Bless Her Heart

There are several foods that are supposedly essential to Southern cuisine, but this Mississippi girl has never even heard of…much less eaten or cooked. For example, I didn’t know that Chicken and Waffles was a real thing until our favorite place to go eat breakfast added them to their menu.…

Another refrigerator staple in many Southern homes is tomato jam. Tomato jam, like pepper jally, is great to have in the fridge for those days that you wanna go home and fix an easy snack and veg out in front of Netflix all evening. Split a brick of cream cheese…

Pepper jelly is a Southern staple that is perfect for adding to holiday charcuterie boards and giving as gifts. The following recipe makes a dozen 4-ounce container. If you make it now, you might even have enough for each of the upcoming 12 Days of Christmas…or to give to a…

Eggplant fries are easier to make into fries than potato…not to mention the fact that their crispy exterior and creamy interior make them absolutely delicious. When buying eggplant, look for smaller eggplants. Smaller eggplant  are typically less bitter than larger ones. Also look for dark purple skin and no wrinkled…

Southerners develop a passion for several particular types of food – anything pertaining to bacon, practically anything fried, anything that contains sour cream or cream cheese, and… Pickles… I absolutely love pickles. But I don’t like cheap, store-bought pickles…especially those containing fancy five-syllable long ingredients. Why ruin fresh cucumbers by…

Cucumber salad is a crisp, refreshing salad made with only a few simple, easy-to-find ingredients…the perfect thing to make when you want something lighter on the table that still brings serious flavor. And like so many salads, cucumber salad will taste better tomorrow or the day after that…The longer the…

Bell peppers – are they a fruit or a vegetable(?!)… This has been a question many of us have debated for years…as well as whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. Honestly, most experts would claim that this is a fruit. And most chefs and cooks would claim…

Avocados When you were young, did you ever try sticking toothpicks so that you could grow your own avocado plan to hopefully keep your wild-haired chia pet company? Bet nobody ever told you at the time, that you’d have to wait four to six years for that avocado plant, assuming…

The produce section of the local grocery store, the vendor booths at the local farmer’s market and even Instacart can be overwhelming. That is why we have decided to categorize the vegetables into several groups such as the bulb vegetable group and the flower vegetable group that we have talked…

`Squash casserole is another classic Southern side made with squash smothered in butter, cream and cheese…and topped with buttery cracker topping Comfort food truly at its best. Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Sautee: Melt butter in a skillet. Add onions. Sauté onions until translucent. Add sliced squash, salt and pepper.…