The Dirty South Cookbook #1 by Vanessa.

I was all set to hunker down on The Dirty South #1's collard greens, gravy, fake fried chicken with (s)mashed potatoes, when tragedy struck and I got smacked through the heart by the lazy-rainy bug.  So I pulled myself together and opted for Buttermilk Biscuits 'n' Gravy instead.  Warm bread smothered in creamy, noochie gravy can heal even the sickest of hearts.  Can I get an amen?

As you can see from the lovely illustration above, I have the first two editions of The Dirty South--#1 and #2 (apparently, there's a third one around, but I've never seen it).  Today I'm reporting on issue number one (the red one on the left), but if I have more time later this month, you may see some pink activity around here.  Also, being the plugged in vegan or vegan-friendly reader that you are, you're probably aware that Microcosm turned The Dirty South editions 1-3 into a book awhile back.  It's bound with another publication entitled Hot Damn & Hell Yea.

Anthropomorphic corn niblets can never be wrong, and typewriters make everything better.

I'm so amazing I actually have zine versions of these, PLUS a copy of the book.   Dazee got my originals from the author herself, when we all lived in New Orleans together. I can't remember how he found them or Vanessa, but I remember him bringing them home to me one after the other on random afternoons.  I pictured him as a vegan-zine-wonder-magnet, raking the bayous with his bare hands on the prowl for homemade recipe booklets, but he could have just bumped into her at an anarchist craft fair.  I dunno.

The biscuit on the bottom left was hit by a gravy bomb.  Don't feel bad for it, it never even saw the fork coming.

Most of the recipes in The Dirty South #1 are wheat-tastic, so I changed things up quite a bit to be able to snack on these delights.  And then while I was already making changes, I made some more. I added shredded Follow Your Heart and cayenne pepper.  OK and ground flax, too-- whatever.  You can rat me out to Vanessa on Facebook if you want, but I already told her I was writing this post, so it'll just make you look dumb.  Besides, I bet Vanessa would be OK with my changes.  It was that or lick the zine and report back on flavor compositions.

Cheesy XGFX Buttermilk Biscuits (adapted from Vanessa / The Dirty South #1)

I forgot to count how many this made, but it was around 12

• 1 cup superfine brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground flax meal
• 1/3 cup finely grated Follow Your Heart yellow cheese
• 1 heaping teaspoon nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons unbleached granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup grapeseed oil
• 2/3 cup unsweetened soymilk mixed with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Combine the dry ingredients and cheese.  Add the oil and soymilk and stir well.
3. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake until the tops are golden and the centers are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Serve with gravy.  Eat, eat, eat.

These are gonna be my new go-to xgfx biscuits.  They came out with a great texture and were really light and flavorful, in fact Dazee just asked me if I'd made a deal with the devil to get these so good (his highest compliment).

• Title: The Dirty South #1
• Author:  Vanessa
• Availability: Only the book form is currently available (ISBN 0-9770557-0-1).  You can get it from Food Fight and Microcosm
• Size:   4.25″ x 8.5″ (half sized) / Tied with yarn and a bow.
• Length: 22 pages plus a little extra page tucked in.
• Collection:  21 recipes plus a helpful warning about hot oil
• 5 Recipes to Intrigue:  Johnny Cakes, Corn Pone, Blackeye Pea Cakes, Sweet Potato Pudding, Chocolate Kahlua Cake
• XGFXness: If you can xgxercise, you'll be OK, but most recipes contain gluten.
• Zine Wiki: Not listed

xo
kittee