food and drink

I was born and raised in the heart of the Deep South. From as far back as I can remember I remember long summer afternoons peas and butter beans and iced tea to drink at my grandmother’s porch. I moved from my roots and have my way into other regions of the world. One has, however, that there is still a constant in my life is my deep and abiding love for southern cooking and kitchen.

Probably I was in my teenage years until I realized that a different type than tea with sugar and ice could not be loaded will be served. It was about the same time I realized some people would vegetables that did not eat the dough soaked, dredged in cornmeal and deep fried fat. Southern cooking is not for the faint of heart when it may cause many hearts to grow faint. One thing I can tell you is that you have never been anything like it on earth.

People in the South learned to do so with little in many cases. Some of the poorest people in America live in the southern part of the country. Of course you know that many of these people are to be found in spite of their poverty are also among the most generous. The same can be said for food. It is one thing that will be sufficient in most southern homes and very few get to have contact with an empty stomach seems.

Maybe it’s the spices that are often used when cooking southern food. From the crab boil and gumbo file of Cajun cuisine, the secret ingredient that almost every southern kitchen contains for their fried chicken recipes (and no one on earth can fry chicken like a born and bred southern grandma). Maybe it’s the Sunday service dinner, where everyone shares a little of what they or others with the love in the preparation of these meals will be shared with friends and family. Whatever may be the case if you ever have the opportunity to experience real southern cooking, not to be missed. You can shave a day of your life, but a good Southern Fried Chicken leg is to be alive and well worth the sacrifice if you ask me.

Of course it would be remiss to mention southern cooking education without some of the delicious desserts that seem to be perfect for the South. I mentioned banana pudding above but there are so many more. Chocolates are perfect for the people down to New Orleans, like bread pudding. A little to the east, there are grandmothers who have taken their lemon icebox pie recipes to the grave with them so coveted were these delicious desserts and the same is true for pecan pies as well. We should never forget the tasteful Mississippi Mud cake though, and so many other wonderful delicacies that southern cooking has introduced the world as a whole.

Preferred vegetables in the heart of the South, as I mentioned above included peas and butter beans, green beans, corn, pumpkin (it’s summer all year in the south) and okra (fried or boiled in many southern kitchens). Not all vegetables were deep fried though few were taboo. I remember eating my share of fried okra, fried squash, and yes, fried green tomatoes. Life was good back when calories do not count, and no one really clog arteries concerned. Although I would not make these a daily dish in every home, I would certainly recommend trying out if you ever get the opportunity.

Another great thing about southern cooking is the wonderful fried seafood, which seems to abound. Of fried fish (almost any variety is good, if it’s Southern Fried), to taste fried oysters, seafood just seems so much better in the south. If you hope to learn some of the southern cuisine and cooking, you will probably need to order your spices and delivered them, unless your grocery store has a fairly extensive “exotic” food choices. You can sometimes find great southern spices at the International Food transitions in supermarkets as well. If you really want to Treat your family a great meal, you should really try southern cooking for the night.