Opal Beshore said she didn’t become interested in cooking until after she and her late husband, Galen, were married.
Beshore grew up in Rich Hill, Mo., the youngest of four children.
“I had three older brothers and I guess you could call me a tomboy. Mom was a wonderful cook, but I didn’t want to be in the kitchen. I wanted to be outdoors playing with my brothers,” she said.
Her father died when she was young and her mother worked full-time to support the family, but she said, “Mom always had a good meal on the table every night when she got off of work.”
Galen and his family moved to Rich Hill when he was a junior in high school.
“Our school was small so it was all the talk when a new boy joined our class,” she said.
The couple began dating, married and following his military service moved to Iola to be near his family, who had relocated.
“Galen had wanted to go to college but with our family growing he read all the material he could find about insurance and became a Prudential agent,” she said.
As a young bride, Beshore said her cooking skills developed through trial and error.
“I remember cooking a big pan of macaroni and cheese. After a couple of days Galen said, ‘I am tired of eating this, could we try something else,’” she said.
Beshore continued the tradition of evening meals with her family when her two children were at home.
“It was wonderful hearing about Clay and Kelly’s day at school. I think it is important for families to make time to be together at the dinner table at least a couple days a week,” she said.
Beshore’s mother, Bertha Brittingham, eventually moved to Iola to live with her daughter.
“Mom lived to be 97. I wish now that I would have sat down with her and written out some of her recipes, especially her homemade chocolate pudding and hot rolls,” Beshore said.
Clay is an excellent cook, Beshore said, but Kelly never had any interest in being in the kitchen.
“Kelly would say, ‘You and grandma are good cooks, why should I learn to cook,’” Beshore said.
Beshore enjoys baking and makes cookies — her favorite is chocolate chip — at least a couple times a week.
A member of First Baptist Church, she likes to make her broccoli supreme or brown sugar pound cake for monthly meals at the church. Her caramel popcorn is a favorite of the church’s youth groups.
Beshore also like to prepare lasagna and strawberry pie for her family. Her recipes follow:
Broccoli Supreme
1 stick butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery
1 cup bread crumbs
1 roll garlic cheese
2 boxes chopped broccoli
1 can mushroom soup
1 small can mushrooms
Saute onions and celery in butter, add mushrooms and broccoli and simmer 15 minutes. Add soup, cheese and a little water if too thick.
Put in greased casserole and put bread crumbs on top.
Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Lasagna
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 cans whole tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can seasoned tomato sauce
2 envelopes spaghetti sauce mix
8-ounce package lasagna noodles
6- or 8-ounce package mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 cup cream style cottage cheese
Brown meat slowly and spoon off excess fat.
Put tomatoes in bowl and squeeze through fingers to break into pieces. Add tomato sauce and spaghetti mix to tomatoes. Stir and add to hamburger. Cover and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt to taste.
Cook noodles in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Place half the noodles in an 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inch baking dish. Cover with a third of sauce. Sprinkle on half the mozzarella cheese, then dot half of the cottage cheese over sauce. Repeat layers, ending with sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Bake in moderate oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.
Brown Sugar
Pound Cake
1/2 pound butter
1/2 cup shortening
5 eggs
1 pound plus 1 cup light brown sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
Begin with all ingredients at room temperature.
Cream together butter and shortening. Add the eggs, one at a time, creaming after each. Stir in the light brown sugar.
Sift together the flour and baking powder and add alternately with milk to the sugar mixture.
Bake in greased and floured tube pan for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees.
Frosting:
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 pound butter
1 pound powdered sugar
Milk to thin
In a heavy saucepan brown the pecans in the butter. Let cool, then add powdered sugar. Stir in enough milk to thin the mixture to spreading consistency.
Spread on top of cake, allowing it to drip down sides and center.
Serves 12-16.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 stick butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces chocolate chips
Cream butter, shortening and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Add dry ingredients and chocolate chips.
Bate at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Fresh Strawberry Pie
1 baked 9-inch pie shell
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 quart strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup cold water
Pinch of salt
Juice from half of a lemon
Soften cream cheese to room temperature. Beat in sour cream and spread on bottom of pie shell.
Stem and wash berries.
Put 1 cup of berries, sugar, corn starch, water, lemon juice and salt in blender and blend for 30 seconds. Cook over medium heat until thick and clear for 5 to 6 minutes.
Pour half of sauce in pie shell, add berries, cover with the rest of the sauce and chill until set.
Caramel Popcorn
15 cups popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white corn syrup
1 stick butter
Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon soda.
Pour over popcorn and bake in 200 degree oven for 1 hour. Stir 2 or 3 times while baking.
