I told a friend I was planning on writing a post on fish cakes.  Her response? “Ew.  Fish cakes?  Ew.   That just sounds so wrong.”
Point granted. Admittedly you don’t often hear the words ‘fish’ and ‘cake’ put together.  But crab cakes are amazing, how could fish cakes sound so wrong? We’re talking about crispy, [...]

A Disclaimer
I love barbecue; real barbecue.  I’m talking about meat that falls apart when a fork looks at it because it was cooked for hours over the smoking remnants of fruit trees.  I refer to the method that requires hours of time spent lovingly tending a fire outdoors and turning and mopping meat. Please let [...]

I’ve talked a great deal about frugal foods and menu planning in my last few posts.  There’s no doubt about it, one of the most budget-friendly foods you can make is beans!  But that’s not why I’m posting this recipe today.  I’m posting it because it’s STINKIN’ AWESOME!  And because it’s cheap.  I thought you [...]

I love tea.
Part of the reason tea charms me so is the power it possesses to transport me to another place or time.  Whatever the stress, boredom or weariness is that hangs over me, it falls away in the time-honoured ritual of brewing and sipping a cup of tea.  In the best circumstances this is [...]

This is the second installment of my Southern New Year’s Foods series.  Happy New Year!

Really, The Evil Genius and I complete each other. While I sit here on the couch with the laptop, contemplating pimiento cheese, he is watching ‘Alien vs. Predator’ and talking about which characters he thinks will be eaten. So see? We’re [...]

Ow.  Ouch.  Owwie.  Ooooooh.  Oooooch.  Oh it hurts!
I want you to be aware that this recipe is not for the faint of heart or wimpy of tongue.  It is a pure habanero relish.  As in lots and lots of chopped fresh habanero peppers.
Habaneros, for those who do not know, are one of the hottest fresh [...]

When is a dip not just a dip?  When it’s something transcendental.  When it’s born to be a superstar. When it’s…  Spanakopita Dip.  (And that is NOT anticlimactic.  It isn’t.  Let me expound.)
Spanakopita Dip is the dip that can do it all. A meal-of-a-dip full of spinach, studded with feta cheese, garlic, onions and various [...]

This is the cook’s time of year -the holiday season; the time when we pull out all the stops in our culinary repertoires.  This is when cooks everywhere extend themselves to create the most spectacular and succulent savories and sweets that they can possibly turn out of their kitchen.  It is time to ‘wow’ your [...]

I need to remember that no matter how weird things get around here they can always, and probably will, get weirder.  Unfortunately, the last couple weeks have been peppered with some of life’s less pleasant moments.  One of them, I will share with you in a future post.* The other two things I’m going to [...]

 
I have a problem.  Every single year a couple of days before Easter I tell myself I won’t go crazy on the egg-dying.  And every year I go nuts.  I remember sitting at our big old trestle table when I was a kid and decorating for hours.  My Mom is not a do-the-holidays-halfway type person.  [...]