Apple Fritters and Conversation

We were invited to a dear friend's house to enjoy hot, fresh apple fritters and visit. He, his wife and young son were in town visiting his mom. His mom fried the apple fritters while we chatted. She apologized for not having the exact recipe she used when the boys were in high school and played games at her house. No apology was necessary. They were delicious.

She is older than our parents. Our friend was a "late-in-life surprise" baby... twin actually. She came here from Germany where she worked as a seamstress in fashion houses before the war. During the war, she just worked to survive, from what she said. I'm not sure about the dates, but I don't think she was able to move here until after the war. Our conversation turned at one point to her amazing skills both in the kitchen and at the sewing machine.

She related that during wartime in Germany, what she witnessed was the wealthy people had the most difficult time surviving. They did not have their own cow, they bought their milk... same with eggs and other items. When these items were in short supply, the wealthy folks did without. They did not know how to perform basic survival skills and had long relied on others to help them. When their money lost its value, they could no longer hire help to cook their meals or to women wash their laundry. She cautioned against our modern world to a certain extent, saying that we should all know enough simply to survive.

She is right.

Something I've heard my entire life, growing up in the Ozarks money-poor and land rich, was, "by golley, I can always take care of me and mine living off my land." And for the most part that was true when I was younger. Most everyone had at least a handful of chickens, a milk goat or cow and a patch of land big enough for a garden. That's not so much the case now.

Other than complain about high prices, I don't really see folks doing much about their situation. I don't see them making lifestyle changes to enhance their survival during lean times. Maybe they don't feel the need. Perhaps they are so sure of America's ability to bounce back that they aren't concerned. Perhaps they don't remember what it's like to do without... or they never really knew.

It's unfortunate that it's not just an easily defined group such as "the wealthy" who will have difficulty surviving should our country's economic woes last very long. Amazingly few know how to cook, unless it comes from the freezer section. And, that's just the most basic of survival skills.

It's frightening. But, I don't think most folks are aware enough to be frightened. They could make some very simple lifestyle changes and find themselves a lot more secure.

Mull it over while munching on Apple Fritters. This is pretty close to the apple fritter recipe our friend's mom used.

Old-Fashioned Apple Fritters
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted shortening
2 large apples
oil for deep frying

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Combine egg and milk; add to flour mixture; beat until smooth. Add shortening and mix well. Peel and core apples; cut into 8 wedges. Dip apple wedges into batter and fry in 370° oil for about 4 minutes, or until brown.

I've since found a few others I think I will try out and post about later! They certainly were delicious and seemingly simple.