The South Will Rise Again!

Yes! The South will rise again! And Again! If I believed in reincarnation-which I do not-then, I would have lived one of my previous lives in the Deep South. Not to say that I am on the side of slavery; I am a true Abolitionist at heart but the South offers us so much. How can we not embrace it? Look at a little of what they have given us. Music-Creedence Clearwater Revival (it just occurred to me that although they have 'clear water' in their name, there is not one iota of it in their music!) Lynyrd Skynyrd! Creators of the National Anthem of the South-Sweet Home Alabama! I'm the girl who stands at attention when Sweet Home Alabama is played and I've never been in the state! Stevie Ray Vaughn-the master of Blues but only one of the latest incarnations of decades of blues that trace their roots to the South. The South is the bubbling center of the melting pot that is the source of many styles of music: Gospel, Blues, Jazz, R and B, Rock-a-Billy, Folk and Modern Rock can all trace their roots way down into the delta.


And the food! One of my favourite things to do in the summer is to put together a meal of barbecued chicken, ribs, corn on the cob and fried green tomatoes. It has to be eaten accompanied by CCR and lots of napkins for wiping fingers! Almost the best thing about the meal is that it takes almost as long to eat it as it takes to make! Imagine! Succulent ribs with the sauce dripping and the meat coming off the bone. Corn; sweet and buttered to within an inch of it's life! My boy, Austen, churning it off the cob like a machine! Crispy fried green tomatoes, dipped in mayonnaise cut with Frank's Red hot sauce, so tangy or sweet, you're not really sure how they taste so you have to have another! "That old black water, keep on movin', Mississippi moon won't you keep on shinin'" thumping in the background with Mr Fogerty's high voice serenading us all back down there.How can you resist his images of "barefoot girls dancin' in the moonlight" or "Bullfrogs callin'?" If you were really from the South, you would have Banana Pudding for dessert, but some homemade Banana Cream pie won't draw any complaints! Or a generous serving of Key Lime Anything!

I have some fond memories of meals eaten in the south. Recently, while driving down to Miami for a cruise, my husband and I drove all day to get the Georgia State line which is just out of Valdosta, Georgia. My first palm tree spotting was right there in the McDonald's parking lot but we were not headed there! Right down the street was a Steakhouse that boasted the best Georgia-grown beef cooked over a wood-fired grill. Now I get excited when I see a stack of wood in any restaurant because that means they're getting down to business! Dolph and I got our hotel room first (good idea) and ordered steaks with a Bloomin' Onion appetizer. Well, that bloomin' onion! It hung over the sides of its own dinner plate! We didn't even get halfway through it and we were done! Literally! I called the waiter and asked if we could have our steaks to go and the cheque with them. Nine hours of driving had taken its toll and that bloomin' onion finished us off. Dolph hit the bed as soon as we got in the hotel. I managed to stay awake long enough to eat a little of my juicy, medium rare steak, but it was steak for breakfast for us!

Another memorable eating event I had in the South was in 1987 when I went to Daytona Beach for Bike Week with my friend Lana from college. We had a tent, a cooler, and $500 American between us and absolutely no plans. When we stopped to change into shorts after we passed the Florida state line, we inquired about where all the bikes on the road were headed, and our destination was set. This was my first visit to Florida and when I saw that it was mostly scrub pine with an abundance of dead coons on the side of the road, I thought, this place is just a swamp? Food was not high on my list of priorities in those days and the only other thing I can remember eating was Nachos on the beach-my very first taste of Jalapeno Peppers! But late one night we were hanging out in a local place of refreshment and the guys we were with decided it was time for some Barbeque. Now if you are from the South, the word 'Barbeque' is synonymous with a pulled pork sandwich, but I was uninitiated in this as of yet. So around 3 am in the morning we rode well out of Daytona into the country (well into the country, I might add). The ride in itself was something. Riding anywhere on the back of a Harley on a warm moonlight night with the ocean breeze blowing through your hair (helmet law!) is an adventure! We pulled into what appeared to me to be someone's little hobby farm with a small barn out back, but the barn turned out to be a smokehouse and grill with a porch on the side that had a serving window-they were open for business. There was a short fence around the building that surrounded permanent tables and benches. I'm sure the fence was there only to prevent some inebriated rider from driving into the diners but it made a great place to park your Harley. So there, in the middle of the night, on some back road outside of Daytona, I had my first 'Barbeque' or pulled pork sandwich and I was smitten! Of course, atmosphere had something to do with the whole experience.

I have been told many times that I should open a restaurant and having spent many years working in them, I know all the untold hours and hard work they command, but if I were to open one, it would be a barbeque joint with a wood fired grill so large it can hold a side of beef! The menu would for sure contain Fried Green Tomatoes; Fried Banana Fritters drizzled with honey and Pork with Mustard and Maple syrup sauce. Mustard Sauce is considered true barbeque sauce in the South and not tomato based sauce so much. The Maple syrup gives it a Northern twang! Now I think a research trip or two may be in order just in case I decide to embark on said venture in the future. I was initiated in New Orleans and Creole food first hand when I worked at the Magnolia Cafe-a short lived restaurant that featured Popcorn Crayfish, Po' Boy Sandwiches, Blackened Catfish and Shrimp Gumbo, but I think that the real nuance of Creole food would be better savoured in some little out of the way place that has been handed down for a few generations right smack dab in the French Quarter! That is where I want to try my first serving of Shrimp and Grits!

I have a video clip from a Redneck convention of sorts produced by James Gandolfini of the Sopranos for the Tonight Show. The event features mud puddle jumping and various grilled foods served on a stick such as Gator and Possum. When asked what Possum tastes like, the toothless attendee replies, "Why it tastes just like chicken." When asked why, then, eat possum, the astonished reply is, "Possum's free!" And yes, I have eaten Possum, but don't recall it tasting remotely like chicken! And tell me: where in America can you shop at a grocery store called the 'Piggly Wiggly'-seriously! Another thing I love about the South is their fierce determination to protect their rights. They even have their own flag to celebrate their alligences. After all, I do come from a gun-toting, coon-hunting, slightly- redneck background. And where else in the world can you buy fireworks on any Tuesday, without a permit, on the side of the road?

Most of my favourite movies feature the south: Sweet Home Alabama (I hold kinship with Felony Melanie), Fried Green Tomatoes, A Love Song for Bobby Long, Driving Miss Daisy and the Grand Pappy of them all...Forest Gump! Recently a friend reviewed Benjamin Button with a scathing review, citing that it was blatant remake of Forest Gump and that it was full of obvious clichés about the South. That's exactly what the south is-one wonderful simmering pot of clichés just begging to be experienced firsthand and proud of it! Well, he's entitled to his opinion but as for me?


"I think I'll go back to my double wide and fry something!"*


 

Fall off the bone, sticky goodness!

Yum! Fried Green Tomatoes

This is serious business!

The bike I wish was mine in Daytona Beach-1987

Taken in S. Carolina 2004

*Melanie's Momma: Sweet Home Alabama.
Lyrics taken from Green River by CCR

Howling at the Moon!

The moonlight shining in the window was so bright that it woke me at 3:30 am. The full moon the night before was one of those huge glowing moons that is accompanied by a sharp deep cold that takes your breath away. I had heard that the moon's position would be closest to the earth that evening so I knew that it would be a full snow moon! However it was also to be the coldest night of the winter so far, the forecast being -15 Celsius, so I wanted to stay in and cozy up with a book!

I love a full moon in the winter. We live in the woods and the moonlight throws strong shadows of the trees across the snow, gleaming in the bluish light. One of my favourite things to do in the winter is to go for a walk with only the moonlight to guide my path. Sometimes you can see the frost hanging in the air like suspended glitter. Everything has a blue tinge and sounds travel for a long way in the clear cold air. Often, I can hear the howl of wolves or coyotes and once heard the whoosh, whoosh sound of the wings of an owl as it hunted its prey in the almost-day light.

So there was no way around it, but I had to get up and sleep would not return as I restlessly churned through the thought that this is an opportunity that should not be missed even though it was a brisk -15 outside! I got out my tripod and 300mm lens, set up my camera, with flashlight tucked under my arm and well bundled against the cold, headed into the back yard shutting off any lights as I went. The dog came out of his Igloo doghouse stiff legged with surprise, wondering why I was venturing out with so many hours to go until breakfast. Finding a spot in the well treed backyard that gave me a clear shot took some time, but I took a few shots first with the trees in silhouette against the huge aura surrounding the gleaming orb. The dog sat and shivered violently as I set up my tripod and focused the camera. He could not understand the reason for this late night visit but was not giving up the pleasure of company despite the cold! I had to return to the house several times with my Flash card to check the results on the computer. There was actually a haze of cloud but the pictures seemed very crisp in spite of it although I did go back out an hour later to find the clouds gone but the moon too dangerously skimming the tree tops for a clear shot. I used the flashlight to focus the lens on the pattern of shadows among the trees but was not very successful-this would need a 500 watt halogen painting light to be dragged from the garage to light the area while I composed the shot. Still it was a good experience-with the shivering dog at my side-and there is still much to be learned but I did capture the moon with all its mysterious shadows and craters.

The whole experience brought back memories as a child of being outside in the winter. We lived on a farm and had livestock to take care of, so on winter evenings I was often outside during those cold frosty full moons. A huge snow bank would drift in behind our house and I loved to lay on it while my father and brother were busy in the barn with chores (which is also where I was supposed to be) and contemplate the winter sky. From the barn came the sound of lowing cattle and the pigs scrapping over their trough of feed. Occasionally in the deep blue winter sky the faint gleam of Northern lights could be seen, but most often it was a huge moon rising over the horizon that captivated my imagination. I tried to take photos with my Kodak Instamatic camera but the picture was always a disappointing tiny white blob on a dark background. The Milky Way would gleam in its sweeping arc and the Big and Little Dipper were always there waiting to be found. Finally more than 30 years later I am able to capture that huge gleaming orb in all its mysterious glory!

My Final Shot of the Moon

My first shot taken through the trees-only the moon and its hazy aura showed through the trees

I decided to capture the shadows of the trees on the snow by setting the camera on bulb-it was a long exposure but needed a bright light to focus the shot first.