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Christmas used to be a season marked more by heart than by hustle. Gifts were made by hand, decorations were pulled from nature, and meals were crafted from recipes passed down through the family. Today, with crowded malls and endless online shopping carts, it can be easy to forget that a meaningful Christmas doesn’t need to come wrapped in shiny paper or topped with a bow. Sometimes, the old ways — the simple skills — are the ones that bring the most joy.

A Brussels Sprout Affront

We all know people who just hate mushrooms (they taste musty) or onions (too strong) or pickles (they’re vinegary) and a LOT of people really can’t stand Brussels Sprouts. Those little unassuming baby cabbage looking vegetables that our Mothers always told us we had to “at least try”. Someone posted on Facebook a pretty good looking picture of some covered in cheese sauce and asked, “Does anyone actually EAT these?”

My answer is YES! I do and have a real good sounding recipe for them. Wait, wait I know you’re getting ready skip to another portion of the paper but hear me out. The Title of the recipe is actually the four ingredients that go into it “Olive Oil toasted Brussels Sprouts with Alfredo Gruyere’ Sauce” so I don’t have to bother you with the actual recipe. I thought that they sounded good paired up with a Shrimp Scampi or Broiled Snapper main so I thawed out a handful of Sprouts in preparation for the Friday night dinner.

Every Christian should have a life verse that spoke to you sometime ago, when you were facing a very difficult life event. This was a time when you had to make the hardest decision of your life. This scripture brought to you strength, wisdom, knowledge and peace to make that decision. My life verse is “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”2 Timothy 1:7 ESV An intriguing thing for me is how fear causes so much harm in people’s lives. Even for Christian people, fear is very negative and dangerous. When fear becomes dominant in our life it can incapacitate our thoughts, overwhelm our emotions and cause physical damage in our bodies. How can fear be limited in your and my life? Only God and faith can help us overcome our fear.

LSU AgCenter unlocks secrets beneath the soil for sweet potato yields, lower fertilizer use

A dedicated group of researchers are behind the sweet potato casserole that will grace many Louisiana tables on Thanksgiving. At the LSU AgCenter Sweet Potato Research Station, scientists have developed sweet potato varieties that have ample sweetness for consumers, ideal shape for processors and high yields for farmers.

One project at the station is aimed at helping growers produce their crop with just the right amount of fertilizer. LSU AgCenter researcher Arthur Villordon is leading the study that uses gene expression to predict the fertilizer requirements of sweet potatoes by variety.

Researchers can’t see what is happening with the storage root of the sweet potato plant — the part we eat — while it develops underground. Villordon said this study can give them new insights into what is happening beneath the soil.

A Forest Interlude

It was such a pretty Saturday with temps in the 60’s a light breeze from the southwest and a partly cloudy sky. The perfect day to do some Autumn yard chores before the wet cold Winter arrived. I’ve been cutting up the four fallen trees and chopping them into firewood and after several loads I decided to take a break about midafternoon on the back patio and hydrate with a frosty adult beverage.

My remaining cat, an adolescent black and white male I call Mr. Tux, came around to visit and while we sat soaking up the warm sunshine I noticed that he’d become very still and had stopped purring. Slowly without turning my head I shifted my eyes to my left and into the edge of the woods behind my house. At first I didn’t notice anything but after a quick movement I made out two deer, a doe and a spike about 20 yards away and right at the forest boundary. Almost majestic and solemn — How quiet they’d been coming up.

The histories of DeSoto Parish and Mansfield are interesting and additional facts are constantly found. An example of this very thing is the surveying of Mansfield and where the names of the streets came from. Of course DeSoto Parish was formed April 1, 1843 when Governor Mouton, Father of Gen. Mouton of the Battle of Mansfield fame, signed Act 88 of the first session of the Sixteenth Legislature of the State of Louisiana. DeSoto was not named to honor the Spanish explorer Ferdinand DeSoto, as many believe. It was named after Marcel DeSoto, who led the first group of European settlers to a settlement known as Bayou Pierre. Marcel was the sonin- law of Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, founder of Natchitoches. As a review, the first president of the Police Jury was John Wagner who lived west of Grand Cane and south of Screamerville. He was also selected by the Jury to execute deeds during the 1843–54 period.

Sweet potatoes are a southern staple, and we can find a myriad of ways to cook them. During the holidays, however, we love exchanging the typical mashed potatoes with this easy to make casserole. Topped with marshmallows which are lightly browned underneath the broiler, this dish just can’t be beat!

Ingredients 4 to 6 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced for boiling (approximately one potato per 2 people) 1 to 2 Tablespoons Butter Evaporated milk or cream (used to create a smooth consistency for the mashed sweet potatoes) 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Cinnamon (to taste) Pinch of Nutmeg (to taste) 1 bag Marshmallows (mini or large) Directions: Prepare the sweet potatoes just as you would white potatoes for standard mashed potatoes: Place peeled and sliced sweet potatoes in a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cook until they are tender.

Cheese Straws Y’all

Let’s get shakin’ This must be one of my favorite snacks and when it starts getting cooler you know it’s time to make a batch!

No one (not even me) makes these little twigs of delight like a lady from my home town but unless you buy hers or are lucky enough to share with someone who has we just have to wing it.

These are great to make in big batches and store. They are great for snacks, to set out at holiday parties, or to add to edible holiday gifts or baskets. This is one of my go-to recipes for holiday entertaining. Good rule of thumb with this one, always double the recipe and you can thank me after.

Southern Cheese Straws 12 oz. of sharp cheddar graded and room temperature.

The Birdfeeder Campaign

You may know that Great Battles are made up of different “Campaigns” or attempts to get a victory over the other side. WWII had D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, Vietnam had the Ten Offensive; even the Civil War had the Red River Campaign that was snuffed out by our own Confederate Troops in the Battle of Mansfield. Today I offer you the Birdfeeder Campaign following right on the heels of the Attic Campaign that are both victories by me in The Squirrel Wars of Laura Street. Before we break down the tactics by both sides let me give you an update on my improved version of the Baja Shrimp recipe I told you about last week.

Many of our younger generation probably may not have heard of the most famous person from DeSoto Parish and Mansfield, Joshua “Josh” Lockwood Logan, III. Josh Logan was actually born in Texarkana, Texas, son of Susan McHenry Nabors and Joshua Lockwood Logan II on October 5, 1908 and died July 12, 1988. He was a world renowned writer and director and producer of stage and screen.

In 1850 Josh’s Great-Great Grandfather moved to Kingston, La. from Oak Hill, AL. shortly after the death of his wife, Dorothea Lockwood. Their son Joshua L. Logan (2/10/30 to 1987) married Julia Martha Reeves. He became district Judge of DeSoto, Sabine, and Red River Parishes. Josh and his Sister Mary Lee Logan spent their early childhood in Mansfield with their Grandparents John M. and Mary Morris L. Nabors on Polk Street. Mr. McHenry owned a hotel and a sawmill on Logan Ave. in Mansfield, La.