There are certain foods, says Kelley Lugo, that will always make her feel “like a 10-year-old girl running free and chasing fireflies in the hot summer evenings in Franklin, Tenn.”

Especially the corn light bread her grandmother Marion Herd used to make to go with her glorious farm-fresh feasts. Sweet and tender and baked in a loaf pan instead of a skillet, it is so simple and versatile, there is no reason to wait for an excuse to bake a loaf.

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LOUIE FAVORITE/lfavorite@ajc.com

Corn light bread is baked in a loaf pan instead of a skillet.

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Family photo

Kelley Herd Lugo (right) says her grandmother’s bread goes well with fried catfish and barbecued pork.

RECIPE:
• Corn Light Bread

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The contributor: Kelley Herd Lugo, who was born in Biloxi, Miss., and raised in Duluth. Now a business development manager for a law firm, she and her husband, Carlos Lugo, live in Decatur with their two children, Daniel, 4, and Victoria, 2.

The story: “Every summer my younger sister Erin, cousin Jeff and I would spend a week at our grandparents’ house on a 60-acre cattle farm in Franklin, Tenn. Each morning my grandmother would wake up at 6 or earlier and make sausage and biscuits topped with homemade strawberry jam — my favorite breakfast to this day.

“Afterward, my grandfather would take us out to see the cows. We’d first have to find them, then we’d feed and pet them as if they were simply large dogs. We’d travel by tractor through grass, creeks and lots of mud. I remember being fascinated by how the huge tractor tires drove through deep, squishy mud and pulled us out of the creek with such ease.

“The children would return to the house to play board games or croquet in the front yard, while Grandpa took care of the cows and Grandma prepared for the next meals. Lunch was often BLTs with fresh-grown tomatoes.

“In the afternoons, we would play outside, go on an outing such as bowling or do arts and crafts with Grandma, a retired home economics teacher who taught us patience as well as how to thread a very tiny needle. We made lots of pillows.

“Dinner was always delicious. A typical meal would include pot roast with carrots and potatoes, green beans and a corn bread that I’ve never had anywhere else. I later learned that she called it corn light bread. It is moister, sweeter and lighter in texture than traditional corn bread. It goes great with a fresh vegetable plate, pot roast, fried catfish, barbecued pork and really any traditional Southern main dish.

“Grandma is now 90 years old and resides in Sugar Hill with my aunt Anne Lawrence. My parents live in Suwanee, on 30 acres of farmland. My father recently purchased a new tractor to cut the pastures and give tractor rides to his grandchildren — to keep the farm life somewhat alive in our family.”