Amory hairdresser touts low-carb diet, home remedies
May 3—AMORY — Tammy Pigg grew up in a family of old-fashioned cooks. They canned and preserved foods, and taught her a little bit as she got older.
When she married her husband, Paul, 42 years ago, she could make easy things, like bacon and corn.
"Then I started reading recipes, going through cookbooks," said Pigg, 60. "I'll try anything once, even if it's painful."
About 30 years ago, Pigg started canning sweet pickles and tomatoes. Then she got a dehydrator, and started making her own beef jerky.
"After that, I moved to herbs and fermenting, and I just went crazy," she said. "Find something you like and take it one step at a time. Nothing is undoable."
About 10 years ago, when menopause set in, Pigg began taking hormones to help with hot flashes. After a few years, she ditched the hormones and began adding flax seed to her diet.
"It changed my world," said Pigg, a cosmetologist who has Tammy's Hair Salon in Amory. "The hot flashes went away. I started sleeping at night. It opened my eyes to the fact that food is medicine."
Today, Pigg uses herbs, vegetables, weeds and roots to make tinctures, herbal teas, salves, lotions, tonics, cough medicines, toothpaste and cleaning products.
Pigg loves to go out in her yard or the woods to forage for ingredients. She harvests goldenrod, dries it, and uses it for tinctures or infuses it with honey to make a syrup for French toast. She uses mullein, which grows wild in fields, to make herbal teas.
"Our ancestors used mullein for lung troubles, like colds and to remove mucus," she said. "And I use prunella, a self-healing herb, to make tinctures and herbal teas. I take it every day in some form. Not everything I've made has worked, but some things are amazing."
The mother of one and grandmother of two has also been following a keto/low carb diet for the past six years.
"None of my family is on board with what I do," she said. "I'm on this journey pretty much by myself. But I'm open-minded enough to know everybody is different. That's why I keep boxed mac and cheese in the pantry for them."
Pigg's husband is largely a meat-and-potatoes man, so she's learned to prepare meals with something he likes, and something she likes.
So if they have grilled steak, he might have potato salad and corn as sides, while she might fix herself fried eggs or cabbage. If they grill chicken, he'll have baked beans and she'll have a green salad.
"It's really not hard to cook for two this way because I've been doing it so long," she said. "If there's something high-carb I really like, I'll try to find a low-carb version of it. And on holidays and special occasions, I'm going to have that slice of wedding cake or birthday cake. I do splurge sometimes."
"DO YOU KNOW A GOOD COOK? Send your nominations to Ginna Parsons, Cook of the Week, P.O. Box 909, Tupelo, MS 38802. Or you can call 662-678-1581 or email them to ginna.parsons@journalinc.com.
WHITE CHOCOLATE BARK
9 ounces sugar-free white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar-free or less-sugar-added dried cranberries, divided
1/2 cup shelled roasted and salted pistachios, divided
1 teaspoon hemp hearts, divided
1 teaspoon chia seeds, divided
1 teaspoon flax seeds, divided
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips and butter until the chocolate is melted, at 20-second intervals, stirring after each interval. Use a rubber spatula to mix until smooth.
Mix half of the cranberries, pistachios, hemp hearts, chia seeds and flax seeds into the chocolate. Let cool slightly, then spread the mixture across the prepared sheet pan in a 1/4-inch thick layer.
Sprinkle the remaining cranberries, pistachios, hemp hearts, chia seeds and flax seeds evenly over the top. Transfer pan to the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours to harden. Once the chocolate has hardened, break it into pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
KETO FRENCH LOAF
8 eggs
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons coconut flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Pour into a parchment paper-lined loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
CHOCOLATE EGG PUDDING
5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1 cup canned coconut milk
1/3 cup Monkfruit powdered sweetener
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Pour into pudding glasses or cups. Cover each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours.
LOADED CAULIFLOWER BAKE
Kosher salt
2 small heads cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup sliced green onions
In a large pot of salted boiling water, blanch cauliflower florets for 3 minutes. Drain well and squeeze cauliflower to get rid of excess water.
Grease or butter a 9x13-inch casserole. Add half of the cauliflower to the bottom and pour half of the heavy cream over the florets. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with half of the butter and sprinkle with half of the garlic, half the Cheddar, half the bacon and half of the green onions. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients.
Bake at 350 degrees until cauliflower is tender and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Serves 8.
FIRE CIDER TONIC
1/2 cup peeled and diced fresh ginger root
1/2 cup peeled and diced fresh horseradish root
1/2 cup peeled and diced fresh turmeric root—
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/4 cup fresh minced garlic cloves
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
Zest and juice of 2 organic lemons
Several sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Raw apple cider vinegar
Raw honey to taste
Add the ginger, horseradish, turmeric, onion, garlic, jalapeños, lemon zest, lemon juice, herbs and peppercorns to a clean jar. Pack them down lightly so that the jar is about 3/4 full.
Use a fermenting weight to hold down the veggies/roots, or place heavy roots at the top so that they will weigh down the herbs and jalapeños (which float).
Pour a generous amount of apple cider vinegar over the roots/vegetables. You want everything to stay under the liquid to prevent spoilage. Keep in mind that some of the roots will expand a little so top it off well.
Put the lid on. (If you're using a metal lid, line it with parchment paper or wax paper so the vinegar doesn't corrode it.) Place in a dark, room-temperature cabinet for 3 to 4 months.
When the cider is ready, shake well and then strain the roots/veggies using a cheesecloth or mesh strainer, then pour liquid into a clean jar.
Add raw honey to taste, starting with 1/4 cup and adding 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the sweetness level you prefer. Refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep refrigerated or up to 1 year. This is a good booster for the immune system. When you feel a cold or sickness coming on, drink 1 tablespoon three times a day.
—If turmeric root isn't available, substitute 1/4 cup additional ginger and 1/4 cup additional horseradish.
