bout dese days. It dis way, child, don' nobody like to see no old ugly
crooked up creature like me round bout whe' dey be no time. Cose I sets
here en does a washin now en den whe' de people gets push up, but don'
get no regular work. Now, dem people over dere, I does dey washin
mostly, but dey don' never be noways particular en stylish like en I
don' have nothin much to worry wid. See, de lady, she don' go bout
nowhe' much."

"Oh, Lord, dere my stove right dere, I say. Yes, mam, I cooks right here
in de fireplace all de time. I got dat pot on dere wid some turnips a
boilin now en it gettin on bout time I be mixin up dat bread, too, fore
dat child be comin home from school hungry as a louse. I say, I got dis
here old black iron spider en dis here iron griddle, too, what I does my
bakin on cause you see, I come from way back yonder. Dem what de olden
people used to cook on fore stoves ever been come here. Yes, mam, de
spider got three legs dat it sets on en de griddle, dat what I makes
dese little thin kind of hoecake on. See, when I wants to bake in de
spider, I heaps my coals up in a pile dat way so as to set de spider on
dem en pours de batter in de spider en puts de lid on. Den I rakes me up
another batch of coals en covers de lid over wid dem. Do dat to make it
get done on de top. Yes, mam, dat de kind of a spider dat de people
used to cook dey cake in. Now, when I has a mind to cook some turnips or
some collards, I makes dis here boil bread. Honey, dat somethin to talk
bout eatin wid dem turnips. Ain' no trouble to mind it neither. First, I
just washes my hands right clean like en takes en mixes up my meal en
water together wid my hand till I gets a right stiff dough. Den I
pinches off a piece de dough bout big as a goose egg en flattens it out
wid my hand en drops it in de pot wid de greens. Calls dat boil
dumplings. I think bout I got a mind dat I gwine cook some of dem in dat
turnip pot directly, too. No, mam, I don' never eat dinner till it come
bout time for de little girl to be expectin to be from school. Oh, my
blessed, dem olden people sho know how to cook in dem days. Never didn'
hear speak bout de cookin upsettin de people in dat day en time like it
sets de people in a misery dese days. Dat how-come, I say, I ain' noways
ailin in de inside cause it be dat I lives de olden way. Yes, child, de
slavery people sho had de hand to cook. Dere ain' never been nothin cook
nowhe' dat could satisfy a cravin like dat