississippi.

The first time dad took me there was for the 150th anniversary of the church. James Abner Branton died in 1990, so that tells you it was a long time ago, probably in the late 1970s or early 80s.

The food was not a part of that day, folks just gathered after church and told stories of the days children would swim in the creek while the parents sat under the trees enjoying the picnic foods prepared by homemakers and telling stories of yesteryear.

Mother’s church did the same thing. The one in north Louisiana where her mother is buried looks a lot like the one in Mississippi. Plans were too expensive back then and denominations adopted a building design that went across the country.

The church where they were married, in Jena, Louisiana, sat up on a hill and still prepares potluck dinners for special events at the church — very often as a courtesy to families coming into town for funerals. Without many restaurants in town to choose from, especially for large families gathering for services, the private dining experience and delicious home cooked meals is a perfect offering for the bereaved.

FUMC and other ministries in the Teche Area still carry on a similar tradition. At times the church may be the location for the meal or depending on the need, committees might prepare dishes to drop off at homes of the family member who has passed. Some are even frozen so when the crowds thin after funerals, there’s still something to eat without the ordeal of cooking. These contributions are huge blessings.

Perhaps that’s what makes the Tasting Luncheon so much fun — it is a joyous happy occasion with home cooked foods, not sad. As several women I know who will be attending today said, “it’s an annual occasion to see old friends” — even those you’ve already seen during the week. It’s just a great way to socialize.

More Than Just Food

The food is a fantastic reason to go and to raise money for an organization. Another way often employed by a church, organization or historic foundation is to share the history and recipes of family members or supporters of an organization.

While judging the Berry Queen’s Her Royal Hi-ness event before the ball earlier this fall, the subject of Berry Crock-A came up and the fact the Berry Queens produced a cookbook. Naturally it was a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanities in New Iberia. It must have done very well. Apparently only 15 books remain.

If you were not lucky enough to get one, contact Leah at the Habitat office and she can help you out as long as supplies last. After reviewing it for recipes today, a second printing may be in order. Besides the queens, recipes from prominent residents also are included.

Often humorously named recipes, the book includes pictures and history of the Berry Queen movement now in its 10th year. The proceeds from the sale of the cookbook are just one of the ways they’ve raised money for the housing cause.

Cookbooks with background stories are what Jerre Borland said make a cookbook interesting to her. Many antidotes are contained in the pages of the book. However — just reading some of the names of the recipes, not to mention the Queenly personas of the submitters, make for entertaining reading. One featured recipes contained the disclaimer it needed with the eye-catching title, “Velveeta Cheese Fudge.” Really?

It might take a while to digest all of the interesting recipes in the Berry Queen Cookbook.

Oh, and by the way, they annually have a taster’s event of their own. At the spring meet and greet, members bring desserts to compete for the title of Berry Crock-A, an award presented during the fall just before the ball. This year’s winners were Stacy Romero and Gerayne Leon.

The collection also represents the many ways the women support one another in times of personal need with families, in health crisis and happy times where food can bring them together.

Congratulations to the ladies — church ladies or building bombshells — and thanks for all you do.