Martin Fisher

I see there are a few recipes fro Sally-Lunn in there. Sally-Lunn is the first bread I baked, by myself, from scratch, when I was a young teenager—recipe from James Beard's bread book. There was something about his description of the bread that made me want to try it.

Cool! Google and Archive.org both have it.

The Great Depression didn't affect my more "primitive" paternal Grandparents the way it affected the other Grandparents. My paternal Grandparents lived a much more self-sufficient life—the Great Depression was rarely, if ever. mentioned! Not so with the other set of Grandparents, it definitely changed them and they spoke of it frequently.

My paternal Grandmother cooked on a wood-stove most of her life. My paternal Grandfather farmed with horses until he switched to a couple small Case tractors in 1955. They lived a VERY simple life. A small dairy and a couple acres of potatoes. They raised some chickens, hogs, rabbits, a kitchen garden, etc. My Grandfather also did odd jobs for folks. They didn't have running water, an indoor bathroom, electricity, or a propane kitchen stove until about 1970. I was born in August of 1965 and I can remember having to use the outhouse. They didn't have a drilled well until sometime in the 80s—just an old hand dug well. My grandmother was an excellent cook and baker. My Dad has said, many times, that she could make anything taste good. Neither my Grandfather or Grandmother drove a vehicle. They never had a license to drive. My Grandmother passed away in 1974 after several years of poor health—life was never easy for her, she had a very tough life. After my Grandmother passed away and my Grandfather retired from farming, he became quite a good cook! I was often very surprised at how good his food was! As gruff, and tough, and rough-around-the-edges as he was, folks would never have guessed how good of a cook he'd become. Good food was one of the very few frequent joys my paternal Grandparents experienced in life. My maternal Grandparents lived an entirely different lifestyle, more "modern" for the times—certainly nothing extravagant.

Yes!

Here are a couple good articles in Saveur: RONNI LUNDY WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOU WHAT APPALACHIAN FOOD REALLY MEANS and APPALACHIAN FOOD EXPERT RONNI LUNDY'S ESSENTIAL READING LIST

FWIW, The following, in regard to samp (or sampe), was written by John Winthrop, Jr. prior to April 6, 1676—the date of his death. John Winthrop, Jr. had been governor of Connecticut. His father, John Winthrop, Sr., was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. "...but the best sort of food that the English make of this corne is that they call sampe..." Source: Mood, Fulmer. “John Winthrop, Jr., on Indian Corn.” The New England Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 1, 1937, pp. 121–133. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/360150.

Here's a rough approximation of the map I posted showing the state lines: Source: Where is Appalachia?

FWIW, The oldest reference I can find relating to samp, the precursor to grits, is from 1678 New England. Connection to Natives in other areas appears to have been very limited at that time.

Thanks! It doesn't appear to spread via runners or the like, so it must just reseed easily. Any edible that may drive out "Creeping Charlie" is a good thing!!! Seriously, I have ways of "easily" controlling rambunctious plants if they become a problem—unless it's something like evil bindweed!!!! The backyard and side yards are full of rambunctious, mostly wild, edibles that are perennials or annuals/biennials—that reseed and spread easily: lambsquarters, broadleaf plantain, patience dock. strawberry spinach, dandelion. pokeweed, purslane, knotweed, etc.

Some folks are of the opinion that red raspberry leaf "tea" is the herbal tea that comes closest to tasting like real "black" tea—camellia sinensis. Red raspberry leaf "tea" isn't processed—other than drying. So, I got the crazy idea of attempting to process red raspberry leaves in the method of "black" tea. A simplified, hand-processed, Japan-style black tea. This is a PDF file! What are your thoughts?

I ordered 8 ounces of Miracle-Gro. The following is interesting: http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1346

University of Kentucky, How to Cure a Country Ham: Details in print: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ASC/ASC213/ASC213.pdf Around here folks generally used Morton products to dry cure bacon and hams—some still do. Method via the OLD Morton books: Meat Curing Made Easy https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/curing/cut-cure-pork-zmaz72ndztak

Where Is Appalachia? Some say that Appalachia is a state-of-mind more than a geographical region. I think it's both, and MORE! The soul of Appalachia extends well beyond any geographical definition. Having said that, I do think the following is one of the best maps defining the "Appalachian Mountains." Here's a comical comment pertaining to my area, specifically.

My Mom and Grandmother used to make a LOT of grape jelly/jam from wild grapes. Darlene, mentioned above, lived in Cambria County. I grew up in the north-central county of Tioga, where it's very rural!!! In a township that borders New York State. In fact, the family farm, in Pennsylvania, borders New York State. We even ate grits! They were one of my maternal Grandmother's favorite foods! Some folks seem to think that grits are just a southern thing. My Grandmother had absolutely NO familial connection to the south. Do You Think Grits Are a Southern Invention? Well, not really. Fact is, they originated in New England… !? Also see: Iroquois Uses of Maize and Other Food Plants By Arthur Caswell Parker

Yes, and yes, I have the book. I'll eventually be posting about some of the relevant books that I have.

There's more to Appalachia than the 'south.' If you watch "Darlene Chronicles" you'll see what I mean—RIP Darlene! Where did Darlene live? Pennsylvania! There is a bit of food in the documentary. "Darlene Chronicles" is on YouTube. "This award-winning documentary chronicles the life of a destitute Appalachian family. Darlene, the housewife, conducts her daily routine: carrying water, fueling a coal stove, disciplining her children, and making ends meet. A personal record of poverty."

I have a keen interest in the food culture of Appalachia. I'll start this topic off with this: In 2011, researchers at Slow Food’s RAFT Alliance documented 1,412 distinctly named heirloom foods in the region, including more than 350 varieties of apples, 464 varieties of peas and 31 kinds of corn.* * Links to a PDF file.

Cured, Smoked, and Fermented: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking, 2010 Essays on cured, smoked, and fermented foods from the Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking, 2010. 392 Pages

Like an idiot, I may have let a couple unique pepper cultivars go extinct!!! For years I had a keen interest in developing dwarf peppers with unique qualities. Most notably "Baby Cayenne" and "Baby Pequin." But, I fell into a very deep depression and lost interest. So, I'm going to attempt to revive some very old seed—if I can find the seed. I have been studying the subject and I've developed a strategy. I've known for a long time that Dr. Carolyn Male and Dr. Craig LeHoullier were a able to revive very old tomato seeds via diluted "blue stuff", AKA liquid Miracle-Gro. I grow organically, but I'm not against using that stuff or something similar in a desperate situation such as this. Baby Cayenne 7 inch long chile on an 8 inch tall plant! 3 plants in this container... plants are 8-10 inches tall, 12-14 inches wide. An amazing amount of chiles on such tiny plants. Baby Pequin Dwarf plant to 10-12 inches tall, 12-14 inches wide. Fruits are upright, up to 3/4 of an inch long, medium heat, nice flavor.

Hmmmm! Something served with a straw. In a cup labeled "The Patriots Suck." LOL Wait—a straw? That would mean that I suck. I may have to rethink this!

That would make it highly inductive, right?

Look at it—look at it closely. It's basically an advertisement, not an unbiased article. Do you really expect her/them to say it's a poor conductor??? How in hell is the Old Gray Lady going to make money dispensing truth???

Artisan or artisanal and gourmet are marketing buzzwords that definitely MUST die!!! I'm okay with handcrafted. A few comical things I've seen written on the specials/menu boards at redneck greasy-spoon establishments: Scalped Potatoes Half Baked Chicken Ham and Pee Soup Certified Anus Beef Burger Sweat Tea Coke, Diet Coke, Spite Brokely Cheese Soup No Smoking Aloud

I'll bet that made the difference! Large order of fries in those cups is a recipe for sogginess!