Browsing: Recipes

You might not think of apples as a native crop to Mississippi. Yet, our ancestors, living on homesteads from the Delta to the Gulf Coast, would have enjoyed apple varieties adapted to their specific climate. Your great-great-grandparents would never have seen or recognized today’s popular apples, such as Red Delicious or Granny Smith. Thanks to fruit explorers and orchardists, some of Mississippi’s heirloom apples are making a comeback. 

In Mississippi, summer doesn’t give up easily. The afternoons are still sweltering, but just this week I have started to notice a faint crispness in the morning air. Fall is on its way and that change of season felt especially sweet when a friend left me a basket of homegrown pears on my clinic doorstep. Their golden skins freckled and fragrant. After enjoying a few fresh, I turned the rest into smooth and spicy pear butter, filling the kitchen with the scent of cinnamon and simmering fruit.

Back to school means back to fast-paced schedules and dinner plans staying up in the air. Even though today’s busy lifestyle makes eating together a challenge, it’s worth the effort, even if it’s a few times a week. Studies show that eating with others offers numerous benefits, including nutritional, health, social, and mental advantages. When it’s families that gather around the table together to eat regularly, research supports that it can reduce the risk of depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse, while increasing self-esteem and resilience in children.

Nothing says summer like ice cream! National Ice Cream Day, celebrated annually on the third Sunday in July, was officially declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. He also proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month. This action aimed to recognize the popularity of ice cream and the importance of the dairy industry. The day is now widely celebrated with various ice cream promotions and events. 

Summer is officially here in Mississippi! That brings long, hot days and if you have kids, a lot more hungry mouths to feed all day long. Maybe it’s because I’m a mom to two teenage boys, but they are always hungry. That leaves me looking for ways to be creative with snack options that are yummy but that also meet some serious nutrient gaps that Americans often have. A balanced snack usually clocks in around 200-300 calories (or up to 500 calories depending on your overall health goals) and should contain some complex carbohydrates and either protein or healthy fats or both. 

National Dairy Month is a time to honor hardworking dairy farmers and celebrate the nutritious milk and dairy foods they produce. Mississippi has about 48 working dairy farms with a typical dairy herd of about 150 milking cows. Mississippi’s top milk-producing counties are Copiah, Marion, and Walthall, and the total amount of milk produced in 2023 equaled 8.9 million gallons! And while dairy farmers are committed to making delicious and wholesome products, they’re also dedicated to creating a sustainable future. 

I have been making homemade eggnog for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays for 50 years. Homemade eggnog has a vastly different taste than anything from a store. It is best served hot, right out of the pot. But most of all, it is best if shared with family and friends. The recipe below is my gift to you this year.

Recent conversations about our family gathering have included the menu with side dishes being the more specific topic.

Of course, side dishes need to encompass some healthy vegetables and enough food choices to satisfy a crowd. Yet, Thanksgiving almost commands that a comforting side dish be among the spread.

Potato salad is an essential side dish of summertime meals. I am unsure whether it was her special homemade pickles or her special knack, but my mother-in-law’s potato salad was my favorite.

June is blueberry season. Memorial Day signals the start of the harvest time. In some years, the berries ripen sooner. However, you can bet they won’t last longer than a month.

Summer is about to begin! Memorial Day Weekend provides the opportunity to gather with loved ones and host a  cookout to kick off the summer season. You can still enjoy a seasonal shindig without sacrificing nutritious food choices.

The Italians have roughly three hundred different kinds of pasta (if you think that is a lot, the Chinese have about one thousand two hundred kinds of noodles), but the Italian varieties can be broken down into two basic categories: fresh and dried. Eighty percent of pasta eaten in Italy is dried, and the balance is fresh.

Spring has sprung, and so have allergy sufferers’ seasonal woes. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) released its 2024 Spring Allergy Capitals report on the worst cities in the US for allergies. They found that people in the South, Southeast, and parts of the Midwest tend to have the most issues. Everyone is battling watery or itchy eyes, a runny nose, and constant sneezing.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. To bring awareness, February is  Heart Health Month, emphasizing educating the public on stopping preventable, premature deaths due to cardiovascular diseases.

What could be better on a damp and chilly day than a bowl of steaming soup. I grew up on Cambell’s soups, and loved them, especially the bean and bacon, but nothing beats a homemade soup.

When I first started seriously cooking, I thought that for something to be really good, it had to be complicated, using expensive ingredients, and probably be French as well. But now I know better. In fact, it is often the opposite. Simple is almost always better.