look like dey have a knack of gettin along better wid
what dey have den. Didn' have no stoves to cook on in dem days. Cook in
clay oven en on de fireplace. Make up fire en when it die down, dey put
tatoes (potatoes) in de oven en let em stay dere all night. My God, won'
nothin no better den dem oven tatoes was. Some of de time, dey have wire
in de chimney wid de pots hanging on dat. Folks used to make up a cake
of corn bread en pat it on de hearth en when de fire burn right low, dey
cover de cake all up in pile of ashes. When it get done, it be brown
through de ashes en dey take it out en wash en rub all de ashes off it.
Den it was ready to eat. Dat what dey call ash cake. Just seem like what
de peoples used to cook be sweeter eatin den what dey cooks dis day en
time."

"Oh, I beat rice many a day. Yes'um, beat rice many a day for my
grandmother en my mamma too. Had a mortar en a pestle dat beat rice
wid. Dey take big tree en saw log off en set it up just like a tub. Den
dey hollow it out in de middle en take pestle dat have block on both it
end en beat rice in dat mortar. Beat it long time en take it out en fan
it en den put it back. De last time it put back, tear off some shucks en
put in dere to get de red part of de rice out en make it white. Ain'
nobody never been born can tell you more bout dem pestles en mortars den
William Henry Davis know."

"Yes'um, used to go to corn shuckings en rye thrashings en pea
thrashings plenty times. Oh, dey sing en have music en have big pot
cookin out in de yard wid plenty rice en fresh meat for everybody. Dere
be so many people some of de time, dey had to have two or three pots.
Den dey have dem log rollings to clean up de land en when dey would get
to rollin dem heavy logs, dey give de men a little drink of whiskey to
revive em, but dey gage how much dey give em. O Lord, we had tough time
den. After dey get through wid all de work, dey would eat supper den.
Give us rice en corn bread en fresh meat en coffee en sweet tatoe pone.
My Lord, dat sweet tatoe pone was de thing in dem days. Missie, you ain'
never eat no pone bread? Dey take piece of tin en drive nails through it
en grate de raw tatoes on dat. Den dey take a little flour en hot water
en molasses en mix up in dem raw tatoes en bake it in de oven on de
fireplace. Have lid to oven en put fire under de bottom of it en on de
top to get it right done. Some of de time, dey put a little ginger in it
fore it was baked. Cut it in