“Tracing Roots: A Modern Approach to Living Off the Land”
Author: Trace Barnett
Publisher: Advance Local
Pages: 223
Price: $ 27.95 (Hardcover)
Alabama Chef Promotes Living Off the Land
It is indeed a bit odd and difficult to review cookbooks on the radio, but there are in Alabama more and more important restaurants, chefs and therefore cookbooks. They highlight Alabama produce and recipes, and deserve some attention.
Tasia Malakasis, owner of Belle Chevre, maker of goat cheese, has two cookbooks, “Southern Made Fresh” and “Tasia’s Table.” Both feature Alabama ingredients often combined with, of course, the goat cheese that she produces.
Frank Stitt has become one of America’s most famous chefs and his “Frank Stitt’s Southern Table” contains recipes which are, as one might expect, quite sophisticated and complicated. Stitt trained at Chez Panisse, among other places, and stresses the absolute importance of fresh and local, from the arugula to the oysters. And the Highland bellinis, made with Chilton County peaches, are better, it is claimed, than those at Harry’s bar in Venice.
Trace Barnett has an even more local and hands-on approach to Alabama food and cooking. He is a chef, of course, with numerous appearances on local and regional television and many appearances on “The Next Food Network Star.”
Yes, Stitt hailed from the Cullman area and Malakasis’ cheese business is in Elkmont, an out-of-the-way place, but Barnett has his home, and his gardens, in Gold Mine, Alabama, which is outside of Brilliant. Folks there think of Brilliant as the “big town.” Barnett’s family has been there since 1828.
As nearly as he can, Barnett lives off the land. He encourages us all to try for this, stressing that if efficiently managed, even small gardens, sometimes on raised beds, even on patios or balconies, can produce a lot of edibles, and bees can be kept on an urban rooftop. The chicken coop still needs at least a backyard.
Barnett has a friendly, whimsical voice and is a persuasive explainer. I do want to keep bees and chickens, but not quite yet. An obviously gentle soul, Barnett tells the reader that hens who no longer lay eggs are allowed to “retire and live out their days as happy little pets.”
“Tracing Roots” is organized by the calendar.
He divides the year into seven sections, late and early spring, etc., and then winter—which gets only one section. In Alabama we are fortunate to have the warmth to plant most of the year, and a single crop may be planted twice or three times.
He advises what to plant in each season, always a useful reminder, with recipes for each season’s yield.
In early spring, we might have radish salsa, for example, and a little later, when the green beans are in, beans cooked in white wine and brown sugar along with bacon and vinegar.
Since your chickens will probably lay more eggs than you will need at breakfast, there are several egg recipes and one for a spicy carrot soufflé, which looks really good.
Likewise, there are several recipes for okra, tomatoes, summer squash and other produce which can come in a rush.
There are some meat recipes, often unusual. I WILL try spiced Cornish hens with chocolate gravy.
As the summer progresses, you will have more vegetables than you need, so there is advice on canning which he insists is not “daunting and challenging.”
Of course there are recipes for breads and sweets and a section, “wine and shine,” on cocktails. Peach-infused moonshine looks tasty.
As is usual, there are a few recipes you might call outliers. Barnett wastes nothing. Thus: fried apple skins.
He encourages foraging as well and we are invited to try kudzu jelly, made with the blossoms. It should not be hard to find the ingredients. For skin irritations, make plantain salve.
The photographs, by Jean Allsopp, are beautiful, enticing. Food photography seems to be a perfected art form.
Don Noble’s newest book is Alabama Noir, a collection of original stories by Winston Groom, Ace Atkins, Carolyn Haines, Brad Watson, and eleven other Alabama authors.
