I was born and raised in rural northern Wisconsin. My dad and I lived with my grandfather, so I had the privilege of being raised in part by a WWII veteran who grew up during the Great Depression. Suffice it to say, I learned the value of hard work, a dollar, and being self-sufficient. We always had a backyard garden and my dad still cans his own pickles, beets, and sauerkraut. When I was a kid, I hated that we weren't eating tacos and pizza like my friends' families, but now, I admire those old-fashioned dishes and techniques. Lard anyone?
My love of Southern culture started the first time I saw debonair blockade runner Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind. Probably not a normal crush for a six year-old, but from then on, I was simply bewitched by anyone with a Southern drawl. (Seriously. Remember Logan Bruno from The Babysitters Club? I was able to easily recall, just now, that he was from Louisville, Kentucky! So weird.)
Throughout college, I made friends from Georgia and Florida and eagerly visited them whenever I got the chance. On my first trip to Atlanta, I selected one must-see attraction: Margaret Mitchell's home. I also experienced sweet tea and barbecue for the first time at Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods in Athens. Love at first bite! Trips to Savannah, New Orleans, and Texas soon followed. Hoe cakes? Jambalaya? Brisket? These are not things you grow up eating in The Great White North! Following those trips, I began to admire a famous cook with a well-known affinity for butter. Her approachable, if a bit over-the-top, Southern charm was inspiring and I felt drawn not only to her recipes, but to the regional ingredients and narratives that went into them.
Surely it was fate when my boyfriend, Daniel, started his first message to me with "Hey Sugar." Sugar!? No self-respecting feminist Wisconsinite would allow for this kind of talk and I berated him accordingly. Fortunately for me, Daniel didn't run away, and instead explained that it was a term of endearment in the land of the pig pickin'. Eighteen months later, I packed up all of my belongings, including my dapper cat, Figaro, and moved to North Carolina.
Now that I'm settled in, I'm eager to include as much of the rich local culture in my life as possible. One of the best things about North Carolina is its proximity to many different regions of Southern cuisine. From Appalachia to the Low Country, cornbread to clams, it's going to be an adventure and I am going to jump right in! I really do hope you'll join me.
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