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KARACOOKS

Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions

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KARACOOKS
KARACOOKS
Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions
  • a cast iron skillet filled with lightly browned southern style cornbread

    Southern Style Cornbread

    ByKara January 20May 16 Personal, Recipes

    This is my grandmother’s cornbread recipe, halved for smaller households. She made twice this amount in a 12-inch skillet, feeding a family of six plus whoever showed up at dinnertime (which in rural Texas was often neighbors, cousins, or people from church). This version makes enough for 4 people, or 2 people with leftovers for…

    Read More Southern Style CornbreadContinue

  • The New Dietary Guidelines: I Hate Admitting They’re Not Completely Wrong

    The New Dietary Guidelines: I Hate Admitting They’re Not Completely Wrong

    ByKara January 18May 16 Food & Politics, Personal

    I’m going to say something that physically pains me to type: the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030, released by the Trump administration under RFK Jr.’s leadership at HHS, are not completely wrong about everything. There. I said it. I hate it. And now I need to explain why this makes me so uncomfortable. This…

    Read More The New Dietary Guidelines: I Hate Admitting They’re Not Completely WrongContinue

  • Friday Roundup: Renee Nicole Good

    Friday Roundup: Renee Nicole Good

    ByKara January 9July 12 Friday Roundup

    I had a whole other post with links and “return from the holidays” thoughts written and ready to go, but last night I scrapped it. Things feel too heavy right now for a lighthearted post. By now most people are aware that on Wednesday morning, January 7th, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole…

    Read More Friday Roundup: Renee Nicole GoodContinue

  • A white hobnailed bowl full of deep green braised collard greens. It's resting on a blue pin-striped placemat. There's a spoon in the bowl. There's a bottle of homemade pepper vinegar in the background.

    Meemaw’s Collard Greens

    ByKara January 6July 16 Recipes, Personal

    In the South, collards are a staple side dish, but they’re also a New Year’s Day tradition: My Meemaw (my East Texas grandmother) always made collard greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread for New Year’s Day. Every single year, without fail: greens for money, peas for luck in the coming year.

    Read More Meemaw’s Collard GreensContinue

  • A scattering of blue and white flowers - Texas Bluebonnets - growing around a fallen tree limb.

    Welcome to 2026: A Fresh Start

    ByKara January 4May 16 Food & Politics, Personal

    Subtitled: State of The Blog & Where I Stand Those of you who have been around for a while know I’ve tried to restart this blog multiple times since it first went quiet around 2014. I’d get excited, plan content, write posts, even publish a handful of them. And then… silence. Rinse and repeat for…

    Read More Welcome to 2026: A Fresh StartContinue

  • Callie, entering into the New Year like a boss.

    Hello 2026!

    ByKara January 1May 16 Personal

    Here we are again on the first day of a new year. I don’t know about you, but for years I dove headfirst into the whole “make a bunch of resolutions” thing. I’d set up my perfect self doing all the things: get up and go running every morning, serious meal prepping on Sundays, journaling…

    Read More Hello 2026!Continue

  • Farewell to 2025

    Farewell to 2025

    ByKara December 31July 12 Personal

    It’s December 30th, and I’m sitting on the sofa writing this post that I’ll share tomorrow for New Year’s Eve. The tree is still lit, though looking a little bare without presents underneath. There’s a fire going because Georgia has finally given us some actual winter weather. Remy-dog is snoring at my side, Callie-cat is…

    Read More Farewell to 2025Continue

  • Friday Roundup 17

    Friday Roundup 17

    ByKara December 26July 12 Friday Roundup

    Happy Boxing Day, y’all. It’s been a hot minute (okay, maybe two or three … or five), but here we are again with a fresh Friday roundup. I’m not making any promises about this becoming an every Friday thing just yet, but let’s see where this goes. That’s it for me this go-round. I hope…

    Read More Friday Roundup 17Continue

  • A charcuterie board with cheeses, meats, olives, jams, and fruit. it's absolutely packed on and the entire thing is sprinkled with pomegranate arils.

    Merry Christmas 2025

    ByKara December 25May 16 Personal

    Merry Christmas! This post was scheduled in advance; I’m not actually writing blog posts on Christmas Day. Having been a blogging slacker for <mumble> years, I had one solid moment of blogging motivation earlier in the week and decided to roll with it, scheduling a couple of posts for the coming days. It’s 75°F in…

    Read More Merry Christmas 2025Continue

  • Christmas Menu 2025

    Christmas 2025 Menu

    ByKara December 23May 16 Holiday Menus

    For the past 8 years I’ve posted a Thanksgiving and a Christmas menu to social media. My partner has shared them with his family and co-workers as well. Here’s this year’s Christmas menu. It started out pretty simple with just steaks, fish, and a few sides. But then I started seeing some recipes online and…

    Read More Christmas 2025 MenuContinue

  • Thanksgiving Menu 2025. An image of a Thanksgiving menu. The top and bottom of the image are bordered with fall leaves. The categories shown are Starters, Main Course, Sides, Desserts, and Beverages.

    Thanksgiving 2025

    ByKara November 30May 16 Personal

    A little after the fact, but here’s our menu from this year’s Thanksgiving and a few food photos. I wound up sending a text to everyone attending around noon, telling them that I was running about an hour behind. Giving myself that extra hour made the day so much less stressful and we had a…

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  • Quart jars of chicken stock, resting on a striped dishtowel

    Thanksgiving 2022 Menu

    ByKara November 8May 16 Holiday Menus

    I finalized our Thanksgiving menu for this year. It’s pretty much the same as every other year. Thanksgiving is the one holiday that no-one in the family wants to mess with. We’ve pretty much perfected it with our combination sous-vide/deep fried turkey and sides that everyone loves. And, of course, pies.

    Read More Thanksgiving 2022 MenuContinue

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KaraCooks
Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions

KaraCooks is written, cooked, photographed, and gardened by one person in Johns Creek, Georgia.

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  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Garden
  • Writing
    • Friday Roundup
    • What Got Lost
    • Cooking
    • Food & Politics
    • Personal
    • Our Creek House
    • Travel
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Kitchen Disasters
    • Behind The Blog
    • Holiday Menus
  • What I Use
    • The Pantry
    • The Grill & Smoke
    • The Garden
    • The Everyday Kitchen
    • The Bookshelf
    • Keeping It Out of The Landfill
    • For the Animals
    • Coffee & The Bar
    • Behind the Camera
  • About
    • About & FAQ
    • Disclosure
    • Where I Stand
    • Recommendations