Vegan

The sweetness of peaches and sugar snap peas makes them pair up quite well. A bit of seasoning sends the duo down a chutney path.

Like reverse butterflies, when the showy yellow blooms of peanuts begin to fade, the peduncle bows to the ground and buries its head in the earth, forming the webbed cocoon-like shells this legume is known for. This slaw is a great one for picnics in the hot summer because it isn’t bound by mayonnaise. Chile, cilantro, and rice vinegar give it a fresh, spicy crunch that makes it the perfect peanutty partner for grilled chicken or pork.

The Palestine Gardens is a miniature replica of sites from the Holy Land built down in the piney woods around Lucedale, Mississippi. For sixteen years Reverend Walter Harvell Jackson and his wife searched for a place to build his Bible-themed garden. After seven years of construction, the forty-acre garden opened in 1960 with Bethlehem, Jericho, and Jerusalem all constructed out of concrete blocks, and with its own Dead Sea. It has expanded over the years to include the Sea of Galilee. Jerusalem artichokes do well in the kind of sandy soil and full sun they have down there in George County and will thrive in most gardens, producing the edible tubers and brilliant yellow sunflowers. I like to serve this over Israeli couscous, of course.

The Black and White Store down on the far west end of Main Street in Yazoo City opened the doors to its two-tone storefront in 1938. It stocks general merchandise and department-store goods; everyone in town shops there for fabrics and patterns, back-to-school clothes, new shoes, and footlockers for summer camp. Whenever I hear the words “black and white” I think of their big neon sign. Mr. Chisholm, the longtime manager, says at first the store was White’s Store, with an aptly painted front; and when it expanded into the building next door that had been burned and the bricks charred black, it became the Black and White Store. I was writing out a grocery list at home the other day and when I looked at the list at the store I had absentmindedly written “Black and White Store Beans” underneath “carrots.” This salad ensued.

Hominy and tomatoes with a South Texas chili spice are a great change from boring potato salad. It is sort of like changing the radio dial from a typical oldies station to a fiesty, fun Mexican one.

In 2009 the USDA declared seventy-nine of Mississippi’s eighty-two counties disaster areas due to excessive rain in spring and fall and a drought in the summer. It rained more than fifteen inches in May when farmers were trying to plant their crops. Then in the busy harvest months, a deluge of eight inches in September, followed by fourteen and a half inches in October. It was one of the worst yields on record. My cousin Michael Thompson has the right temperament to be a farmer. He is unflappable in the face of natural disaster and focuses on doing everything he can to foster a good soybean yield each season. “To do what I love on land that means so much to our family, it’s home . . .” As he says this his voice trails off dreamily.

Chicory flowers are Aequinotales, meaning the flowers open and close at the same time just like clockwork. Here, that is from around six in the morning until the sun is high at noon. About the same time these blossoms are awakening, chicory roots blended with coffee are percolating across Louisiana. They make a fine combination. This dressing has the faintest sweetness of Louisiana molasses that works with the coffee to balance the bitter bite of the salad greens.

Born out on Cabanocey Plantation in rural St. James Parish in 1946, a young John Folse could probably never have imagined that the foods of his Louisiana upbringing would propel him around the world as a culinary ambassador. From humble beginnings and a belief in and commitment to the preservation of classic Cajun and Creole cuisines, Chef Folse has grown his culinary enterprises into a world-class operation. Since 2006, he has grown Arbequina olives on White Oak Plantation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Arbequina olives are the source of most California and Spanish olive oil. When the small, flavorful olives are ripe and cured, they are deep purple.

Premium Number One Beauregards are a popular variety of sweet potato grown in Vardaman, Mississippi. There are ninety sweet-potato farms within forty miles of this town, which even boasts a Sweet Potato Street running right into Main Street. With twenty thousand acres under cultivation, sweet potatoes have to be the state’s largest vegetable crop. Here a tart-sweet treatment and a dusting of crystalline flakes of salt elevate the down-home goodness of my favorite Beauregards.

This makes a wonderful sweet-tart condiment with caramelized, almost molasses, undertones. It lasts for at least two weeks in the fridge and is amazing drizzled over creamy, mild ingredients such as avocado slices or soft goat cheese spread on crackers. It’s especially good over filet mignon (page 108) and Brazilian Leeks (page 142), which in fact go beautifully together.

This is the best way I know to prepare ripe plantains, a classic Caribbean dish that is served with Crock-Pot Cuban Ropa Vieja (page 113). Ripe plantains are so sweet that they can actually be prepared this way and served over vanilla ice cream. But don’t let that sweetness intimidate you. Sweet often complements savory, and these are especially wonderful with hearty stews and grilled red meat. If the plantains are very mushy, they’ll need to be sliced thicker and will cook faster because they have more sugars, which caramelize really quickly in the hot oil.

There are as many different styles of tortillas as there are regions in the parts of the world where they are eaten. I make tortillas like the ones I grew up eating in my Aunt Edna’s kitchen in Texas: thick, fluffy, and addictive! This dough can be used to make them any way you like: small or large, thick or thin. With practice, you’ll get more efficient and turn into a one-person assembly line: cooking one tortilla while you roll out another. Nothing is better to sop up the creamy gravy of Aunt Didi’s Carne Guisada (page 107). Or eat them warm, straight off the comal (a flat griddle, see below) and spread with butter. I still love them for breakfast, these days usually with beans rolled up inside.

The corn tortilla was first made many thousands of years ago. Today it usually begins with masa harina, a powdery meal made from fresh corn dough that has been dried and ground to a powder. Full of sweet and earthy corn flavor, homemade corn tortillas are very different from store-bought. The moment you pull off the lid from the tortilla warmer or the napkin covering a basket of warm tortillas, a sweet, corn aroma fills the air. Serve these with Chili-Rubbed Skirt Steak Tacos (page 102) or in any recipe that calls for corn tortillas.

My sister Esmeralda uses this on her excellent BBQ Chicken Pizza (page 91), and it’s also good brushed on burgers on the grill. Dried barbecue seasoning can be found in the spice aisle at the grocery store.

I am lucky to live near the Grey Moss Inn, one of the most beautiful restaurants in San Antonio, which also has the most amazing wine list in the area. I love to eat there whenever I can, and this dressing is one of the reasons. After tasting it the first time, I once again found myself in a restaurant kitchen asking for the recipe. The chef graciously agreed. Try it tossed with tender romaine hearts, or spoon over asparagus (page 145), tomatoes, or steamed green beans.

This vinaigrette is excellent on just about any green salad. I especially like it on butterhead lettuce, oak leaf, and other delicate greens. Sweet-and-tangy balsamic vinegar is the star here, so choose one that is good quality.

Broiled asparagus is the vegetable side dish I prepare most often when I’m throwing a big dinner party because it’s sophisticated but quick and easy to make. Actually, I prepare it as often as I can, whether I’m having a dinner party or not, because it is my absolute favorite vegetable. I’d eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I could. The timing here depends on how thick the asparagus are—they can be pencil thin or super thick. Just pierce them with a knife; when it goes in easily, they’re ready to be broiled to get some nice, brown color.

My family knows that roasting is my favorite way to prepare Brussels sprouts (it’s one of my Thanksgiving specialties), so when my sister Emily found a version with kimchi in a magazine, she sent it straight to me. Kimchi, a staple in the Korean diet, is a delicious, tangy, fermented cabbage. It can be found in well-stocked grocery stores and in Korean markets. The flavor of the finished dish really depends on the kimchi, so find one you like. If you don’t like a lot of spice, just roast the Brussels sprouts as directed here and leave out the kimchi. Roasted Brussels sprouts on their own are both sweet and savory.