31 Aug
I really love peaches and as you know Chilton County peaches are my absolute favorites. This is the second summer I’ve been back in Chicago and the first time in ten years that a Chilton County peach has not been in the fruit bowl, in the salad, ice cream, cobbler or my mouth. The Alabama […]
21 Dec
Eat dessert first, well that may not be the recommended way, but most of us plan to reserve a sweet spot for those special tempting treats we love to savor at the end of a meal. Dessert can be as trendy as fashion week—cake pops, cupcakes, pies and savory ice cream. Cheesecake is a classic. […]
7 Oct
It is hard to believe that 17 years ago nephew Noah made his loud attention grabbing entrance into the family. Now I have to admit as a shorty, Noah was a pretty picky eater. But he often wanted to get into the kitchen to cook with me—a boy that knows how to butter up […]
11 May
Folks are into the celebration season and this week-end many will celebrate moms and all that they do. They are most likely the chef, caterer, chauffer event planner, wardrobe stylist, psychologist, and healer. And if mom is a chocoholic, she deserves to indulge her guilty pleasure on special occasions. As an avowed chocoholic myself there […]
20 Nov
For 21st century meal mavens juggling a full plate of activities—jobs and multigenerational family tasks, the countdown to Thanksgiving is swift and can lead to menu mayhem or turkey trauma. No worries, take a deep breath and use the following guidelines to help avoid holiday cooking drama. 1. Turkey Still Frozen? “Yes, they do take […]
1 Sep
by Charla L. Draper Family reunions have become a tradition of summer. They’ve evolved beyond picnics, to include week-end celebrations, and week-long cruises. These days reunions bring biological kin to the table or the reunion may be a non-traditional gathering of unrelated “cousins” sharing the bond of community and common interests. One of the brightest […]
2 Jul
July is National Ice Cream Month and homemade ice cream is one of summer’s premium pleasures. As thermometers nationwide top 100 degrees, folks will be dipping into plenty of ice cream. When my grandmothers made ice cream I would sit on the porch watching the silver iced-packed cylinder go ‘round and ‘round in that wooden bucket […]
19 Dec
by Charla L. Draper ‘Tis the season, and growing up it was more about the aroma from the kitchen than the twinkling lights. Our house always smelled of scratch baking and during the holidays it was intense. My grandmother, Gonga could really cook and she baked —spicy gingerbread, fluffy yeast rolls, and her legendary buttery, […]
