Specialties from the Southern Garden

from the introduction:
Southerners have been successful vegetable growers since even before the South was called the South. In 1791 William Bartram, Philadelphia Quaker and natural scientist, wrote of his travels in the southern regions of the young United States: "...[B]y the arts of agriculture and commerce, almost every desirable thing in life might be produced and made plentiful here...as this soil and climate appear to be of a favourable nature from the production of almost all the fruits of the earth...corn, rice, and all the esculent vegetables." Raising and eating vegetables, or raising and preserving them for future use, have always been part of Southern culture, especially during hard times when meat was scarce. Wars, economic depressions, and poverty made many gardens "victory gardens"victory over shortages and hunger. Homemakers reveled in their garden abundance, and in many cases dried, pickled, or canned their way to winter meal variety. Whether fresh or preserved, vegetables are, and have been, an expected part of a "square" Southern meal. This book contains some relic recipes from the 19th century, and some reminiscent recipes from earlier decades of the 20th century.