by Jamie S.
Welcome to my world.
Let's be honest: This is no Vermont. Have you ever noticed how many organic, small-farmed, value-added products originate in Vermont? I think we in the South need to do what the railroads did in the mid-1800s: recruit by all means necessary. We need to paper New England with flyers describing what an idyllic, easy life can be had amongst central Georgia's granite quarries and pine tree plantations. Just show up, bring your chevre and your micro-greens with you, and we'll give you 40 acres and a mule.
Okay, I'm exaggerating. But we do have to do a little more digging to find small local producers. Their wares aren't found in most grocery stores, but the producers are out there. And one of the things our local producers do best is grist milling.
There aren't as many traditional mills as there used to be. But I feel truly privileged to have two exceedingly fine ones near me. The closest is Mills Farm in Athens, where proprietor Tim Mills (yes, really) uses a mule named Luke (yes, really) to power his mill. The second closest is Logan Turnpike Mill in Blairsville, a mill that dates from 1916.
These two producers are absolutely central to my Eat Local effort, and to honor them, I present you with the following honest-to-goodness Southern recipes.
CORNBREAD
6 Tbs. butter
1 c. stone-ground cornmeal
1 c. self-rising flour, such as Southern Biscuit
2 eggs
2 Tbs. good honey
1 c. milk
Place the butter in a 10-inch cast-iron frying pan and set it in the oven while you preheat to 425 degrees F. There is no substitute for the cast-iron frying pan. It imparts the coveted golden, crispy crust that makes cornbread really worthwhile. If you don't have one, you really ought to get one!
Meanwhile, stir together the cornmeal and self-rising flour in a bowl, then make a well in the middle and add the remaining ingredients. Whisk the wet ingredients lightly within the well, then pour about 3 or 4 Tbs. of the melted butter from the pan into the well.
Stir all the ingredients together quickly, then pour them into the hot pan. You should see the remaining butter oozing up around the sides.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until cornbread is golden brown and bounces back when you poke it in the middle.
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BISCUITS
Note: I make all my biscuits, pancakes, etc., with half whole-wheat flour. This would probably give some people conniptions, but I got the idea from The Grit, which surely holds some claim to legitimacy, being as famous as it is. (By the way, I have tried the biscuit recipe from their cookbook, but I can't seem to make it work at home. So if I want their biscuits specifically, I have to show up in person for their weekend brunch.)
1 c. whole-wheat flour
1 c. self-rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
6 Tbs. butter
1 c. buttermilk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingers, until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal. Pour in the buttermilk and stir only until barely combined. Do not overstir!
Flour the counter and your hands, and turn the dough out onto the counter. Using a dough scraper to help you, knead the dough 3 or 4 times--no more! no less! The dough will be sticky.
Pat the dough gently into an inch-thick layer, then use a biscuit cutter to cut 2 1/2- to 3-inch circles. To get the last biscuit or two, you'll need to gather the scraps and pat it out again. I don't think I need to tell you that you should do this as gently and minimally as possible. Even so the last couple of biscuits are likely to be "funny."
Bake on a greased or parchment-lined sheet pan for 15 minutes or until golden-brown.
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CHEESE GRITS
This isn't really even a recipe, it's so simple. But your success will depend heavily on the grits you buy. I am afraid that in many parts of the country, it may be impossible to buy real grits. Quick grits don't count, and instant grits aren't even worth mentioning. You need regular stone-ground grits.
There are some coarse-grained grits out there that may take as long as an hour (!) to cook. But most of them are more like a coarse cornmeal in size, and can be cooked in less than half an hour.
Bring 3 c. lightly salted water to a boil. Slowly stir in 1/2 c. grits. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. You may add a little more water if needed. They're done when they stop being unpleasantly gritty and start seeming more al dente.
Just before serving, grind in plenty of black pepper. Add grated cheese (cheddar is traditional, but lately I've been using the excellent Georgia Gouda from Sweet Grass Dairy) to taste, stirring until it melts.
Jamie S. lives in rural Georgia and writes 10 Signs Like This, a blog that's part gardening journal, part cookbook, part sustainable lifestyle, and part short attention span.
