This past weekend I came across a book that I could hardly put down. I generally go to bed about an hour early each night to give myself time to read. (Sidenote: It is amazing how much giving up television has improved the quality of my life!).

So I came across this book and I’m going to tell you a little about it, but not enough to spoil it should you decide to read it, too. It’s called Whistling Woman and it is based on the ancestors of the authors. So many of the history, stories, and personalities of the characters echo those of my own heritage. My people were descended from Cherokee and “Black Dutch”, with a little Swedish, Irish, and German thrown in for good measure. The women in this book, and the men, too actually, could have easily been related to me. Their background, personalities, and even some of the family stories sound like they came from my own people.

The main character is a girl named Vashti Lee. Only, she hates that name so she insists that everyone call her Bess. Her grandmother is a Cherokee from North Carolina (where my Cherokee ancestors are from). One day, Bess is picking berries with her great grandmother and a lady walks by. Her grandmother tells Bess “She’s a whistling woman”. Bess asks what this means and her grandmother declares “You know what they say, a whistling woman and a crowing hen will never come to a good end. That there is a whistling woman. She whistles all day long and she don’t care none who hears it!”. (This is paraphrased from my memory of the book).

Bess decided right then and there that was exactly the kind of woman she wanted to be. The rest of the book follows along as she grows into a woman, struggles with a life that washes over all of us unexpectedly from time to time, and learns to be strong – just like her grandmother told her she would be someday.

I come from a long line of whistling women. Some might view them as eccentric, head strong, stubborn, or even trouble makers. Some of them were tiny little women in stature but never afraid to go head to head with a man twice their size. So many stories swirl around in my mind that were passed down to teach us inner strength and fortitude, joy and gratitude. Unfortunately, not many of the stories are fit to be shared in such a public venue so you’ll have to catch me when I’m doing one of my talks in person to hear them :).  Some of my best friends have been whistling women and those who I admire most..whistlers all.

Looking back on my life and even living it from day to day, I do believe I was born to be a whistling woman. 

And I find my whistle becomes louder and more out of tune the older I get…and that suits me and my maker just fine You can find out more about this book and buy a copy in paperback or ebook by clicking here.

Today’s recipe is simple. It needs only three ingredients but you can feel free to dress it up and add more if you like. But you know, cooking does not have to be a complicated thing. Neither does life. Keep it simple whenever possible. That gives you more time to whistle  

To make this, you’ll need an onion, a bottle of Catalina Dressing, and some Chicken.

I am using boneless skinless chicken breasts here but you can use whatever you like and you can easily make enough chicken for 6 people with this same recipe, without having to add any additional dressing or onion.

Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker, top with onion and dressing. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high, 3-4.

Now we’re gonna make our yummy sauce to go over it! 

Oh by the way, when your chicken is done it will be pink. I don’t mean pink like it was before it was cooked, but I mean pink as in the red catalina dressing will have turned it pink. We’re fixin’ to cover that up so don’t worry. Besides, take a spoonful of that sauce or try a forkful of that chicken. Chicken that tastes like that can be any color it wants! 

When chicken is done, remove chicken breasts from slow cooker and ladle the sauce into a saucepan.

Take 2-3 tablespoons of flour and vigorously stir it together with equal amounts of water. Pour this into the sauce.

Bring just to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for a few minutes, or until desired thickness.

Pour over chicken.

Enjoy.

Were you destined to be a Whistling Woman? Do you have Whistling Women in your life?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

 

~ Pearl S. Buck

Submitted by Jenny. Click here to submit your own.

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