Sherry Wolfe will be the first to tell you she likes “good down-home stick-to-your-ribs” cooking.

“I like things simple,” the Maple Fork homemaker said. “I like food that tastes good, but I don’t want to spend all my time in the kitchen.”

A backyard garden tended by her husband Mack has kept the Wolfes supplied with cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, squash, corn, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, peppers and even watermelon.

“This is what you can enjoy if you’re willing to work,” she said.

A retired military man, Mack said he enjoys the work it takes to keep the weeds and bugs from taking over.

“It’s hard work, but it’s work that makes you feel good, and you have something nice to show for it,” he said. “We always had a garden when I was growing up. I haven’t had one here for several years, but I’ve really enjoyed getting back into it this summer.”

Except for blight that hit their tomatoes, the couple has enjoyed something from the garden just about every day for the past several weeks.

Sherry loves to cook, although she rarely uses a recipe.

“I learned mostly by trial and error,” she said. “When I got married and had my two children, I made up my mind those children wouldn’t come home from school and have to look for something to eat. I would have a nice meal ready for them.”

Although her mother, 89-year-old Opal Setser of Barrett, has always been a good cook, it wasn’t until Wolfe’s adult years that she began to go visit and watch her mom at work in the kitchen.

“I’ve learned a lot by watching her cook. I’ve picked up little hints here and there that have helped me along.”

Like all good cooks, Sherry knows how to improvise. If she’s ready to make a batch of cornbread, for example, and there’s no milk, she can use water and still get good results.

“It’s the cast iron skillet that makes it turn out right,” she said, giving away no other culinary secrets.

Friends and neighbors rave about her bologna salad. Here’s Wolfe’s recipe:



Bologna Salad



One 8-inch chunk of bologna cut into small chunks

12 boiled eggs

3/4 pack of American cheese

Sweet pickle relish to taste

1 onion

Mayonnaise



Pulse the onion in a food processor, but don’t over process it. Put chunks of bologna in food processor and pulse until chunks begin to mix. Add eggs, cheese, relish and mayonnaise and mixed to desired consistency for a sandwich spread.

— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com