The recipe is still stored in an old, red recipe box that I gave to my mother, Chloe, when I was a child. The paper is faded and creased; but it is just as I remember it.  

When I was in college I used to visit friends in Currituck County, near the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and it was there that I met Miss Zulim Snow. Miss Zulim ran a country store where she sold many local goodies, including pickles, jams and jellies that she made. Her Watermelon Rind Pickles were like none I had ever eaten.

I asked Miss Zulim for her recipe. She gave it to me with one condition: I had to promise that as long as she was living I would never share this recipe with anyone else. Mother and I made these pickles for years, always wondering if Miss Zulim was still alive. And she did live a long time.  Keeping my promise, Mother and I never gave away the recipe. If folks asked, rather than disappoint them, Mother would make them a batch of pickles right here in the same kitchen where I do all the baking and preparing for the B&B guests.  We even sent a batch of these tasty pickles to Riverside Drive in Manhattan.

Miss Zulim is no longer with us. This is the first time I have offered to share her recipe, so you all are special.  I had to eat a lot of watermelons to get all this rind! And I wanted to see if I still remembered how to make these wonderful pickles. Thank you, Miss Zulim.

MISS ZULIM’S WATERMELON RIND PICKLES

• 9 pounds of watermelon rind, the light green part (9 pounds fills a 10 quart bucket) All watermelons are not the same, so I cannot even guess how many watermelons it takes to make this recipe. I do know that you can save the rinds in the refrigerator for a few days until you get enough. Peel the rind and remove any of the red watermelon from the rind.

• 4/10 of an ounce of slaked Lily lime (found at the pharmacy). It is called calcium hydroxide and you may have to ask the pharmacist to find it for you. It is expensive. Do not substitute.

• 1 gallon water

Sugar Solution:

• 9 pounds sugar

• 3 cups water

Spices:
• 3 sticks cinnamon

• 1 large piece of whole ginger root

• 2 Tablespoons whole allspice

• 2 whole cloves

• 1 quart distilled white vinegar

Wash and sterilize 10 pint jars or 20 half-pint jars.

Cut peeled rind into fairly large pieces. In a glass, enamel or stainless steel container, stir the lime into 1 gallon of water. Add the rinds; they should be barely covered with water. You may have to add more water. Soak overnight. 

The next day, rinse the watermelon pieces in 3 or 4 washings of clear water, changing the water each time.

Put the rinds into a large cooking pot and just barely cover with water. Cook gently for two hours or until the rinds are tender.

Remove from heat and cool slightly. Drain rinds and immediately dunk into cold water.

Chop rinds into smaller (2-inch) pieces and pack in ice for 1 ½ hours.

Put 9 pounds of sugar and 3 cups water into a large cooking pot. Stir over low heat until dissolved. Tie spices in a spice bag made of two thicknesses of cheese cloth and add to the sugar solution.  Remove the rinds from the ice, drain and add to the large pot with spices and the dissolved sugar. Cook on medium-low for 1 hour.

Add 1 quart white vinegar and cook for 30 minutes more.

Pack rinds in sterilized jars, filling with the liquid. Seal jars according to canning directions.

Yield: 9-10 pints, plus samples all along.

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Summer in coastal North Carolina brings great melons, especially watermelons. When I was growing up on the farm my father had three rows of watermelons that were at least a city block long. That was a lot of watermelons

In July and August we would drive the pickup truck into the field and load all the watermelons into the back. We brought them to the house and laid them under the pecan trees that are still here.

Every afternoon, we would stop work and come and cut a watermelon, eat what we wanted and then take the remains to the cows and the mules. My mother said we couldn’t give the chickens watermelons because it hurt their faces.

I am still trying to figure what she meant by that. I can only surmise that the chickens would peck and peck and hurt themselves, but I will never really know.

 Watermelon Punch
(This recipe is adapted from one given to me by  Laura)

• 1 lemon or orange, washed and sliced
• 1 2-liter bottle of lemon lime soda, chilled. Reserve half
• 1 large watermelon
• 1 6-ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate
• ¾ cup sugar or to taste

The ice mold should be made earlier, in time for it to freeze. The punch needs to be made just before serving.

Ice Ring:  Slice the lemon or orange and arrange in the ice mold. Pour 1/2 the lemon-lime soda into the mold and freeze. 

Punch: Cut watermelon into halves. Scoop out pulp and place in blender, seeds and all.

Blend for several seconds on medium speed.  Strain through a fine-sieve colander, squeezing out juice. Discard solid parts.

Pour watermelon juice into a large container with lid. Add orange juice concentrate and sugar and stir until sugar and orange juice are dissolved. Chill until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, pour punch into clear glass or plastic punch bowl. Add the lemon-lime soda and stir. Place ice ring in the punch bowl.

Serving Suggestions:  This is a gorgeous red punch, so be sure to serve it in a clear glass or plastic container. It looks great served in wine glasses.
 
Serves 20

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 Gardner’s Creek is a slow moving, winding black-water creek in Eastern North Carolina that eventually makes its way to the Roanoke River by way of Devil’s Gut. It is a favorite of canoeists who enjoy its pristine beauty and the fisherman, who quietly sit in their boats waiting for that one bite that will yield the big one.

Several years ago I was at the creek and I felt like Tom Sawyer or even Huckleberry Finn as I watched the young boys, wearing cut-off jeans climb the tall trees, swing out over the creek and drop into the dark water, popping up a few feet away. I now have my inflatable Avon dinghy, with an engine of course, and whenever I have a minute I am on the creek.  

Roanoke River Partners has built 12 camping platforms with names like Barred Owl Roost, Beaver Lodge and Cypress Cathedral along the Roanoke and Cashie Rivers. It is a great way to really know what happens in this part of the Great Dismal Swamp. 

Carolyn Roberson runs Roberson’s Marina on Gardner’s Creek, and to me she is the Keeper of the Creek. Carolyn knows and loves these waters, she and her husband Ed ran this same marina before he died. Now Carolyn does this. She recently lost a leg, but this does not hamper her spirit. If you want to make a reservation for one of these platforms, call Carolyn.

 When I was looking for a catfish recipe, I certainly knew who to ask.  If you go to the creek, you just might want to ask Carolyn how to cook up your catch. 

(Update: Since I wrote this, Carolyn has been admitted to the hospital. Her friends and family are running the marina for her. I know she misses the creek; I know we miss her.)

On July 18, 2007, the Washington Post ran a story about these wonderful camping platforms: "Swamp Things in North Carolina, Paddle down a Creek", by Diane Daniel.  And if you don’t really want to sleep in the swamp on a platform, Ms. Daniel suggests staying at Big Mill Bed and Breakfast.

Gardner’s Creek Catfish Stew with Cornmeal Dumplins

Carolyn Roberson of Roberson’s Marina on Gardner’s Creek knows all about this creek. Luckily for us, she is there caring about this fragile ecosystem. When I asked about her catfish stew she told me that you can make it with most any fish you have, even shrimp or crabmeat. You eat what you catch. And folks are still catching fish with cane poles on Gardner’s Creek. Come join us at Big mill B&B; we have the poles.   

• 1 quart water, approximately
• 3 bunches green onions tops and bottoms, chopped (reserve 1 cup tops)
• 2 large sweet onions, peeled and sliced
• 4 hot red peppers about an inch in length, crushed (like Thai hot)
• 1 pound bacon, fried and crumbled, reserve drippings and set bacon aside
• ½ pound skinned fat back, cut into cubes and fried, reserve drippings
• 5 baking potatoes, peeled and diced
• 5 cups catfish, cut into bite-size pieces (approximately 3 pounds)
• 10 boiled eggs, peeled and diced
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Put water, chopped green onions, sliced onions, red peppers, bacon drippings, fatback and drippings in a large stew pot. Cook uncovered over medium heat until onions dissolve, about 30 minutes.

Add baking potatoes to the pot. Make a layer of catfish on top of potatoes. Add dumplings (recipe below) on top of the catfish. Do not stir.

Cook until potatoes are tender and catfish is flaky, about 20-30 minutes.

Cornmeal Dumplings  (makes about 12 dumplings)

• 1 ½ cup fine, white, non self-rising corn meal
• 1 ½ Tablespoons plain flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Dash of salt
• Enough warm water to make a stiff paste

Stir together corn meal, flour, sugar and salt. Slowly add enough warm water until you can form small balls about the size of a walnut. Dough will be a very stiff paste. Flatten dumplings to be the size of a fifty-cent piece.

Place dumplings on top of potatoes and catfish. Cover and simmer but do NOT stir. Keep enough water in pot to avoid sticking and shake pot occasionally.

When pot contents are done, remove from heat. Combine eggs, bacon, reserved green onion tops, salt and pepper. Pour evenly over contents of pot. Let stand 30 minutes. When serving, gently spoon out in sections because the stew will be in layers.

Carolyn says that cooking is part art. The amount of water to add to the pot and the dumplings is a matter of judgment. Make sure the water does not boil out because the stew will burn. Also, gently shake the pot from time to time to make sure it is not sticking. But do not stir!

Note: fatback is the same as salt pork, sometimes referred to as “streak of lean, streak of fat“. This is readily available in any grocery store south of that famed Mason-Dixon Line. (South of Virginia, and more realistically, south of Richmond)  If unavailable, very thick sliced bacon with skin may be substituted. 

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