Cain sisters

By Published On: May 20, 2015

“I sure have done a lot of cooking in my lifetime,” said Barbara Cain Lantrip of Banner, who said she’s been cooking since she was eight, and “always for at least 20-25 people.”  She learned from watching her mother, Ethel Leachman Cain. The first things she remembers cooking were English peas, fried potatoes and cornbread.

For banana pudding, “Mama Ethel” made teacakes for the crust instead of vanilla wafers and she made it all from scratch. “She fried a lot of chocolate and apples pies, too,” they said. And they told of her always making an Amalgamation Cake every December.

A 4-5 layer cake, nobody ever made it but her. “She kept it covered with cheesecloth, and it lasted through December. It was rich, so nobody ate much at a time,” her daughters said.

Carolyn Hallman, Barbara Lantrip, Martha Jo Covington and Katie Goodwin

Carolyn Hallman, Barbara Lantrip, Martha Jo Covington and Katie Goodwin

Barbara also learned to make lemon meringue pie from her mother, and niece, Donna Goodwin, says the recipe is still printed on the Argo cornstarch box today.
“Mother was a very good cook,” said Carolyn Cain Hallman, but, “Barbara is the best cook,” said Martha Jo Covington.
Carolyn, Martha Jo and Katie Cain Goodwin said they didn’t learn to cook until they married, and Carolyn said her first biscuits were too hard to eat.
Katie, who would rather have been outside, washed their clothes on a rub board,  while Martha Jo cleaned the house.

All of them have always had a garden, but mostly on a smaller scale now than they used to, except for Katie, who still cooks vegetables every night for supper.
Daughter Donna loves her mother’s vegetables, especially corn and fried potatoes, so she makes sure to help her with putting vegetables in the freezer. “All that shelling!” is what Martha said she remembers most about gardening.

Each of their favorite foods is actually what they said their family’s favorites are also: Barbara, spaghetti; Carolyn, meatballs; Martha Jo, corn casserole, and Katie, baked beans.
In addition to spaghetti, Barbara’s daughter,  Fredia, loves her mother’s creamed potatoes and banana pudding, and granddaughter Stevie said dressing and potatoes.
Carolyn says a lot of times now she just eats the meatballs with crackers, unless cooking for company, and that years ago someone at the Greenwood Holiday Inn kitchen asked her for the meatball recipe.

About their sisters, the late Celestine Dye, Ruthell Norwood and Johnnie Weeks, they said Celestine and Ruthell were both really good cooks and that Johnnie, who lived in California, was also, but she cooked differently, “more healthy,” they said.
Ruthell’s son, Johnny, said his favorites of her cooking were fresh vegetables, especially okra, with a bowl of sliced tomatoes, 7-up cake, chocolate meringue pie, and “candied sweet potatoes cooked in her black skillet,” to which her sisters agreed.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
(Carolyn Hallman)
1/2 cup oil
2 lbs. hamburger meat
1 can whole cranberries
1 bottle chili sauce
1 onion, chopped
Brown onion and formed meatballs in oil. When browned, drain off excess oil. Mix chili sauce and cranberries together. Pour over meatballs and onion. Cover and simmer one hour. Serve with crackers and salad or with rice or creamed potatoes.

Corn Casserole
(Martha Jo Covington)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
1 pkg. corn muffin mix
1/2 cup milk
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can cream style corn
Cream butter, sugar, eggs and sour cream together. Put whole corn in and cream together. Bake at 325° for 45 minutes.

Lemon Meringue Pie
(Barbara Lantrip)
1-9” deep dish pie crust, baked
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten (save whites for meringue)
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp. grated peel of one lemon
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
Mix cornstarch, sugar, water and egg yolks in saucepan. Over medium heat, stirring constantly, bring mixture to boil (about 8-10 minutes). Reduce heat and continue stirring one minute until very thick. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice, butter or margarine until smooth. Pour hot filling in crust.

Meringue:
5 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. corn starch.
Beat egg whites in mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cornstarch, beating about three minutes until stiff. Make sure meringue touches edge of pie crust. Bake at 375° about 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool at room temperature 30 minutes. Chill three hours before serving.

Baked Beans
(Katie Goodwin)
1 lb. ground beef
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
6-15 oz. cans Showboat pork and beans
1 cup ketchup
3 heaping Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup barbeque sauce
Brown together beef, peppers and onions. Drain. Mix all  in crockpot. After coming to a boil, turn to low for an hour.

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