Southern Charm Up North: Tales of a Maine Magnolia

Today I'm talking with Gentry at Southern Charm Up North: Tales of a Maine Magnolia.

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00:00
You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters.  I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Gentry at Southern Charm Up North, Tales of a Maine Magnolia  in Maine. How are you,  Gentry? I'm great, Mary. Thanks for having me.  You're welcome. I saw the name of your page on Facebook and I was like, oh, she sounds like a fun one to chat with.  I hope so.

00:30
So how's the weather in Maine this morning or this afternoon? Well, actually, I'm in Mississippi today. How are you? Okay. I am. But I think the weather's probably better in Maine.  Okay. Well, how was it in Mississippi? It's  hot. We had a rainstorm this morning, which we desperately needed, and I know we did. So can't complain about that. But now it's muggy. It's that typical Mississippi humidity.

00:59
We're experiencing the same thing in Minnesota this morning. I'm sorry, this afternoon. I keep thinking it's 10 o'clock in the morning. It's 1 o'clock in the afternoon. It is supposed to hit 95, I think, today here. And the dew point is above 60. So needless to say, the dog and I are hanging out with the freestanding air conditioners in the house today. Do not blame me about that.

01:23
Yep. And if she barks, it's because somebody pulled up to our farm stand because we have eggs out there that people want to buy. So. Oh, I love fresh eggs. I wish I was there. Yeah. Yeah. Our chickens have done really well this summer and we have not been able to keep eggs in the farm stand for any more than 24 hours. Once they go out there. It's been really funny. Wow. So tell me a little bit about yourself and about what you do. Well, I am living between

01:53
two states, two worlds really. We live in Mississippi. I was actually born and raised in North Carolina and I've lived different places, but primarily the South. I've lived in Mississippi for, I guess, 27 years now. And about two and a half, three years ago, I was getting remarried, lots of life changes. And I told my fiance, I said, I'm going to live in Maine.

02:21
He just kind of looked at me and said, oh, okay. And so we went up and he asked me, he said, have you ever been? And I said, no. And he said, don't you think we should go check it out first? And so we went up there. I had a broken ankle at the time. So was on a knee scooter, couldn't do anything, but just sit and look while he got to go explore and do all the fun stuff. And we went back about six months later, maybe, and made the offer on the house.

02:50
and bought the house. So my heart is always there even when I'm here in Mississippi. um And I started my blog in the Maine Magnolia just as a way of kind of interweaving those two worlds  and  sharing with my friends there and my friends here um and just people that I've met all over, you know, what it's like to transition between

03:19
dramatically different states um but still find the similarities and the things that you can call home in both.  Well yeah and people are people and food is food and home is a home and you know I don't know that it matters exactly where you live as long as you actually live where you live. Exactly. So. Just did a blog post this morning about the importance of being present  and

03:46
That's being present wherever you are and whatever the circumstances are at that given moment, but finding your why, your reason, your joy in whatever situation you're in.  Yeah. Otherwise, why are you here?  know? Right. Exactly. Hang on one second.

04:09
I had a tickle in my throat and I didn't want to cough in your ear. uh So  having moved from Maine to Minnesota when I was 22 and I'm  50, almost 56 now,  and you moving from Mississippi to Maine, how was that for you? Because growing up in Maine, I have a very special place in my heart for that state.  But I also know that Mainers are very, very direct people  and  they communicate.

04:38
very clearly and a lot. So how was it for you? They do. It's different.  know, they, I think we're first not  quite sure how to take me  and because I'm, I'm just me. I show up and I'm how y'all,  what are you doing? And,  um,  but  I think the biggest concern because Mainers are very protective of their world, you know, in their peace.  And,  um,

05:08
They're very independent, ah very self-sufficient.  I  think their biggest fear with tourism is that people are coming in to change what they love about their home.  I think when they realized that  there was nothing I wanted to change,  it was those very things that drew me there, then they quickly accepted me. mean, they love to laugh at some of

05:35
my sayings or the way I talk sometimes,  or my shoes.  I do like a little bling and the bling is not normally, you know, acceptable in Maine. Not unless you live in the middle of one of the bigger cities. have some sparkly silver shoes, boots that they all get a big chuckle out of anytime I have them on.  Well, for the record, I would have befriended you immediately just for your accent. would have been like, oh,

06:05
She doesn't sound like me. This is gonna be fun.  I definitely do not. My husband's far worse. He's much more country sounding than I am. So they really get tickled with him.  Yeah, I've said this on the podcast before, but I will say it again.  When I go home and see my folks, because they still live in Maine, my dad has to get in some ribbing about the fact that I have lost my main accent completely.

06:30
I don't think I have much of a Minnesota accent because I go out of my way to not have one. Right. But he's very audially inclined. So if I say anything remotely sounding like I live in Minnesota now, he's like, oh, there it is. There's the Minnesota. Oh, and he just teases me. So yeah, I go through it too. And honestly, it's really fun. We stopped at a little store down the road from them and

06:59
one of the women that worked there grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, I think she said. And I opened my mouth to ask her a question and she said, she said, where are you from?  And I said, oh, did my Minnesota uh transplant sounding voice come out? And she said,  not quite. She said, but I recognize even the little tiny bits because  I spent time in Minnesota. She said, but where are you from?  And I said,  oh, Maine.

07:28
And she said,  weird. She said, I can't believe it. was like, yeah, we had a 10 minute conversation about the way we all talk. was very fun. Well, yeah. So to tie this into  the homesteading and  food  and making things part of the podcast, you love to cook, said. So what, how have you blended your two worlds  in the realm of food? That's been the most fun of all.

07:56
At one point here in Mississippi, I owned a farm called Nowhere Farm and we had a great garden. As a matter of fact, we had a tractor. I'd never driven a tractor before. I thought I was out backhoeing one day. I was so proud of myself and my husband quickly looked at me and said, Gentry, honey, you are not backhoeing. You're bush hogging. So I had a lot to learn, but I raised chickens.

08:24
And my chickens had a wonderful,  they had a mansion really.  And it was called Meet the Flockers. And that was really  my intro into the farm world. And I loved it, everything about it. um So when I started going to Maine,  you know, just the farm stands and  it's everybody, their house, they just stick a little hut outside their  driveway and you go and  you buy local.

08:54
all year round. Yeah, sure do.  It's just amazing.  The meats are locally sourced and raised and  you go out and  I'm playing with these cows and I try not to think that I may be eating them later, but it's just, it's amazing because you know the life that they've had and it's such a difference and I love that. In Mississippi,

09:18
You know, certainly you can find farm stands and that sort of thing, but I'm in a rural part of Mississippi and so that's much harder. It's mainly grocery stores and fast food here. So you know, just my love of cooking. I hosted my first dinner party when I was eight years old. I even picked out the wine to serve and it was for the head chef of IBM. Oh my. So.

09:46
It's been a lifelong passion of mine. I've taken courses from Michelin star chefs in Thailand and Italy and different places. So getting to Maine and being able to source all of these  wonderful foods that I can't find down here has just been  just a blessing.  tell me what you can't source in Mississippi that you can in Maine.  I would not choose seafood here.

10:16
Maybe if you were down closer to the coast, but it's still a different,  you know, there's certainly not fresh lobsters and that sort of thing.  A lot of the foraging that takes place in Maine we don't have here, um probably  in some of the bigger cities around Mississippi, but certainly not near me. I love to go foraging for  fresh mushrooms and just different

10:45
things that  you can't buy, herbs and grasses and different things that you can use to accent your foods.  And blueberries, I'm pretty sure blueberries are in Mississippi. Blueberries are fabulous. The first time I was in Maine, I have to share with you, it was  fall  and we were driving and all of a sudden I looked over and there was this whole field and it was just brilliantly red.

11:11
And I thought, well, what in the world is that? And then we saw another one a little ways down the road and I started to see more and more of them. And I found out that they're the blueberry fields. Oh yeah. And turn that beautiful red  in the fall. And  I mean, of course it  just stole my whole heart.  was everything. You just felt like you were living in a painting. It was so pretty.  Yeah. I don't even know how to describe that red. It's almost a purple.

11:40
but it's more red than purple. Yeah,  they're really pretty. We put in some blueberry plants at our old house. They did not do well,  but  they didn't really produce berries, but they produce leaves and they turn that color in the fall. And I haven't bothered to put blueberries in at our new place now because they're not going to grow. We don't have the right conditions for them. They need acidic um dirt soil and we don't have that here. We have really rich.

12:09
non acidic soil and we've tried and they just don't grow. So. Well, and you know,  it makes sense, but they talk about when you try to source locally and live locally, it is important to know what  you can grow and what works  where you are. Um, because as much as I want certain things,  um,  you know, it's just not going to grow in red clay in Mississippi. There's no way.

12:38
No, no, it's not. And it's so funny because my mom grew up in Illinois and then married my dad, moved to Maine. And in Illinois, black raspberries grow. And here in Minnesota, black raspberries grow. But black raspberries do not grow natively in Maine. And so the last time we were home for a visit, I brought her some frozen black raspberries from our place so she could have some because she hadn't had black raspberries in years. Oh, nice. Yeah.

13:06
So  you just, think that there are very specific things that grow in very specific regions. And  if you want them, you're going to have to order them if you don't live there. Right. So,  and that's fine. I mean,  I was gifted some pecans and I can't remember what it was, Georgia or Alabama. I think it was Georgia. I was gifted some, some pecans from Georgia and fresh pecans. Oh yeah.

13:34
I had never had fresh pecans in my life. I want to buy more and they're so expensive. I can't afford to do it right now. They are expensive. We've got  pecans down in the lower part of the uh state of Mississippi and down in the Delta. So whenever I'm down there, I do try and stock up on some of those. Yeah, I thought I hated pecans until I was gifted these and I was like, oh my God, now I know I love them and I want them and I can't get them.

14:04
Because what happens is when we get them the store here in Minnesota, they've been in a bag on a shelf for God only knows how long and they've gone rancid. don't taste good. They're bitter. And there's nothing worse than. Yeah, they're not supposed to be bitter. They're supposed to be bright and salty and nutty and  delicious. And  now that I have been made aware,  I almost wish that I didn't know because then I wouldn't care. Does that make sense? It does make sense.

14:34
So have you perfected the most wonderful lobster roll in Maine yet, or are you still working on that?  I'm still working on that.  I  have not been able to bring myself to put one in a pot of boiling water yet. m My husband certainly can, and I know lots of people that do that  handle that part for me. But it's been fun to kind of experiment with the lobster rolls. And  it's one of the things I do whenever I'm out exploring, and I do that.

15:03
literally almost daily because I'm still so new to Maine and all the different places to see. But finding the best lobster roll in each little village and town has been  a lot of fun. um That's an amazing endeavor. It really is.  I don't think it's one I'll ever tire of.  Yeah, and the best lobster roll I've ever had in my whole life.

15:29
was at the lobster shack. think it was, it's in Cape Elizabeth and it's right on the ocean. It's not the beach. It's like  above the rocks that go down to the ocean. And it was basically a really soft roll with a whole lot of lobster, which I don't know if they still do that because you know, shrink flation and all that.  But it had a whole bunch of lobster pieces and it had a little bit of mayo.

15:56
and had a little bit of salt and pepper and it had some shredded lettuce just a little bit on top. sounds perfect. That was the best lobster roll of my entire life and it was like 20 years ago. I love that. I took my family, the first time they came up, my aunt and my parents and I took them out to Thomaston, another similar place, you know, just a little shack out on the beach and

16:24
It was wonderful. My aunt decided though that she wanted the whole lobster.  And when she cracked it, it had the green.  Yep. And I can't remember what they call it now, but  the look on her face was priceless.  She thought she had something bad and that's  literally a luxury to anybody who really knows lobster and eats lobster. Yeah. I can't think of what it's called either because I never ate it.  Yeah. It's not appealing looking at all.

16:54
No. But they say it's fabulous to taste. Yeah, no, I'm going to not find that out ever. don't want to.  The best way to eat lobster, and I'm going to tell you right now, is that  you don't want to kill the lobster? Is that why you can't put it in the boiling water? It does. I read a story one time and it was talking about the lobster's brain exploding or something and I was like, okay, I'm done.

17:19
Yeah, don't don't do that. Don't read that stuff. I just need not to read exactly. Um, the, the scream and then they talk about, you know how they say it? They don't, it's the air inside the shell. It is escaping. are not. makes me feel better.  And honestly, that is far less, um,  gory and disgusting than how beef is killed to  make our stakes. So. Absolutely.

17:47
Absolutely. So don't feel bad. And if you really love lobster, just stick it in the pot. It's fine. Well,  I've made it my mission. I've bought all my supplies and  that's my next goal is to perfect my lobster cooking skills next time I'm up. Yeah. The best way to eat lobster in my opinion is to get that thing in the water, get that shell red, pull it out, let it cool down a little bit.

18:14
while you're waiting, clarify some butter, use the microwave if you want, and just have a bowl of warm butter and that lobster and just make the biggest mess you can while you eat because it all cleans up later. Yes, it does. And that's the fun part. I've got the little lobster bibs. I've got all the cheesy tourist things um and still enjoy it. That's the other thing that gives me away when they know that I'm not really from Maine when they see that.  Well,  I think that's cute. And of course,

18:43
I have lived away long enough to not be the typical Mainer. And  I really want to say that the New England people, not just Mainers, but New England people,  once they have decided that you are okay, they adopt you. You become part of their family. Oh, absolutely. uh Some of the closest friends that I would say I have right now are my newest friends from Maine. And  they're just...

19:12
You know, it's,  um, they're private in a way  and they mind their own business, but they mind their business in a way that isn't,  it's not that I'm concerned with you or for you. It's that I'm going to let you be you and I'm going to be me and we'll just be great friends  in the meantime. Yeah. I call that live and the let live. And that's what I do with everybody. It's the best way to live. It really is.

19:40
Yeah, if I don't like what you're doing, as long as I don't have to be pulled into it, I'm all good. And if I love what you're doing, I'm going to want to be part of it. Exactly.  Okay. So if you're from Mississippi, do they do gumbo in Mississippi? They do, but not  as much.  you know,  Mississippi is such a hodgepodge. We're so close to Tennessee and to Alabama.

20:09
And you get down into the Delta and  really to me that's the heart of Mississippi is in the Delta and you would find gumbo more down there  along with just lots of good soul cooking, I guess would be the best way to describe it. um But there's a lot of heart that goes into  the food and just the whole culture of the Delta is  pretty amazing.

20:36
Yeah, I have not traveled a lot and so I haven't really gotten any further than Maryland and I haven't gotten any further west than I think South Dakota. oh And I've driven through most of the northern tier states because I used to drive from Maine to Minnesota and Minnesota to Maine.  So, you you're going to stop and eat somewhere  on that trip. Right.

21:02
But a lot of the Southern stuff I really haven't gotten into because I haven't been exposed to it. um I was telling somebody the other day, because she's from Minnesota, I was talking to her on the podcast, that I learned how to make  turkey wild rice soup when I moved here, because that's a thing here in Minnesota, turkey wild rice soup.  And uh had friends over and they tasted it and they were like,  woman from Maine should be able to make turkey wild rice soup. And I was like, I have arrived.

21:31
I have made the best super wild rice soup ever. That's the greatest reward,  greatest compliment they can give you.  Yeah, and I'm actually going to make some next week because we didn't have any last winter. I don't remember why we didn't make any. So next week, you'll have to send me that recipe. Oh, it's super easy. And if you love to cook, you will love it. All it is a roux. You know, know what a roux is, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah, a roux and some milk and  some more butter and some um bacon grease.

22:00
and some chopped up turkey and some chopped up onion and celery and a little bit of carrot  and some wild rice, whether you buy it raw and cook it or whether you buy it in a can and dump it.  That's pretty much it. is so good. And do not skip the bacon grease because it really does add that depth and that richness to it. Well, and that's  one of the two things about being a Southerner. You have your bacon grease right there in your little safe pot at all times.

22:28
Yeah, I don't have any right now. For the longest time, I had a little jar of it in the refrigerator because it stays good forever. Yes,  it does. And I used the last of it last time I made this soup and I haven't replenished it and I don't know what's wrong with me. Why did I not save any?  These are the little tips and tricks that you get on my podcast, Bacon grease is amazing for everything.

22:56
I don't recommend sitting down and eating it out of the jar because it's really bad for you in that amount.  But for flavoring things, it's really nice. Oh, and pancakes, cooking pancakes with a little bit of that bacon grease is fabulous. And French toast. Oh, yes. Yeah, my husband cooked up like two pounds of bacon so he could freeze some. And he had all that grease in the bottom of the pan. And I was like,  um.

23:23
pour a little bit of off into a bowl for me and he was like, why? And I says, we're cooking our French toast in that. And he was like,  we don't do that. I said, we do now. uh I love that. Yep. Fabulous. And I mean, butter for your French toast is fine, but a little bit of bacon grease now and then won't kill you. Just adds that little extra bit of something. m Yeah. I don't know what it is, but it's just really, really good.

23:49
And the other thing that's really good if you use just a little bit of bacon grease in your pan is scrambled eggs. Oh, no, I haven't tried that, but I would think that would be wonderful. It works great. And then you don't have to have bacon if you don't want it because it tastes like bacon. That's perfect. Yeah, I love my tricks. They make me so happy. Speaking of tricks, that leads me into a thing I wanted to talk about today to share with my listeners and with you. I finally got my Patreon account started. Finally.

24:19
There's gonna be recipes posted on there. So if anyone wants to Join my patreon account or however you say it it's patreon.com slash a tiny homestead all small letters and it's it's gonna have ebooks and PDFs of Like instructions on how to get started on a podcast not podcast. Sorry a homestead Cooking tips growing plant tips making compost

24:49
Worm, I don't know what it's called, vermiculture, where you raise worms so you get their castings for composting. Yes. All that stuff, all those kinds of things are going to be on my Patreon account. Oh, how fun. I haven't been on that. That's something new for me to go check out. I will do that today. Awesome. just want people to come and learn because I understand that I do a podcast and I try to get people to tell me stuff about how they do stuff.

25:19
But I realized that I know things too that I could be sharing with people that would maybe give them a chance.  It's amazing what just that little bit of knowledge that you can share does.  I have more e-books than I can count because I'm fascinated by the things that other people do and the foods that they fix and  their traditions and all of those things. And it's so fun. I have a cookbook library that rivals

25:48
any city library of all their books. It's ridiculous. Like my husband says, you've got a problem.  I don't have space for cookbooks anymore. So I just, I just find my recipes on Google.  Oh, well, and that too, I've got them saved forever. The cookbooks though, I love to read the stories. Like my favorite ones to find are the ones that people have scribbled their notes beside the recipes. And,  you know, this was Janie's favorite or,

26:17
don't serve this or this is five. I love that.  That sounds like church cookbooks to me. Yeah, exactly.  They're the best. Yep. I have one,  one little paper one from a church that my grandparents went to. And I have, I have one that I bought at an antique shop and it actually is, is two pieces of wood that have holes cut in it on the side. binding has, has, um,

26:45
It could be sinew from an animal that ties it together. I don't know. Oh, wow. And then it's got the  old, old, old rough edge paper in it. And it's got to be a hundred years old. That's awesome. Yeah. I have that one. I'm not giving that one up. I thought it was so cute. I just wanted it, you know, just because it was adorable and it would look cute on a shelf. I get tickled too when you're in the really old ones like that. Some of the ingredients that you just can't find anymore that

27:13
they don't make or maybe they're made under a different name and  you know it's fun to go back and try and figure out exactly what it was and what you can substitute today with to still make it.  Yeah I love it when there's measurements that I've never heard of before.  Yep. I'm like I don't know what that means I'm going to have to go dig and find out what that actually amounts to. Well it's  you know  one of the things that I try and do is  spend time with

27:41
my grandkids and nieces and nephews and cooking because I know a lot of my great grandmothers and my grandmother's recipes  were just a pinch of this and a little sprinkle of that and a dab of this.  You know, they didn't have recipes and they just knew how to make it. And I think it's something that if we don't pass those down, it's something that's lost and you can never get it back. So,  you know, the stories and the time that you spend are just

28:10
You know, irreplaceable. Yeah, it's amazing how much is wrapped around cooking. I mean, I've talked to a lot of people about cooking on this podcast and  the stories and the memories and the emotions and everything that's wrapped around cooking is just  gigantic.  It is. It really is.  You were talking about the lobster thing and

28:37
The last time, no, a couple times ago, because my kid is an adult now and he was only like 12 when this happened. He might have been 10.  We went on to visit my folks and they did  a backyard barbecue. And my dad had burgers and he had  boiled lobster. And my youngest had never had lobster before. And God loved this child. He tried it.  I thought he liked lobster. That's how good he was.

29:04
And  he took a bite and he smiled and he said, that's really good, Grampy. Thank you. And I was like, yes,  it's my boy.  And then my dad noticed that he hadn't eaten anymore. And he said, em do you want more of your lobster? And he said, no, thank you. And my dad said, would you like a hamburger? And my son was like,  yes, please.  And I will remember that to my dying day because this kid  acted  so well.

29:34
As if he loved the lobster that I was fooled. I was like, wow, I'm raising a good kid. I love that. Yup. And my older one, he, he saw the live lobsters in the tank when we were at that lobster shack place when he was about six. Uh-huh. And  he said, what are those? And I said, that's, that's lobster. And he said, I ain't eaten no big red bugs.  I love, you know, one of my grandkids when she was about

30:04
four, I guess, we still had the farm here in Mississippi and she wanted to go out and get the eggs with me. And it just so happened that one of the chickens was laying an egg right as we walked out and she saw it and she just,  mean, this look of horror on her face and  she looked at me, she goes, Gigi, it came out its butt. She  was  horrified. And I don't think the child ate eggs for another three or four years.

30:33
She learned early where her food comes from. uh I  love it.  All right, Gentry, I try to give you half an hour. We're there. Where can people find you?  I'm on Facebook and Instagram under  Southern Tales up north, Tales of the Maine Magnolia.  And  I am in the process of working on my website right now. But Facebook is generally  where you'll see most of my

31:03
post and blog.  cannot wait for you to get your website up because I know you're going to have pictures and I can live vicariously through you.  Absolutely and anytime you can come to Mississippi or Maine just come on you're welcome to be my guest.  Well thank you very much but I live on a homestead with a dog, two barn cats and a bunch of chickens. I don't think I'm traveling anywhere very far for anytime soon.  I love it.

31:28
All right. As always, people can find me at atinyhomesteadpodcast.com. Gentry, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mary. Have a great day. You too.  Bye bye.