Month: September 2007

While we were in Jackson, we drove over to Ridgeland to the Mississippi Craft Center, which is run by the Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild.

Loved it. L-o-v-e-d it.

Here’s the interior space, where they can also host functions:

…and here’s a pic of the gorgeous shop – it reminded me a lot of the Southern Highland Craft Guild Gallery in Asheville NC that we visited. There were several artists from Mississippi on display, but several from neighboring states as well.

There was so much that I wanted to buy, but we left with just four small things. This one’s just for fun – it’s a catfish – a wire sculpture by Anne Campbell called “I’ve Got A Right To Sing The Blues” – that Av’s going to put in his office:

This little birdie is by Bonnie Renfrow from Ackerman, MS. I just liked how simple and peaceful he looks. Her birds have rattles inside:

This one has a gorgeous glaze – it’s by Mark Rigsby in Hattiesburg, who is also the director of the museum of art at the University of South Mississippi:

The last thing we got is this, by Kent Follette / Follette Pottery in Ruston, Louisiana:

Just a tiny fraction of the other items the Craftsmen’s Guild has is in their online store. From now on, when we go to Jackson, Av has promised that we will stop by the Craft Center…when Shug gets a little older, I want him to pick out some toys there too – there’s one artist that makes old-fashioned toys that are just beautiful.

Oh! And one more thing…one of the other things they have is a metal bottle tree – very sculptural…and it’s already loaded up with blue bottles. I like my homemade bottle trees but theirs is very nice too…

One day this week, Av was working in Jackson, so we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Clinton (it was fine – an average Hampton). Some big convention or something must have been going on, because the Hilton and Marriott were booked, so we decided to stay at the Hampton Inn in Clinton, which is just eight or so miles from downtown, and use our Hilton points so the stay didn’t cost us anything at all.

This was our room:

We brought what Shug sleeps in and he did perfect! He’s sleeping seven or eight hours straight through every night now so we are all doing great. What was really nice was that we got up the next morning and visited a *bunch* of friends – he got loved on lots & lots!

This past weekend, we took Shug for a drive in a part of Alabama that we aren’t familiar with – the part of the state where coal is mined. What was really interesting was that all along AL 269 from Ensley and throughout northern Jefferson county were these handpainted religious signs. We passed probably fifty of them just on the route we took!

Here are just a couple:

This tomato and watermelon salad is *wonderful* and so easy & quick to make – I made it for one of our family lunches this past week for the holiday. It’s good the next day, too…

Ingredients: (this makes enough to serve about 6 as a small side salad)
2 red tomatoes, chopped
1/2 lb. watermelon, cut into bite-size pieces and seeded
1/2 small red onion, chopped into small pieces
2 tsp. sugar
1/8 c. red wine vinegar
salt to taste

…you can adjust the proportion of watermelon to tomatoes to get it however you like. Just put everything together, then let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving. Nice and summery!

Tonight, I made tamale pie – it was really great…and I was thinking that it would be really nice for us to make the next time we go tailgating at a game…

Ingredients for the top & bottom:
6-1/3 c. water
2 c. yellow corn meal
creole seasoning (I use Tony Chachere’s)
salt

Ingredients for filling:
1 lb. ground beef or bison (I used bison this time for a change and it was good)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 cups peeled tomatoes (canned tomatoes are perfect for this)
creole seasoning
olive oil
(I don’t, but some people add corn or bell peppers to this – it is good however you make it!)

Directions:
Let the olive oil get hot, then add the onions and cook until they are almost transparent. Add garlic and quickly add meat.

Once the meat is cooked through/browned, add tomatoes – just break them up into pieces with a fork in the skillet. Taste, and add creole seasoning – as much as you like.

Turn the heat to low, and let it simmer and concentrate with the lid off for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350*.

Next, start the cornmeal mixture. Boil the water and add cornmeal (be careful because it will bubble up at first). Stir thoroughly and turn the heat to medium-low. Once it cooks for a couple of minutes and thickens up, add some creole seasoning. I used about 1/5 of a cup, but add slowly and taste until you get it the right amount of spice for you.

Once the meat has simmered 30 minutes and the cornmeal mixture has been made, oil a medium-large casserole with olive oil, then add half the cornmeal mixture. Add all the meat on top, then top the meat layer with the rest of the cornmeal. I cook it with the lid on for between 1hr and 1hr, 15 minutes – until the top has browned with a nice crust:

This recipe serves 7-8 so there are lots of leftovers (and while I’m not big on leftovers, it really is good the next day).

Yum!

On our way back home, we stopped at Rose Hill cemetery in Meridian MS to see what was left on Queen Kelly Mitchell’s monument that day (a little of her history is here, and a series of pics taken over a few years, here):

Lots of times there are wine or beer bottles. The letter reads: “Thanks for the merlot! I gave you some lipgloss for exchange. Renee & K-T”