Plate 1. Shmoo In The Cradle (Jonathan’s Pumpkin or White Cushaw), February 5, 2008. As a side note, this particular cushaw weighed in at 20.5 pounds. Now that’s prolific! — the editor Cushaw by Donny Heston Unsuspectingly, I took a packet of Jere Gettle’s white cushaw seeds and planted four hills, each a hoe-handle length…
Plate 1. Harvest cornucopia. October 11, 2008. Hillbilly Vegetable Fixin’s from How They Lived In The Ozarks by Chick Allen Chick Allen, fourth generation in the Ozarks — of Indian blood — was born in a log cabin on the James River. This is the story of the way the early Indians and white settlers…
Plate 1. Harvest-time maple leaves, Roark Mountain. October 5, 2008. Dried Fruit from How They Lived In The Ozarks by Chick Allen Chick Allen, fourth generation in the Ozarks — of Indian blood — was born in a log cabin on the James River. This is the story of the way the early Indians and…
Grandma Gwinn’s Ginger Bread by Joshua Heston I remember my great grandma, Lula [Benge] Gwinn, although she passed away when I was only four. She lived in all-but forgotten Leroy, Iowa, in a tiny, shingle-sided house surrounded by lilacs. Although she lived her whole life up in the rolling hills and hollers of Lucas County,…
Ozark Cooking by Joshua Heston I think it is darned near impossible to separate Ozark culture from Ozark cooking. And with culinary sensibilities long-inherited from a tradition best described as “Southern by way of the Cumberland Gap,” I’m happy to now preside as editor over this section. Great Pumpkin Sheet Cake from Dale Grubaugh Cake:…
Fried Morel Mushrooms by Joshua Heston & Dale Grubaugh Mushroom hunting can be tricky business. Not easy to find, rarely in the same place twice — and important not to confuse with poisonous toadstools — this is not a sport for the uninitiated. However, frying mushrooms is another story entirely. If you can fry bacon,…
Plate 1. War Eagle Cornbread, May 11, 2009. Corn bread by Joshua Heston You wouldn’t think that a simple cake — and it is more of a cake than a bread — would garner so much attention. Or come in so many varieties. Cornbread does. A staple of not only the Ozarks but rural America…
Plate 1. Crispy battered, flour-rolled okra. Few things make an Ozark summer better. Miss Shirley’s Fried Okra There is cornmeal-rolled fried okra. There is flour-rolled fried okra. And then there is Miss Shirley’s Fried Okra. This recipe calls for includes homemade pancake batter and a cast iron skillet, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Ingredients:…
PLATE 1. Beautiful jars of End-of-the-Year Relish, waiting for a winter season of hot dogs, brats, Polish sausage, pork chops and just-plain eatin’ out of the jar. Miss Angie’s End of Season Garden Relish by Joshua Heston This amazing relish has two important stories for me. First, the precise recipe is from Angie Haage-Hubbs of…
Dutch Oven Cookin’ by Elias Tucker (Dale Grubaugh) Winter can be a challenge in these Ozark hills. During the last week of January, the hills around here got all dressed for the occasion. Blanketed in sleet, snow and freezing rain, the Ozarks looked a bit like a waiting bride in a veil of ice. Beautiful…