Browsing: Food & Dining

I am still enjoying the Cooking and Coping Facebook group and am delighted to see so many people returning to the kitchen, or stepping in for the first time.

The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the Coronavirus, but perhaps the worst of the problem is the unknown.

I am going to add on to last weeks story, if you don’t mind. Just like most people, I am working in the yard, cleaning parts of my little cottage that haven’t been investigated in a long while, and fortunately, working on a few assignments and a book on Southern food ways. But more than anything else I am cooking and baking. And I share everything I cook on my Facebook page. Everything, good and bad.

Many people are turning to the kitchen as a way of dealing with being inside for so long. If you haven’t noticed, social media is flooded with images of the creative things people are doing.

Many of our best restaurants are still open, but there is a new normal. Inside dining is a thing of the past, at least for a while. Curbside, takeout and delivery is what is happening now. To be sure, it is a struggle for the restaurants, but most are doing their best to keep the kitchen going, and, what almost every chef I talked to said, keep their employees getting a check.

Go ahead! Eat you some yard greens.

During World War II, almost every citizen worldwide had some form of a Victory Garden to help support the war effort. Coronavirus outbreak has been compared to a war.

For the last few weeks we have been talking about how to feed your family economically while not skimping on quality or flavor. It is a difficult time to be sure, but spending some time in the kitchen being creative, just might help you feel a little bit better.  

You went to the store in a frenzy last week and grabbed whatever food was available, and now you’re staring into the freezer full of food you just don’t feel like cooking right now. Why did you buy 20 pounds of chicken breast? And what are you supposed to do with yeast anyway?!

Last time we talked about feeding your family on a tight budget. We are living in such uncertain times for a while (and I stress the temporary nature of these hard times). I gave you several general ideas last time, but let’s get specific today, and talk in some detail about dried beans.

To say that times are tough and uncertain would be an understatement, especially in the restaurant industry. The pandemic that is scaring everyone, is keeping folks from going out, and social distancing has become a way of life.

No bread? Buy yeast!

Walk into any big grocery store and you will be met by an abundance of food that is unparalleled in history. Almost any fruit, any time, no matter the season, beef, chicken, pork and vegetables that may have traveled thousands of miles to arrive still fresh, not to mention hundreds of selections of canned good, and frozen foods of all sorts, and offered at affordable prices. Affordable to most, that is.

Taste, bid, donate, and enjoy a night out while helping your community. Get your ticket today for Taste of South Mississippi on March 26 to taste samples of well-loved dishes from local restaurants, who will compete for your vote to win the “People’s Choice Award.”

You know I am a fan of buying local. You know, the whole farm to table thing. It is a good idea! But what else can you do to provide fresh and delicious food to your family? Well, I suggest you make some of those things you have been buying yourself!

Nothing beats a good, imported Italian pasta.