Learning curve

Growing up with six older sisters, Loretta Hoevener says her cooking experiences were “mostly staying out from underfoot while meals were prepared.”

“Dad (who was a mail clerk for the railroad) never cooked, but he could fry ham and make red eye gravy,” said Loretta, who was born and raised in Tampico. “We were very fortunate that Mom hardly took a day off, and then the nearest daughter or the one on hand took over.”

It wasn’t until she went to college at the University of Evansville that she began to learn the art of preparing food. Her teacher was one of her sisters, June Jones, who lived in Evansville and with whom Loretta stayed while in college.

“I lived with her three years,” Loretta said. “She kind of took me under her wing.”

After college and marriage, Loretta borrowed a cookbook and read it faithfully, and often called one of her sisters or her mother for recipes. She also spent 30 years in Homemakers Triclub in Decatur Township. She learned to cook and share recipes with members, family and friends.

Both she and her husband, Leon Hoevener, who was born in Tampico and raised in Seymour, were also busy with their careers, she teaching school in Decatur Township in Marion County and Leon serving as a chief warrant officer four in the Indiana National Guard. Loretta taught school for 31½ years, taking two and a half years off to have three children (raising them took much longer, she added).

Because of emergencies such as snow, flooding, tornadoes and alerts for the Berlin Wall and the Bay of Pigs, “I have a tendency to say ‘I’ raised the children,” Loretta said.

“Leon reminds me that he called home often and told us what to do once when the tractor was on fire, and one son was sitting on it and the other son was running in a circle around the tractor as our daughter, Debbie, and I screamed hysterically. He told me to get both boys away, stop the screaming and wait until the gas leaking on the manifold burned itself out. It worked.”

Leon’s career spanned 42 years.

Loretta taught fourth grade and second grade and, the last 27 years, she taught kindergarten.

“Every child has a different special something in them,” she said. “I found something special about each child.”

She said she especially enjoyed teaching kindergarten when morning and afternoon classes were held, with a fresh batch of youngsters coming into the classroom in the afternoons and saying, “Teacher, what are we doing today?”

In the time since the Hoeveners moved back to Jackson County from Indianapolis, Loretta has been a substitute teacher at Lutheran Central at Brownstown and at Medora and also a tutor.

“We moved from Indianapolis to Jackson County to retire and have lived here happily ever after for 14 years,” Loretta said. “We renewed old friends and found new friends here.”

The Hoeveners, who now make their home in Brownstown, are active in church work, the Historical Society and the Jackson County Library Board.

Their family has grown through the years as well. In addition to their children, Greg, Craig and Debbie, the Hoeveners have 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

1 box Rice-A-Roni, prepared as indicated

1 cup cooked rice

1 can cream of chicken soup and 1 can cream of celery soup

½ cup milk and ½ cup mayonnaise

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 cups cooked and cubed chicken

1 can sliced water chestnuts (drained)

1 2-ounce jar pimento

1 cup shredded cheese

Directions

Prepare Rice-A-Roni according to the package directions, then add all the rest of the ingredients and mix gently. Put in an oiled 9x13 pan. Top with more cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until hot and bubbly. This recipe can be frozen and baked later. I usually freeze half of it and bake only the other half. It will feed 8.

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffeecake

Streusel Topping (recipe follows)

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla

Make streusel topping; set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and sour cream; mix well. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add to the creamed mixture. Add vanilla and mix well.

Put one-third of streusel topping on bottom of a greased tube pan. Put half of the batter over the streusel. Spread another third of the streusel over the batter and top with the remaining batter. Top with remaining streusel. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Streusel Topping

Combine 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 6 ounces chocolate chips and ½ cup ground nuts.

Refrigerator Pickles

4 cups sugar

4 cups cider vinegar

½ cup pickling salt

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon celery seed

½ teaspoon mustard seed

4 onions

1 gallon sliced cucumbers

Scrub cucumbers and dry on clean towel. Slice cucumbers and onions thin in glass jars. Mix all other ingredients and pour over Place in refrigerator. Shake 3 times a day for 5 days beginning the very first day. Ready to eat in 5 days but will keep in refrigerator until eaten. Use left over juice for tuna, ham salad or potato salad.

BONUS RECIPES

Easter Lilies

Beat 3 eggs slightly and add:

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cold water

1 cup flour sifted with 1 teaspoon baking powder

Beat at medium speed 3 minutes. Drop by teaspoon on greased and floured cookie tin. Bake until slightly brown. Remove from oven and shape over finger while hot. Fill with whipped cream and tint some cream yellow for stamens.

Kuchens

Makes 4 servings

Mix together 4½ cups flour, 1½ tablespoons yeast, ½ cup sugar, 1½ teaspoons salt

Melt 1 stick oleo in ½ cup hot milk (cool)

Beat 2 eggs with ½ cup water

1 cup mashed potatoes

Mix all of the above in a bread maker or with a mixer. If dough is too soft, add more flour. Knead dough about 8-10 minutes. Place in oiled bowl and let rise until doubled. Punch down and divide into 4 kuchen pans. Let rise until doubled. Poke about 20 holes in each one with the end of a wooden spoon. Spoon a little cream (we like melted butter) over the top of each kuchen. Sprinkle over each one 1/3 to ½ cup of light brown sugar; sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

Sauce for Meatloaf

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce

3 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup catsup

2 cups water

6 tablespoons grated onion

Mix; pour over meatloaf. Bake as usual. I use ½ recipe and save some to pour over rice or mashed potatoes as a side dish.

Ozark Apple Pudding

Makes 4 servings

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1¼ teaspoons double-acting baking powder

Dash salt

1 egg

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ pound apples (Granny Smith or Golden Delicious), cored, pared and chopped

1 ounce chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On sheet of waxed paper or a paper plate, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Using electric mixer on high speed, in small mixing bowl beat together egg and sugar until mixture is thick and lemon-colored; beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and, using mixer on low speed, beat until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Stir in apples and pecans. Spray 8-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray; spread apple mixture evenly in pie plate and bake for 20 to 25 minutes (until a toothpick, inserted in center, comes out clean). Let cool for 5 minutes. Serving suggestion: Top each portion of pudding with 1 tablespoon thawed frozen dairy whipped topping.