Columns

A Very Old Cookbook

In the last few weeks I’ve been receiving Ms. Hope Calhoun’s collection of books delivered by her Niece, Cheryl Ryder Brightwell, from Cousin Tommy Calhoun AND it’s been a major undertaking. In the 24 boxes delivered I’ve been finding gardening books, bird and plant books, cookbooks and ,most importantly for the Museum, textbooks from the old Female College. Yes, actual text and reference books!

So far some interesting finds as I unpack are a 1924 book on Parliamentary Procedure, a set of “The Student’s Cyclopaedia” copyrighted 1893 most recently updated in 1919, volumes of the “Messages and Papers of the Presidents” with Volume II copyrighted in 1897 starting with James Madison … This is gonna be fun!

Spring is here and summer is very close!! Isn’t it good to be a true Southerner and enjoy tomatoes, watermelons and cantaloupes? Allow this writer to divert from history this one time to write about the above “vegetables” — especially watermelons and cantaloupes. Cucumbers are great but watermelons are more to my liking. This tasty “gourd” — yes it is in the gourd family — is good for much more than a summer picnic. Watermelon is 90% water and a great way to stay hydrated. It is an excellent healthy alternative to sugary drinks and is a good choice for people watching their weight. It’s full of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

Trout Battles — Meniere vs Almandine

What?! Noooo, it’s not a European title fight but a competition of two simple yet elegant French dishes. I’ve told about the famous (to me and my Daughter) New Orleans trip with my Mom in search of the perfect Trout Almandine dish from the great 4-star restaurants there. It took two columns to tell it all and I will gladly send you a copy if you’re interested but basically Sal Saia, the owner of Sal & Sam’s in Metairie, La., said that it was one of the simplest but easiest recipes to mess up. He insisted it should be the measuring stick of all really great restaurants. Soooo, we decided to try that at every one we visited. Of course 10-year-old Ashley was more interested in the different deserts but we all had a great and fun week.

Chef Hunter Lee

Let’s get shakin!!! One of my favorite cookbook promotional tours included Asheville, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah Georgia. It was an amazing adventure but over 2,400 miles round trip, it was a lot of driving and let me tell y’all it’s just as HOT up there as it is here.

South Carolina and Georgia are both well known for the Pineapple. It’s not just them, like a lot of symbols it’s a southern thing!

“The Pineapple” is the southern symbol for hospitality and we all know you won’t find better down-home hospitality than right here in the south.

There are stories of how this came to be and why, a lot of them are just myth and a lot have been lost in history and time.

Peaches Foster

“A name (…), as I might name my cat,” says Sam Sifton who is the Editor of the NYT Cooking section and a pretty funny guy when he was writing about a new dessert he created. It is what he calls a no recipe recipe and sounds real good, in fact I just might try it this weekend.

Most of you know I love to cook and to try new recipes but just am not good at pastry or gravy or desserts. However, Sam’s sounded so simple that I thought I would share it with you and give it a try, too. He starts his column by stating, “I like canned peaches, and if that bums you out, I don’t know what to tell you.” He goes on to talk about mayonnaise sandwiches and other good things that aren’t good for you but ends with, “These are all defensible positions – but I get it.”

I love standing in my utility room, watching life through my screen door. In the midst of a hectic day, this mini break gives me a sense of peace and calms my spirit. The other day, I realized that not only was I getting a few moments of calm, but I was also getting something else. Hope.

It’s from that vantage I can see the smiling faces of visitors who have come to enjoy a few moments of peace in their otherwise hectic lives. It’s where I often stand to watch children as they laugh and giggle while feeding the cows Range Cubes, and grimacing while slinging cow slobber off their hands, only to turn to the nearby adult and beg, ‘give me more! I want to do it again!’

One of my first red flags when I visited Louisiana was this obsession with crawfish. Remember, I had a lot of concerns and rouge-colored flags about moving away from my beloved Texas. The promise of twenty-four-hour casinos and Mike the Tiger didn’t entice me at all. However, I’ve put my hesitations aside and learned to embrace my adopted state. But let’s talk crawfish.

Louisiana’s love of crawfish dates back to native Americans and early European settlers. But why? The little creatures feast and frolic among the swamps and marshes down south. Hmmm, their habitat does nothing to perk up my taste buds.

Planning for drought stress in the landscape

Last summer in Louisiana, we were affected by a heatwave that spread across the southern tier of the U.S. This heatwave was caused by a persistent, strong ridge of high pressure in the upper atmosphere that led to low precipitation. This played a key role in the unforgiving high temperatures we endured in 2023.

According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, recent summers have been 1 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in prior years. Climate model projections indicate there is a continued and increasing risk of such heatwaves as the climate warms, especially in dry years. And this summer will be no exception. That means it’s time to get prepared for drought and heat conditions in the garden.

My friends at “Psychology Today” completed a survey that claims ninety-five percent of Americans cannot go an entire week without telling a lie. That result strikes me as harsh, but let’s review the definition of a lie.

The simplest explanation I found is “to not tell the truth.” The Bible confirms this definition in Exodus 20:16, number nine of the ten commandments. Specifically, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001. ESV Online, https://esv.literalword. com).

If we go by Merriam- Webster and the Good Book, then most of us do fall within that ninety-five percent. Because here in the South (I can’t speak for the North — maybe that’s where the five percent reside), we toss around our fair share of what we like to call “little white lies”.

Porterweed is a pollinator magnet and Louisiana Super Plant for summer 2024

The buzz around planting for pollinators is not a new trend. In fact, we celebrate National Pollinator Week each June, and the month of May has been designated as Garden for Wildlife Month, according to the National Wildlife Federation. The National Gardening Survey shows more gardeners are limiting traditional lawns and partially replacing them with more natural landscapes that serve as native wildlife habitat and provide ecosystem services.

National Pollinator Week is June 17 to 23, 2024 — so it’s time to get planting for pollinators. There are many plants that support pollinators, and one plant in particular is a great selection. It’s called porterweed and it has been named a Louisiana Super Plant for 2024 by the LSU AgCenter.