We need friends.
I am reminded of that most Fridays when, after finishing my Meals on Wheels route, I eat catfish at the Nocona Senior Center for lunch. Sometimes I find myself sitting with Minnie Corley and Seda Waldrip, two women who knew my mother long before I ever did.
My mom graduated from Nocona High School with Minnie and Seda. They were best friends then, and they remained best friends through marriages, children, grandchildren, losses and all the ordinary years that make up a life.
When my mother was alive, they made a point of having lunch together once a month. It was not complicated. Nobody needed an occasion. They simply kept showing up for one another.
That is enduring friendship.
And now, all these years later, I get the gift of occasionally sitting across the table from Minnie and Seda and listening to them talk about my mother. I hear stories about things they did, places they went and trouble they may, or may not, have gotten into. For a little while, I get to know a version of my mom who existed before she was my mother.

Read the full story On the Table in your Thursday Bowie News.

I don’t think any of us need the government to tell us groceries are expensive. We know it when we stand in the meat aisle and lower our standards real fast from 90% lean to 80% lean hamburger meat.
Still, the numbers are interesting.
According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report, grocery prices in July were 2.7% higher than they were a year ago. Beef is where things really hurt. Beef prices were up 9.4% from last July, and uncooked ground beef was up 9%.
Chicken, on the other hand, was actually down 2.7% over the same period, which makes it one of the better bargains in the meat case right now.
The BLS average-price survey puts a pound of ground chuck at $6.85 in July. Two years ago, in July 2024, that same national average was $5.47.
So maybe it is time to resurrect something our mothers and grandmothers understood very well.

Read the full On the Table feature in the Sept. 17 Bowie News.

Big-Pan Chicken Spaghetti

A pound of diced chicken can disappear beautifully through an entire pan of pasta.

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless chicken, diced
• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can Rotel-style tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper

Cook spaghetti just until tender and drain.

Meanwhile, sauté diced chicken and onion until chicken is cooked through.

Mix spaghetti, chicken, soups, tomatoes, broth, garlic powder and 1 cup cheese. Spread into a greased 13×9 pan.

Top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Have half a bag of frozen peas, broccoli or mixed vegetables lingering in the freezer? Throw them in. This is a forgiving recipe.

Serves 8 to 10.

A few years ago, if someone had suggested that I would be brewing tea from orange peels, fig leaves, and the assortment of wild plants flourishing in my yard, I would have giggled in disbelief. My perception of tea was limited to the neatly packaged bags sold at the store, each little bag a promise of convenience.
I still vividly recall a few memorable trips to Great Britain, where I savored the robust flavor of a PG Tips tea bag—moments like that felt exquisitely sophisticated to me! The British, with their ritual approach and passion for creating the perfect cuppa, truly have mastered the art of tea.

Read the full On The Table column in your Thursday Bowie News.