Greetings from Natchez Mississippi

Slowing my roll

Hi Friends,

As I enter into my next chapter on my southern adventure it has become clear that I need to slow my roll down considerably! I have a surplus of energy starting first thing in the morning before I even hit the coffee! The contrast is pretty stark as you can imagine and I’m learning all kinds of patience which is a good balance for me.

Mississippi is home to natural born storytellers.  Short anecdotal clips don’t exist. Your best bet is to tuck in and prepare to listen to a drawn out colorful tale.  It’s worth it. Folks here can talk about anything anywhere at any time. This became clear on a recent trip to Whole Foods in Jackson (about 2 hours away from Natchez) where I went to shop for staples. I had a loaded cart and was rooting around for frozen fish options when a woman approached me to ask how I thawed sock-eye salmon. She told me she weighed 200 pounds and suffers from fibromyalgia. Her parents and daughter live with her and she cooks for them all.  The parents want meat with a side of everything fried whereas the daughter is vegan.  She doesn’t know what to cook and asked me about the items in my cart and what my plans were for cooking it. She gave me her card.  This is what happens here.  Friendly conversations lead to a life download. If you know me, you know I could blab for hours about health and cooking!

Another wonderful exercise in patience was a trip to the emergency room after I sliced my finger while carving a chicken.  I was hoping to avoid going but it was gusher. My friend and host Ken offered to take me, but before I went anywhere I was going to eat the damn dinner I cooked for everyone! The emergency room was a brown single story stucco building that could have easily passed for a Taco Bell. As we entered through the electric doors I saw a Mother and her two small children sitting in the tiny waiting room. I took this as a sign that we might be in and out quickly.  I was handed a clip board to fill out paperwork and took a seat. After about 20 minutes a nurse came out and tried to pronounce my last name. Four vowels and one consonant was a challenge as usual.  Ken and I followed her into a small room where she took my vitals - weight, height, blood pressure, allergy questions, etc. I was surprised Ken could join me but it seemed pretty low key and seemed all were welcome. Next we were led through an adjoining door that opened to a dimly lit nurses station. We passed a large man in green scrubs with his feet up on the counter as we were ushered into a curtained examination room.  I got on the bed and waited.  Mr. “feet up” entered and immediately announced he was not the doctor, but  “just an ole RN”.  He placed a nubby white towel on my lap and asked when I last had a tetanus shot.  I replied that I was just shy of the 5 year mark so he told me he’d be back with the shot and a cut cleaning kit. After he administered the shot I thought he’d clean the cut in anticipation of the doctors arrival to stitch me up, but no, he left the room and told me the doctor would be right in.  20 minutes later an older man in blue scrubs entered and said that we were lucky we didn’t come in last night because there was a car accident and a shooting and I would had a loooong wait. He unwrapped my finger to see the damage and it began to gush again dripping in a steady stream onto the nubby towel.  He turned to Ken and asked “where y’all from” and Ken replied, Natchez. “Well, I like to take my dogs for a walk at the cemetery up on the bluff there.  It’s a nice walk and my wife and I enjoy it”. That led to the story of their relationship, and subsequent late marriage. He stated with pride, “my wife was a nurse right here at the hospital, but you know, we didn’t think we would ever be more than co-workers at the time, but now we’re married!”.  Meanwhile I managed to interject that my finger was really bleeding a lot.  “Well, you know what they say, it’s gotta bleed a while before it stops”.  Gee, I hadn’t heard that, but  he was right, it clotted and stopped all while he began to re-tell the story of his late marriage.  I looked at Ken wide-eyed thinking he just told us this story not 5 minutes ago! When in the hell are we going to get the stitches?!  He finally focused his attention on my finger and cleaned me up to start stitching.  He asked if Ken and I had a bet going on how many stitches I’d need.  No, we hadn’t I said. “Well, it’s gonna be 3”. It was the longest 3 stitches in modern history and after he finished he told me the RN would be back to discharge me.  10 minutes go by, and I had a hunch the “ole RN” was back at his station with his feet up.  I told Ken to go and look and sure enough, he was back in recline mode “just waiting on her discharge papers”. Did they need to be ratified?!  It was a ghost town for heavens sakes! After a firm nudge we finished up and were out.

Truth is, I like slowing down and I like talking to people. I’m meeting really interesting folks and everyone is nice and welcoming.  They also have impeccable manners.  I recently went to a chiropractor in Vidalia Louisiana, which is just over the bridge.  After filling out my info, Monty came out to greet me and he made no bones about how weird my last name was and assumed I was a member of the Iroquois tribe. Brown skin and a last name heavy on vowels seemed to be a giveaway.  I had to laugh and so did he.  I told him about my neck and upper back issues and also mentioned I had osteoporosis.  He replied “oh, well, I’ve been known to break a rib”.  After I pushed my eyeballs back into my head I told him my osteoporosis was located in my lower back, not my ribs and he seemed relieved. I know I certainly was! He threw a heat pack on my upper back and went next door to tend to another patient. When he returned he made a really fast adjustment and ushered me out to the waiting room. I thanked him and he told me to "bring it in, I’m a hugger”.  I was surprised but went in for the hug. He’s gotta be 6’ 5” and I had to stand on my toes to reach him.  Probably not great after a neck adjustment, but I wasn’t going to mention it.

Vidalia is home of the onion by the way.  I love onions and I also love another of Vidalia’s claim to fame - JoJo’s drive thru. Mark, our neighbor, has a 1973 Chrysler LeBaron convertible which he purchased on eBay and when I first arrived, we all piled in to drive over the bridge to Vidalia to get a frozen margarita.  JoJo’s is a drive thru bar that feels like a car wash and makes extremely strong frozen margaritas served in a large styrofoam cup - think big gulp on steroids! There’s a menu with all kinds of specialty drinks like Lizard Dick, Booze Bad Ass, Walk it Out, and Wipe Me Down to name a few. By the time we made it back to the Mississippi side of the bridge I was pretty loaded. I made a mental note that I was going to have to pace myself.

So these are some highlights and I can guarantee they’ll be many more!  I’m going to take a biscuit making class with Chef Regina, visit the Emerald Mound, and keep making friends.  I’ve joined a group for trivia night at the local “Casinah”.  That’s Casino just so you know.  I realize that an ah is naturally applied to any word ending in o; pillah = pillow, mosquitah = mosquito - marshmallah = marshmallow. I recently tried a salad dressing made with “marshmellah” which I won’t be eating again.  I’m finding my food balance, because I ain’t gonna lie, I want to eat fried chicken and fried okra and anything else they serve around here as long as I can alternate with healthy options.  I recently made this lentil salad and it was a hit.  I’m happy I can contribute some ideas into the culinary mix.  Enjoy!

Love,

Nancy Jo

Lentil Salad

Serves 4

1 cup french green lentils (also called Lentilles du Puy)

3 cups water or vegetable broth (I use a vegetable bouillon cube)

1 small onion or large shallot, finely diced

1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely diced

1 cup mixed fresh herbs (go crazy here and the more the better! I used parsley, dill, basil, and mint).

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup

1 large clove garlic, minced (I use the microplane)

Salt & pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, combine the lentils, water or broth. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and then turn to low and cook uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until lentils are soft, but still slightly firm. Do not overcook or the lentils will be mushy (in the last 3 minutes of cooking I added the diced carrot, but no need if you like it raw).

While the lentils are cooking, make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey or maple syrup, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside. When the lentils are done cooking, use a colander to drain the lentils and rinse quickly with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the carrot, fennel, red onion or shallot, and fresh herbs to the bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss until well combined.  Let it sit for 30 minutes or so for the flavors can meld. Add salt to taste and feel free to add crumbled feta or goat cheese.