Cooking with the Heckmans on Canoe Creek
Story by Scottie Vickery
Photos by Mackenzie Free
Submitted Photos
Everything in Amy and Derrick Heckman’s Ashville home tells a story.
The handrail going up the steps was original to the Teague Mercantile building on the town square and was hand-hewn from longleaf pine before the Civil War. A cabinet is filled with family quilts made by Amy’s great-grandmother and her sisters. There’s a snapping turtle shell that held a place of honor in Derrick’s family’s lake cabin in Texas, and the collapsible cup her great-grandfather took into the coal mines will always have a special place in Amy’s heart.
“Everything in this house has some special meaning,” Amy said. “It may not have a lot of value, but it’s all precious to us.”
The Heckmans share a love for making old things new again, and the log cabin they bought on Neely Henry Lake’s Canoe Creek is no exception. It’s been a work in progress for years, but both say it’s been well worth the time and elbow grease they’ve invested. “It’s been one project after another, but it’s been a labor of love,” Amy said.
Their appreciation of family and Ashville history is evident all over the 2-bedroom, 2-bath cabin, and the kitchen and dining room areas are no exception. A 1940s Chambers stove from Derrick’s grandparents’ house takes center stage in the kitchen, and they use it every day. A collection of cast iron skillets from Amy’s great-grandmother and other family members hangs nearby.
They rescued the kitchen table from a nearby old dogtrot house that was slated for demolition and took the piece to a carwash in an effort to pressure wash motor oil stains off before finishing the table with linseed oil. An antique dough bowl filled with rolling pins passed down through the generations rests on top, and a light fixture they made from an old ladder, party lights and muscadine and supplejack vines from the yard, hangs above it.
“We’ve both lived a simplistic lifestyle, whether by choice or circumstance,” Derrick said. “When I was growing up if you needed something, you built it. We try to find old stuff and fix it.”
Cabin sweet cabin
The Heckmans had been house-hunting for about seven years when they stumbled across the log cabin, tucked at the end of a quiet street off Highway 411. They already had a home on Canoe Creek but they wanted more house, less land and deeper water so they could build a boathouse.
When they found the cabin, it was clear that no one had lived there for a while. They were intrigued, so they left a note on the door for the owner. A month later, the phone rang. “It was basically a home to animals,” Amy said. “There were all kinds of wildlife living in it, but it had good bones, and we saw what it could be. We’ve just about gotten it to that place.”
It’s taken a lot of work. They salvaged the kitchen and dining room floors and a claw foot tub, “but other than that, we redid everything,” she said, adding that they first saw the house and property they’ve named Canoe Cove in 2014, bought it in 2015 and moved there in 2017. “It took us that long to get it to where we could live in it. The general footprint is the same, but there is not a piece of that house that was not changed in some way.”
The first thing on the agenda was building a stone fireplace. “When we first bought the house, the very first thing we said to each other was, ‘How can you have a log cabin without a fireplace?’ There was a wood stove, but no fireplace,” she said.
Derrick’s grandfather knew a good bit about construction, so he had learned a lot about building growing up, and a friend taught him to lay the rock. “I’ve learned skills by watching people and just doing it,” he said. “When I was a kid, I could come up with an idea to build something. Sometimes it was by trial and error, but eventually I came up with something that worked.”
Those skills came in handy for their biggest project – building an outdoor pavilion, complete with an outdoor kitchen and a ‘Cracker Barrel fireplace.’ “She kept telling me all she wanted was a Cracker Barrel fireplace, so I went (into the restaurant) with a tape measure,” he said.
They built the pavilion from lumber they milled on the property – the lot was so wooded you couldn’t see the water. Derrick also used the lumber to build the 14-foot table and four Adirondack chairs, as well as the boathouse they added in 2020.
Two cooks, two kitchens
His pride and joy, though, is the outdoor kitchen, complete with a smoker that can handle 30 butts, a deep fryer, grill and flat top.
“We both like cooking, but he’s a natural cook,” Amy said. “There’s no recipe ever followed; no measuring involved. I’m just the opposite.” They often share the cooking duties, Derrick said, and they each take a kitchen. “She cooks the indoor part of the meal, and I cook the outdoor part,” he said and laughed. “I cook anything that might stink up the house. Amy likes pumpkin spice and if it doesn’t smell like pumpkin spice in here, she ain’t happy.”
Although Amy has been known to find ideas online, it’s no surprise that they also use a lot of recipes handed down from family members. She uses a 1950s cookie press to make her grandmother’s cheese straws, and her spaghetti sauce is a favorite. “It’s very good, but it still never tastes as good as I remember hers being,” Amy said.
They love cooking for family and friends, and as a result, their house is a gathering spot during the holidays. At Thanksgiving, they usually have 12 to 16 guests, and Derrick smokes a turkey while Amy handles many of the sides. “I’ve promised Amy a freight elevator to make it easier to haul stuff inside and out for meals,” Derrick said.
Although it’s usually warm enough at Thanksgiving to eat under the pavilion, there was one memorable year when they ate inside. “We were all sitting at the table, and we looked out the window and there were 20 turkeys standing out in the front yard looking at us while we ate our Thanksgiving turkey,” Derrick said. “It was crazy.”
Much of what they cook is what they’ve grown, caught or hunted. “You don’t have to go far around here to find something to eat,” Derrick said. “If it’s not in the garden, it’s at the boathouse. We’re pretty self-sufficient.”
Their freezer is full of fish, which they enjoy grilled, fried and blackened, as well as venison. “I haven’t bought red meat in 15 years,” Amy said. “Derrick is known for his (venison) burgers. They’re delicious.”
The gardens – there are several – are another source of sustenance. “I grew up gardening; it came naturally to me,” Derrick said. “And Amy loves canning, so we make a good pair.”
Thanks to their teamwork, they enjoy a variety of homegrown fruits and vegetables throughout the year. In addition to blueberries and blackberries, their bounty includes figs, corn, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, pumpkin, black-eyed peas, watermelon and purple pole beans. “Everything we have around here, we use,” Amy said.
Leaving the rat race early
So, when do they have time to do it all? It’s been a lot easier since they retired. Derrick retired from the Alabama Forestry Commission in 2017 at age 49, and Amy left the St. Clair County Probate Office in 2019 when she was 47.
“When I was a kid and started working, the first thing my parents told me was if you save 20 or 25 cents out of every dollar you make, you can retire at 50,” Derrick said. “I wasn’t rebellious; I was one of those people who believed my parents. When you start early, you learn to live off that 80 cents and you don’t miss the other 20.”
Amy followed suit not long after they began dating in 2007, and early retirement has given them the freedom to work on the house, tend their gardens, enjoy their time on the lake and indulge their love of of Americana.
“We go picking,” Amy said. “We love collecting things, and it all seems to find a place.” They didn’t have to go far to find many of their treasures. The mantle on the pavilion fireplace was a central beam from under the old Cason-Tipton House, for example, and several finds came from historic buildings they have owned.
In addition to the handrail from Teague Mercantile, a building they owned for about 15 years before selling it earlier this year, the Heckmans salvaged a wood stove from the original Ashville Savings Bank that they owned for a while, as well. It has a place of honor in the loft, which is home to Amy’s library.
“I’m a huge reader, and I asked for my own library,” she said. “I wanted a place for my books. It just makes me happy to come up here.”
The same can be said for the house as a whole. Amy and Derrick love knowing they created their home, filled with memories from generations of love, together. “We wanted it to be cozy and comfortable, but we wanted it to have character, as well,” she said. “A lot of things we have belonged to family, and we wouldn’t trade anything for it. We’d both rather have something old than new any day.”
Blackened Catfish
- Large catfish filets (Use filets from 2- or 3-pound catfish. Caught fresh is best!)
- Fire-n-Smoke Fish Monger seasoning
- Zatarain’s ground cayenne pepper
- Olive oil or Pam spray
- Pepper jelly
Rinse filets with water. Lightly sprinkle with Fish Monger seasoning and cayenne pepper (lightly, the pepper is powerful.)
Let marinate in refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Heat a cast iron skillet or flat top on high. Lightly sprinkle filets with olive oil or Pam spray. Lay filets in skillet or on flat top and cover with a lid. (This is crucial. I use a pot lid.)
Brown until golden; it usually has blackened edges. (This takes practice.) Serve on a bed of shrimp and grits, rice, etouffee or jambalaya. Drizzle with pepper jelly to finish. Enjoy!
Blueberry Pecan Sour Cream Cake
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus over-filled ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 cups blueberries
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan.
In mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to batter until just blended. Fold in blueberries. Spoon half the batter into pan.
Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle ½ mixture over batter. Spoon remaining batter on top and then sprinkle remaining pecan mixture.
Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes. (Cooking times may vary depending on oven.)
Shrimp and Grits
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked quick cook grits
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
- 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp parsley
- 6 green onions, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Bring broth to boil. Stir in grits. Cook, stirring occasionally 5-7 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in salt and next 3 ingredients. Set aside and keep warm.
Cook bacon and remove from pan. Cook shrimp in same pan 3 minutes or until almost pink. Add lemon juice and next four ingredients and cook 3 minutes. Stir in crumbled bacon.
Spoon grits onto plate or bowl and top with shrimp mixture.
Corn and Black Bean Salsa
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 3 cups fresh, frozen or canned corn kernels
- 2 cans black beans, drained
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 cup diced fresh or canned tomatoes
- ½ cup red onion
- 1 jalapeño
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Cook corn in skillet until slightly charred. Add salt and cumin.
Combine remaining ingredients, add corn, stir and enjoy!
