While I love to cook, it is no secret that I am not a fan of baking. I CAN bake, it just isn’t my favorite thing to do. It is more of a science that cooking. With cooking I can experiment and throw whatever suits my fancy together and add a pinch of this and [...]
This is a favorite side around here. We just love it beyond what words could describe. It is super easy to make and is also really quick for those nights when you need to throw something together for the family or to impress unexpected guests. I ALWAYS keep several cans of carrots on hand just [...]
When I make this bread it gets really quiet around my house. That means I make it often! Quiet around this place is SACRED! Usually there is a dull roar. But a roar none-the-less. And at times it is louder around here than a rock concert. So if I make something where everyone just sits around [...]
Iron Skillet Pork Chops With Muscadine Glaze
Recently when I was at the National Cornbread Festival I came across a booth that was selling Muscadine Juice. Not wine…JUICE! I was so thrilled…and then I tasted it. OhhhMyStinkinHeck, that is the best stuff I think I have ever put in my mouth. As a kid I can remember being at my grandparents house [...]
…my truelove gave to me…
A Cartridge in a Bare Tree.
Bric and I worked on several of these for gifts today.
We simply cut discs of wood
Drilled a hole in one side
Cut some branches
Inserted a branch into each slice of wood
And hung a shotgun shell on one of the limbs.
And, well, you have a cartridge in a bare tree!
Merry Christmas Y’all!!
This is a guest post by my friend Chef Lewis, I have a lot to say about it, but you have to read about his side first:
I have a confession to make. It is so unbelievable that only a handful of people outside of my wife know it. It is so shocking that I have been afraid to let it be known for a long time. I DO NOT LIKE KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS. There! I said it. It’s out there.
Now before you get an angry mob together to march me to the Mason Dixon line, or start saying things like “Get a rope” or “Let’s tahh & feathah this cahpetbaggah!” let me explain.
First of all, I am Southern, born & raised in Alabama. Attended a university in Kentucky. A season ticket holder for the Crimson Tide. All of this should establish my Southern street cred.
I have my Nana Jean to blame for my shame. I traveled with her a lot as a child. Often we went north. A lot of times we had breakfast at a Dunkin Doughnuts. She introduced me to a cake doughnut with an ice cold glass of milk. That is one of my fondest food memories!
Now my Nana will eat a Krispy Kreme doughnut now & then, but her heart will always belong to a box of Munchkins!
I know that I am supposed to veer through 2 lanes of traffic endangering the life of my wife & unborn child when the “Hot” sign is on, but it’s just not in me.
As a chef, I pride myself on my sensitive palate & well-honed taste buds. I have given Krispy Kreme more than a fair shot at my affection & cholesterol. It just has not happened.
I’m sure that I will now have to memorize all of Rhett Butlers’ lines in “Gone With the Wind”, or get up at halftime during the Iron Bowl & sing “Dixie” before I am allowed to show my face at a Southern belles coming out party, but I don’t care! I am free of my burden.
Bric and I had a little trip to make this past weekend and as we were traveling through Roswell we passed a Krispy Kreme and the “HOT” sign was on. I almost died as I was sitting in the passenger seat hollering at Bric “The Hot sign is on, the HOT sign is on” and he kept right on going. REALLY??? We live in Hicktown where there isn’t a doughnut shop in sight and you are just gonna drive past? A few minutes later Chef Lewis and I were on the phone and I was just a fussin about Bric going past the Krispy Kreme, the HOT sign being on and me not getting my way. Chef Lewis could only laugh at my dilemma and he let me know that I would live. Some friend he is!
After we go about 30 more minutes down the road Bric looks over at me and says “So, what does the Hot sign even mean?” Yeah, he isn’t from around here. He was imported from that foreign land known as San Diego California and apparently I have some more educating to do on that man. By that point I was back on the phone with Chef Lewis and all he could do was laugh some more. THEN…I find out my supposed friend who laughs at my predicament doesn’t even LIKE Kripsy Kreme doughnuts and has NO sympathy for my cause. NONE, not even an ounce. I just had to tell ya’ll about it. Cause I KNOW you my friends will provide me with the sympathy I so need and deserve for such a devastating event in my life. I know it saved me from gaining a few of those pounds I have lost but DANG it! I wanted one!!
My friend Christy over at Southern Plate has been talking about Veggie Tales lately. Her and her family love them some Veggie Tales. Well, my story is of Veggie Pants. You see, Christy and I were traveling to one place or another, I can’t really remember where we were but it seems like it might have been Savannah. The thing about traveling with Christy is that you have a pretty good idea of where you are going to eat…she will ask you where you want to eat…but, then the conversation always goes back to her favorite. Cracker Barrel. 9 times out of 10 you can bet that is where you are going. It is so common in fact that it has become an ongoing joke on her facebook page.
Now, for anyone that hasn’t been to a Cracker Barrel (is there such a person?) they have a store that is connected to each restaurant. In those stores you can find all kinds of treasures and it just isn’t possible to go without browsing a bit before or/and after you eat. As we were browsing the store I was looking at the clearance section and saw these:
They are Vegetable Print pants. I jokingly told Christy that she NEEDED a pair of Veggie Pants. Low and Behold…she bought them. Ummmm, okaaay then. I meant it as a joke. I mean really, they aren’t very attractive but they do match any color you can imagine. And they aren’t pants, they are Capris I was told. So, for months now Christy has been telling me that these just happen to be the most comfortable pants ever. I always chuckle as I imagine her in her Veggie Pants at Kroger or Wal-mart.
Recently I took a trip over to Alabama to take some stuff to my friend Beth and to Christy. As I was getting ready to leave Christy’s house she told me she had a gift for me. Imagine my surprise as I opened it to find my very own pair of Veggie Capris! Yep, I am now the owner of a pair. Only mine aren’t Capris, they are pants…cause I am short. I was speechless. Veggie Pants. What in the heck am I going to do with Veggie Pants?Do I need to get Christy a language speaking translator? As I am standing there wondering if she even realizes that this all started as a joke by me saying that SHE needed a pair, she is grinning from ear to ear, so proud to share her new found love with me.
I got home that night and thought what the heck, I am going to at least try them on. OhMyStinkinHeck!!! I was immediately in love. Veggie Pants, the most comfortable things EVER, so much so that they have replaced my Yoga pants. If you ever see me in public with them on, please don’t judge, just know that I must have needed a major comfort day.
When you live in a small town weekend entertainment can be hard to come by. We don’t have a movie theater, a bowling alley, a skating rink or any thing like those. So, when you hear about an event in the local grocery store parking lot it becomes big news. Bric went by the grocery store on the way home and saw the going on’s. He called and let me know that I should probably go by and take a picture to put on my blog…I have a feeling you might not be so grateful for that phone call.
I apologize before hand. Sincerely. But I also can’t not post it. Just remember, I call my hometown Hicktown. This post will help you to understand why.
This is the first thing I see when I drive up. I told you I was sorry. Really, I am…but you have to see it as I saw it. It’s all about sharing.
Let’s get ready to R-U-M-B-L-E!
Yes, they set up a wrestling ring in the grocery store parking lot.
Seriously
I kid not.
I am just not really sure what to say. There was a pretty good crowd there though. I just hope no one that I knew saw me there.
As I was getting ready to leave this happened:
A girl decided to get in there and wrestle with the guys.
She won by the way.
Sorry, I couldn’t help it. I had to stay to see.
