Category: The South

  • GRITS: Jesmyn Ward

    GRITS: Jesmyn Ward

    This article is part of our series “GRITS: Girls Raised in the South,” in which we profile some of our favorite Southern ladies and the things that make them awesome. Got an idea for a fabulous femme we should feature? Shoot us an email at zeldaandscout@gmail.com! (Alliteration optional.) Name: Jesmyn Ward Hometown:  DeLisle, Mississippi Profession: writer,…

  • Thoughts from New Orleans

    Thoughts from New Orleans

    “We dance even if there’s no radio. We drink at funerals. We talk too much and laugh too loud and live too large and, frankly, we’re suspicious of others who don’t.” – Chris Rose There are some cities whose reputation looms so large it can overshadow reality. For many people, New York is one such place.…

  • All the Fixin’s: Pecan Pralines

    All the Fixin’s: Pecan Pralines

    Mardi Gras is right around the corner (February 13th to be precise, more on that later). So for this chapter of All the Fixin’s, we thought it only right to attempt a Louisiana classic: the praline. Pronounced “praw-leen” if you’re from Louisiana (and if you are correct, Zelda would argue), or “pray-lean” if you’re from…

  • We Need to Talk About #MoonPie

    We Need to Talk About #MoonPie

    There are a lot of Southern snack items we would pledge loyalty to. We’ll vow our undying love for pimento cheese and modjeskas. We’ll eat cheese straws with abandon while sipping on an Ale-8-One, or RC Cola, or Cheerwine. But there’s one Southern snack that’s winning everyone’s hearts and minds these days, and it’s always had ours.…

  • Come on You Boys in Purple

    Come on You Boys in Purple

    When we think of the South in the fall, many of us automatically think of football. And growing up, Saturdays in the fall were all about that all-American pastime: driving the hour south to Lexington, eating a ton of tailgate food, and probably falling asleep before the fourth quarter, at least when I was really…

  • All The Fixin’s: Sweet Potato Sonker and Milk Dip

    All The Fixin’s: Sweet Potato Sonker and Milk Dip

    This installment of All The Fixin’s comes from Ronni Lundy’s Victuals. We’d never heard of sonker until friend-of-the-blog Jason mentioned it during a discussion of the great cobbler versus pie versus crumble debate. “Sonker?” we asked. “What on earth is a sonker?” Well a sonker, we learned, is a deep-dish, cobbler-like dessert unique to a specific…

  • All The Fixin’s: Shrimp Creole

    All The Fixin’s: Shrimp Creole

    This week’s recipe was cooked under trying circumstances, dear readers. For starters, the day was sweltering. Zelda’s normally lovely flat was invaded by flies too big to be discussed here without shuddering. Her air conditioning struggled to battle the monstrous heat. It was, to be frank, not pretty, and we were all on edge. But…

  • Fairy Parties and Polar Bear: Why I’ll Always be a Camp Person

    Fairy Parties and Polar Bear: Why I’ll Always be a Camp Person

    It’s the middle of the night, probably around 1 a.m. I’m 12 years old, asleep on a mattress that my now-27-year old body would not be able to comprehend sleeping on — like, ever. Suddenly, I am awoken by the shouts of college-age counselors decked out in fairy wings and tutus, throwing glitter and announcing…

  • A Brief History of the Modjeska

    A Brief History of the Modjeska

    I went back to my beloved Kentucky home this weekend, for the first time since December. I was there for a family friend’s wedding, and for Father’s Day, and spent a glorious 72 hours eating doughnuts and barbecue, hitting up my favorite bookstore, dancing in a garden, and doing yoga and watching John Oliver and…

  • Brooklyn, NY to Louisville, KY Summer 2017

    Brooklyn, NY to Louisville, KY Summer 2017

    We drove a lot when I was a kid. Road trips were fairly standard as the highway was often the most efficient mode of transportation for getting to the small town that my grandparents made their home in, or to the tiny island off the coast of South Carolina where we often vacationed. I know…