Squash! What a versatile vegetable! I really enjoy squash no matter how it’s cooked, but a favorite way when I have a little preparation time is Squash Fritters. I had never eaten squash fritters until about 20 years ago when we went out to eat at a little seafood restaurant called The Sandpiper near Gwynn’s Island. I had Fried Grouper that night and one of the sides on the menu was Squash … [Read more...]

There once was a pot called a pressure cooker, which had a propensity of putting food on the ceiling rather than in plates. In our family, when Mom got out her infamous pressure cooker, all the kids headed for their bedrooms. Better to study American History than to pick shrapnel and lima bean bullets from various parts of your body - in case “she blew.” But pressure cookers are no longer the … [Read more...]

I recall one year our church signed up to take a meal to the Salvation Army once a month. We rotated groups for what I considered to be a privilege. When it was our Sunday School class’s turn, we decided on a big ham, green beans flavored with fat back, mac and cheese, rolls and homemade chocolate chip cookies. The ham and beans were both delicious, but when folks came back for seconds, it was the … [Read more...]

I rarely take a list to the grocery store – unless my wife Nancy wants me to pick up Australian pine nuts seasoned with papaya extract, or some other such strange request. I’m pretty much an eggs, flour, meat and potatoes shopper – nothing fancy. But I enjoy seeing what’s available and getting inspiration from what looks good. I was in Sam’s Club last week, poking around the meat section and … [Read more...]

Not all flour is created equal. I discovered this by accident on a recent shopping trip. I have been doing a lot of baking since I bought my Oster Bread Machine last fall. I have been buying my bread flour, which is necessary in most bread machine recipes, at Sam’s Club for about $7 for a 20-pound bag. A 5-pound bag in most grocery stores as around $2.99, so I try to buy bread flour at Sam’s’ … [Read more...]

Some of the best food on this planet is the simplest. Slow cooked pork, for example. Get a Boston Butt (pork shoulder), smother it in coarse pepper and Kosher salt, put some aluminum foil on top and cook it in a 285 oven until it falls apart – 8 hours or more. The longer you cook it, the better it gets. Pull the pork off in manageable portions and enjoy – it is plain and simply … [Read more...]

My name is Jim Brewer. I am a Hot Dog-aholic. I am a “Frank-enstein”. I love wieners. Some of my favorite places to eat out include hot dog joints. Jack ‘N Jil in Charlottesville and Jim’s Drive-In in Lewisburg, WV come to mind. And I love to put a few franks on the grill from time to time. I always make extra and eat them heated up for lunches throughout the week. I enjoy hot dogs because … [Read more...]

Capers are interesting little critters. Though they look like a small green pea, they are actually flower buds picked from a shrub-like bush. Then they are sun-dried, brined and packed in salt. The little fellows are fairly pricey since they have to be picked by hand. They are grown in California and Asia, parts of Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The tasty buds are the stars of the … [Read more...]