Browsing: Recipes

Cooler weather has finally made its way to Mississippi, and that means it’s time to pull out the soup pot!

After months of hot weather, there’s something especially nice about a Sunday afternoon with a pot of homemade soup simmering on the stove. Add a skillet of cornbread, and supper is pretty much taken care of.

There are some Sundays when you feel like spending the afternoon in the kitchen, cooking a big meal with all the fixings. Then there are Sundays when you would rather put something in the oven, kick off your shoes, and enjoy what’s left of the weekend.

There comes a point every fall when supper starts sounding different.

All summer long, we want something light, something quick and preferably something that does not require turning the oven on. Then October arrives, the temperature finally drops a little, and suddenly a bubbling cast-iron skillet coming out of the oven sounds just about perfect.

Fall in Mississippi likes to keep us humble. One morning, you walk outside and it is 66 degrees, and suddenly…

There are Sundays when you need comfort food.

And then there are Sundays when Ole Miss beat LSU the night before, and regular comfort food simply will not do.

You need victory food.

The calendar says fall is right around the corner and store aisles are full of pumpkins and fall foliage. Football has returned to the weekend and coffee shops are loading up on pumpkin spice. But the thermometer is still hanging on to summer. While you may be anxiously awaiting those night of soup and hot cocoa around a bonfire, the weather is demanding something cool and refreshing with little cooking involved. 

By late August in Mississippi, summer has worn out its welcome just a little bit.

There are certain foods that require a plate, a fork and reasonably good manners.

These sliders are not one of them.

There are certain meals that seem to make everything a little better. A rainy afternoon. The first cool snap of fall. A scratchy throat. A hard day at work. Somehow, a bowl of homemade chicken soup has a way of meeting the moment.

The fireworks have faded, the lawn chairs are folded, and the last sparkler has burned out. But if your Fourth of July was anything like ours, the celebration isn’t quite over. It’s sitting in your refrigerator, waiting for one more delicious meal.

Hydration, Hydration, Hydration! That is the name of the game in the Mississippi summer. Not only are temperatures soaring, but the humidity has been cranked up a notch. Couple these things with spending more time outdoors both for yardwork and for recreation and that is a recipe for heat-related illness. Staying hydrated isn’t just about quenching your thirst. It is one of the simplest and most effective ways to stay healthy all summer long. But don’t wait until you get thirsty. Hydrating early and often is a much more effective strategy when working or playing outdoors. 

There is something special about the foods we associate with our fathers. It may be a recipe they perfected over decades, a meal he cooked only on weekends, or the simple dishes he always requested when the family gathered around the table.

Peaches and summertime are a perfect pair. The fuzzy, sun-kissed fruit is loved for its sweet, juicy bite and bright, floral aroma. For many, sinking your teeth into a ripe peach over the sink or out in front of you while the sweet, tangy juice drips down your hands is a quintessential summer experience. And peaches taste even better when they’re grown in Mississippi.

There is a certain point in a Mississippi summer when tomatoes stop being a side dish and become the whole reason for the meal.

As the weather warms up and the days get longer here in Mississippi, the calendar starts to fill up with backyard barbecues, porch dinners, and casual get-togethers. A go-to side dish makes the perfect addition to these gatherings. When I’m building a side-dish to bring to an event, I look for crowd pleasing flavors that highlight in-season produce. Both jalapeños and sweet corn are showing up on farmer’s market shelves in May and June. 

Have you ever noticed how Sundays seem to move at a different pace?

Not slower in a lazy way, but steadier. Like the day knows it doesn’t need to prove anything. It just unfolds—quietly, gently—asking only that you show up for it.