It has already snowed here in Memphis twice this year, but too early and too inconvenient.  I am hoping for a few more snow days, when I have no need to leave the house and am prepared with a good book, with enough warning for a trip to the grocery.  It doesn’t get cold enough, [...]

I have a shopping problem.  Fortunately, it’s not for shoes or designer handbags, it’s at the farmers market.  I am so enamored of all the beautiful fresh produce and artisan made foods that my eyes are often bigger than my shopping bag.  I try to go with a plan and a list, but I just [...]

Spring is finally here, and one of the first green vegetables to appear is asparagus.  Those tender little stems signal the end of the frosty winter and the hope of more good produce to come.  Treating the first spears simply seems like the right thing to do, after months of braises and stews and root [...]

What’s in a name? I have been pondering how to share this recipe for some time now.  It’s a classic I’ve enjoyed my whole life that I’ve always known as carrot pudding.  But I worried that might be a bit misleading. You see, I want people to be intrigued, and to try this recipe, because [...]

Italian egg-drop soup.  That’s how I have heard versions of this soup described.  And there appear to be many versions, with light chicken broth, or added spinach or chicken. In fact, the first time I concocted this soup, I didn’t know stracciatella was an actual thing.  It was pure kitchen happenstance, and one little discovery [...]

Greens on New Year’s Day are an important tradition here in the South. It’s a wish for prosperity in the new year, you see, greens representing the foldin’ money you hope to have in your pocket. Collards are a traditional green and here you can add a little wish for some jangly change in your [...]

  I am still waiting for the bounty of spring vegetables to arrive.  It’s almost here, but has not fully taken over, and it’s a few more weeks to the opening of the Farmer’s Market.  So in the meantime, my need for something green leads me back to my favorite way of preparing that old [...]

So we’ve discussed that Black-Eyed Peas are good luck on New Year’s Day, representing any number of things. Greens are said to bring prosperity in the New Year, largely because they represent foldin’ money.  Many people choose to cook up a mess of collards or turnip greens, but I choose cabbage, for what represents a stack of [...]

First off, let me say that this is not my recipe – I don’t think.  I read about this, or someone told me about it, I don’t know.  But it has stuck in my mind for years.  It’s one of those easy ones that you memorize without really meaning to, and then remember when you [...]

Well, it seems that flu season has well and truly descended.  Everyday I hear of yet  another friend picking up kids early from school, then the rest of the house comes down with the yuck.  And I watch the news.  I am considering buying stock in the hand-sanitizer companies. So with that in mind, what [...]