If you’ve been wondering where I wandered off to lately, I’ve been wrangling high school jazz bands, bluegrass prodigies and stage equipment the past few weeks for the Savannah Music Festival. 

And let me tell you, it takes more than a couple Luna Bars to herd a hundred teenagers carrying trombones, saxophones and upright basses through the hallways, streets and cramped backstage areas of Savannah. I also discovered that two Kashi waffles, scrambled eggs, a mango smoothie and two pimento cheese sandwiches for breakfast really isn’t enough to accomplish the various other tasks I had during the festival either.

So while others were drinking sangria and making grilled fish with pineapple salsa or greek salads with cucumbers and chickpeas as the weather became warmer, I ended up eating a lot of biscuits with various pieces of meat between them and turnip soup because, well, I was hungry. 

Seasonal and satisfying, this meal can carry you through any situation including but not limited to: walking briskly/running with heavy boxes; pushing electric organs; cleaning up various beer and/or Smoothie King spills; and carrying coolers that weigh as much as a full-grown Newfoundland.

I believe that country ham biscuits are a personal matter much like who you vote for or what supernatural force you appeal to when things get heavy. Whether you want to make your grandmother’s angel biscuit recipe or purchase a bag of frozen Alexia buttermilk biscuits, there is no judgement here. Nor is there any for how many country ham biscuits you take company in or what you put on them. I like to spread orange marmalade or Sourwood honey on mine. 

However, I will take the liberty of telling you how to make this turnip soup that I read about on Garden and Gun’s web site a few months ago. If you haven’t discovered the myriad joys of turnips, you’re really not as happy as you could be. This is your chance.

You’ll need:

• 1 head of roasted garlic (Wrap 1 bulb in aluminum foil and roast for 30-45 minutes in the oven at 425 degrees, press down with the side of your knife and squeeze out soft garlicy goodness. Discard papery casings.)
• 4 cups turnips, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes 
• 1 medium onion (I used a Vidalia of course)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• Salt n pepa 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 slices prosciutto or left over country ham cut into “really fin” 1-inch stripes
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream

Find a decent-sized stock pot or sauce pan and put the roasted garlic, turnips, onion wedges and stock in it. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to a simmer and let it create turnip and onion magic for 30-45 minutes uncovered. Rev up your food processor or immersion blender and puree until smooth. Return the soup to the pot or pan and add nutmeg, prosciutto or ham, and creme fraiche or heavy cream. Bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer again. Ladle into bowls and garnish with green onions. Much like the rug in The Big Lebowski, the green onions really tie the whole thing together. 

With enough biscuits and soup, you’ll be ready to TCB Elvis-style too.