Barbara McClellan

We are going to talk about a kind of food that no one wants to discuss, and yet we all have cooked it, eaten it, or will sometime in the future. How long has it been since you have cooked or eaten “funeral food?”

Please understand from the outset that I am not making light of sorrowful times when we lose our loved ones. As the youngest child of older parents, I was very young when I had to face the shock and reality of the death of those close to me. I also remember the love and caring of the many friends, family, and neighbors who came to bring comfort by the only way they knew — to keep food coming to us constantly.

As one who has lived her entire life in the South, I only know the customs of our area when someone dies leaving people who, while grieving, also are planning the menu for family and friends.

I have been active in various churches (in cities around Texas), and have found that each church has customs and committees to handle this sad obligation. Unfortunately, as people age, the committees have to plan for their fellow benevolence team members. It’s wise to bring in younger, new volunteers to learn the “system.”

It appears there have been more deaths this summer than usual among my circles of friends and family. Most people welcome the food and fellowship provided by their friends at this tragic time. Each loss is grievous, but when a younger person dies unexpectedly the family needs not just food, but sometimes advice on how to handle so many things that are necessary to the celebration of a life.

We have recently lost a member of our extended family that was a complete shock. Gary Cox, my daughter-in-law Donna Richardson’s brother, was well one minute and gone the next.

Gary had moved to our area from Oregon to be near family and to help his mother and father. At the gathering after the memorial service, which was one of the most beautiful and fitting I have ever attended, a wonderful meal was served.

I only came back from this gathering with one recipe, but there are two versions of it. It was prepared by Roxanne Berridge, a member of the First Christian Church of Bossier City, Louisiana, where Gary, his mother and father were the backbones of the church.

Peach or Apple Cobbler

This is the version Roxanne served and that I have made. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1 stick butter

1 cup self-rising flour (see note)

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 can apple or peach pie filling

Melt butter in 10-inch iron skillet

Mix flour, sugar, and milk. Pour into skillet with butter, do not stir. Top with canned pie filling. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

To make self-rising flour from all-purpose flour:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients and use instead of self-rising flour.

Roxanne says that for a larger amount (to serve more people), double the ingredients (of the batter) using a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. She makes her own filling for this amount by using three large Granny Smith apples, peeled, and sliced. Mix with:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons melted butter

Mix all ingredients for filling and cook over low heat until apples are slightly tender. Pour over batter, and bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 55 minutes.