BATCH, A Bitter Southerner Podcast

Blackwater rivers are the haven of innumerable species, the keepers of our earliest recorded history, and the key to the health of our marshes, islands, and coastlines, but they’re under threat from mining, residential development, and pollution. We speak to Georgia author Taylor Brown about his piece “Ode to Blackwater Rivers” - it’s a love letter to the rivers he grew up on, and a call to keep them thriving for generations to come.

Show Notes

You can read the full story at the Bitter Southerner’s website. Here’s a link: Ode to Blackwater Rivers

Credits

Host Kyle Tibbs Jones

Producer Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Thomas Sully Allen at Tweed Recording in Athens, GA; and by Jalen Reyes at Lilypad Studios in Savannah, GA.

The theme music for Batch was made by Curt Castle.

This episode of Batch (in fact this whole batch of food stories) was made possible by the support of SELC. Learn more at https://www.southernenvironment.org/

To shore-living Marylanders, the humble, blue-collar Natural Light is more than just cheap beer. Five years ago, nearly to the day, we published "My Old Friend Natty Light." In her story, Mickie Meinhardt firmly staked the claim that a certain part of Maryland is "the South" while also paying tribute to Ocean City locals and their dogged devotion to "shore champagne," aka Natural Light beer. What does a food or beverage (or in this case a beer) say about a place and the people who live there? Mickie explains in this conversation and reading. Cheers to Episode 15 of BATCH!

Show Notes

You can read the full story at the Bitter Southerner’s website. Here’s a link: https://bittersoutherner.com/natural-light-is-your-friend-beer-ocean-city-maryland

It can also be found in our new book Food Stories: writing that stirs the pot, available here: https://bsgeneralstore.com/products/food-stories

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by

The theme music for Batch was made by Curt Castle.

This episode of Batch (in fact this whole batch of food stories) was made possible by the support of E Pluribus Unum. Learn more at https://www.unumfund.org/

Show Notes

You can read the full story at the Bitter Southerner’s website. Here’s a link: https://bittersoutherner.com/cooking-country-women-food-nashville

It can also be found in our new book Food Stories: writing that stirs the pot, available here: https://bsgeneralstore.com/products/food-stories

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by

The theme music for Batch was made by Curt Castle.

This episode of Batch (in fact this whole batch of food stories) was made possible by the support of E Pluribus Unum. Learn more at https://www.unumfund.org/

Show Notes

You can read the full story at the Bitter Southerner’s website. Here’s a link: https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2023/immigrant-spaghetti

It can also be found in our new book Food Stories: writing that stirs the pot, available here: https://bsgeneralstore.com/products/food-stories

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by

The theme music for Batch was made by Curt Castle.

This episode of Batch (in fact this whole batch of food stories) was made possible by the support of E Pluribus Unum. Learn more at https://www.unumfund.org/

Plus, as promised:

Farhan’s Immigrant Spaghetti

The following amounts and ingredients are suggestions, not real rules. Like speed limits on a Southern highway.

1.5 lbs grass-fed ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey

2 Tbsp oil

1 bay leaf

1/4 stick cinnamon

1/2 C diced onion

1/2 C diced celery

3/4 C diced carrots

1 C diced red or green bell pepper (or both)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 Tbsp coriander powder

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp fennel powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric

1.5 C marinara sauce

1 C canned, crushed tomatoes

1 tsp dried mint

2-ish C water

1 box spaghetti (If you’re cooking the sauce and pasta separately, then feel free to splurge on the fancy pastas that create a very starchy pasta water. That fancy pasta starch can work against you if you cook it all together though. Cheaper pasta is better for cooking in sauce)

Chopped fresh cilantro, parsley, maybe a little mint for garnish

A few notes:

Chop the onions, peppers and tomatoes to achieve your desired level of chunking in your sauce. Just remember if you didn’t like chunky Prego sauce growing up, you probably won’t like it now

I cook the sauce like we would a curry in India - which means you’re frying, not sweating, the onions + carrots + celery + bell peppers. If it burns a little, just add a splash of water to cool down the temp. It’s all about cooking over medium-high heat until the oil oozes out the sides.

Brown the meat but don’t cook it all the way through. If you’re using beef, drain most of the fat except for a teaspoon or two (i do that for flavor). Remove to a plate/bowl.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat until the oil is hot. Add the bay leaf and cinnamon stick to the oil until you hear it sizzle for about 30 seconds.

Dump in the onions, carrots, celery and bell peppers. Cook until the onion starts browning on the edges - about 10 minutes.. Ideally, it’ll even burn a little. Stir frequently to avoid sticking and add splashes of water if it sticks.

Add the garlic, stir and cook until you smell it.

Then add all the spices at once and stir it up. Keep the heat at medium-high and cook for about 3-4 minutes until you see the oil gather at the edges of your very brown-ish colored vegetable mess.

Add the tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes. Keep that heat up - you’re basically “frying” the sauce. Stir often. Cook for a few minutes until you see the oil gather at the edges.

Add in the mint and browned meat, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes (The longer it simmers, the better).

Break up the pasta to fit into the pot, push the pasta down and mix it into the sauce as much as you can. Add 2-ish cups of water so it covers the noodles by a quarter inch. Bring it a boil, then cover and turn down to a hard simmer. Stir every few minutes to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick together.Add water as needed. It should be done after 10-12 minutes, depending on the pasta you use. When it’s al dente, take it off the heat and let it rest, and stir it around.

Dump chopped herbs on top and serve!

This week, in Episode 12, we're laughing, chatting, and reading with Alana Dao, author of "Southern Hustle: Houston Hip-Hop & Chinese Chicken." As we've seen in FX's "The Bear," (big love for that show here at The BS!) the energy and buzz of working in kitchens can show up in someone's DNA. Alana echoes that sentiment as she shares the tale of her great grandparents' journey to the U.S. and how her family's Houston restaurant, Timmy Chan's (and the egg rolls, fried chicken, and rice served there)  have become iconic in the chopped and screwed rap music. We're rapping and mapping, y'all.

Episode 12 is a must-listen.

Show Notes

It can also be found in our new book Food Stories: writing that stirs the pot, available here: https://bsgeneralstore.com/products/food-stories

You can read the full story at the Bitter Southerner’s website. Click here to read the story.

Our playlist featuring all of the artists mentioned in the episode and more can be found on our Spotify playlist. Click here to listen on Spotify!

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Thomas Sully Allen at Tweed Recording in Athens, Georgia

The theme music for Batch was made by Curt Castle.

This episode of Batch (in fact this whole batch of food stories) was made possible by the support of E Pluribus Unum. Learn more at https://www.unumfund.org/

In Episode 11 of BATCH, we spend time with the talented and charming Caroline Hatchett, author of the James Beard nominated Bitter Southerner story, “The Elusive Roots of Rosin Potatoes.” Back in 2019, Caroline, a seasoned food writer, began a quest to solve a serious mystery. Bound and determined to uncover the true origin of people cooking potatoes in vats of boiling pine rosin, she asked the living and the dead, across 10 states and two countries, “What do you know about Rosin Potatoes?” Oh, there have been legends and myths and twists and turns and rabbit holes and dead ends. And as it turns out, in Caroline’s search for the truth, we do learn a few things — mostly about the stories we tell ourselves.

Show Notes

You can read the full story at the Bitter Southerner’s website. Here’s a link: https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2022/the-elusive-roots-of-rosin-potatoes

It can also be found in our new book Food Stories: writing that stirs the pot, available here: https://bsgeneralstore.com/products/food-stories

And for adventurous chefs looking to make their own rosin potatoes, here’s where you can find Diamond G’s rosin, salves and turpentine : http://www.diamondgforestproducts.com/index.html

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Thomas Sully Allen at Tweed Recording in Athens, GA. Caroline Hatchett recorded her own audio.

Buster Cole’s audio comes from a video made by Davis Skinner, at the Georgia Agricultural History Museum in Tifton, GA. Special thanks to Dr. Alan Hodges and the University of Florida digital media collections.

The theme music for Batch was made by Curt Castle.

This episode of Batch (in fact this whole batch of food stories) was made possible by the support of E Pluribus Unum. Learn more at https://www.unumfund.org/

BATCH is back! We're bringing you conversations and excerpts from our new book Food Stories: writing that stirs the pot - we can't wait to share it with you! You're gonna love it

Today, for our last episode in this BATCH of Earth Stories, we look back at one of the most monumental environmental disasters in American history. While many stories have been written about how New Orleans came back after Katrina, at The Bitter Southerner, we were interested in a deeper question: Why did the people of New Orleans come back and rebuild their city?

In episode 10, journalist and filmmaker, Lolis Eric Elie reads his piece “The Whys” - it’s as powerful as anything we’ve ever published, and we’re excited to share it on BATCH.

Among many other works, Lolis’ credits include working on the HBO series “Treme;” co- producing and writing the PBS documentary, “Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans,” as well as co-authoring “Rodney Scott’s World of Barbecue: Every Day’s a Good Day”

A quick content warning for those listening with children or anyone who may not want to hear this right now; this episode has unbleeped adult language as well as mentions of death and suicide.

Original Story

The Whys

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Thomas Sully Allen and Mike Casentini

Featuring original music by Curt Castle

Recorded at Chase Park Transduction & Tweed Recording in Athens GA, and The Network Studios in Los Angeles, CA.

Made possible by the support of Southern Environmental Law Center

In our latest "Earth Stories" episode, Bitter Southerner contributor Jessica Bradley Wells reads her sweet tale, "Where the Tupelo Grows." Since the 1800s (way before Van Morrison's hit "Tupelo Honey" or Peter Fonda starring in "Ulee's Gold,") locals in the panhandle of Florida have been harvesting our rare, sweet, and precious tupelo honey. So put in your earbuds and travel with Jessica to Wewahitchka, Florida, where the white tupelo tree grows and where beekeepers Gary Adkison and his wife, "Miss Pam," joyfully carry on the Tupelo tradition.

This story has it all — a Southern food staple, music, an important ecosystem, and even a Facebook romance. We love it and hope you'll listen!

To taste and savor some Tupelo Honey of your very own, visit Gary and Miss Pam’s website here:

www.blue-eyedgirlhoney.com/

Original Story

Where the Tupelo Grows

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Thomas Sully Allen and Morgan Snow

Featuring original music by Curt Castle

Recorded at Chase Park Transduction and Tweed Recording in Athens GA, and Charlotte Star Room in Charlotte, North Carolina

Made possible by the support of Southern Environmental Law Center

In Episode 8, writer Boyce Upholt notes, “There’s a lot of beauty and joy and wonder in the world. And of all the beautiful places in our country, the Southeastern coast is one of our most beloved and extraordinary.” Oh, how we love our beaches! Unfortunately, our coastlines are now some of the most at risk due to the accelerating impacts of climate change, sea level rise, intensifying storms, and flooding. In “Down To The Tide Line,” Boyce takes the long view of this ever changing place where the land meets the sea, reminding us that it’s by cosmic luck that we’ve wound up on a planet quite so beautiful. We hope you enjoy Boyce’s reading and conversation with our host, Kyle Tibbs Jones. This essay is great and the episode is short — only 30 minutes!

Note: we recorded our conversation with Boyce Upholt prior to Hurricane Ian roaring through Florida in September. And as we publish this episode, we are just beginning to assess the devastating destruction there. Our thoughts are with everyone in Fort Myers and the surrounding area who were impacted.

Boyce Upholt is a freelance writer living in New Orleans. He won the 2019 James Beard Award for investigative journalism, and his work has been noted in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series.

Original Story

Down to the Tideline

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Thomas Sully Allen and Ben Lorio

Featuring original music by Curt Castle

Recorded at Tweed Recording in Athens GA, and Music Shed Studios in New Orleans, LA

Made possible by the support of the Southern Environmental Law Center