My Granny made some of the tastiest foods I have ever eaten. Buttermilk biscuits, field peas, and collard greens were among my favorites. And real banana pudding. Aren’t grannies and their legendary cooking skills wonderful? You may have special foods you remember from your granny, that nobody else has been able to duplicate. Mine also made iced tea so sweet it could stand up without the pitcher by the next day. We thought it was the best but now the thought of it makes my teeth hurt.

The Art of Country Cooking

Her food was plain country food. There were no complaints around the table from child or adult. For me, there was a tie between two things—her homemade biscuits and her macaroni & tomatoes. To make the biscuits like hers takes outright skill. To make macaroni & tomatoes like hers is an art.

First, it requires vine-ripened, home-canned tomatoes. Home-canned with salt is perfection. Using any other kind of tomato simply will not do. This recipe is worth learning to can tomatoes. Now, that being said, in a survival or emergency situation such as might have been the case during World War II, use whatever tomatoes you have! The taste will not be the same but it will still be nourishing food.

The only other ingredient my granny used was cooked macaroni. A bit more salt could be used, or a dash of pepper, or even a dash of sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic—hers never were and I never saw her add anything. Her macaroni & tomatoes were only home-canned tomatoes with salt, and cooked macaroni, blended in perfect proportion. She would make it for me for lunch sometimes and hardly anyone else ever got any because, for a skinny short kid, I could eat almost the whole pot! When it is made right, it is nearly impossible to stop eating macaroni & tomatoes. In my humble opinion, macaroni & cheese gets too much credit when the “other” macaroni dish is best.

Macaroni & Tomatoes Granny’s Way

Macaroni & tomatoes was around during—and before—the World War II era. I found a 1930s Scottish cookbook with a recipe for it, although that version had a bread-crumb topping and was baked. Which begs clarification: My Granny’s version of macaroni & tomatoes should never be compromised by bread crumbs, cheese, Italian seasonings or any other additions. That would be its ruination. The 1930s recipe looks delicious but would not have been the ultra-simple affair my Granny made. Hers is simple, inexpensive and a flavor bomb extraordinaire.

This summer, if you want a real treat, learn how to can vine-ripened tomatoes, make yourself a quart, and try creating some culinary art of your own. I promise I’ll stay in my own kitchen. 😊