Flavor: Korea, tornadoes & blueberries

THREE RIVERS AREA — Herman and Merle Sutterfield of Fox, in Stone County, will be married 59 years come Sept. 29. That’s a mighty fine accomplishment and one that bears celebrating. Herman, who served under the red, white and blue during the Korean War, is now awash in fields of blue, as in blueberries.

When Merle was asked if she’d share her story, she remarked, “I reckon I don’t mind.”

The young lovers grew up in the same area, managing to grow up without meeting each other, although their parents were acquainted. Those were different times, Merle said, when one didn’t wander so far from home. The couple finally did meet, and they married when she was only 16 years old.

The Sutterfields, both hailing from farming families, always kept a garden, even when they lived in Little Rock for a short time. They had moved there as newlyweds for Herman’s new construction job. During those years, the capital city was booming with growth, and Herman found himself working on bank buildings and a dam - sure signs of prosperity.

“Why, Herman just grew a little garden in our little backyard when we were in the city,” Merle said. “That was right after he returned from the war.”

The United States government had drafted Herman on the exact date of the young couple’s first anniversary: Sept. 29, 1952. He was trained and shipped overseas to serve out his two years on the island of Japan.

When Herman was back home after the war, the Sutterfields tried to make a go of it in the city but returned to Fox when their only son, Stan, was in seventh grade. Maybe it was the tornado that passed right over their house that convinced them to get out of Little Rock. Once home, it didn’t take long for Herman to feel the itch to till the ground.

He didn’t try blueberries, however, until later in life, after he retired from his position as school custodian of the Rural Special School. Herman started with 2 1/2 acres but has since cut it back to half an acre. Although he will soon turn 82, he’s healthy and isn’t on any medication.

Merle’s health has suffered somewhat, said her daughterin-law, Nancy, who is a medical-records employee at Stone County Medical Center. Merle had a quadruple bypass about 13 years ago.

“She recently had another stent put in,” Nancy said.

Merle says it feels good to sell blueberries to her neighbors at the farmers market because the berries are so good for people. The health benefits of eating blueberries, thefruit with the highest antioxidant level, include the reduction of LDL (bad cholesterol) build-up and improvement in memory.

“Herman loves blueberry pancakes,” Merle said, “but he’d just as soon sprinkle a handful over his morning cereal.

In her healthier days, Merle cooked at the Rural Special School for 20 years.

“I enjoyed my work there very much,” she said. “The children’s favorite days were the ones where we served homemade chili and homemade cinnamon rolls.”

Merle said that back then, she mostly cooked around the seasons, using whatever was in the garden.

Nowadays, she leaves the cooking mostly to Nancy, an accomplished cook who prepares meals for the family. Nancy, whose husband, Stan, is a retired preacher, also utilizes the family’s blueberries to make fried pies and other treats she sells to raise funds for missions.

She said there have been a couple of tornadoes that have threatened the Sutterfield homestead over the years.

“If not for the praying, we’d all be goners,” Nancy said. “We lost more than 13 trees last time. We live in tornado alley, and they either come on one side or the other of us almost every time.” Following are a couple of Nancy Sutterfield’s recipes:

BLUEBERRY YUM-YUMS Ingredients for crust: 1 1/2 cups plain flour 1 1/2 sticks margarine 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans Directions: Mix ingredients and press in 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool.

Ingredients for filling: 8 ounces cream cheese 3/4 cup sugar (sometimes, I use Splenda, sometimes half of each) 8 ounces Cool Whip Directions: Combine by hand or beater until mixture is a smooth consistency.

Ingredients for fruit topping: 2 cups blueberries, plus more if desired Dash of cinnamon 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 1/2 cup sliced strawberries, optionalDirections: Cook ingredients until boiling.

Add 1/4 cup cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water. If too dry, add some berry juice. Pour into pot of berries, and cook and stir until thick.

Let cool.

BLUEBERRY FRIED PIES Ingredients for the crust: (Makes about 24 fried pies) 5 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups Crisco shortening 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon salt 1 large egg 1 large can evaporated milk Cold water Directions: Cut the dry ingredients and shortening until coarse and crumbly and add egg and evaporated milk. Stir together. Add cold water until the mixture forms a soft ball of dough.

Ingredients for fried pie filling: 2 cups blueberries, plus more if desired May add 1/2 cup strawberries or 1/2 cup peaches, cut into chunks Dash of cinnamon 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup water Directions: Cook berries until boiling.

Mix 1/4 cup cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. If too dry, add some berry juice. Pour into pot of berries, and cook and stir until thickened. Let cool.

Place 1 to 2 heaping tablespoons of dough in palm of hand and pat out.

Fill with equal amount filling.

Cook’s tip: Always use Crisco shortening. The crust is not as flaky if you use oil.

Three Rivers, Pages 55 on 06/24/2010

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