Peeling Potatoes

Today brought back some special memories of a fine man - Jabo Barfield.  Jabo was my father in law and made such an impact on my life in so many ways both large and small.  My son was blessed to have learned many skills from him such as crappie fishing, cleaning quail and making a roux for gumbo.

During my first marriage it was a regular event that we would go out to the Grannie and Jabo's house for a lunch on Sunday afternoon followed by Cowboy football and often a fame of 42.  Church let out at noon and everyone would change clothes and head to the Barfield's.  In the summer we ate a lot of fried fish and french fries and the the winter was filled with fried quail or deer steak and cream potatoes.  Lunch was never served before 3:00 p.m. because there was no such thing as rushing potatoes, gravy or biscuits which were always made from scratch and never from a can, box or mix.

My job was to wash and peel potatoes.  I am not sure how I got that job, but somehow for years my job was to always peel potatoes.  I will never forget the first time I began peeling potatoes, Jabo leaned over from the stove and said the peeling is not that thick, you are wasting a lot of good potato there.  He came over and showed me how to peel them quick and fast with just a few strokes and leave as much potato as possible.  Grannie also taught how to figure potatoes when doing french fries or mashed potatoes - one for everyone and one for the pot.  It worked out every time and there were rarely any leftovers.

Tonight I am cooking deer steak at the request of my sweet hubby, Ray.  As I peeled my potatoes this afternoon, I had some precious memories of a great man who taught me such a simple but wonderful skill as peeling potatoes for a family meal.  I miss him and h is wit, wisdom and love for family!