Bea Cummings' Tuna Roll-Ups
shared by Jim Cummings
And now, a word about comfort food. When the weather is cold and damp, and the chill goes right into the old bones, its time to get out one of "Ma's" recipes. You know, the ones that you enjoyed most when you were a little kid; the ones that make your kitchen smell like Ma's. We each have our own version of these foods, some are back-of-the box recipes from the 1950s, and some came out of a "woman's" magazine.
I don't know where this one came from. I'm not sure if she remembers either. In the South, it is common to name a recipe for the person that came up with it, if it is known, for instance, Aunt Nellie Mae's Pecan Pie. I think this is a lovely custom and, even if I am a Yankee, I think I will honor it in the future.
Which reminds me of an anecdote I read somewhere or other about the definition of a Yankee:
To a Southerner, a Yankee is anyone who lives north of the Mason-Dixon line. To a Northerner, it is someone from New England. To a New Englander, it's someone from Vermont. To a Vermonter, it's someone who eats apple pie for breakfast- with a knife.
Like a true Yankee, I eat apple pie and Vermont Cabot cheese for breakfast. I eat the pie with a fork, though.
Bea Cummings' Tuna Roll-ups
Mix 2 cups of flour, 3 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. salt.
Mix 1/3 cup of vegetable oil and 2/3 cup of milk.
Pour the liquid into the flour mix and stir.
Wet the counter top and put down a piece of wax paper. Put the biscuit mix on it and put another piece of wax paper over it.
Roll it out into a 10" square. Cut it into 2" squares.
Mix 1 can of tuna, 1 egg and ½ cup of chopped celery.
Put some of this mix onto each square and roll up each one like a jelly roll. Put on a cookie sheet and bake at 450º for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve with white sauce and paprika, and of course, mashed potatoes and peas.
P.S. My favorite cookbook for old favorites is any version of "Fannie Farmer." I've had mine since the late 1970s. It's a stained, dog-eared wreck. I'll never part with it.
Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, New Hampshire. pat@quiltersmuse.com