Southern Roots Attracting Pollinators to the Garden

The Everyday Special

By Jan Risher Photography courtesy of Angie Mosier

Elizabeth Heiskell encourages her cookbook readers to celebrate each day — including those football weekends — and offers unique Southern recipes to complement tailgating events.

A quick conversation with Elizabeth Heiskell is all the proof one needs to know that in her world, every day is indeed a party. Her new cookbook, “Come on Over: Southern Delicious for Every Day,” oozes charm and captures her festive spirit. “The whole premise of this book is to encourage people to celebrate every day,” Heiskell says. “Why not celebrate every day? Even a Wednesday should be celebrated.” Heiskell has divided her new cookbook’s recipes into nine sections of food for themed days — weekdays, party days, Delta days, summer days, beach days, game days, school days, diet days, and cheat days. Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, Heiskell started her culinary journey at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. She then worked her way to lead culinary instructor at the Viking Cooking School in Greenwood, Miss., at the headquarters of the Viking Range Corporation. In 2011, she moved from the Delta to Oxford, Miss., where she manages her catering company. In addition, she and her husband, Luke, run Woodson Ridge Farm with a little help from their three girls. Heiskell says during the worst of the pandemic and quarantine, she and her husband took the catering company back to its roots.

Come On Over: Elizabeth Heiskell’s latest cookbook i “Come on Over: Southern Delicious for Every Day.”

“We changed our focus very quickly. We went to back to what we did when we started: a meal delivery service,” Heiskell says. “We delivered to Memphis and Oxford two days a week and continued to do that until the world opened back up. These days, we are as busy as we’ve ever been” This fall, Heiskell says she and her team are excited about celebrating events large and small, Mississippi style. “On game days in Oxford, we do it to a whole different level,” Heiskell says. “However, I believe every football game should be celebrated, not just the ones in the Grove. Around here, whether we are tailgating for football, baseball or anything else, it’s definitely an art.”

Heiskell offers six tips for improving your next tailgating experience:

1. Make sure the food is easy to hold. “You’re going to have a drink in one hand and need to be able to reach something else with the other,” she said, recommending the PB&J chicken wings featured in “Come on

4. For early games, Heiskell recommends doing a biscuit bar to help get your crown in tip-top game day form. “Once you’ve got the biscuits, creating the biscuit bar is similar to the nacho bar — purchase and put out,” she says. She recommends adding spiral-sliced ham, jezebel sauce, chicken tenders, bacon, sliced tomatoes, sausage patties, preserves, jams, jellies, honey, strawberry butter, — and the list goes on and on.

Elizabeth Heiskel: Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, Elizabeth Heiskell makes her home now in Oxford. 5. Though some do, Heiskell says you don’t have to hang a chandelier to make your game day tailgating memorable. “Pick out a fun, vibrant tablecloth. Get some cute bamboo disposable plates,” she says. “The bottom line is people just want to be together — especially after the last few years. People are grateful to be invited. The atmosphere and energy are amazing.” 6. Create a special cocktail. “We make up special cocktails in batches — like a punch — and serve them from a dispenser,” Heiskell says. “Just make sure you note that it’s for adults only.”

7. Do a specialty recipe from the opposing team. “We always have pork barbecue when Arkansas comes to town,” she says. “For Alabama, we cover the table in peanuts.”

All in all, Heiskell hopes her new cookbook will remind people that every day is worth putting in some extra effort to enjoy with others. “There are a hell of a lot more Mondays in a year than New Year’s Eves,” she says. “What are you waiting for? Pull out your favorite linen napkins, good china or fun glassware. Those special pieces can bring such joy.”

PB&J: The sweetness of the jelly, the earthiness of the peanut butter and the spicy Sriracha of the PB&J Wings make this a wonderful tailgating dish.

Over!” “You need to be able to walk through the grove and enjoy your food and drinks.”

2. A bit of practical advice: “You have to also remember, you’re not at home,” she says. “You don’t have your kitchen. Have to make sure it can sit out for hours.” 3. For a newbie tailgater, she recommends creating a nacho bar. “Nacho bars are fun and super quick,” she says. “In fact, you can purchase most of the items to include at the grocery.” She calls those “purchaseand-put-out nachos.” Then, include those cute little paper boats for everyone to use. Buy the chips, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, shredded rotisserie chicken, grated cheese, black olives, jalapeno peppers, cilantro and more. Heiskell says suggests using an array of cute bowls to display the variety.

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Jan Risher is a writer and newspaper columnist, living in Lafayette, La. Originally from Forest, Miss., she owns a public relations company and teaches online memoir writing classes. Risher is a graduate of Mississippi State.

Diana Butterfly

Bee on Hyssop

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Pollinators make the world go ‘round

By Pamela A. Keene | Photography courtesy of Pamela A. Keene and Curt Hart

Plants that attract pollinators — birds, butterflies, and hummingbirds — keep the food chain going for wildlife and humans alike.

The world’s pollinators carry a heavy burden. After all, without them, the world’s population would starve and many plant species could no longer reproduce. “Pollination is vital for plants to reproduce and create enough seeds to maintain and grow their populations, so by aiding plants in producing new seeds pollinators help ensure that there’s plenty of food for wildlife and humans,” says Stephanie Green, ecologist with Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs, Miss. “While many people only think of bees and butterflies as pollinators, the world is filled with many others including moths, bats, beetles, ants, and even hummingbirds.” The variety of pollinators is necessary to ensure that a wide range of types of flowers, plants, trees, and crops are properly pollinated. “Aside from their value to pollinate food crops to produce food for humans, pollinators’ work yields food for wildlife, especially in the winter months when birds, deer, and other fauna seek out food to carry them over until spring,” Green says. “Your beautiful cone flowers and ornamental grasses will turn brown when the weather gets cold, but the wildlife depends on the seeds produced from the pollinators work earlier in the year.” Nectar produced by flowers with deep throats attracts birds or insects such as butterflies that can retrieve the nectar from deep inside the flower. A side benefit is pollination. “While birds, butterflies, and insects are gathering the nectar, they are ‘accidentally’ pollinating the blossom by brushing against the pollen-bearing flower parts or vibrating the bloom to shake pollen onto the stigma to fertilize it,” Green says. “This is also called ‘passive’ pollination.” In the Mid- and Deep South, many native plants are ideal to attract pollinators. For instance, early bloomers, such as red buckeyes, attract ruby-throated hummingbirds