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In small mixing bowl, beat egg yolks, and stir in a small amount of mixture. Then combine the two mixtures in boiler, and cook over low to medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice. Cool slightly.

Pour mixture into baked shell. Pile Meringue lightly on top, covering filling completely.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Meríngue

4 large egg whites

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

4 tablespoons sugar

Beat egg whites with salt until frothy. Gradually add cream of tartar and sugar. Beat until stiff but not dry.

Chícken and Dumplíngs

SERVES 6 TO 8

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds cut up)

6 chicken wings

1 large Spanish onion, chopped and sautéed but not browned

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Bouquet Garni (recipe follows)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Drop Dumplings (recipe follows)

Wash and pat dry chicken. Take flange off chicken wings.

Place cut-up chicken and wings into large, heavy pot, and add water to cover 1 inch above chicken. Add onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and Bouquet Garni. Season with salt and pepper. Allow mixture to simmer slowly for 1½ hours. Let cool. Remove any foam that has gathered on top of the broth.

Bring broth to a slight boil, and drop heaping tablespoons of dumpling batter into pot. Fill top of pot with dumplings. Cover pot, and simmer for 15 minutes— dumplings will rise. Baste dumplings, and continue simmering for another 5 minutes. Remove cover and baste dumplings. Serve hot on platter.

Bouquet Garni

3 bay leaves

8 black peppercorns

Tops from two stalks of celery

1 teaspoon margarine

Cut double thickness of cheesecloth 6 inches wide. Place bay leaves, peppercorns, celery tops, and margarine in center of cheesecloth. Pull corners of cheesecloth together, and tie with kitchen twine.

Drop Dumplíngs

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

2 heaping teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) butter

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into mixing bowl. Add butter, mixing with fingertips, then milk, until mixture is consistency of grainy cornmeal.

Fríed Yellow Summer Squash

SERVES 4

5 yellow squash

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup sautéed diced onions

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

Slice squash. In large skillet, sauté squash in oil and butter. When slightly brown, add onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat 3 more minutes, but do not allow squash to become mushy. Sprinkle with rosemary, and keep warm until served.

Green Peas and Lettuce

SERVES 4

1 small head iceberg lettuce

2 cups fresh green peas

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Salt and freshly ground black pep-

per, to taste

½ pint heavy cream, warmed

Remove heart from lettuce, and fill with peas. Tie up lettuce head with kitchen twine to secure. Place in heavy pot with stock nearly to top of lettuce. Cover and steam until peas are tender, about 30 minutes. (Open the lettuce carefully, take one pea out, and test it.)

Remove twine and discard. Open lettuce, season with salt and pepper, and pour cream over lettuce and peas. Serve at once.

QUILTING BEES WERE EAGERLY anticipated by southern black women. They offered the only nonlabor, nonreligious occasions where women could gather and exchange all the communities’ good and bad news. The women planned for weeks. Then they selected and cooked their favorite dessert dishes and brought them to the gathering. The bees were always held in the back of the store, which meant that Bailey and I could look forward to some delicious cakes and pies and, if the event took place in the summer, some luscious hand-cranked strawberry ice cream. Usually cranked