So long to the South

Shrimp and grits at Southern Gourmasian

By Katherine

Greg and I have spent most of this year in different time zones. We didn’t plan to be apart so long, but it turns out moving cross country (which we’d done twice before) is a lot harder when you’re selling a home. We drove our Honda Civic — loaded down with all the essentials of a dorm room and one very sedated dog — 2,208 miles from Sherwood, Arkansas to Oregon in early April. After a few days, Greg returned home to Arkansas to finish some house repairs and wait, and wait, and wait, for the house to sell. Over nearly four months, we had too many meals apart and too many conversations on the phone. Even worse — we woke up in separate beds. He had some good friends to keep him company and I had our mutt and some amazing new coworkers, but we were pretty miserable without each other. He was finally able to move out for good in late July. So we’re no longer Southerners, not that we ever really were. Neither of us can muster a “Bless her heart” with any sincerity. Before we get cooking in the Pacific Northwest (OK, we obviously already have but unpacking has also trumped blogging) we thought we’d share a few of our last Southern dishes from in and around Little Rock.

Chicken livers and waffles at South on Main

South on Main’s cheeseburger

Spaghetti with meat sauce from Ira’s

Fried catfish at The Flying Fish

Candied pecans and fried black-eyed peas from The Capital Hotel

Smoked duck over spoon bread at South on Main

Cocktails at Raduno

Rabbit with pork belly at South on Main

We’re ready for new adventures and after a pretty long hiatus we’re eager to blog again. We’ve already picked wild blackberries and taken some apples and pears off a coworker’s hands. We’re buying wild mushrooms like candy and Greg is fretting over how to grow hot peppers in a much cooler climate. And of course we have a few salmon recipes in the pipeline. Even our dog is thrilled with the move.

Mingus in March, Oregon bound