Cooking web notes

Aunt Lucy’s Mexican Corn Pudding

Aunt Lucy, 1978

Aunt Lucy was Dad’s sister.  They were born on the same day, March 20^th, 5 years apart; she in 1906 and Dad in 1911.  Incidentally, in 30 days, on March 20^th, our younger son, Matt, will be getting married to Kathy!

Here’s a little background on Aunt Lucy:  She was married and divorced before I was born and had a daughter, Polly, who died when she was around 4 or 5 years old from scarlet fever, I believe.  She never married again and I doubt if she ever even had a boy friend after that.  Her husband was connected with Rural Electric in Lancaster, Ohio when electric ranges were becoming the vogue.  Aunt Lucy gave cooking demonstrations and explained the operating procedures of the stoves.  It was an amazing time according to her.

Anyway, it was no secret that Aunt Lucy was afraid of her own shadow!  One time, years ago, right after we moved here to Cary and went back to visit Mom and Dad in Baltimore, Ohio, we called Aunt Lucy to invite her over for the day and dinner.  She was probably in her late 70’s then and loved to be around when we were there.  Anyway, I called to invite her and told her that we would pick her up.  She said, “Oh, I would love to but I can’t because it’s raining hard.”  Dumbfounded, I told her that we would be picking her up, she didn’t have to worry about the rain.  There was no coaxing her!  Her life centered on what the weather forecast was for the day!!!

Waaaay back when I was very young and still lived in Picktown (Pickerington, Ohio) and visited Aunt Lucy in Columbus, I was never quite sure what to expect and thought of it as kind of an adventure.  I knew I had to be very mannerly and would be watched like a hawk and protected like a gem! 

Without fail, when I jumped into her car, she insisted that I scoot over; right beside her when she drove.  I was told in no uncertain terms, not to touch the car door, much less lean against it as we very slowly cruised the roads.  While driving, she would check the mirror countless times to make sure her lipstick was still bright red and not escaping the lines of her mouth and that every hair was in place.

But, that was just Aunt Lucy!  She was truly great!  We had many good times together!  She instilled her love of music (and Dad also with music!), genealogy and reading in me.  I loved her dearly and she doted on me. She was definitely no Lucy Ricardo though!

This Mexican Corn Pudding is one of the very few recipes of hers that I have.  It is really very good and is a perfect comfort food.  Give it a try!

Aunt Lucy’s Mexican Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow corn meal

½ cup oil

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 small can green chilies

2 cans creamed corn

1 medium onion, sliced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

½ cup Parmesan cheese

Method:

Mix all ingredients together, except for the peppers and cheese.

Pour one-half of the mixture into a 9” skillet.

Sprinkle cheese and peppers over top.

Add rest of mixture.

Add remaining cheese and peppers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

¡Mexican corn pudding es delicioso! 

Here’s to you, Aunt Lucy!

This entry was posted on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 6:58 AM and is filed under Aunt Lucy's recipes, Bell peppers, Casseroles, Chiles, Corn, Cornmeal, Mexican, Onions, Parmesan, Side Dish, Vegetables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.