Black Eyed Peas: Many people think that these are beans, that is not so
these are really peas. Among certain cultures they are thought to bring good luck for the year when eaten on New Years Day.


Chitterlings or Chitlins as they are mostly called: These are the small intestines of a pig
and for this reason it is very important that they are throughly cleaned prior to cooking.


Coconut: We use this quite frequently in our caribbean cooking. It is at it's best when you can use it "fresh"
but the packaged or canned kind works just as well in recipies.


Collard Greens: This is only one type of leafy green that is "traditionally" eaten in the south.
Other greens are: mustard, turnip, kale or a mixture of several kinds.


Cornmeal: This white or yellow in color meal is made from corn (that's where the name comes from).
This meal is used in a lot of ways, from making corn bread,
hush puppies, to corn pones.


Fatback: This is the clear fat from the back of a loin of pork.
It is salted and or smoked and is often placed in many southern recipies.
When it is cut into small pieces and fried,
it becomes cracklings or craklins and is used to make such dishes as craklin cornbread.


Hominy: This was introduced to American colonists by native Americans and also known as grits.
These are prepared from corn that has been soaked in a weak lye solution and hulled (betcha didn't know this one did you? don't feel bad, neither did I).
These have become a very important part of a "southern style" breakfast.


Rice: Africans from rice growing regions of West Africa were brought to the southern United States to work in the rice plantations of South Carolina
and brought with them, their taste for this staple.


Sweet Potatoes: The massive confusion between the sweet potatoe and the yam is just as apparent in the southern states as it is any place else.
Botanically and in other places in the world the yam is a hairy, white fleshed tuber.
and are a cold weather vegetable.


Cobbler: This is a deep dish fruit pie with a top crust or sometimes even a bottom crust too.


Fritters: These are batter dipped morsels that are fried until crispy, they can be sweet or savory.
They can also be eaten alone,dipped in sauces or sprinkled with powdered sugar and eaten as a dessert.


Gumbo: This dish went from Africa to Louisiana with only a little name change.
Quingombo (notice the name in that word)?, which is one of the terms for okra in the Bantu languages, is a main ingredient in gumbo.
This dish, which is based on the traditional African concept of a thick soupy stew served over a starch,
can have many ingredients and is a classic of Louisiana's Creole cookery.


Pot Likker: When greens have been cooked "down to a low gravy" the cooking liquid that has absorbed all of the nutrients is the pot likker.

1/3 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of shortening

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of scalded milk

1 cake of compressed yeast

1/4 cup of luke warm water

2 beaten eggs

4 cups of sifted all purpose flour

1/4 cup of melted margarine or butter

Add sugar, shortening and the salt to hot milk. Stir until the shortening melts and the sugar is dissolved,
cool until it's luke warm. Crumble the yeast into the warm water,
let it stand for 5 minutes then combine the milk and the yeast mixture.
Add the eggs and half of the flour, beat very well, then add the remaining flour.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board or counter top.
Knead the dough until smooth, then place it in a well greased bowl.
Cover the dough and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours or until double in size.
Roll the dough to a 1/2 inch thickness, then cut it into pieces the size of small walnuts.
Roll the cut pieces into balls, and roll each ball in melted butter.
Place in a 10 inch tube pan. Cover and let the dough rise again until it is double in size.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake it for 20 minutes.
Turn the bread out onto a serving plate.
This bread should be served "HOT" and "PULLED" apart with the hands, "do not" cut! Makes about 10-12 serv.