Columns

The Guitarist No One Heard (But We Did)

Big cities have their perks — bright lights, endless options, and the kind of convenience that makes your head spin. But they also have a way of making people numb to wonder. When everything’s available all the time, it’s easy to stop noticing the magic tucked into the ordinary.

John and I had a layover in Dallas recently. Just one night before flying out the next day. We found a restaurant near the hotel, nothing fancy, just a cozy spot with good food and a warm atmosphere. And there, in the corner, was a man with a guitar. An acoustic set. Live music. On a Tuesday night.

He played with heart. You could tell he loved what he was doing. His fingers moved like they knew the strings by memory, and his voice had that soft, worn-in quality that only comes from years of singing to strangers. And yet — no one seemed to notice.

Making your own baking and cooking mixes might sound like something only your grandmother did, but it’s easier than you think — and worth every minute. It’s one of those old-fashioned skills that fits right into a modern life that values health, savings, and a little peace of mind.

From pancake mix to taco seasoning, soup bases to cornbread mix, these staples are quick to put together and save both time and money in the long run. Instead of reaching for a prepackaged product full of additives, you can scoop out a bit of your homemade mix and know exactly what’s in it. Most mixes only take five or six basic ingredients — flour, baking powder, salt, maybe a little sugar or spice — and they store well in jars, bags, or plastic containers right in your pantry.

Are raw oysters safe to eat? A seafood expert has answers

Two people recently died in Louisiana after eating raw Gulf oysters contaminated with the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. Now that we have returned to the “r” months of autumn, a period historically considered safer to consume the mollusks on the half shell, seafood lovers are rightfully on edge about enjoying what many consider a saltwater delicacy.

Evelyn Watts, a seafood extension specialist with the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, has spent the better part of her adult life working with the seafood industry on the best ways to process and work through regulations about their catches. She wants to set the record straight about the safety of eating Gulf oysters throughout the year.

Several versions of the “Neutral Grounds”, a.k.a. the “Neutral Strip” and “No Man’s Land”, have been reported. These all refer to an area stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to a short distance above Mansfield where the Sloan Road joins Hwy. #175. The following are the actual boundaries: “Beginning at the mouth of the Calcasieu River at the Gulf of Mexico northward to the Arroyo Hondo continue north to the thirty-second parallel and westward to the Sabine River. Thence south on the Sabine River to the Gulf of Mexico”. This area includes portions of DeSoto, Sabine, Natchitoches, Vernon, Rapides, Beauregard, Allen, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis and Cameron Parishes.

I Have to Have One Now!

Lots of response to my “Hybreds” Column: First on all, yes, I know it’s correctly spelled Hybrid but I was just trying to be funny — lots of funny name combos (combinations), you know; Second — there sure are a lot of strange pairings — like with Zebras or chickens, whew; Third — most of the responses were sadness and dismay at my callous tone about the demise of the little Bobcat hybrids I had — my excuse is, hey, I was at work; and, finally, I reported that Wikipedia called the cross of a bobcat and house cat “Pixie-Bobs” but my friend, Janis from South Louisiana (who has two), calls “Bengal Cats”. And she is right because I immediately Googled them and there is a whole culture of these crosses! Besides, Bengal Cats sounds alot cooler than Pixie-bobs.

Louisiana Farm to School Conference set for Oct. 8 in Baton Rouge

The Louisiana Farm to School Conference is back for its ninth year, bringing together educators, farmers, school nutrition staff, administrators and community leaders from across the state. Hosted by the LSU AgCenter Seeds to Success: Louisiana Farm to School Program, the event will be held Tuesday, October 8, at Pennington Biomedical Conference Center in Baton Rouge from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year’s conference focuses on building healthier school food systems by exploring the connections between education, gardening, local agriculture and school meals.

History comes in several forms — about people, places, happenings, & etc. Today’s topic is about things most citizens of DeSoto have heard about but have never actually seen — at least not in use — a “Brush Arbor”.

Brush Arbors were used by our early settlers for one of two purposes. The early arrivals by wagons used brush arbors for temporary homes. After traveling from the Carolinas, Alabama or Mississippi and cramped in a wagon for several months it felt good to live under a brush arbor where you could stretch your legs and walk around.

My friend Butch and I have a lengthy set of “Gameday Rituals” for LSU football and baseball games. Heck I guess most intense fans do, too: Favorite shirt or hat, lucky appetizers or foods, cheers or chants and on and on. In our minds we all know that any lucky habits like these ultimately have no effect on how young men play a game but in our hearts we still don’t want to chance it. One of my gameday rituals is to make a big Bloody Mary after breakfast with Zing-Zang mix and extra hot sauce. Zing-Zang is excellent with only ice and vodka but you know I have to add a dash of Louisiana Hot Sauce, Crystal Hot Sauce, and (of course) Tabasco. This is where the title of Tiger Sauce comes in. Butch’s nephew, and mine kinda too, is Bake Barron son of Gay and Roy Lee Barron who were from right here in Mansfield, La. He asked Butch if I would do a little research on and write about Tiger Sauce.

Nuisance or nature’s gift? With elderberries, it depends on your perspective

There’s an old saying that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. It’s a similar story for elderberries — nuisance for some, valuable crop to others.

It’s true: Elderberries do behave like weeds in many ways.

These large shrubs pop up along fences, in ditches, on vacant lots. They grow quickly, spreading with ease thanks to an extensive root system and numerous seeds. With unassuming white flower clusters, tiny berries and a scraggly growth habit, they aren’t much to look at.

And yet elderberries have their benefits. For one, their BB-sized berries are an important food source for all sorts of wildlife. They serve as a host plant for several moth species, and their plentiful flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators.

Seven Bridges … Bridge

To paraphrase that famous Eagles song of the South from their ‘Live’ album in 1980. Written by Steve Young about an actual road of bridges out of Montgomery, Ala. The Eagles acapella version is the most famous and Don Henly once said, “When we open with it the crowd goes wild! But it is really only a song about a road and a girl although now I think there is almost something mythical about it”.

AND, let me unpack that a little to make sense of it all. I just got back from a short trip down to South Louisiana to introduce Susan to my best friends Butch and Charmaine Golsan and my Son Van (Three) and his girlfriend Rachel.