Springtime in the South

Oh how I love Springtime in the south!  Being a native southerner it's a special time of anticipation!  Just a month or so away we'll be hitting up Farmer's markets,  taking trips to the beach,  ejoying evenings where the kids run around catching lightning bugs, and soaking in lots of good quality time with the family and friends!

One of the other things I really love about the spring is the opportunity to get out with good people at the sporting clay's range.  Yesterday was just such a day.  We started in an early fog as we drove south on US 1 to Deep River Sporting Clays, but as we approached the third station of the course the sun broke through and all the beauty of Spring surrounded us as we continued throughout the course.  Of course, never mind that we were all using REALLY NICE Thomas Ferney & Co. shotguns.  Our outing was a hastily-planned video shoot for their spring/fall 2013 lineup of shotguns.  All 4 models were represented and it was a fantastic time!

Next time, however, I need to be behind a gun and not the camera!

Fall & Rustic Cornbread

Nothing signals fall to me like coming in from the field to a hot bowl of Chili and some homemade cornbread!  Now, we all have our preferences when it comes to both, but I thought I'd take a moment to share my favorite "sweet cornbread" recipe.  It's simple, it's quick and it's just right (for me.)  If you do try it, let me know if you like it...a true southern delight!

Ingredients

1 Cup Flour (sifted) if you don't have a sifter, use a wire egg-beater once it's in the bowl)

1 Cup yellow Corn Meal

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

Combine all these dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

1/2 stick butter - (melted)

2 eggs (beaten)

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup sugar

Combine all these wet ingredients in a separate bowl

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl...mix just until the dry ingredients become wet...no more than about 10 seconds.  Mix should still be lumpy.

Pour into either a non-stick pan or (as I like) a cast iron skillet.  Put into a 400 degree oven for ~25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean from the center.

Again, hope that you get a chance to try this.  (I've also been known to add bacon, jalapeños, or dried raspberries/blueberries to the mixture to provide a great compliment to other items on the table.

Until Next Time!

D-

Dog Days Bring Special Tastes

Been a while since my last post and like most summers, it's been a hot one here in Dixie!  Lots of 100+ degree temps that have fried lawns and made people downright irritable.  However, keeping things in perspective, we did have a cooler-than-normal spring so it was somewhat foolish for anyone to think that we weren't going to pay for our temperate good fortune.  Summer camps are in full swing and trips to the beach are almost always on the calendar!  All in all, it's been alright.

Even with all the hot temps, afternoon thunderstorms, fried lawns, etc., there is one thing that always makes me happy.  The NC farmer's market.  This is the time of year when all the wonderful corn, tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelons, etc. come in season and find their way to our kitchen.  There is no better time to be a lover of all things culinary. Whether enjoying today or canning/saving for the grey days of winter, this is a time to be absolutely enjoyed to the fullest.  So, if you have a farmer's market nearby, or just happen to be passing by a roadside fruit and vegetable stand, do yourself the considerable favor of picking up some local, farm grown produce and enjoy food that will forever be something positive when facing-down the dog-days, as they roll around each year!

Ah, the horsey season....

Here in the south there's nothing quite like horse season....that time of year when all the young (and some not-so-young) "would be southern gentry" gets together, displays their best and most colorful attire, tailgates out of the back of pickups, SUV's with silver and fine linen...it's truly a sight to behold and if one happens to be a part of it, an addicting experience. One of the first things that hits you square in the face are the women's amazing hats!!!  I was never  a big fan of hats in general, but a beautiful southern belle with an amazing lid (and air of sophistication to match) is truly something to behold.  Together, in equal parts, they can absolutely make an entire ensemble, and put a gentleman's head on a swivel!  The gents are usually dressed in some sort of light (but colorful) pants a white shirt, and a bow tie is preferable.  Sunglasses (usually Ray Bans) with croakies are a must - as are white or saddle bucks (a fine cigar is optional).  As you can imagine, it's a place to see and be seen...a people watching extravaganza.  And it's all about the PARTY!  The horse racing, while certainly on the menu, takes such a far back seat to the overall "experience" that it almost doesn't need to exist at all...almost.  This group of fine partiers would indeed show up in just about any field, on any bright spring day just to revel in the pomp and circumstance of it all...AND I DON'T BLAME THEM ONE BIT!

Until Next Time...
D-

Photo courtesy of High Cotton Ties

On behalf of Southern Culture, Thanks Social Media!!!

I was just sitting back here at the end of a long Monday -  pondering how the Internet and the advent of social media has aided in what could be argued is nothing short of a meteoric resurgence of Southern Culture.  You see, if it weren't for the newly increased stream of information and subsequent heightened awareness of certain aspects of today's "new south," I'm quite sure that many new lovers of all things southern wouldn't have ever truly known what they were missing!

And along those lines, I  have to say that I'm pleased with some of the broader trends that I see... for instance, there is a resurgence towards working in harmony with the land, buying locally grown and sold produce, slowly cooked foods, a love of southern heritage and history, and a groundswell among the ranks of people pursuing the shooting sports.

Whether it's Garden & Gun (fantastic magazine - I highly recommend it) exposing throngs of new listeners to the uniquely southern sounds of the Avett Brothers, K. Cooper Ray's Social Primer introducing a whole new generation of young men to Charleston-style gentility (and amazing bow tie creations), or any number of the fantastic new bars, bistros and restaurants such as Mandolin (Raleigh, NC) or Husk (Charleston, SC) that have adopted historic southern favorites and refined them to today's diner's palette,  there is a blending of history and social-media technology that is benefiting my beloved southern U.S.  Yes, it's a great time to be southern, and an even better time for those who aren't, to discover why we love this land, region, and culture as much as we do!

And it's all just a mouse-click away!

Until Next Time...
D-

note:  all links are to social media pages...only befitting for this post

AND AWAY WE GO...

Well, I'm not sure whether anyone other than me will wind up reading my modest offering on this blog site, but if you do, great... if not, then this will be nothing more than a cathartic means by which I will long for (and strive to implement in my own life) the values of a bygone era...  A time when we were more "in tune" with our natural surroundings...when men and women knew what it meant to be not only good neighbors to each other, but also good stewards of the land.  I admire those who, without modern conveniences, knew how to make the best of difficult times and still maintain  a level of civility not seen in our modern era.  It's a time to be looked upon with great admiration and strived for in our increasingly "wired in" society.

In this blog I will seek out the best of what is out there for gentlemen, sportsmen, and those who enjoy working with the land.  I will try my best to get content that will not only prove to be entertaining but will also provide useful information that you (or me, if I'm my only reader)  can apply to modern life.  So with that, I'm off to being scouring the Internet and libraries for such items.   Until next time...

David J. Jeffries, II