I remember a quiet so complete a lone cricket was a cacophony, a single drop of water boomed like a stick hammering a bass drum. I remember space, vast and long, remember cotton that stretched to the end of everything, interrupted only by ribbons of blacktop that led to exotic places like Leesburg, Piedmont, and Rome. I remember a dark […]
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My Time Machine
They say we Southerners live in the past. That, they say, is our problem; the past is dead, Faulkner or no Faulkner. I guess I could try to explain, to tell them that for us memory is not an inventory, not a catalog of events, but a time machine. It lifts us off the dull treadmill of grown-up responsibilities to […]
Grandpa’s Green Thumb
Andrew Blair was my grandmother’s father, a handsome, fussy Scot with an ego disproportionate to his environment. To be a snob in West Virginia is to exhibit a gross miscalculation of your milieu. That said, his garden was spectacular. Like many of my ancestors, Andrew was a potter. He labored long hours in a crowded, dusty factory a short stroll […]
What It Means To Be A Mother
Motherhood is hard. It is hard in the ways that matter and in the ways that don’t. It can make you feel as powerful as the sea and as useless as a fleck of mud, sometimes in the same moment.
Give Me Some Sugar: Getting to Know Stella Parks
In “Give Me Some Sugar,” Emily Hilliard introduces us to some of the South’s most talented female pastry chefs, courtesy of the Southern Foodways Alliance. They do right by the classics while developing a new canon of their own. Check back every Monday to meet a reason to save room for dessert. Who: Stella Parks Where: Table Three Ten, 310 […]
Sunshine State
On spring break with my girls, I rediscover bits of my Old Florida childhood hiding under the new.
Give Me Some Sugar: Getting to Know Cheryl Day
In “Give Me Some Sugar,” Emily Hilliard introduces us to some of the South’s most talented female pastry chefs, courtesy of the Southern Foodways Alliance. These pastry chefs do right by the classics while developing a new canon of their own. Check back every Monday to meet a reason to save room for dessert. Who: Cheryl Day Where: Back in […]
My Empty Nest
The boy has gone off to college now. And here I am, left with all the peace and quiet I have learned not to miss.
Give Me Some Sugar: Getting to Know Phoebe Lawless
In our February issue, we introduced you to the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA), a group that documents, studies, and celebrates the South’s diverse food cultures. We’re excited to announce that starting today, we’ll be sharing weekly dispatches from the SFA. This first post kicks off an SFA series called “Give Me Some Sugar,” in which Emily Hilliard will introduce us to […]
Like Hot Water for Chocolate: My Lesson in Making Hot Water Cornbread
The following is an essay from my new Southern Living cookbook, The Way to Fry. I remember the day I learned to make hot water cornbread with absolute clarity. It was Christmas Day and my grandfather (Gang Gang, as he is most commonly known) was poking and prodding his holiday cooking project; a soaked, boiled, baked, and glazed Virginia ham […]
