From the Editor

RRecently, my daughter threw herself across our bed once again complaining that she had no one to play with. As an introvert with more siblings than I know what to do with, this particular plight isn’t one I can easily identify with. I always imagined unlimited quiet time was the dream. My extroverted only child couldn’t disagree more. So on this particular day, she flipped over, pointed at my husband and me and said “I wish y’all two could be kids with me.” Of course, we immediately agreed. Long summer days of doing whatever we wanted sprung to mind. For me, I pictured long days beside the pool reading books. I imagine my husband thought of hot days on the tennis courts. There is a stage of life where summer signals a time of rest and renewal, where you are given months to slow down, to follow your own particular interests, to recoup from the pressure of grades or state testing. And then one day that space to breathe that seems to be built into the calendar just disappears. One day, you wake up and realize summer is not different than the rest of the year, except maybe hotter. This year, I intended to recreate that feeling of summer freedom. I pictured days at the park with my daughter, a book in my hand and her laughter filling the air. After the last few years filled with graduate school, high demand volunteer positions, and the hands-on energy of raising a toddler, I was looking forward to something a little bit easier. Instead, I came back to Brookhaven Magazine. When I stopped writing for the Daily Leader and Brookhaven Magazine in 2017, I was exhausted. I had an almost 1-year-old I was caring for full-time. I was wrapping up my first year back in the dance world. And I was dealing with the fact that somewhere along the way I had lost my own personal writing. The stories in my head had been replaced with a to-do list that only ever seemed to get longer. Now four years later, I’m picking up where I left off. There’s always something special about the place you’re from, the place that helped make you who you are. And Brookhaven is no exception, in part because of the people that make up this community. The best thing about working for Brookhaven Magazine is getting to know those people, to hear about their passions, and this issue is filled with people pursing their passions.

We’ve got farmers filled with a passion for caring for the land and for our food. You can see this in our farmer’s market story from many different growers, but we got to dive in a bit deeper to what that can mean with Jayne Brown as she shared how she was working to create a more symbiotic relationship with her land as she shifted into permaculture.

Our history story is a compilation of anecdotes from people last century that were passionate about Brookhaven. How much do you think has changed? How much has stayed the same?

Artistry requires a certain amount of passion, and MSA Alum Destiny Stone is no exception as she shares her thoughts on the craft of writing music. You can hear some of her original songs live right here in Brookhaven at the end of September.

Finally, I got to catch up with two people I met at Brookhaven High School. Jamarius Waller and Hannah Rice Turbeville both decided to pursue a PhD as well as a medical degree, and they spent three additional years in the middle of their medical training to become better researchers. The fact that I was struck with while talking to them both is the passion they had in their quest for the knowledge. They each had a gift for science, but more importantly, they were both driven by a desire to help others with that gift and help create better medicine for us all.

In the issues to come, we’ve got big plans. I would love nothing better than to see this magazine grow and become a true embodiment of what this community means. But I need your help. I’d love to hear what you would like to see in the magazine. Whether it’s a home or garden you think we just have to feature, or a hidden artist whose talent should be better known, please let me know. It’s my goal to serve this community in the best way I know how: telling stories.

Julia V. Miller is the Associate Editor of Brookhaven Magazine. She can be reached at Julia.vanstory@ gmail.com.

FOOD & DRINK

SUMMER’S BOUNTY

Farmers market provides fresh offerings for favorite recipes

BY EMMALINE WOLFE PHOTOS EMMALINE WOLFE, SUBMITTED

MMost of the time, farmer’s market goods are overlooked due to the convenience of grocery stores. It is easy to grab a handful of tomatoes from a Wal-Mart bin, especially if they are needed that night for dinner. However, if health is the goal - then local produce is the way to go. The initial response to grocery store produce is the presence of pesticides. In industrial farming, pesticides are encouraged when growing food on a mass scale. One of the best treasures that the farmer’s market brings is raw honey. The summer months are the prime time for bees to produce honey. Local beekeepers bring their stock to the market and swear by honey’s nutritional benefits. In order to produce a pound of honey, bees have to visit almost two million flowers. A typical bee creates only a twelfth of a teaspoon in its 21-day lifespan. There are thousands of bees visiting flowers throughout the county to gather the pollen and nectar needed to create the natural sweetener. “It’s just like when they give you allergy shots. They give you small doses of something to build up your immunity. Honey is the same way because it has so much and a selection of pollen and all those things have visited.” says Jeff Kellum, owner of Brookhaven Honey

Co. Jollean Smith of Smith’s Nature-Friendly Farm also pitched in on the value of raw honey from local bees.

“I think one thing that would be good for you is, go to Wal-Mart, you know the little honey bears? Look at the ingredients on the honey bear. You won’t find honey. You’ll find corn syrup, and a lot of people don’t recognize that,” she said.

Eggs are another produce item that farmers believe is better when taken from local farms.

“The most interesting thing is that there are a lot of studies on fresh farm eggs. They have tested a ton of organic eggs, store-bought eggs, versus your local backyard farmer. Organic eggs and grocery store eggs have the same nutritional value. I think in many cases you can actually apply that to your vegetables, depending on how they’re farmed, and they’re all farmed differently,” said Smith.

Smith encouraged the research of eggs for consumers to figure out for themselves what the best option would be.

Another farmer at the market mentioned that eggs in the store are old, which attributes to nutrition loss.

“The eggs you get in a store, they’re about a month old when you get them. So that’s why they don’t last long as a fresh egg. I can take a fresh egg, and bring it out of the chicken yard, don’t wash it, put it in the fridge, and it’ll last about two months,” he said.

A local farmer selling at the downtown market expressed his concern for the potential damages of pesticide-covered foods.

CORN SALAD WITH TOMATO AND LIME

From smittenkitchen.com

1/2 a small red onion, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar Slightly heaped 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 6 medium ears corn, shucked 1/3 cup sour cream 1/3 cup mayonnaise 3 ounces (heaped 1/2 cup) crumbled cotija cheese 1 lime, halved Tajín seasoning or chile powder Handful of fresh cilantro leaves

Combine red onion, red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons cold water, salt, and sugar in a bowl or jar. Set in fridge until needed. Onions will be very lightly pickled by the time you’re done assembling the salad, but if you can give it 1 to 2 hours in the fridge, they’ll be moreso. Heat a grill to medium-high. Lightly oil grill grates and place corn cobs directly on them. Cook corn until charred in spots all over, turning as often as needed. Transfer them to a cutting board to cool slightly. Don’t have a grill? I have often charred corn directly over the gas flame on my stove (be careful; it will crackle and spatter a little). You oven’s broiler, should it be more robust than mine, might also work for the task.

While you’re grilling your corn, combine sour cream, mayo, and cotija cheese. Spread on the bottom of your serving plate. Cut corn corn from cobs with a sharp knife and heap it over the cheese spread on the platter. Squeeze the juice of half a lime all over, then scatter the corn with pickled onion rings from the fridge. Generously shake Tajín or chile powder all over; if you’re using plain chile powder, season with salt and an extra squeeze of lime, too. Top with cilantro leaves. Cut remaining lime half into wedges and serve alongside. Eat right away — while the dressing is cold and the corn is hot.

“The taste of fresh vegetables is going to be way better than what you get in the store, and it’s because these tomatoes were grown in the open. The ones you buy in the store are climate controlled. Everything is controlled. These are all natural. The taste is way better. I haven’t sprayed them at all this year with anything,” he said.

The wide selection of tomatoes on his table were picked the afternoon before the market to ensure customers that they were the freshest option.

Another Lincoln County farmer also mentioned the value of flavor in local vegetables.

“If it is grown in California, it is pretty well going to be picked green. It doesn’t have the natural sunlight or anything that is required to make the sugars develop and give it the flavor it needs,” he said.

The Brookhaven Farmers Market only is available in the summer months. However, there are other places to get local produce throughout the year. Brookhaven Market Basket is an excellent alternative to convenience stores. Local farmers also sell year-round at different locations. They highly encourage the town to consider the benefits that farm food brings.

One farmer said, “For me, I know what goes on with the stuff in the stores, and I won’t buy it. I just can’t do it. I either grow it or buy it from somebody I know because I want to know where it comes from.”

Why you should become a Mississippi Farm Bureau® member!

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation is the largest general farm organization in the state whose mission is to create an environment in which Mississippi farmers, ranchers, and Farm Bureau® members can have a better life and make a better living. A membership with Farm Bureau offers county, state and national level programs, and a variety of over 200,000 member benefits and discounts that can help make your money grow. As a member you can enjoy some of these exclusive benefit partners and so many more. For details visit: www.msfb.org/discounts.

Call Lincoln County Farm Bureau and join today!

601-833-3571 Brookhaven Magazine 15

HOME & GARDEN

HOW HER GARDEN GROWS

Brown’s foray into permaculture yields rewards for earth, family

BY JULIA V. MILLER PHOTOS BY JULIA V. MILLER

TThe thing about gardening is you can never learn all there is to know. At least that’s what one local gardener insists as she cares for her seventh summer garden.

Jayne Brown’s journey began somewhat spontaneously. She saw a social media post a fellow yogi made that motivated her to begin growing her own food. “When I started gardening, my intent was to feed us foods that didn’t have chemicals, foods that didn’t have GMOs,” she said. “Just something healthier because practicing yoga you get to know your body more. You become more aware of certain things. You start to become aware of certain effects they have on your body.” So one day in May, Brown made a decision and pushed herself to dig an 18-foot-by-18-foot hole 8 inches down. “I put it in the wrong place,” she laughed. “There was so much drainage. I got one cucumber out of the garden.” She let her husband, Sam Brown, have the cucumber because he had been so frustrated about the hole she had dug into their yard. One taste though, and he had changed his mind. “He said, ‘Wow that doesn’t have that chemical taste you get at the store,’” she recalled. So the next year, they moved the garden and produced a head of lettuce and a handful of zucchini and squash. By the third year, they had moved across the county, and Jayne decided to dream big. With the help of her dad, she created two separate gardens, and soon the produce was pouring in.

“Last year, when I had the CSA, it was fantastic,” she said. “I had a ton of produce, but I literally about worked myself to death.”

By the end of the growing season, she knew she was going to have to make a change. She had spent the summer talking with Jeffery Kellums, another farmer, about permaculture and food forests, and Brown began to think that might be the solution she was looking for.

So at the end of the year, she did nothing. She let her old plants reseed themselves in the garden. After the frost came through, she cut back everything that had been killed and let it rot back into the ground to replenish it.

“I have noticed we have had fewer pests this year and fewer disease this year,” she said. “I have not had to use any chemicals. This next year I’m going to be growing comfrey, chicory, and sorrel to kind of make a compost to feed the ground.”

By moving toward a permaculture model, she has found it becomes easier to manage the produce that is ripe.

“What I’ve found I really like about the permaculture this year is things come up when they’re naturally supposed to,” she said. “It provides at different times instead of everything coming in at once. I probably had 12 different bok choy plants this year, but I’d get a harvest off of one. A week later, maybe two weeks, a harvest off of another. It gave you enough to eat.”

Since she doesn’t weed her garden anymore, she’s found that the root systems of her plants are stronger.

“I looked at my cucumbers the other day, whereas my cucumbers normally would have already played out this close to August,” Brown said. “Having not disturbed the roots by keeping them weeded all the time, I’ve got runners that are still trying to look for things. I may have a whole other batch of cucumbers come in.” It’s also helped Brown learn that waste isn’t always a bad thing. In May, she attended a yoga retreat in Raymond with the Mississippi Yogi, Anna Davis. Davis’s husband is a farmer, and so all the meals were made from Ayurvedic diets. “[The food] was just so good for the body,” she said. “By the second day though, I had had so much good stuff for my body I couldn’t eat anymore.” She began feeling guilty that she wouldn’t be able to finish her meal, but the leader read her mind. “ She was like, ‘It’s OK we waste nothing,’” Brown recalled. “You can give it back to the land.”

Brown carried her leftovers around to the chickens and fed it to them.

“It felt like an offering to something that had given to

me,” she said. “I’m much better about understanding these days if you have an eggplant fall and rot on the ground it’s ok. There are things in your garden you are “ I can feel this earth becoming sacred to my body because feeding that are helping take care of your garden.” As she has grown in her understanding of the power of her garden, she has begun turning to herbal medicines. She has begun focusing her herb garden on those things that can help heal different ailments. She is particularly interested in the ayurvedic diet because of its healing capabilities. This has pushed her into growing her own cumin, cardamon, and fennel in

I’m putting this an effort to lead a more cleansing lifestyle. She also has learned a lot about the medicinal powers earth into me. The of different plants from Davis, who also owns New earth is healing my Earth Apothecary. Last year really pushed Brown to begin exploring this body and I am in field. turn healing the “[The take a pill] mentality works great when society is functioning properly, but this past year there were earth. two medications that because of the pandemic were Jayne Brown more difficult to get a hold of,” she said. “While we didn’t go without them, it creates more anxiety.” Gardner This led her to learn about alternatives particularly in regards to anxiety and pain management. And while the herbs and tinctures may be helping, she has also learned the act of taking care of the earth has it’s on healing value. “I can feel this earth becoming sacred to my body because I’m putting this earth into me,” she said. “The earth is healing my body and I am in turn healing the earth.”