Mountain Laurel Cookbook | Sweet potato cobbler |  Birba's Kitchen
Channel: Birba, Annie & Me
Date: 2018-12-01

Birba cooks up a delicious sweet potato cobbler - a Blue Ridge recipe from The Mountain Laurel Cookbook... and delves into the history of this fascinating newspaper & book. 

Sweet Potato Cobbler (from Ina T. Wray)
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▸ Biscuit dough [Appalachian style] (rolled 1/4" thick)
▸ Sweet potatoes, 4 medium sized
▸ Sugar, 1 & 2/3 cups [330 g]
▸ Butter or margarine,  3/4 cups [170 g]
▸ Vanilla, 1 tsp [5 ml]
▸ Nutmeg, 1/4 tsp [1.25 ml]
▸ Cinnamon, 1/2 tsp [2.5 ml]

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~~ The Mountain Laurel ~~
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On the east coast of North America run the Blue Ridge Mountains -- a portion of the Appalachians that stretch from southern Pennsylvania to northern Georgia; approx. 500 miles of ridges and crests that touch 8 states. 

Like many communities that have formed and thrived on the slopes of mountains all over the world, the Blue Ridge has it's own rich history and culture. Since 1983 'The Mountain Laurel' newspaper collected and printed the untold tales of mountain life from the people that lived there.

Formed in 1983 by 3 friends with no experience in journalism or printing, the story of The Mountain Laurel is almost a tale worthy of the journal itself. Edited by Susan Thigpen, published by Bob Heafner, with circulation & the office managed by Charlotte Heafner, the Mountain Laurel first operated out of a rented farm house down a dirt road track. Layouts were organised on an old brass bed, subscriptions were handled on the kitchen table, and stories were composed on an electric typewriter, in an upstairs room to the sound of a gurgling stream.  

"I guess it was that naiveté and belief in what we were doing that carried us and The Mountain Laurel through.", writes Susan when she reflects on that time. 

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~~ The Mountain Laurel Cookbook ~~
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For a newspaper about culture and life, it's not surprising that recipes started to appear. Heritage type recipes, rich in history and story. The kind of recipes passed down from one generation to another, in a never ending song of bakers and cooks. 

From the best tasting strawberry jam, to biscuits the size of cat heads, 'The Mountain Laurel Cookbook' represents more than just a collection of those published recipes, but a cumulation of mountain wisdom, technique and preparation from cooks long since gone. 

It's not a book of 15 minute miracles, or of culinary wonders performed by TV chefs, but of love and time, like the dog-eared, handwritten recipes from your grandmother. 

The Mountain Laurel Cookbook is available to buy on Amazon, in both eBook and paperback form:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507793014/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_L6U.BbGP8GVZ9

The Mountain Laurel also has a website http://mtnlaurel.com where you can find more information about this fascinating journal, from the people that created it http://mtnlaurel.com/about-the-mountain-laurel.html  
 
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~~ Credits ~~
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Special thanks to Bob Heafner and Susan Thigpen. In loving memory of Charlotte. 

(2:15) Mabry Mills, Blue Ridge Parkway, VA - Photo taken by JPC, Jr. Many thanks.

(2:22) Issues of The Mountain Laurel can be found in the Library of Virginia as part of their Virginia Chronicle collection, and can be accessed online: https://virginiachronicle.com/

Music: 'Angeline the Baker' performed by Nat Keefe with The Bow Ties

#Mountain #MountainRecipe #BlueRidge #Recipe #SweetPotato #OldRecipes #CookBook
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