Recipe of the Week: Real Southern Fried Okra

Fried okra is hard to get right. Too much batter and you can't even taste the okra. Cook the okra too fast and the seeds inside are hard. I've heard people not from the South say they view okra as merely something else to dip into ranch dressing - this opinion of this Southern favorite couldn't be more skewed. It's an opinion developed by eating the poorly done fried okra, and that's unfortunate.

Here's what you'll need...

Song of the Day - Coffee by Sylvan Esso

This electronic outfit out of Durham, NC played SXSW earlier this year. Their tune Hey Mami is hypnotic and relaxing at the same time. The lyrics seemingly paint a refreshing picture of a girl who has her shit very much together.

Wearable Products Made in the South

Lalabu

Based in Atlanta, GA and 100% made in the USA, Lalabu shirts were inspired by the women of Burkina Faso and the way they carry their babies Lalabu is a shirt that your baby will fit right inside of and even has a built in nursing bra to make breastfeeding easier when in public. This wearable apparatus is perfect for women who aspire to raise their children in the Attachment Parenting manner.

Recipe of the Week: Simple Shrimp & Grits

What you'll need...

About

Southern | Civil is a blog for the men and women of the South with discriminating tastes. A hub for those who appreciate a grass-fed, free-range cut of meat, honey made right down the road, a song crafted to reflect ideals shared across a region, a photograph of a barn made from wood cut down by settlers, a pomade that does its job and an anecdote about a night spent by a river, traveling by canoe. These are just a few representations of what Southern | Civil hopes to represent, but the ideas are one - Living life well in the South no matter what your class or background may be. 

Photography

Bonaventure Cemetery Mausoleum, Savannah, GA

I had been wandering around this old cemetery for a couple of hours and this mausoleum stood out amongst many.

Album of the Week: Washed out - Paracosm

Born in Perry, GA and a UGA grad, Ernest Green, better known as Washed Out, is signed to Sub Pop records, has performed on Letterman and his song Feel It All Around is featured in the opening sequence of sketch-comedy series Porlandia. All that being said, I just started listening to his August, 2013 released Paracosm only a month or so ago. Washed Out's music is not the kind of music many folks might expect to come out of rural central Georgia, but this state is evolving considerably right now - so maybe they would...

Carrollton Greenbelt

A little surprised to learn that Carrollton was constructing a bike path around the entire city, I had to grab my new Vilano fixie road bike and travel west from Atlanta to go check it out. I didn't traverse the entire trail as it's not all completed, but I did travel the roughly 4.7 miles of the Lake Carroll trail and Hobbs Farm trail sections of the GreenBelt. There is another completed portion on the other side of town called The Buffalo Creek trail, but I didn't get a chance to check it out, yet. What I did ride on though was really impressive. The Lake Carroll portion starts out in a relatively populated area. It cuts behind some retail stores, passes some baseball and soccer fields, through a neighborhood right across some people's front lawns and finally into some forest. There are signs before you enter this section saying that there is a remote area ahead and one that asks to the effect - Do you have these items with you? Cellphone? Water? A friend? I had none of them. I left my phone in the car and forgot to bring water. I left my friends wherever they were.

Food: Golden's on the Square - Newnan, GA

Day 1

I had business to attend to for my day job in Newnan, Georgia a few weeks ago and since I am a perpetual foodie and always looking to try out the best of local fare I asked the attorney I was going to see where I might find the best local Southern cooking.