Here’s the thing about me and margaritas: I love a well-made one. Same with a good paloma. Fresh lime juice, real grapefruit juice, decent tequila, none of that bottled neon-green stuff sweetened with corn syrup. Our local Mexican restaurant in Alpharetta makes them properly: fresh-squeezed citrus, balanced sweetness, no shortcuts. When I’m out and the…
If you read Sunday’s post, you already know what these are doing here today. If you didn’t, the short version is: I’m a Texan, it’s Cinco de Mayo week, and I’m cooking what I actually cook on Cinco de Mayo, which is Tex-Mex, made by a Texan, with full honesty about what it is and…
I did not grow up observing Cinco de Mayo. Nobody in my Texas family did. It wasn’t a holiday in the way Christmas or Thanksgiving or even the Fourth of July was a holiday; it was a date on the calendar that occasionally meant something at school and otherwise didn’t. In college it became an…
This roundup is coming to y’all from Weeki Wachee, where I’m spending the long weekend with a friend. If you’re not familiar, Weeki Wachee is a Florida state park where women have been performing as live mermaids in an underwater theater since 1947. Yes, really. And yes, we’re going to see them. We’ve rented a…
Let me tell you about Millicent. Millicent lives in my garage, next to the door to the house and the glass recycling bin. She is white and rounded and about the size of a regular trash can – think one of those fancy simplehuman cans that a lot of people have in their kitchens –…
I’m writing this with a 71-pound pit bull pressed against my side on the sofa. Full velcro-dog mode. He’s dreaming, twitching, and making those adorable snorting sounds that pit bulls do. His name is Remy, and he is categorically the least threatening creature on the planet. How We Got Remy We adopted Remy on February…
The weather has been beautiful the last couple of days. I’m hoping it holds through the weekend because I have plans. What are you reading/watching/cooking/dealing with this week? Let me know in the comments. P.S. The tomato-garlic sauce is embarrassingly simple. You’re going to wonder why you ever bought jarred sauce. P.P.S. Alysa Liu. That’s…
The blog has been quiet this past week. Work has not been.Next week should be better, and tomorrow is Presidents’ Day, which in our house means a long weekend and a chance to get some end-of-winter things taken care of. Today it’s rainy and cold and I have big batch cooking plans for this afternoon…
This month on the blog, we’re honoring Black History Month by talking about African American foodways and the history of Southern food. If you want to learn more – and you should – here’s where to start. Essential Reading and Viewing Books: Television/Streaming: Writers and Food Historians to Follow: This is not an exhaustive list….
Zach travels for work 6-7 times a year. Cooking for one is hard. Most recipes make too much. You end up with leftovers for days, or you waste food. It’s easier to just make something simple and quick. But I still want it to be nutritious. Balanced. Something that actually feels like a meal and…
This is the forested area behind our house. It’s the part of our property that the creek runs through. It’s where I go when I need peace and calm and to escape from the world for a little bit. If you’ve been reading this blog since I restarted it this month, you’ve noticed something: this…
Y’all, it’s Friday and I’m ready for the weekend. This has been one of those weeks where the weather can’t make up its mind, work has been relentless, and I’ve been coming home too tired to do much of anything except exist on the sofa. Here’s what’s been happening around here this week, plus what…
