I am not a Southern Gal, but we were stationed in South Carolina for two years. I don’t know if you are familiar with Charleston, but there is/was an open air market with all kinds of goodies in the middle of town. One day while strolling through, I came to a table with an ancient black woman manning it and she had home packaged bags with 13 types of beans and a packet of her own spicy seasoning. I bought one of the bags and tried it at home for the first time.

Not long after, my boss had a party for all the employees of the Summerville Journal, where I worked. His wife served homemade cornbread that was to die for. I think this was the first time I had cornbread that didn’t come out of Jiffy Mix box. I got her recipe, stopped at the Charleston Market for more beans and fixed the two together for the first time. The meal was a huge hit with my family and every time I served it in the years that followed they would lean back and say it was the best thing we took away from our two years in SC. Our time there ended badly when our home and property were totally destroyed by Hurricane Hugo.