Cooking and Eating Southern

Photo credit to Patricia Preston from her tasty, humorous cook book available on Amazon, Darlene’s Redneck Recipes

Cooking and Eating Southern–Mustard Greens, Okra, Grits, Chitlins, Cornbread, Hush Puppies, Griddle cakes? Take what’s available and make it better!

Mustard and collard greens taste different up north! Not as good as they do down south. Maybe the warmer temps and sweeter soil make those grow faster so they don’t turn bitter. I’m not sure, but I enjoy eating things in Mississippi that don’t taste as good elsewhere. Okra? I search labels to make sure  it’s in the frozen vegetable medleys I buy. Hush Puppies? I’ve had a few and love the story behind them. Maybe it’s partly not letting any part of food, or even its flavor, go to waste, plus keeping the family pets happy. Corn bread? They make it great down south in many varieties. They add rosemary, or green chiles, or whole kernel corn, or just about anything, and it’s always great. No wonder they sing, “Mammy’s little baby loves shortnin’, bread.” I’ve found that I do, too! But, I’m confused. It turns out “Shortening bread” means bread made of corn meal and/or flour plus lard shortening. I’ve asked friends  how that differs from cornbread? Or griddle cakes? Or . . . ? Their answers aren’t clear. And why is corn featured so much in southern recipes when I thought Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the central US were our tall corn country states, where if you listened, you could hear corn grow (which I’m convinced I did as a kid on Grandpa’s farm).

A misconception I had was that most Southern Cooking is deep fried. Surveys prove that’s true for many recipes but not all. What Southern Cooks do serve up is lots of Deep-Fried Love!

Variety? It’s still the spice of life. Maybe the wide variety of cornbread specialties is testament to taking the foods on hand and making them the best we can for our families.

The same principle works for writers. Take the words we have, add spice, turn up the heat just right, and serve and enjoy with those we love.

Now it’s your turn. What is your family’s favorite  comfort recipe? Why? What’s its name? If you would, please also share its recipe.

My favorite new Southern recipe (wait for it) is Cornbread Salad! Dressings for it all include sweet pickle juice!

There are even variations of Cornbread Salad, but all cooks agree that old or dry cornbread crumbles better than fresh.

Recipes say start by breaking up around 7 cups of old or dry cornbread. Add the amounts you want of the following ingredients, all diced:

Red and green bell peppers, fresh sweet onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, 1 can of red kidney beans (drained), 1 can of corn (drained) or a package of frozen corn, 2 cups of shredded (your preferred variety), cooked crumbled bacon. Mix the ingredients together until the salad looks pretty and tastes great. Another option is to arrange the ingredients in layers like Seven Layer Salad and add one of sour cream, or if you wish, add dollops of sour cream on top–any combination is fine. To be authentic, be sure the dressing includes a bit of sweet pickle juice. Serve, enjoy, and have a wonderful week!