Long before Joanna Gardner’s path led to retirement in the north Georgia Mountains, above, her adorable Great Pyrenees puppies looked for mischief in the backyard of her Baton Rouge, Louisiana home.
You’d have to negotiate steep elevations and an occasional hairpin mountain turn before reaching Joanna Gardner’s retirement home north of Clayton, Georgia. But by the time you got there you would have discovered the beauty and solitude she was seeking when she left Louisiana to settle on her “seven little acres of heaven.”
“The locals think this is God’s country,” says Joanna. “And I think they’re right.”
It may seem a world away from the bayou country of Louisiana—the state Joanna called home her entire career—but maybe it’s not so far when you smell the aromas wafting through her kitchen off Briarwood Lane. Joanna packed up more than her pots and dishes when she left Baton Rouge. Along came some fabulous recipes that sustained her along the Gulf Coast and continue to provide comfort in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
Eggplant Shrimp may be distinctly Louisiana in flavor, but it’s a fact that you can make it anywhere, even in a home backed up against the Chattahoochee National Forest. Joanna only needs to find a store that carries the shrimp and she’s
There were times living in Baton Rouge when it became difficult to track down ingredients as basic as the frozen spinach used in Joanna’s delicious Spicy Spinach Bake. “This is served widely at Thanksgiving and Christmas in Baton Rouge,” she explains. “I have seen the freezer section at the grocery store completely out of spinach at both holidays.”
Joanna’s decision to retire to her native Georgia (she grew up near Atlanta) after a career in Strategic Planning with the State of Louisiana was an easy one. “I have always loved the north Georgia mountains,” she says. “I have happy memories of times spent here during the summer as a child.”
She now has ample room for her Great Pyrenees dogs, and there are visits from wild turkeys, rabbits, woodchucks and deer. There’s even the chance to spot a great pileated woodpecker or hear it boring into a tree from a distance.
Joanna prefers the mountain weather, even those biting cold winter days at 2,500 feet above sea level, over some of the more oppressive stretches of heat in Louisiana. “I remember one year, before I had air conditioning, I wondered if cooking the Thanksgiving turkey was going to make the house too hot for my guests to be comfortable,” she says.
Not that she doesn’t miss some things about Louisiana, like that farmers market in Baton Rouge where she spent many Saturday mornings collecting ingredients for her cooking. “There was a shrimp vendor with fresh shrimp, and another with fresh eggs, and often he had an old hen (Joanna’s “magic gumbo ingredient”) in the freezer. I have to tell you the stuff they sell in stores is like a different product.”
Today Joanna is “a 30-minute excursion” from anywhere, and that doesn’t seem to trouble her one bit. “I enjoy every minute here, sleeping late and playing in the dirt,” she says. And cooking, of course!
This is a wonderful dish that is simply bursting with flavor.
Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the eggplant and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. An additional tablespoon or two of oil may be required if the eggplant starts to stick. While the eggplant is cooking, prepare the seasonings by crumbing the bread in a medium bowl. Add the wine, egg, parsley, EPAZOTE (if using), Worcestershire, soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, PEPPER and CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES. Use the larger amount of GROUND PEPPER and CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES if you enjoy spicier food. Set aside. When the eggplant is cooked, add the green onions and shrimp to the skillet and cook until the shrimp are cooked through, about 2-5 minutes. Add the seasoning mixture and mix well and cook a final 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the cheese and mix well. Pour into a casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Place under the broiler on low until the cheese melts, about 2-4 minutes.
Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Nutritional Information: Servings 4;
Serving Size 1 cup (270g); Calories 240; Calories from fat 100; Total fat 11g; Cholesterol 135mg; Sodium 600mg; Carbohydrate 15g; Dietary Fiber 5g.
According to Joanna, “This is served widely at Thanksgiving and Christmas in Baton Rouge. I have seen the freezer section at the grocery store completely out of spinach at both holidays.”
Place the frozen spinach in a bowl and thaw the spinach in the microwave. You can also let it thaw on the counter. Drain well, reserving 1/2 cup of the liquid. Melt the butter in a pan over low heat. Add the flour and stir until well blended and smooth but not brown. Add the onion and cook until soft but not brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the milk and reserved spinach juice slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Add the PEPPER, soy sauce, salt, Worcestershire sauce, CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES and cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Add the spinach. This may be served immediately or put in a casserole dish and topped with panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese. The flavor is even better if refrigerated overnight, then reheated. Heat casserole in preheated 350° oven for 30-40 minutes, or microwave on high until heated through, stirring and checking every 2 minutes. This also makes a yummy dip served with crackers.
Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Serves: 6 as a side dish, 12 for dip
Nutritional Information: Servings 6;
Serving Size 1/2 cup (134g); Calories 210; Calories from fat 130; Total fat 14g; Cholesterol 45mg; Sodium 330mg; Carbohydrate 12g; Dietary Fiber 2g.
