The Picklin' Parson's Cookbook...and Stories to Ponder When Uncle Sam's in a Pickle

By Stanley R Copeland

Addressed in the cookbook is the historical fact that Chandler is the hometown of one of the most progressive U.S. senators ever to serve from Texas-a true populist politician-Sen. Ralph W. Yarborough. He was in office from 1957 to 1970. Today Chandler-like much of rural East Texas-is bent more politically conservative, and President Trump has b

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stillwater Market Farm
• Release date: Nov 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9780578830131

Stanley R Copeland

The Reverend Doctor Stanley R. Copeland - or simply "Stan" as he's known to most folks - is senior pastor of the 5,000-member, multicultural, urban congregation of Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. Even though he served in Houston and Dallas as a pastor for three decades, his roots are deeply set in rural soil. Some might say he's really just a good ol' boy from a small town in East Texas-Chandler, population 2,959. His parents, sister and her family and most of their kin still live there. He makes the hour and a half drive to "home" every chance he gets. He has a farm outside of Chandler and is a co-owner of the Stillwater Farm Market Store and Dairy Shop in town.

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MEGAN’S PINK SALAD

Ingredients

• 1 large c. of crushed pineapple

• 1 small box of strawberry Jell-O

• 1 container of small curd cottage cheese

• 1 large container of Cool Whip

• ½ c. of finely chopped pecans

Reading, Cooking & Presenting

Heat pineapple over medium heat until boiling and add the Jell-O to the pineapple. Stir until it is dissolved. Remove the mixture from the burner and let it cool. Add cottage cheese, Cool Whip, and pecans, and don’t forget the joy. Put in the refrigerator to let set and chill. Take it to the family gathering with a big smile on your face and watch ’em dig in.

Dedicated in Honor

of

Martha Moppie & Don Poppie Copeland

Everybody in my little hometown of Chandler knows my parents by the names Moppie and Poppie. They have lived there all of their lives, except for the two years when they moved to Austin to complete their education and graduate as forever UT Longhorns. They also lived for eighteen months in another little East Texas town called Troup. My sister Jill and I know them as Mamma and Daddy, but the grandchildren—Zachary, Megan, Morgan and Emily—changed all of that forever with the Moppie and Poppie enduring brand. Now their six great-grandchildren—Brycen, Ella, Davis, Claire, Lily (and one more on the way in December that we already count) will add to the love of these two and the enduring qualities of their names.

Dad was a pharmacist in Chandler for 50 years, and his father before him had the drug store in town. My sweet sister Jill now has the store and carries on the family pharmacy tradition. I might have gone the druggist route if God hadn’t seen my chemistry grades and called me to preach.

Mom received a degree in home economics from the University of Texas and was a teacher in this discipline. She has always been a super mom, wonderful homemaker and great cook. She hails from a cooking family. Her mother—our grandmother Mersie—was one of the best cooks I have ever known, and Moppie didn’t fall far from the tree. One recipe she was known for in her later years was her Friendship Bread that was made from a starter. A loaf would be shared with every visitor that came to the First United Methodist Church in Chandler, Texas.

We grew up in town, in a house my parents lived in for more than four decades. Dad’s mother inherited the farm, as we call it, from her mother Nana in the 1950s. Dad was given the farm before his mother—our Gran—died. In 2008, this beloved couple built a beautiful home on the property with its ponds, meadows, and an old barn on the hill. On August 12, 2017—the night of their youngest granddaughter Emily’s (our daughter’s) wedding—their house burned to the ground. They were in Dallas with all of our family when lightning struck the house, and all was lost. Everything material was lost, but the love remained. And on the strength of that love and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, these two in their eighth decade of life were given the wherewithal to rebuild right back on the spot where the beautiful first house stood. We all pitched in, as did the community and church, on many levels. Our son—their oldest grandchild, Zachary Barnes Copeland, who is an architect—designed their new home where they will live out their days.

Parkinson’s disease has pretty much taken away Moppie’s cooking days, but that doesn’t mean she can’t still coach the cook and share the family folklore. Poppie samples the goodies, and sometimes offers his classic remark as Ol’ Don—who takes great pride in intentionally being grammatically incorrect, though he knows better—That’s the best I’ve ever ate.

Moppie and Poppie love their hometown of Chandler, and they love their home church. I am definitely biased, but when I think of my upbringing and the characters who made up the membership of the church, I do agree that it is one of the great congregations of all time. Moppie was about making every visitor to their church feel welcome. She was the consummate friendship evangelist. In fact, she won the coveted Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church Harry Denman Evangelism Award in the 1980s. This award honors those whose ministry of evangelism consistently brings people into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. The framed certificate of the award was lost to the fire, but nothing could take from her the friendship evangelism spirit that she will always possess. What was her mark, her mantra, her calling card? It was Friendship Bread. She loved to deliver those loaves—with a smile of course—and an invitation to return next Sunday.

These two have blessed me with an upbringing with the values of Christian faith, the gift of family, love for community, the ability to spin a story, the valuing of photos, and a sharing of family recipes. Moppie and Poppie feel the love that so many share, and I—along with my family—are blessed admirers of these two. This cookbook, as a tribute to my parents, is also meant to share blessings from our family to the reader. May God bless you, as Poppie would say, Real good.

MOM’S FRIENDSHIP BREAD

Starter Ingredients

• ½ c. warm water (110 degrees)

• 1 package dry yeast (instant yeast will work as well)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 cups granulated sugar

• 3 cups of milk (2% or higher fat content)

Creating the Starter

Pour the warm water into a small glass bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let it stand for 7 or 8 minutes to allow it to dissolve. In a larger bowl—don’t use metal bowls or utensils for sourdough—mix together 1 cup of flour and 1 cup sugar with a wooden spoon. Stir in 1 cup milk and then the yeast mixture. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow it to stand until bubbly. Once the mixture is bubbly, pour it into a gallon-sized zippered plastic bag and seal it. Do not refrigerate. Allow the sourdough mixture to sit out at room temperature.

Day 2—Mash the bag

Day 3—Mash the bag

Day 4—Mash the bag

Day 5—Mash the bag

Day 6—Add 1 cup of flour, sugar and milk

Day 7—Mash the bag

Day 8—Mash the bag

Day 9—Mash the bag

Day 10—Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add 1 cup each of flour, granulated sugar and milk. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Divide out 1 cup portions for the starter, placing each one-cup portion in separate zippered plastic gallon bags. Seal the bags and give the starter away to friends, along with the instructions, keeping one for yourself if desired. The starter then goes back to Day 1.

Ingredients

• 1 c. pecan oil (or other oil of choice)

• 3 large eggs

• ½ c. milk

• ½ vanilla bean paste (any vanilla will work)

• 1 c. granulated sugar

• 2 c. flour

• ½ tsp. salt

• ½ tsp. baking soda

• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder

• 2 tsp. cinnamon

• 2 smaller boxes vanilla pudding

• 1 c. chopped pecans

• 1 c. starter

Making & Baking

Create the cinnamon and sugar mixture by mixing ½ cup of sugar and 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside to use later. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Spray two loaf pans with Pam, or any non-stick cooking spray. Dust the greased pans with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Pour the batter equally into the pans and sprinkle the remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top. Bake for one hour or until the toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean without any crumbs. Cool the bread until the loaves loosen evenly from the pan, and turn the pan over onto a serving dish.