If you loved the novel, you’ll love this companion recipe book too!
There is a magic in the Blue Ridge that lives in the soil, the stories, and the cast-iron skillets.
Even though The November Stranger is a story about feeding the deep, unspoken hungers of the soul, we also have to consider the hunger of the physical body. Where else is the soul going to live on this earth if not in a nourished body?
The Sayers Family Cookbook is a collection of the recipes that nourished the Sayers family in the novel. As I was writing and describing what the characters were eating at various meals, I often thought back to my own grandmother’s kitchen when I was growing up. How she canned the produce from Grandaddy’s garden every year, and how often I ate the staple meals I was writing about. I was raised on southern cooking and three squares a day.
While nowadays I love the convenience of my Instant Pot, researching these recipes reminded me that the “old ways” held a nutritional wisdom we often overlook today. These folks didn’t count calories; they counted blessings. And they still got their nutrition, regardless.
For example, the long, slow heat when preparing Pearl’s Potlicker Collard Greens doesn’t just cook them. It unlocks their abundant vitamins and minerals into the potlikker, that sustained many generations of strong bodies. And cooking a whole chicken in a pot (bones and all) before turning it into Pearl’s Slick Chicken and Dumplings, creates a base that is rich in collagen, amino acids, and minerals. The cooking herbs add even more nutrition and health benefits, as well as complex flavors.
These tasty and nutritious meals, made with love, nourish the body and the soul.