French toast, enchiladas
puttanesca, rice pudding.
casseroles, omelettes,
salsa, chimichurri.
Mom saved bacon grease
in a Folgers coffee can.
Never bought bread crumbs
or chicken stock.
Where she came from,
the Texas and Oklahoma
panhandle, they ate everything
because there wasn’t much.
Those habits stuck.
If we had pot roast,
chuck of course, she
saved the drippings.
The next day we’d have
Okie steak, bread soaked in
the drippings then fried
in bacon grease. We loved it.
The custom passed on to me,
I make enchiladas, french toast
rice pudding, chuck roast.
I save bacon grease, but I
Don’t do Okie steak, although
I’ve tried it a few times
when money was tight.
Drippings are good for
Other things. Like enchiladas.
goulash. French onion soup.
I grill extra mushrooms, peppers,
squash and onions. For omelettes.
