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| Kairos Pimento Cheeseburger |
What's Up Guys,
The last few weeks have been a little crazy, to put it lightly. When we went to got our final inspections on the Gardendale location we were surprised to find out that the AC Unit was a total loss and had to be completely redone. This has left us scrambling to get it finished up, but since that’s a very expensive thing to replace it has been a little tough. I am so thankful for friends and Kairos fans because we were able to find someone to do it relatively fast. We finished up the paperwork yesterday and they will begin on Monday. I’m doing my best to smile and telling myself that this new Kairos Kafe has to be something incredible on many levels just because of the obstacles we have faced over the past nine months. Thank you guys so much for your patience, and I hope you will keep us in your prayers.
This past week was also rough for me and my family as my Granny, Sara Mae Jones, the author of Granny’s Rolls and my greatest influence in the culinary arena, went home to be with Jesus. I am personally comforted by the fact that I helped lead her to Him many months ago, and the change in her life has been incredible, and so obvious to everyone that knew her. My Granny was so proud of Kairos and all of you guys. It makes my heart very proud to know that she had the opportunity to witness my dreams coming true, and see some of her recipes enjoyed by all of you. I am so grateful for my Staff and everyone connected to Kairos because they were able to keep things running smoothly last week while I spent Granny’s last days by her side. The last words she spoke to me where on Monday night when I told her “Thank You for being the best Granny in the world!” Her reply was sweet and simple “Thank you for being the best J.J. in the world!”
She was with my Mother when I was born, and she gave me that nickname that always stuck with me, and nobody could say “J.J.” quite like my Granny. The last few days she couldn’t speak, but I know that she could hear me just by the gleam in her eyes. I had a few special nights with her before she passed. After everybody left I prayed with her, sang some songs over her, and read her some scriptures. I thought a lot too about the legacy she is leaving here in all her kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and great-great grandkids. We are all blessed because of her influence in our lives. I am so grateful that she always let me know that I was loved, cared for, and precious in her eyes. And that she kept me in the kitchen with her before I could even walk. I wonder if I would have ever ventured out into the restaurant business without her influence. A lot of precious memories. I Love You Granny. Heaven will be honored to have Sara Mae Jones. On Sunday afternoon she passed peacefully in her sleep. I decided I was not saying goodbye to her that day, but to borrow a phrase I learned from a very wise man "Granny, we'll see you later."
So, in honor of her I would like to share with you guys a portion of a cookbook that I began with her that I’m calling “Granny & Me in the Kitchen” its a neat blend of her recipes alongside my recipes, and the wonderful stories that she told about each and every one. I hope you enjoy it. God Bless You. Thank You for Supporting Kairos, and I hope you have a wonderful week!
James K Jones
I decided that it would only be fitting to start this cookbook with an opening interview that I had with my 87 year old Grandmother, Sara Mae Jones.
"Granny, I know you love to cook, and most of your life has been spent in the kitchen, so can you tell me what your first cooking memories are?"
"Well, son, as a young girl I can remember sitting on the side of the table watching my Momma roll out dough with a rolling pin. It amazed me to watch her cook. I was always in the kitchen with her. Sometimes she would get aggravated with me... 'It's alright for you to be in here Sara, but please get out from under my feet!' was her reply to me on many an occasion."
"Where did you live when you were a girl?"
"We lived way back in the Country, on a farm, outside of Opelika, Alabama. (That was the closest Town) We had to travel by wagon, so we didn't get into town much. Momma would make a list for my Daddy when he went into town. Needles, thread, buttons, vanilla, cocoa, kegs of salt, flour, sugar, tea, and coffee. Sometimes we would get spices, and daddy would bring home coconuts that you had to bust open with a hammer. Everything else we raised ourselves. Our milk, butter, and cream came from our own cows. The kids had to churn the butter. I hated to churn, absolutely hated it! Our eggs came from our own chickens, our meat in the smokehouse came from our own hogs, and our vegetables came from our garden... Daddy even made lard from the hogs!"
"Basically, anything that we had, we had to make ourselves. Our fruit came from our apple and peach trees, we picked blackberries in the woods, watermelon and cantaloupes came from our garden, and sometimes Daddy would take some to town to sell. Daddy's main crops were corn and cotton... Most of the time, when Daddy went to town, he would take my brother, L.E. , but me and Momma stayed at the house. I was always in the kitchen with Momma. I loved the kitchen."
"What did you cook on?? A Fire??"
"No, son, we cooked on a wood range. We did have to put wood in it though. There was a warming closet on the top that we kept our leftovers in, and they would stay warm."
"What was the first thing you ever cooked?"
"The first thing I ever cooked on my own was biscuits in a cast iron pan. They weren't very good. I'm not so good at cooking bread. I ended up making too much. My Grandmother told me 'You're gonna have a large family Honey, because you don't know how to cook just a little!' and she was right!"
"What was the first thing you made after you married my Grand-Daddy?"
"When I married James Cecil Jones, the first thing I remember cooking was a pot of green beans and cornbread. We were living on Lower Broad Street in Columbus, Georgia. We had been married about a week, I think. I put them on before we went to work (they worked in one of the cotton mills), and they were ready when we got home. They turned out really good and your Grand-Daddy Loved them."
"Granny, what is your favorite cooking memory?"
"Probably when we lived in Virginia (My Grandfather was in the Air Force for 20 years and they traveled all over the world). We lived on the base in a very big house. We had a huge table, and all 6 kids could gather around it and we would all eat together. Oh, and I had a great kitchen in that house with a good stove! I loved cooking there, and I loved to watch my kids eat! They all love to eat my food! Breakfast could be a bit chaotic for me though, because all six kids and your Grand-Daddy wanted their eggs prepared a different way... good memories of Virginia..."
"What is your favorite food to prepare?"
"Desserts! I love to make desserts because I enjoy eating desserts, and my family loves them, too!"
"Granny, I already know the answer, but what is your favorite hobby?"
She smiles. "I've always traded recipes and cooked for people. My main hobby has always been collecting and sharing recipes. I have piles of recipes that cover my whole life span."
"How did having grandchildren affect your life in the kitchen?"
"Ha! It made it a lot more interesting! It made me love cooking even more! All of my grandkids were not interested in what I was doing in my kitchen, but I can tell you one thing for sure: all of them were interested in eating what came out of my kitchen! I enjoyed all my kids and grandkids, but there was one that was the most enthusiastic about cooking with me..." She smiles again with a gleam in her eye.
"Well, Granny, who might that be?"
She laughs. "You, J.J.!" (J.J. was a nickname that she gave me the day I was born that has stuck with me all my life)
"Oh, It was me, huh?"
"When you were born, Norma and James Keith (My Mom and Dad) came to live with us in an apartment that my husband and I had in our Basement. J.J., I was always so afraid that you would get into something, or fall down the steps, so when I was cooking I would sit you up on the counter, even when you were a baby! (Granny kept me while my parents were at work) I would give you some dough to play with or something to do to keep you busy and quiet...you were always quiet if you were busy doing something!"
"I don't remember back quite that far, but I do remember my earliest memories were in the kitchen with you..."
"You always had so many questions: 'Granny, what did you put in that?' or 'Granny, lets make some more of that stuff we made yesterday that tasted so good!' Anytime that you were with me, you were in the kitchen with me. When you got to be around seven or eight, I would let you help, turning bacon or taking something out of the stove, stirring a batter or licking the bowl. You thought you were cooking big time, and you were happy!"
"Fond memories, Granny. I remember one year you gave me a large bowl of pecans to shell and then you had me chop them up into fine pieces... it was a labor of love for me, but when I think back on that specific time, I remember that I never saw the pecans in or on anything. Did you do that just to get me out of your hair?"
"Sometimes you got on my nerves. You wanted to eat while we were cooking, and then you wouldn't eat dinner. It caused a lot of conflict when I made you start waiting for dinner... you would stare out the window and pout."
"Me? Pout? Surely that was one of your other grandkids." I teased.
"When you were about eleven, I woke up one morning and you had cooked breakfast for me as a surprise. I was very pleased. It was a very sweet thing for you to do, but the kitchen was a mess, and you didn't help me clean it."
"Umm, sorry Granny. That was your investment into my culinary education. Thank You!"
"When you were older you helped me out a lot. Peeling potatoes, dicing stuff, and licking the bowl! But come to think of it, you never did help me clean up the kitchen. The truth is I never said anything about it because you were happy and I thought it was nice that you were spending time in the kitchen with me... 'What are we gonna cook today Granny?' we'd always go find something. I remember taking you to the Mall once and you ordered chili, but you wouldn't eat it because you said you could make it better than that! I have a lot of fond memories of being in the kitchen with you, J.J."
"Did you ever think that I was gonna be a Chef?"
"Sure did." she replies matter-of-factly.
"Own a restaurant?"
"I knew that if you ever started it, then you could do it. When you were a teenager, I knew it. When you worked at Leonardo's, I knew the time had come because you were anxious for your own place. I knew that it would be hard, but I knew you could do it. I always knew you would be famous one day. You have the drive, and the ability to keep pushing, perseverance, and that's what it takes!"
"What do you think about your name being attached to Kairos Kafe?"
"I feel that it is an honor! It makes me feel good! I love to tell people about it!" She is beaming now.
"The Birmingham News called Granny's Rolls 'Famous', how does that make you feel?"
"It makes me feel good that something I showed you how to do could be famous....never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that! All I ever knew how to do was raise kids, puppies, and cook!" She's laughing now, clearly amused by her statement. I'm laughing with her.
"Where do you see Kairos in ten years?" I ask.
"More than one. Several Kairos Kafe's!"
"Granny, what is the good in writing a cookbook? There are so many already out there."
"Because, son, this one will be different. This one, and the recipes, are from the heart." Well said, beautiful Lady. Well said indeed.
"Thank you Granny, for sharing with me, and for instilling a passion in me to make delicious food!"
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