Heirloom Harvest: a Southern Family Cookbook of Forgotten Recipes Harvest

Heirloom Harvest: A Southern Family Cookbook of Forgotten Recipes by Joanna Beth Mackenzie is a heartfelt journey into the soul of Southern cooking, born from the kitchen of her grandmother, Miss Dula Belle, in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Raised in a clapboard house where the railroad tracks hummed and biscuits baked fresh, Joanna learned at Dula Belle’s side—shelling peas, kneading dough, and soaking up tales of resilience and flavor. Dula Belle, daughter of a traveling doctor from Strawberry, Arkansas, turned humble ingredients into feasts, her recipes scribbled in notebooks that Joanna inherited in 2002. Determined to preserve these fading treasures, Joanna scoured Lawrence County for more—church cookbooks, kinfolk memories, and old-time secrets—crafting a collection that’s both a cookbook and a love letter to Southern heritage.Spanning 150–200 pages with 60–75 recipes, the book unfolds in six rich sections, each laced with Dula Belle’s stories and Joanna’s practical tips. “Breakfasts That Wake the Soul” offers buttermilk biscuits with sawmill gravy and cornmeal pancakes with sorghum syrup, evoking Walnut Ridge mornings. “Midday Feasts” brings fried green tomatoes with comeback sauce and chicken and dumplings, dishes of communal joy. “Suppers Under the Stars” delivers slow-cooked pork shoulder and baked macaroni with a cracker crust, comfort for lingering nights. “Sweet Endings” tempts with pecan pie and peach cobbler, sealing meals with love. “Preserves, Pickles, and Pantry Staples” bottles chow-chow and hot pepper vinegar, staples of thrift and taste. “Drinks and Sips of the South” refreshes with sweet tea and spiced cider toddies, porch-ready pours.Each recipe shines with authenticity—ingredients listed in imperial and metric, detailed steps, equipment needs, nutritional facts, and drink pairings that nod to Dula Belle’s flair. Joanna blends nostalgia with accessibility, offering vegan swaps, gluten-free notes, and global twists like collards with soy or hushpuppies with Thai chili. Stories pepper the pages—a grandmother feeding railroad crews with one skillet, a reunion gumbo sparking roux debates—making it as much a narrative as a guide.The book’s backbone is its front and back matter. A dedication to Dula Belle sets a tender tone, followed by a foreword from a Southern food voice and Joanna’s introduction, tracing her quest to save these recipes. Sections like “Cooking Tips and Techniques” demystify roux and grits, while “Seasonal and Occasion Menus” map feasts for Juneteenth or Christmas. A glossary decodes “potlikker” and “cathead,” and resources point to deeper Southern foodways—books, museums, archives. Joanna’s bio roots it all in her Walnut Ridge life, teaching English, winning pie ribbons, and archiving history