Homemade Appalachian Pimento Cheese (and a Book Review)

I've spent the last couple of months savoring and drooling over a new cookbook.  Well, to be clear, this publication is part travelogue, part coffee-table style pictorial, and part cookbook.  The short title is Victuals, which, in case you're like me and didn't know, is pronounced like vittles.

The full title is Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes – author being Ronni Lundy.

I recently moved to southern Appalachia, and was excited to get my hands on a copy for many of the same reasons written about in the Introduction:

…[T]he people of the southern Appalachian Mountains have been right about victuals all along.  About the way you say them, the way you raise them, the way you cook them, keep them, and share them.  About saving seeds, and working the land, and simmering pole beans, and making real cornbread.  About the connections between earth and the table, and between the table and the people seated around it.

Chapters include:  Roots and Seeds, Salt of the Earth, Corn, Beans, Apple-achia, Preserving, and Husbandry.  States mentioned and/or profiled include Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina.  The author travels to locations within these states to profile individuals, chefs, restaurants, and small farms and businesses who are keeping the history of southern Appalachia alive with their practices and products.  With words, she weaves history, childhood memories, and present day reality together to paint images of the true story of the southern Appalachian Mountains and their people.  The photographic images placed in between are breathtakingly beautiful, and they, too, tell the story.

Let me not forget the recipes! (I couldn't, if I tried.) Each chapter provides food preparation instructions that have been passed down for generations, and offers new twists on old – even forgotten – classics.  This is not the type of cookbook that can be flipped through in one sitting.  You will be salivating and wiping the drool from your mouth more than once -- maybe even every time you take a peek.

Recipes range from the simple to the elaborate, yet everything is doable.  I'm going to share here a simple recipe from the book for homemade Pimento Cheese, which is part of the more elaborate recipe for Lisa Donovan's Pimento Cheese Nabs, described as a cracker snack "for every mountain pickup truck driver's glove compartment emergency ration."

All you have to do is mix all the ingredients together well.  It's delicious on a sandwich right away, but if you could let it sit in the refrigerator for some hours or a day, you'd get an even better treat for your taste buds.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  
• 3 oz. finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  
• 3 oz. finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
  
• 1 (2 oz.) jar pimentos, strained
  
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1 tsp finely grated yellow onion (grater I use) 
  
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

More about Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes via Amazon.
More about the author, Ronnie Lundy.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.  The words and opinions here are all my own.
Shared at Coffee and Conversation, This is How We Roll, Happiness is Homemade, and The Homemaking Party.

The More of Less: A Book Review

I'd say we joined the minimalist movement (without the label) some time in 2014.  We went hardcore February 2015 when we got rid of 80% of what we owned and moved into a pop-up camper.  A few months later, we increased our living space to a whopping 250 square feet and got rid of 10% more.

So you might say I was already a convert before I started reading The More of Less by Joshua Becker.  Even so, not far into the book, I was still a bit surprised at some of the stats he threw at me:

In America, we consume twice as many material goods as we did fifty years ago.  Over the same period, the size of the average American home has nearly tripled, and today that average home contains about three hundred thousand items.  On average, our homes contain more televisions than people.  And the US Department of Energy reports that, due to clutter, 25 percent of people with two-car garages don't have room to park cars inside and another 32 percent have room for only one vehicle.  Home organization, the service that's trying to find places for all our clutter, is now an $8 billion industry, growing at a rate of 10 percent each year.  And still one out of every ten American households rents off-site storage – the fastest growing segment of the commercial real-estate industry over the past four decades.

And the more I read, the more I realized I was not a minimalist.  I say that because -- even though we got rid of so. much. stuff. – it was fairly easy.  I wanted to downsize, get my bills lowered as much as possible, and move to the mountains.  So I did.  (Thank-you, God, for making my dream come true.)

But after living this way for more than a year, I realize there are still things I held on to that haven't been touched in months.  I still own clothes I haven't worn.  Originally, my end goal was to make a move, not intentionally live with less.  Does that make sense?

"If we want to recalibrate to a lower level of accumulation and stay there,
we need to replace our culturally inspired greed with self-cultivated gratitude
about what we have." – Joshua Becker

This book has given me a renewed sense of purpose in getting rid of the unnecessary extras.  Mr. Becker, who also created the Becoming Minimalist blog, does not simply share his experiences in living the minimalist lifestyle.  He also shares why minimalism might be right for you, and how to go about your journey toward your version.  He doesn't shy away from sharing how his faith plays a role, and he even offers troubleshooting and maintenance tips to help power through the process.

If you're looking for clarity in deciding if the minimalist life is for you, or if you just need some help getting rid of those last ten items, I recommend reading The More of Less.  Even if you come out the other end thinking minimalism is a bit extreme and not for you, I'll bet you'll also have a greater sense of intention when deciding on what things to bring into your home.  And consciousness is a good thing.

Psst…It's available on Kindle, if you'd rather not lug about another physical book. ;-)

More about The More of Less from the publisher.
More about the author Joshua Becker.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.  The words and opinions here are all my own.
Shared at Making a Home and Tuesdays with a Twist.

Do what you can with what you have…and don't forget to take pictures.  Well, I got half of it right.  I didn't do so hot with the pictures part.

Does the word "picture" sound antiquated to you? It does to me.

Anyway. It was just me and the dogs for dinner one night.  I wanted something easy, hearty, comforting, and meat-free.  Easy, peasy, right? For someone who doesn't cook, not so much.  So I turned to an expert – Rachael Ray, and settled on her Boo's Butternut Squash Mac-n-Cheese recipe from 365: No Repeats.

I went to the store to get some frozen butternut squash.  The recipe actually calls for it initially in that state.  I didn't have time to roast one anyway, and to be honest, I didn't want to.  Unfortunately, there was no frozen butternut squash to be found in the store I chose.  So I went with what was available, yellow squash with onions (still of the frozen variety).

Got home and fumbled my way through the recipe, making little adjustments here and there, and finally got a finished product.

Y'all.  It was good! Real good.

If I've piqued your curiosity, and you want to know more, here's what I did:

Summer Squash Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from "Boo's Butternut Squash Mac-n-Cheese" by Rachael Ray in the 365: No Repeats cookbook.

Ingredients

• coarse salt
  
• 1/2 lb. penne pasta
  
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
  
• 1 tbsp. dried thyme (or 2 tbsp. chopped fresh)
  
• 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  
• 1 (14-oz.) can chicken broth
  
• 1 bag frozen yellow squash with onions (about 12 oz.), defrosted 
  
• 1 cup half and half
  
• 2 cups (8 oz.) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
  
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan-Romano
  
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Boil pasta in salted water according to package directions.
   
2. While the pasta cooks, heat a medium heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the extra-virgin olive oil and butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the thyme and cook for a minute or 2. Add the flour and cook for a minute or 2 more. Whisk in the broth, then add the squash and onion mixture. Cook until warmed through. [At this point, I broke up the squash into smaller pieces. Nothing too difficult, just allowed it to go a bit and begin to break down.]
   
3. Stir in the half and half and bring the sauce to a bubble. Stir in the cheeses in a figure-eight motion and season the completed sauce with salt and pepper, adjusting for taste.
   
4. Drain the cooked pasta well and combine with the sauce.

Yield: 5+ servings

Hope you like it! From my mountaintop to yours.

Shared at From the Farm, Freedom Fridays, Simple & Sweet Fridays, Chain "Linky" Climb, The Art of Homemaking Mondays, and Tasty Tuesdays.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click a link and buy something. This helps support my mountain homestead dream as well as my blogging activities, and the price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! Thanks for reading, following, and supporting Stephlin's Mountain.

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate: a Book Review

I just finished an inspirational read I was able to get for Free (love that!) on my Kindle Fire.  A 2014 Christy Award nominee entitled The Prayer Box.

Tandi Reese is running from a drug-filled, abusive relationship. She chooses the Outer Banks of North Carolina as a haven for her and her two children. Though she finds herself in a place she once spent time as a child, not all the memories are good ones.

Yet here she is, renting a cottage from Iola Poole, owner of the historical house and property on which the cottage sits. One day, after Iola unexpectedly passes away, Tandi finds herself cleaning out the old rickety home in exchange for rent. After a bit of snooping, Tandi finds a closet filled to the brim with boxes. Each box is filled with letters written by Iola -- letters to God.

All throughout the book, we see Tandi struggle with many emotions that are holding her back from a better life for her and her children. Feelings of abandonment, unworthiness, and the inability to trust are a few at the top of the list.

Through Iola's letters, we first learn about her past. They also provide inspiration and encouragement to Tandi while she works to build a meaningful, fulfilling life with positive relationships. Of course, along the way, Tandi realizes she is not really alone -- God's grace is all around her.

I rarely highlight passages in books, but found myself doing so in this one. Here are a few I wanted to remember and share.

Nothing that had happened since I'd been on this island had happened at random. I'd been given shelter for my family, food to eat, work to do.

Given.

Gifts. I'd wanted to earn my own way, to do this myself, to form a new life on my own, but instead, this had been given to me. This life. This place. These letters.

This revelation.

Prayers are answered in ways we don't choose. The river of grace bubbles up in unexpected places.

(Another!)

Thank you. I wanted to write it on paper and fold it up in a box to remind myself, the next time I couldn't see anything but mountains ahead, that where there's a mountain, there's always a river flowing nearby.

Ultimately the river is the more powerful of the two.

(One more!)

All my life, I'd let the ties of blood control me, limit me, define me, yet I'd ignored the ties of love. I'd shielded myself from the people who tried to slip inside the armor, who told me that I was worthy.

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate -- highly recommended!

Shared at Simple Life Sunday, Simple Saturdays Blog Hop, Simply Natural Saturdays, and some of these other fine hops.

I was featured!

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click the link and buy something. This helps support my mountain homestead dream as well as my blogging activities, and the price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! :-) Thanks for reading and following Stephlin's Mountain.

All Things New by Lynn Austin: a Book Review

I think I've found a new favorite author. Seriously!

First, let me give a shout out to Amazon and my local library. They work together and allow me to borrow digital books and download them to my Kindle Fire -- a free service provided to me as a library patron. I found Lynn Austin's book All Things New by browsing the Georgia Download Destination.

While I thoroughly enjoy historical fiction and women as lead characters, I don't often enjoy Christian fiction. To be fair, it's likely due to my limited exposure to the genre. In my experience, however, there is a bit too much "sugar coated-ness" for my taste. I firmly believe God performs miracles on a daily basis. Yet, I also believe the events leading up to those miracles are not always pretty.

No danger of sugar-coating in this book! Ms. Austin was able to portray a tumultuous time in (Southern) American history with accuracy, but without overly graphic or crass language.

All Things New is primarily set on the White Oak plantation not far from Richmond, Virginia. The time period is Reconstruction, immediately following the Civil War. The story has three main characters: a mother and her daughter (with a Southern aristocratic social standing), and a newly freed female slave. Each chapter is told from a different character's viewpoint.

The mother (Eugenia) wants nothing more than for her life to return to the "way things were" before the war. She has no intention of changing her beliefs regarding slavery or those enslaved. The daughter (Josephine) is eager to embrace change, not only in terms of the abolishment of slavery, but also in the roles women generally play in Southern society. The newly freed female slave (Lizzie) is just plain terrified. She wants to move forward and have a better life for herself and her children, yet she trusts no one outside her family. Her bravery is noted in the small steps she takes toward that better life, risking her personal safety in the process.

Each of these characters also struggle with their relationship with God, specifically their trust in Him.

The ravages of war, gender roles, class roles, suicidal tendencies, forbidden love, violence against a race of people, and trying to figure out whether God even plays a role in it all -- in 400+ pages. Great read by Lynn Austin!

Shared at All Things Thursday, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, The HomeAcre Hop, Simple Lives Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, Thriving Thursday, and some of these other fine hops.

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a very small commission if you click the link and buy something. This helps support my mountain homestead dream as well as my blogging activities, and the price you pay will be no different than if you arrived at the same destination through any other link. My opinions are my own, to be sure. If I link to a product and say I like it -- I truly like it! :-) Thanks for reading and following Stephlin's Mountain.