BATCH, A Bitter Southerner Podcast

Show Notes

You can read the full story at the Bitter Southerner’s website. Here’s a link: https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2023/immigrant-spaghetti

It can also be found in our new book Food Stories: writing that stirs the pot, available here: https://bsgeneralstore.com/products/food-stories

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by

The theme music for Batch was made by Curt Castle.

This episode of Batch (in fact this whole batch of food stories) was made possible by the support of E Pluribus Unum. Learn more at https://www.unumfund.org/

Plus, as promised:

Farhan’s Immigrant Spaghetti

The following amounts and ingredients are suggestions, not real rules. Like speed limits on a Southern highway.

• 1.5 lbs grass-fed ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 stick cinnamon
• 1/2 C diced onion
• 1/2 C diced celery
• 3/4 C diced carrots
• 1 C diced red or green bell pepper (or both)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.5 Tbsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp fennel powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1.5 C marinara sauce
• 1 C canned, crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 2-ish C water
• 1 box spaghetti (If you’re cooking the sauce and pasta separately, then feel free to splurge on the fancy pastas that create a very starchy pasta water. That fancy pasta starch can work against you if you cook it all together though. Cheaper pasta is better for cooking in sauce)
• Chopped fresh cilantro, parsley, maybe a little mint for garnish

A few notes:

• Chop the onions, peppers and tomatoes to achieve your desired level of chunking in your sauce. Just remember if you didn’t like chunky Prego sauce growing up, you probably won’t like it now
• I cook the sauce like we would a curry in India - which means you’re frying, not sweating, the onions + carrots + celery + bell peppers. If it burns a little, just add a splash of water to cool down the temp. It’s all about cooking over medium-high heat until the oil oozes out the sides.

1. Brown the meat but don’t cook it all the way through. If you’re using beef, drain most of the fat except for a teaspoon or two (i do that for flavor). Remove to a plate/bowl.
2. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until the oil is hot. Add the bay leaf and cinnamon stick to the oil until you hear it sizzle for about 30 seconds.
3. Dump in the onions, carrots, celery and bell peppers. Cook until the onion starts browning on the edges - about 10 minutes.. Ideally, it’ll even burn a little. Stir frequently to avoid sticking and add splashes of water if it sticks.
4. Add the garlic, stir and cook until you smell it.
5. Then add all the spices at once and stir it up. Keep the heat at medium-high and cook for about 3-4 minutes until you see the oil gather at the edges of your very brown-ish colored vegetable mess.
6. Add the tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes. Keep that heat up - you’re basically “frying” the sauce. Stir often. Cook for a few minutes until you see the oil gather at the edges.
7. Add in the mint and browned meat, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes (The longer it simmers, the better).
8. Break up the pasta to fit into the pot, push the pasta down and mix it into the sauce as much as you can. Add 2-ish cups of water so it covers the noodles by a quarter inch. Bring it a boil, then cover and turn down to a hard simmer. Stir every few minutes to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick together.Add water as needed. It should be done after 10-12 minutes, depending on the pasta you use. When it’s al dente, take it off the heat and let it rest, and stir it around.
9. Dump chopped herbs on top and serve!

In Episode 8, writer Boyce Upholt notes, “There’s a lot of beauty and joy and wonder in the world. And of all the beautiful places in our country, the Southeastern coast is one of our most beloved and extraordinary.” Oh, how we love our beaches! Unfortunately, our coastlines are now some of the most at risk due to the accelerating impacts of climate change, sea level rise, intensifying storms, and flooding. In “Down To The Tide Line,” Boyce takes the long view of this ever changing place where the land meets the sea, reminding us that it’s by cosmic luck that we’ve wound up on a planet quite so beautiful. We hope you enjoy Boyce’s reading and conversation with our host, Kyle Tibbs Jones. This essay is great and the episode is short — only 30 minutes!

Note: we recorded our conversation with Boyce Upholt prior to Hurricane Ian roaring through Florida in September. And as we publish this episode, we are just beginning to assess the devastating destruction there. Our thoughts are with everyone in Fort Myers and the surrounding area who were impacted.

Boyce Upholt is a freelance writer living in New Orleans. He won the 2019 James Beard Award for investigative journalism, and his work has been noted in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series.

Original Story

Down to the Tideline

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Thomas Sully Allen and Ben Lorio

Featuring original music by Curt Castle

Recorded at Tweed Recording in Athens GA, and Music Shed Studios in New Orleans, LA

Made possible by the support of the Southern Environmental Law Center

In our new BATCH of episodes - "Earth Stories" - we've recorded some of our favorite contributors reading their stories about special and fragile places across the South. Listen to these wonderful writers read their powerful words and then talk with our host, Kyle Tibbs Jones.

Finally, The Bitter Southerner returns to your ears, your mind, your heart... with the first episode of our new podcast : BATCH.

Yep, we’re digging into our archives to read and record batches of our favorite stories; the stories' you all love. In BATCH #1, we’ll focus on food - how we make it, how we feel about it, and in episode #1, how a meal can change or sometimes save a life. We start in Brewton, AL at a restaurant unlike any other, run by an incredible woman doing everything she can to make a difference.

Listen to “The Difference Between Happiness and Joy” - Written and read by Jennifer Kornegay.

Welcome to BATCH, y’all.

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Kayla Dover and Kyle Gassiot

Featuring original music by Curt Castle

Recorded at Chase Park Transduction, Troy Public Radio and Tweed Recording

In our second BATCH (5 episodes called "Earth Stories"), we're digging into fragile, precious, and sometimes surprising places across the South. In Episode 7, writer Jim Barger reads his piece "The Untold Story of Hibiscus Grandiflorus." Listen as Jim takes us deep into the interior forest of a barrier island, where he witnesses a grove of gigantic prehistoric flowers - flowers the world had thought lost.

Jim is an outspoken advocate for conservation and protecting the Georgia coast. His magical story and conversation with our host, Kyle Tibbs Jones, make for an entertaining episode.

Original Story

The Untold Story of Hibiscus Grandiflorus

Credits

Hosted by Kyle Tibbs Jones

Produced by Ryan Engelberger

Engineered by Anthony Stubelek (who is a real treasure) and Thomas Sully Allen

Featuring original music by Curt Castle

Recorded at Tweed Recording and Chase Park Transduction in Athens GA, and Rockstudio in Brunswick, GA

Made possible by the support of the Southern Environmental Law Center