Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day!
Festivals This Weekend
On
Friday, May 28, 2010
In Alabama:
Old School & Blues Festival, Huntsville
Willie King Freedom Creek Blues Festival, Aliceville
Cahaba Lily Festival, West Blocton
Jubilee CityFest, Montgomery
**not a festival, but a list of summer camps for children all over the state
***something to do tonight with the family - camp out at the Huntsville Botanic Garden. Call for a reservation.
In Georgia:
Arts in the Park, Blue Ridge
Brenau Barbecue Championship, Gainesville
In Louisiana:
Jambalaya Festival, Gonzales
Mudbug Madness Festival, Shreveport
Cajun Heartland State Fair, Lafayette
Louisiana Southern Fried Festival, West Monroe
Fleur de Lis Arts & Crafts, Natchitoches
In Tennessee:
Jimmy Martin Memorial Bluegrass Festival, Sneedville
Sheriff Buford Pusser Festival, Adamsville
Uncle Jimmy Thompson Bluegrass Festival, Granville
Statehood Day, Vonore
...and the most important thing going on this weekend: observation of Memorial Day, of course. Have a wonderful weekend!
Southern Accents
On
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The other day, we were in Cullman for a couple of hours - of course, Av had to stop and get a sack of Duchess doughnuts:
...you know, Shug isn't growing up in Cullman like I did, but he sure does know what's good.
(Sorry about those fingerprints!)
I ran into Southern Accents for a few minutes - it's one of my favorite shops in town, and they have some of *the* most interesting architectural antiques.
It sure is fun to look at everything - antique doorknobs (those porcelain and heavy leaded crystal ones), the giant wooden and marble mantels, stained glass windows, old lighting fixtures...
A few years ago they started heavily promoting replicas: things like reproduction doors and bathroom fixtures which I didn't care for. I like it when people stick to authentic items. And of course that's the best part of their inventory.
Outside is a menagerie of bathtubs that one day someone restoring an old house will take and sand and refinish - and no one will ever know it was once resting sadly off-kilter, collecting rainwater on an old tarp in downtown:
Sinks, radiators, fencing awaiting a new life:
...and a section of *beautiful* old bathroom tiles:
Pottery Barn and Wisteria have been selling industrial-inspired coffee tables but Southern Accents has a selection of original, old factory dock carts in stock that have so much character...
Beautiful Gardens
On
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
When it comes to plants, there are two people who I believe every word they say: Felder Rushing and Steve Bender.
For one, neither of them is the least little bit motivated to promote any thing because neither of them sells anything.
Felder does appearances and writes books - his MPB radio show podcast is *the* best; and Steve writes for Southern Living as the Grumpy Gardener (which...once you meet Steve, he really is the Grumpy Gardener. But in a good way. Hi Steve!); still and thankfully, neither of them is selling anything, especially McRoses or ice cube orchids. Thank goodness.
Last week, Steve wrote at his blog about his friend and former Southern Living co-worker, Charlie Thigpen Charlie has a new garden center at Pepper Place in B'ham, so of course I had to visit. It's called Garden Gallery.
Ideas, ideas, ideas:
We already have our garden in but there was plenty else Charlie had that I would have loved to have brought home - both for the garden and in landscaping plants. I think we'll be visiting him several more times this summer.
The one thing I did get on this visit was a Bhut Jolokia anti-terrorist (really!) pepper plant: it's the hottest pepper on earth (over one million on the Scoville scale). It is going in a container far behind our retaining wall so there's no way anyone but Av can get to it; once it starts producing I'd like to take one zillionth of an ounce and make some hot pepper jelly...we'll see...
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A couple of interesting garden pics from other people:
My beautiful, creative friend Cindy in Oklahoma came up with the idea of making old purses into planters by poking holes through the bottom for drainage:
That goes for some people and their shoes too.
And this: yes, yes, yes.
Fruit Stand Season
On
Monday, May 24, 2010
It's fruit stand season, people with tomatoes in the back of their pickup truck season, honor system melon patches (like the one I grew up close to) season, and full-fledged farmers market season.
It's a good season.
It's hard to beat the State Farmer's Market in Montgomery for plants, especially. And the Curb Market in Montgomery has jams, jellies, and all manner of fruit, vegetable, soup, and stew put up in Mason jars. Plus, I can't wait to go there each time and see how a certain vendor changes their signs:
We like going to Pepper Place Saturday Market in B'ham too. Local fruits, vegetables, old-Alabama plants, strawberry cupcakes, driftwood birdhouses, someone Av knows that makes lamps out of musical instruments...
The old, open year-round farmer's market on Finley in B'ham is a favorite too:
The USDA has a pretty spartan database of farmer's markets in every state, but the nice one is at LocalHarvest, which shows CSAs too.
If you're in Alabama, the Farmers Market Authority even breaks it down into farmers markets, roadside stands, and U-pick operations by county. The people that ate only food grown or raised in the state of Alabama for a year (April 2008 - April '09) are working on a documentary of their project and have a nice map of farms they like here.
Things, Things, Things
On
Friday, May 21, 2010
This week's list of random things...
I love going to the movies in New Orleans because they serve daiquiris (I grew up in a dry county, and the theaters here in Alabama don't serve alcohol, so it always seems a little indulgent). Well, not only can you get a daiquiri, but the new Theatres at Canal Place are partnering with a restaurant called 'Gusto' and are featuring reclining seats with pull-up tabletops. This is from the Times-Picayune:
Starters include popcorn tossed with parmigiano and black pepper, white truffle, or pimenton and garlic. Other appetizers include caponata, flatbread pizzas, a hummus-and-tzatziki duo served wtih flatbreads and, as at Garcia's RioMar, a Spanish muffuleta and salumi from A Mano. Paninis, salads and a cheese plate are planned, along with pralines and chocolates from Southern Candymakers, Hubig's pies and cookies from Angelo Brocato.
Several $7 wines by the glass will be offered, along with other pricier ones, cocktails and imported and domestic beer.
***Update: oops! Apparently there is at least one movie theater in Alabama that serves alcohol - Monaco Pictures in Huntsville has a private glass elevator that takes guests to their 'Prive' level, "an elevated lounge featuring a Wine Tasting Bar, appetizer dining, and upscale concessions" with reserved seats, which are high-back leather recliners. Thank you, Julie, for letting me know!
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(image for press use)
A castle is being built right now in Arkansas, and it's going to take twenty years to complete it. Seriously. This is part of the press release:
The creation is the brainchild of Michel Guyot who launched a similar and very successful project in Burgundy, France, ten years ago.
A team of architectural experts, working together with historians of the Middle Ages and dedicated artisans, is raising a genuine, full-sized, fortified castle, with 24-foot high towers, a drawbridge, and 6-foot wide stone walls surrounding an expansive inner courtyard, using the materials, techniques, and rules of the 13th century.
Thirty masons, carpenters and stone carvers authentically dressed, will work all year round for twenty years, the time required to build a fortress in the Middle Ages. Imagine a place where you leave behind our technically advanced society to hear the clang of hammers on chisels as stones are being carved, and to hear snorting cart-horses pulling heavy stones on creaking wooden wagons. The blacksmith, the rope maker, the woodcutter will work right in front of you as they practise medieval techniques of construction.
They're going to be open seven days a week, rain or shine, from May 1 - November 30. All the details are here.
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Remember last week's fence? Here's this week's fence.
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Is it wrong that the 2010 winning recipe for dessert-cake in Mississippi Magazine is one that's first ingredient is "1 box (18-1/4 oz) box orange cake mix" especially after last year's Grand Prize started with a box of Coconut Supreme Cake Mix? (yes.)
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The Montgomery Advertiser has a regular feature on beautiful local homes, complete with sideshows. Some of them are fantastic. I wish Av were better friends with Morris Dees because I would *love* to visit his and Susan's home. Where can I get a rickshaw (pic 44)!? And those costumes displayed in the bathrooms (pic 7, 38)...
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Piggy Popcorn from Loveless Cafe. And it is good.
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Wow I like this menorah.
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Henk van Es has a *fantastic* website called Outsider Environments Europe.
I'll post a new North American environment next week!
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For the second time in about a week I am so happy to mention something about my sweet friend Bethanne Hill - the Alabama Folklife Association has just released 'Traditional Musics of Alabama Volume 5: New Book Gospel Shapenote Singing' and it feature's Bethanne's art on the cover:
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Festivals this weekend:
In Alabama:
Heritage Festival, Northport
Sunrise Community Hot Air Balloon Race, Tuscaloosa
Lakewoods Arts & Crafts Show, Arley
In Louisiana:
Bayou Boogaloo, New Orleans
Crawfish Festival, Abita Springs
Soul Survivors Festival, Ferriday
Endangered Threefoot
On
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of the "11 Most Endangered Historic Places" and the Treefoot Building in Meridian is on it, due to threat of demolition.
(these are pics I took of it a few years ago)
(If you think about it, of all the places in the US the National Trust has to choose from to try to most protect by putting out its annual Most Endangered list, it's huge for the Threefoot building to be included.)
On the Trust website:
In 1930, the citizens of Meridian, Mississippi, had never seen anything like the newly dedicated Threefoot Building, a shiny, 16-story Art Deco skyscraper that was the tallest building in the state.
Named for its owners, a successful German-American family in Meridian, the building was admired for its decorative polychrome terra cotta and granite exterior and lavish interior details, including marble flooring and wainscoting, cast-plaster walls and ceilings, and etched bronze elevator doors. Although the Threefoot family lost their prized property in the Depression, the building was a mainstay of downtown Meridian for decades until it closed in 2000 because of deterioration and extensive upper-floor vacancies. Hopes were buoyed when the building's owner, the City of Meridian, began negotiations with a developer who planned to renovate the building and turn it into a hotel, but the City later abandoned that plan.---The Art Deco Queen of Meridian continues to deteriorate, and locals fear that her next date may be with the wrecking ball.
In the last several years, the building has experienced significant deterioration. Terra-cotta tiles are falling off the facade, water is infiltrating in several locations and windows are in poor shape. Without immediate action, portions of the masonry are at risk of falling into pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Even though a developer expressed interest in the building, the City of Meridian was unable to provide funds for gap financing or other incentives – and now locals fear that the City Council will attempt to remove the building from the Mississippi Landmark List in order to pave the way for its demolition.
The Clarion-Ledger has a small article about it today.
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What the Trust didn't mention was that the family who owned the building, the Threefoot brothers, started out with a wholesale grocery business. When the Depression hit, this speculative building wiped out the family and one of the brothers - Sam - jumped off it to commit suicide. Simon Marx, who convinced Sam Threefoot to build it, also killed himself. It's just a tragic story.
While many other Threefoots are buried in Meridian (Kutcher, Julia, Tarris...), Sam is buried in the Jewish section at Live Oak cemetery in Selma:
...and I just have to show you this - unrelated - that we found also in the Jewish section at Live Oak:
Threefoot is the English variation on their family name, which before they came to the US was Dreyfus. To English (from German), Dreyfus translates like this: Drey (3) fus (foot).
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Threefoot is the English variation on their family name, which before they came to the US was Dreyfus. To English (from German), Dreyfus translates like this: Drey (3) fus (foot).
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The Trust put this YouTube video out which is really just a slideshow (I suggest you turn your speaker volume down, at the end is an alarm clock going off):
Rich
On
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
We are rich with political ads this year in Alabama.
Now, I don't enjoy politics (one of my best friends used to be on the city council for two or three terms and *wow* I can tell you some stories) and I almost never share who I vote for on either ticket with anyone.
But no matter what side of the fence you are on, having the television on the last few weeks has been high entertainment.
Just three instances; I'm saving the best for last here.
This one for Treasurer begins, "I'm Young Boozer, and yes, that's my real name". Av said he's actually YB the IIIrd in his family. Bless his heart, I want Young Boozer to win just to try to make up for what he must've gone through in middle and high school.
Anyway. One candidate for Governor has had his ad re-played *everywhere* because so many people find it controversial ("this is Alabama. We speak English.") - which brought about this parody by a group in NY. And I do especially like the new symbol for pi, too! ha!!
Whether these people are your candidates or not, it's nice to have a healthy sense of humor.
What tops everything, though, is that one of the Ag Commissioner candidates' political ad has gone viral.
Are you thinking: why would, of all political ads, one for Agriculture Commissioner go viral? I understand it's been played on most of the big-name liberal and conservative cable shows.
You will get a kick out of this. One way or the other. Gawker said "this campaign ad is the most American thing ever made".
Original Lane Cake
On
Monday, May 17, 2010
It seems as though every cookbook that has a good dessert section has a recipe for Lane Cake, and they're all different.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that in looking for the really-real, really-original recipe, I had contacted the gentleman who wrote the Encyclopedia of Alabama entry for Lane cake (he said he thought he had been given something close) as well as talking with Melissa Gray who has another close-but-not-quite recipe for it in her new book All Cakes Considered. It was one of those just-almost-impossible-to-find-the-original things.
Well, I found it...finally. Reprinted in a 1960s newspaper article, run by the Associated Press. They wrote:
...then they go on to say that they know the recipe they are about to give is the original because they have a copy of Emma Rylander Lane's book (published in 1898), which was loaned to the writer by Mrs. Lane's granddaughter.Here's where we set the record straight about one of the most famous cakes in American culinary history.We're talking about Lane Cake, that glorious invention, four layers deep, stacked with spirited filling and covered with soft white frosting.This cake has been attributed to others than its rightful creator, and its formula has often been desecrated.
Not sure why I was so insistent on finding the original, other than just knowing that there are so many variations, I wanted to know exactly what the Lane Cake was that all our great-grandmothers (and their mothers) were making.
Plus of course, there's the part in 'To Kill A Mockingbird' when Aunt Alexandra, who knows "What Is Best For The Family" comes to stay with Atticus, Jem, and Scout for the summer (she "had river-boat, boarding-school manners; let any moral come along and she would uphold it; she was born in the objective case; she was an incurable gossip."). To welcome her, Scout said that Miss Maudie Atkinson "baked a Lane cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight".
In Lane cake, shinny is your choice of either bourbon or brandy in the filling.
Also: Emma Rylander Lane says this cake is better made a day or two before you plan on serving it, so if you'd like to plan ahead...
In all the Lane Cake variations out there, some people add pecans and some even add cherries and coconut flakes to the filling. I think it's great like this but the addition of pecans does sound nice. If you have a Lane Cake story, I'd love to hear!
Following is the original listing of ingredients. Now, I have to say this because I'm very protective of copyright (my own and others): what is protected by law is the literary description of how to make a recipe, not a simple listing of a recipe ingredients or formula (all that here). So the list of ingredients is 100% original and the description is all mine. Okay, now that all that's out of the way, here's *the* Lane Cake!
Ingredients for the cake:
3-1/4 cups sifted cake flour
2 tsp double-acting baking powder
1/16 tsp salt
1 c. butter at room temperature
2 c. sugar
2 tsp vanilla
8 egg whites
1 c. milk
Ingredients for the filling:
8 egg yolks
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter at room temperature
1 c. seedless raisins, finely chopped
1/3 c. bourbon or brandy
1 tsp vanilla
Ingredients for boiled icing:
(the reader is instructed to make and use the standard recipe for boiled white icing - here's the one I use:)
2 c. sugar
1 c. water
3 egg whites at room temperature
pinch salt
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla
***Use a candy thermometer to make the icing***
Directions for the cake:
Preheat the oven to 375*.
Prepare pans. You can bake these in four cake pans, or do like I did and bake them in two square 8"x8" pans (and then cut those two cakes into four layers). I just cut a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan, then there are no worries about it sticking.
I like baking this in two cakes and cutting those in half to make four layers so that you have that good cut surface to better soak up all the filling...
In the Kitchenaid, cream together the butter and sugar until light:
Keep the machine running on low and add the egg whites (keep the yolks in a separate bowl, since you'll be using them in the filling). Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, alternate adding to the Kitchenaid (on low speed) some of the flour mixture then the milk, then more flour, then more milk until it is all in the bowl.
Pour into pans and bake until done at 375*. Start checking at 20 minutes; mine were done at between 30-35 minutes.
Let the cakes cool (using wire racks for this is good). Once they're cool, make the filling. This is also the part where if you baked two cakes rather than four, you can go ahead and cut them in half horizontally so you have the four layers to work with.
Make the filling:
Beat the egg yolks in a cold saucepan, then mix in the butter and sugar. Turn the heat on medium and keep stirring until the mixture is warm and nice and thick:
Add the raisins, either bourbon or brandy, and the vanilla.
If you're thinking that you'd like to add more than 1/3 cup of alcohol to the filling, that's fine. I made this cake to the letter and we thought it could have taken more, but that's completely up to you.
Let the filling cool a bit, then begin spreading over the cake layers. The top layer doesn't get a layer of filling since this cake gets icing all over.
If you made two cakes and cut them into a total of four layers, turn each of the bottom three layers so that the cut side - the interior of the cake (the white part) - is facing up. In this pic, I've poured the filling and am about to spread it evenly all over this layer (btw, I kept the raisins whole but cut them up if you like):
The top layer of the cake needs to go on so that the brown, uncut side is up. This keeps all those crumbs from the underneath from getting in the icing:
Since Emma Rylander Lane said that the cake is better made a day or two before enjoying, I wrapped it with Saran and put the cake, with no icing, in the refrigerator.
Directions for boiled icing:
Let the cake come to room temperature when you're ready to put on the icing.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water, and cook on high until the mixture reaches 240* on the candy thermometer:
Meanwhile, in the Kitchenaid, whip together the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until it reaches the stiff peaks stage. That is, when you lift the whisk up out of the whites, there are peaks that stand up straight:
When the mixture reaches 240*, take the saucepan off the heat and add the vanilla. Let it cool for a couple of minutes. Turn the Kitchenaid on low speed and slowly and *very carefully* pour the hot sugar mixture into the stiff-peaks egg white mixture. Once all the hot sugar is in the Kitchenaid bowl and well incorporated, increase the speed to medium for a minute and then increase to high until the mixture is back to being nice and fluffy - about four or five minutes:
It starts to look like melted marshmallows almost - and that's what this icing tastes like somewhat:
It's ready - spread the icing all over the cake. Use a slightly wet paper towel to clean up the edges at the bottom:
Once the cake has the icing on it, it's ready to be served. I was serving this cake later in the evening, so I placed it in the refrigerator for a little while. It's suggested that the cake come to room temperature before serving:
Now this is *not* a beautiful picture but just goes to show how thoroughly it was enjoyed!
This Week
On
Friday, May 14, 2010
Okay! There's a DeepFriedKudzu page now on Facebook - so if you're on FB, I would *love* (love, love) to see you there. I just put it up late last night.
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If you make a specialty food item - like everyone in town knows you for your pralines or cheese straws, there's a website called Foodzie that's something like Etsy for food. They describe it this way: "Foodzie helps passionate small food producers and farmers across the U.S. reach new customers and connect directly to foodies searching for wonderful foods and gifts... The only cost is tied to your sales. Our success depends on your success. Our food community is a special group of producers who care about making good food. We have certain guidelines to ensure Foodzie is filled with awesome food our customers will love." You can find what people are selling closest to you by searching the map here.
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Can you love a fence? Yes.
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If you see a copy of the latest Exodus Magazine by Samford University, yes that's me! I was interviewed for an article on Southern websites. Thank you, Molly, for the great article.
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The honeysuckle has been incredibly beautiful and fragrant for weeks, and the last blooms are starting now. Time to make honeysuckle sorbet. If you don't have the Crook's Corner cookbook, you can search inside it here on Amazon for the recipe.
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The Help (NYT Bestseller for...forever) is going to be filmed this summer in Greenwood.
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In reaction to the oil spill in the Gulf, Mignon Faget has designed a speckled trout pin on black ribbon with part of the proceeds going to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. Love her gumbo necklace.
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The Nashville C&VB has a list of attractions, events, and even restaurants that are open for business. The Opry is being performed at different venues but is still going on.---
Firefly Vodka (who makes the sweet tea flavor) apologized this week for how they named one of their mixed drink recipes.
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Truman Capote's former home in Brooklyn is selling for $18 million, which is the most any home has been listed for there. That's where he wrote In Cold Blood and some other works (although I think he was a renter at the time, not the owner of the entire structure).
That reminds me: the To Kill A Mockingbird exhibit's last day in B'ham at the BCRI is today; it'll be in Montgomery at the Stonehenge Gallery next week and then it will all be on auction May 22.
Shugie and I went to the exhibit this past week - some, actually most, of the works are *amazing* but a couple of artists clearly sent in inventory (when you see the exhibit, you'll know). Well, we're only interested in the amazing parts, right? Here's amazing. It's what my friend Bethanne Hill contributed:
Used with permission, Copyright Bethanne Hill, Mad Dog and Strong Magic, 21" x 18", acrylic on wood, 2010
*That* is To Kill A Mockingbird. More of Bethanne's art can be viewed here.
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Mississippi Tourism launched the new state-wide Culinary Trail this week - my sweet friend Anna put it together!
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...and my friend Julie's company has this new super-fantastic insider's guide to New Orleans!
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Going on this weekend:
In Alabama:
Arts Alive Festival, Florence
Gulf Coast Zydeco Music Festival, Daphne
Hang Out Beach, Music, & Art Festival, Gulf Shores
Poke Salat Festival, Arab
Leighton has a Rabbit Festival, Franklin has Possum Day, Catfish Festival in Scottsboro
When Pigs Fly Kosher BBQ Contest & Festival, Birmingham
Moundville Archaeological Museum reopens this weekend
In Georgia:
Mountain Flower Fine Art and Wine Festival, Dahlonega
Marigold Festival, Winterville
Mountain Laurel Festival, Clarkesville
In Louisiana:
Greek and More Festival, Shreveport
Sugar Festival, Arabi
In Mississippi:
Tupelo Film Festival, Tupelo
A'Fair, Hernando
In Tennessee:
Memphis in May, Memphis
36th Annual Festival of British & Appalachian Culture, Rugby (1880s Utopian town)
Bloomin' Barbeque & Bluegrass Festival, Sevierville
Middle Tennessee Strawberry Festival, Portland
Gatlinburg Fine Arts Festival, Gatlinburg
Iris Festival, Greeneville
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Lots more but I'll save it for next week...
xoxo,
Ginger
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