BY MERLE MONAHAN/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
merlemonah@aol.com

WINDSOR—Sid Neighbours never uses any artificial ingredients when he cooks.

“If a recipe calls for milk, I believe it means whole, vitamin D milk, not 2 percent. And if it calls for butter, then butter it is, not margarine,” Neighbours said.

The educator-musician loves to cook and does his share, despite a schedule that keeps him busy at least six days a week. Neighbours is assistant principal of two high schools in Suffolk and serves as director of music and organist at Windsor Christian Church.

But he is always available when there is a family holiday get-together, and he tries to have a few friends over on occasion.

Neighbours has just purchased a home and is looking forward to cooking his first meals in his spacious gourmet kitchen.

“Up until now, I’ve lived in apartments,” he said. “Most of them had tiny kitchens where it was impossible to spread out. This is going to be heaven.”

Neighbours started cooking when he was about 10 or 11.

“I’d hang around the kitchen when my mom, Joyce Neighbours, was cooking dinner, and she’d let me help. I loved it,” he said. “I knew she was tired because she had her own business and had worked all day, but she always took time to teach me.”

He also learned from his grandmother Eunice Umphlette.

“Mom uses my grandmother’s recipes a lot, and they’re hard to beat,” Neighbours said.

One of his favorites is his grandmother’s corn pudding. When he attends a family gathering, he takes it or his own pineapple chess pie.

“The pie has become somewhat of a treat,” Neighbours said. “I got this recipe from my mom, but I added a few touches of my own.”

Neighbours gives much credit to his childhood friend, the late Talmadge Darden, for teaching him some of his cooking skills. Darden, who was principal of King’s Fork Middle School and lived in Carrsville, died from cancer on May 12.

“He was one of the best cooks I have ever known,” Neighbours said. “He could cook for a crowd of several hundred people and not even blink.”

NAME: Sid Neighbours

AGE: 47

OCCUPATION: Assistant principal at Elephant’s Fork and Booker T. Washington high schools in Suffolk and director of music/organist at Windsor Christian Church.

FAVORITE FOOD: Prime rib and chicken pie

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD: Raw tomatoes

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU REMEMBER COOKING: Spaghetti sauce

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR WORST COOKING EXPERIENCE: I was cooking cucumber pickle once and left it unattended. It boiled over on the stove, and I have never seen such a mess. It took forever to clean it up — never will I do that again.

WHAT IS ONE INGREDIENT YOU CAN’T COOK WITHOUT: Sugar

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT COOKING: Be sure you have all your ingredients on hand before you start.

WHO IS THE BEST COOK YOU HAVE EVER KNOWN AND WHY: I have at least four, my mom, Joyce Neighbours; my grandmother Eunice Umphlette; a good family friend

Kathryn Jenkins; and one of my dearest friends who just passed away, Talmadge Darden.

IF YOU COULD EAT ONE THING FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE: Chicken pie

SID NEIGHBOURS’

PINEAPPLE CHESS PIE

Ingredients:

5 eggs

2½ cups granulated sugar

¼ pound melted butter (not margarine)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 (8¼-oz ) can crushed pineapple

1 (3½-oz ) can angel flake coconut

2 unbaked pie shells

Directions:

Combine first six ingredients and pour into pie shells. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until pie is set and brown. Pie freezes well.