Like King Arthur, I’m constantly searching. But not for a Holy Grail. Rather, I am always on the lookout for Mexican sides, something to serve with Enchiladas or Burritos besides chips and salsa. I tried a new recipe this week, and I think it’s winner. I call it a Corn and Avocado Mexican Salad. If nothing else, it sounds impressive. Here’s how I put it together. Start with a can of … [Read more...]

  I have never had much luck with briskets. I have cooked them on the grill, I have smoked them, I have slow cooked them in the oven and the best I ever produced was just edible. My briskets have often turned out dry and tough. I see those barbeque shows on TV, salivate over the delicious-looking briskets, but for me, no luck – until this weekend when I decided to put the brisket in my … [Read more...]

  If it’s not on special, I don’t buy it. At least that’s my goal each time I visit a grocery store. Last week, I passed by the “Special Bin” at Kroger’s and there were two, half-sections of Pork Loin Back Ribs. They were like three dollars and change each, so I bought both. These Pork Loin Back Ribs were a bit thicker than typical Baby Back ribs and I decided to slow-cook them so they … [Read more...]

  Green beans are a lot easier to grow and much more prolific than Fordhook Lima Beans, but they are not nearly as tasty. There are few foods anywhere than can rival the goodness of a freshly picked Fordhook Lima boiled to a tender doneness and topped with butter. It is one of my favorite foods in the world. Years ago, I had a garden at our small lakefront cottage in Greene County … [Read more...]

  Groceries are expensive, but fish are free – if you catch them yourself (or have a good friend who likes to fish.) I am aware of a certain fish that you can’t even buy in a store, yet there is no more flavorful fish found anywhere. The fish is a bluegill, which is classified as a game fish in Virginia; therefore they cannot be sold commercially. Bluegills, sometimes referred to … [Read more...]

  Vegetables. Face it, they’re boring. But we must serve them along with the main dish. It’s required Cooking 101. In fact, some only serve vegetables. Vegans, you know. But I have a hard time with ame old, same old veggies. A few days ago, I bought some zucchini, as a change of pace, and I tried a new recipe - Roasted Zucchini and Parmesan. It was delicious, and it’s really … [Read more...]

  I have been having fun with some Tex/Mex recipes – nothing fancy, stuff like Enchiladas, Tacos, Mexican Lasagna, and the like. I’m sure a real live Mexican would say, “What the hell is this? It’s not anything I’ve ever eaten or would eat.” But for those of us who the closest we ever get to Mexico is landing in Dallas, it’ll do. One thing that concerns me about cooking Mexican is … [Read more...]

By Nancy B   I have had customers ask me this question. They want to know if Nancy B is a real person or just a name I decided to use. Have you ever noticed how much people like to talk about themselves? I do and I also do. I thought I would tell you how I got into this business to begin with. Before our third child was born, we had a darling ladies and girl’s clothing business. … [Read more...]

Lonely they sit among the more popular vegetables in the produce section. There are usually just 2 or 3 of them in their given bin, but people pass them by. They are spaghetti squash, perhaps the tastiest of all the squash – winter or summer. There are two drawbacks to spaghetti squash. First, they run about $1.50 a pound, or about $5 or $6 each, and second, they are the dickens to cut … [Read more...]

  One of the classic Seinfeld episodes was about muffin tops. Elaine suggested to a friend that somebody should sell muffin tops, not the whole muffins, because the tops were the best part. Her friend stole her idea, opened a muffin top store and Newman ended up eating thousands of leftover muffin bottoms. It was one of my favorite episodes. Recently, I saw that Betty Crocker had a … [Read more...]