Heirloom Grains from Laura's Mt. Folly Farm

Most of Laura’s family is from the Deep South, and she grew up eating grits.

“Cheese grits casseroles were a favorite for brunch,” she says. “We had sweetened grits for breakfast, grits casseroles on Sunday, and plain grits with salt and butter for weekday suppers.”

“We southerners had corn, not wheat, for our meals. We’ve been gluten free for 2 centuries,” she says.

Not only is corn a staple in the south, but seed savers and local farmers have made sure that the old varieties remain.

At Laura’s Mercantile, we feature Hickory King corn, an heirloom white corn, which we’ve milled into cornmeal, for cornbread, corn sticks, hush puppies and corn muffins, and Bloody Butcher corn, milled in the same fashion.

“I like cream-style cornbread,” says Laura. “My aunts, who I learned from, each have their own way of doing things. You can hear Mary Carolyn tell you how, right here.”

Cornbread made with organic heirloom cornmeal from Laura Freeman.

One serving suggestion which has rescued many a hostess is this: for dessert, split open a corn muffin, warm it in the microwave (a nod to modernity), douse it with limoncello, and top with a scoop of ice cream. “It’s decadent,” says an older family member whose eaten plenty of desserts.

Spoonbread also is a classic polite-company southern dish.

We’ve featured several versions, all requiring bringing milk to scalding, which means near boiling…but don’t let it boil!

Organic Heirloom Grains from Laura Freeman's Mt. Folly Farm

If you are feeling adventurous and want to go deep south, try Cracklin’ Cornbread, made with pork fat. The same can be said of Johnny Cakes.

Pinto beans and cornbread are real country cooking, and with a few flourishes the dish ventures into the territory of soul food. Many classic southern recipes were developed by black cooks, now acknowledged and celebrated for their singular achievements.

For its land base, corn belongs to our hemisphere. A separate culture of corn started south of the border, and we’ll be publishing Mexican and South American recipes later this year.

To start, though, Laura chose recipes from some of her mother’s favorite cookbooks, such Charleston Receipts, published by the Junior League of Charleston, South Carolina; Bluegrass Winners, published by the Garden Club of Lexington when my mother was a member; Holiday Recipes, published by the Birmingham, Alabama, Symphony  and compiled by my Aunt Elberta, and Recipes from the Homeplace, published by the family of Melford Cleveland, who is married to my Aunt’s sister.

Grow Some Corn!

Meanwhile, Laura has hand-packed open-pollinated Bloody Butcher corn seeds!

Bloody Butcher Seeds

“With this crisis, my friends are talking about growing food again, and I want to give our good customers a little start. Here in Kentucky, we plant corn around Derby Day, the first Saturday in May. While the Derby is cancelled this year, we still have corn,” she says.

Even though some city people think farming is a no-brainer (Michael Bloomberg said, “I could teach anybody to be a farmer…you dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, you add water, up comes the corn.”), we hope you’ll give organic gardening a try.

These Bloody Butcher seeds are open pollinated and will breed true. The corn doesn’t turn a deep red until it is drying down. You’ll see!

“Have some fun, and I hope you can get outside!” says Laura.

Feel free to email Laura at Laura@laurasmercantile.com with gardening or other questions. She isn’t leaving the farm and will have plenty of time to answer them.

Most of Laura’s family is from the Deep South, and she grew up eating grits.

“Cheese grits casseroles were a favorite for brunch,” she says. “We had sweetened grits for breakfast, grits casseroles on Sunday, and plain grits with salt and butter for weekday suppers.”

“We southerners had corn, not wheat, for our meals. We’ve been gluten free for 2 centuries,” she says.

Not only is corn a staple in the south, but seed savers and local farmers have made sure that the old varieties remain. At Laura’s Mercantile, we feature Hickory King corn, an heirloom white corn, which we’ve milled into cornmeal, for cornbread, corn sticks, hush puppies and corn muffins, and Bloody Butcher corn, milled in the same fashion.

“I like cream-style cornbread,” says Laura. “My aunts, who I learned from, each have their own way of doing things. You can hear Mary Carolyn tell you how, right here.”

Cornbread made with organic heirloom cornmeal from Laura Freeman.

To start, though, Laura chose recipes from some of her mother’s favorite cookbooks, such Charleston Receipts, published by the Junior League of Charleston, South Carolina; Bluegrass Winners, published by the Garden Club of Lexington when my mother was a member; Holiday Recipes, published by the Birmingham, Alabama, Symphony  and compiled by my Aunt Elberta, and Recipes from the Homeplace, published by the family of Melford Cleveland, who is married to my Aunt’s sister.

One serving suggestion which has rescued many a hostess is this: for dessert, split open a corn muffin, warm it in the microwave (a nod to modernity), douse it with limoncello, and top with a scoop of ice cream. “It’s decadent,” says an older family member whose eaten plenty of desserts.

Spoonbread also is a classic polite-company southern dish. We’ve featured several versions, all requiring bringing milk to scalding, which means near boiling…but don’t let it boil!

If you are feeling adventurous and want to go deep south, try Cracklin’ Cornbread, made with pork fat. The same can be said of Johnny Cakes. Pinto beans and cornbread are real country cooking, and with a few flourishes the dish ventures into the territory of soul food. Many classic southern recipes were developed by black cooks, now acknowledged and celebrated for their singular achievements.

For its land base, corn belongs to our hemisphere. A separate culture of corn started south of the border, and we’ll be publishing Mexican and South American recipes later this year.

Organic Heirloom Grains - Hickory King Grits

MT. FOLLY FARM SPECIALTY GRAINS

From heirloom grains grown at Laura's Mt. Folly Farm. Try these with the recipes below, hand-selected by Laura.

Mt. Folly Farm’s Hazlet Rye Flour

$7.99
Organic bloody butcher cornmeal from Laura Freeman's Mt. Folly FarmOrganic bloody butcher cornmeal from Laura Freeman's Mt. Folly FarmOut of stock

Mt. Folly Farm’s Bloody Butcher Cornmeal

$7.99
Organic bloody butcher grits from Laura Freeman's Mt. Folly FarmOrganic bloody butcher grits from Laura Freeman's Mt. Folly FarmOut of stock

Mt. Folly Farm’s Bloody Butcher Grits

$7.99
Grits and Cornmeal Recipes
Grits and Cornmeal Recipes from Laura Freeman and Mt. Folly Farm