Leon County Cooks: Debra Richardson

Debra Richardson holds one of the beautiful cabbage heads she grew in her garden this fall and winter. Sherry's Shots Picture in your mind the famous Martha Stuart with a cowgirl hat and you've got a pretty good depiction of this week's cook, Debra Richardson. A Master Gardener, Richardson not only loves to cook healthy foods, she loves to grow them in her garden. She cans and freezes much of the food she produces and dehydrates and crushes herbs for cooking. She makes pepper sauce from peppers she has grown and puts them up in recycled beer bottles. In her back yard is a beautiful lemon tree from the "1840 Old Fashioned" variety, which is as healthy looking and prolific as many in the warmer climates.

A tour of Richardson's yard is a delight, even in the dead of winter. Her fall garden is still producing Brussels sprouts, cabbage, beets and turnips. There are raised beds for some of her produce and pots filled with soil for others. Two large pots have baby carrots growing in them. Debra is in the process of building a root cellar below her house, to store the root crops she plans to grow this year. Willing to share her secret, Richardson says get mushroom dirt from the mushroom farm in Madisonville and you too will be a great gardener.

Debra's lemon tree right here in Leon County. Sherry's Shots Bird houses and bird feeders are everywhere around her house and porch and the yard is filled with birds. Debra rescued a lost female cockatiel which flew out of the wild. So the bird wouldn't be lonely she bought a male to keep her company. The feathered couple has produced three beautiful offspring. Richardson has also rescued many dogs throughout the years and loves to feed the deer which feel at home on her place.

Richardson's family is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas and she visits regularly, mining crystal rocks while she is there. Crystal rocks decorate her home, yard and body. She makes beautiful jewelry from her excavations.

Debra's love for cooking and gardening probably came from her mother who grew up in the Great Depression and learned to grow and cook good, healthy food as a matter of daily living. When asked how she learned to cook, Richardson responded "Mama was a good cook and always provided healthy, home raised meals for her family. I came from a long line of good cooks and gardeners. My grandma taught me to cook and now I am teaching my grandchildren."

Every cook has a specialty and Richardson's is admittedly "pies". She uses her home grown lemons to make deliciously tart Lemon Meringue Pie and won 2nd place for best tasting pie at the Leon County July 4th Celebration in Centerville in 2007. Her schedule didn't allow her to participate in 2008.

Debra grew up in the Houston area, attended school at Galena Park and never expected to be a country girl. But her brother Johnny Richardson moved to Mexia in 1999 and Debra followed soon thereafter. She loves living in Leon County where she operates a trucking company which she started about two years ago.

Jennifer Culpepper, Debra's beautiful daughter, shares her mom's love for gardening, cooking and decorating. Jennifer has two sons and one daughter who bless Debra's life.

One of the perks of writing this column is getting to test and taste these wonderful recipes. Debra prepared every recipe which follows and invited me to share the meal with her and Jennifer. The meal was absolutely delicious.

Pot of Pinto Beans

Soak beans in a large pot overnight, add 8 cups of water to every 1 lb of beans, and drain off water, then rinse. Place soaked beans in a large pot, cover them with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 slices of bacon then reduce to medium heat and add 1 tsp cumin per 1 lb of beans. Keep watch over beans and add water when needed. Cook until tender, approximately 3 ½ hours. Add onion, salt and pepper to taste.

Wedged Cabbage

Take one large cabbage and cut into 4 quarters. Place in large stock pot, add 1 inch of water and bring to boil. Turn down heat to medium high and cover for 10 minutes. Fork should pierce through easily when done. Drain water, add butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Smothered Potatoes

Cut, peel and scallop 1 lb. red new potatoes and slice one white onion. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Place potatoes in hot oil, coat evenly and lightly brown. Add onion and cover for approximately 15- 20 minutes until desired tenderness. Can also substitute sweet potatoes and red onions if preferred. Debra's Buttermilk Cornbread 1 ½ cups cornmeal ½ cup all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt ½ tsp baking soda ¼ cup shortening 1 ½ cups buttermilk 2 eggs Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all ingredients; beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Pour into greased cast-iron skillet. Bake until golden brown. Debra's Lemon Buttermilk Pie 1 ½ cups sugar 1 cup buttermilk 1 tbsp all purpose flour 2 eggs 2 egg yolks ½ tsp vanilla extract Minced zest, and the juice of one lemon Pinch of salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wisk together all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake until filling is just set, but still jiggly. Approximately 40-50 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Store in fridge. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.