Recipes for breads, beverages, meat dishes, preserves, vegetables, and other foods from Appalachia are accompanied by a discussion of the region's culture

Sydney Saylor Farr is a woman who knows Appalachia well. Born on Stoney Fork in southeastern Kentucky, she has lived much of her life close to the mountains, among people whose roots are deep in the soil and who pass on to their children a love for the land, a strong sense of belonging and of place.Mountain food and how it is cooked is very much a part of this sense of place. Ask any displaced Appalachians what they miss most and they will probably talk about soup beans, country ham, and homemade buscuits. They may also remember the kitchens at home, the warmth from the wood-burning stove, the smell of coffee, and the family gathered around the kitchen table to eat and talk.More than Moonshine is both a cookbook and a narrative that recounts the way of life of southern Appalachia from the 1940s to 1983. The women of Stoney Fork rarely had cash to spend, so they depended upon the free products of nature - their cookery used every nutritious, edible thing they could scour from the gardens and hillsides. These survival skills are recounted in the pages of More than Moonshine, with instructions for making moonshine whiskey, for fixing baked groundhog with sweet potatoes, for making turnip kraut, craklin' bread, egg pie, apple stackcake, and other traditional dishes.More than Moonshine is more than a cookbook. It evokes a way of life in the mid-twentieth century not unlike that of pioneer days.

After retiring from a career as a public relations representative with Lockheed Martin Corporation, Joseph Earl Dabney currently enjoys a career as a writer, author, and speaker. He also has experience as a reporter and editor for several Southern newspapers. Dabney has written three other books: More Mountain Spirits; Herk: Hero of the Skies; and Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, and Scuppernong Wine, which was named Cookbook of the Year by the James Beard Foundation for 1999. Joe is a native of Kershaw, South Carolina, and lives in Atlanta. Book jacket.

Although Sidney Saylor Farr is renowned in the field of Appalachian studies, her own fascinating personal history has been little known until now. My Appalachia is Farr's story of growing up in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky, where her devotion to her family led her to accept crushing responsibilities that steered her away from her own goals. Her intense determination, however, compelled her to find her own path in life and gave her the strength to become one of the most influential figures in her discipline. At the age of twelve, Farr was forced to leave school to care for her ailing mother and several younger siblings. Given the responsibilities of adulthood early in life, she pushed herself through countless challenges, including poverty, discrimination, and personal loss. Yet she managed to thrive -- she educated herself, raised two sons, and became a voice for her family, community, and culture. In My Appalachia, Farr shares the stories of her struggles and triumphs to create a vivid picture of a culture as enduring as the mountains. Composed of a rich mix of folklore, family history, and spiritual and intellectual exploration, My Appalachia reveals the beauty at the heart of life in Appalachia.

“Inventive, sumptuous recipes” from the writer of the award-winning food blog Harvest and Honey, a Saveur Best Blog finalist (Sonja Overhiser, author of Pretty Simple Cooking). Showcasing the flavors and modern cooking techniques of Appalachia and the Blue Ridge Mountains: With over seventy delectable recipes and eighty stunning photographs organized by seasons, Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest is an evocative cookbook rooted in Appalachian ingredients and flavors that takes readers and cooks deep into the heart and soul of America. Lauren McDuffie uses modern cooking techniques to transform traditional comfort food with a mountain sensibility into inspired meals and menus for anyone. Each chapter opens with storytelling that echoes the folklore and tall tales of the region. Beautiful color photographs capture mouthwatering dishes for all occasions—from morning beverages to a show-stopping berry buckle—as well as the tools, fruits, flowers, and scenery of life in the Mountain South. From the mountains of southwestern Virginia, Lauren McDuffie is a writer, food stylist, photographer, and creator of the blog Harvest and Honey. Menu suggestions and wine pairings encompass a variety of meal occasions, from small plates to soups, salads, mains, sides, drinks, dessert, along with tips and techniques on canning, pickling, and preserving. Mouthwatering recipes include Shaved Summer Squash Salad with Pickled Pepper Vinaigrette, Slow-Roasted Onion and Golden Apple Soup, Baked Pork Chops with Cran-Apple Moonshine Compote, Drunken Short Ribs with Smoky Gouda Grits and Mountain Gremolata, Pan-Seared Carrots with Bourbon-Maple Glaze, Triple Orange Cake with Honey-Lavender Buttercream, and many more. “[An] intimate and charmingly rendered collection of inspiring recipes.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

It’s almost Halloween, and little Sylvie Ann has found the biggest, fattest pumpkin. But before she can carve it into a giant, crooked-toothed pumpkin moonshine (or jack-o’lantern), she has to get it home! This eBook edition of a cherished tale includes audio.

Nothing but clear, 100-proof American history. Hooch. White lightning. White whiskey. Mountain dew. Moonshine goes by many names. So what is it, really? Technically speaking, “moonshine” refers to untaxed liquor made in an unlicensed still. In the United States, it’s typically corn that’s used to make the clear, unaged beverage, and it’s the mountain people of the American South who are most closely associated with the image of making and selling backwoods booze at night—by the light of the moon—to avoid detection by law enforcement. In Moonshine: A Cultural History of America’s Infamous Liquor, writer Jaime Joyce explores America’s centuries-old relationship with moonshine through fact, folklore, and fiction. From the country’s early adoption of Scottish and Irish home distilling techniques and traditions to the Whiskey Rebellion of the late 1700s to a comparison of the moonshine industry pre- and post-Prohibition, plus a look at modern-day craft distilling, Joyce examines the historical context that gave rise to moonshining in America and explores its continued appeal. But even more fascinating is Joyce’s entertaining and eye-opening analysis of moonshine’s widespread effect on U.S. pop culture: she illuminates the fact that moonshine runners were NASCAR’s first marquee drivers; explores the status of white whiskey as the unspoken star of countless Hollywood film and television productions, including The Dukes of Hazzard, Thunder Road, and Gator; and the numerous songs inspired by making ’shine from such folk and country artists as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson, and Dolly Parton. So while we can’t condone making your own illegal liquor, reading Moonshine will give you a new perspective on the profound implications that underground moonshine-making has had on life in America.