Gumbo

Gumbo is a method, not a specific dish. I just made turkey gumbo using leftovers from Thanksgiving. You can make a good gumbo out of almost anything, if you keep a few basic principles in mind.

First, you will need some Cajun seasoning. This is a combination of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, along with other herbs as the cook deems suitable. Dried thyme and oregano most often turn up in seasoning mixes. You will also need bay leaves.

The second component of a good gumbo is the combination of aromatic vegetables that has come to be named "trinity" by many cooks. It consists of roughly equal parts of chopped onions, celery and green bell peppers.

Fresh garlic is almost always included in gumbo, too, along with tomatoes. In winter, canned tomatoes are fine. You also need stock, ideally one that matches the main protein in your gumbo, i.e., chicken stock for chicken gumbo, pork stock for pork gumbo, etc.

Assemble those components first, then heat some fat in a large kettle or Dutch oven over medium low heat. Brown any raw meat or sausages that you intend to include. Cooked meats and seafood, if you include them, are added at the end of the cooking, not the beginning. Removed the browned meat to a heatproof bowl and reserve it. Add half of the trinity to the pot and cook, stirring once or twice, until the onions are translucent. Add some seasoning mix and the rest of the trinity, and continue to cook until some of the onions are lightly browned. Add bay leaf and garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with juices, and stir well, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Add more seasoning mix, then cook gently until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add stock to the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add the browned meat and any other protein. Simmer long enough to cook shrimp or any other seafood you have added. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and serve the gumbo hot with rice. Garnish with chopped parsley or green onions if you wish. Pass hot sauce.

You will note that this method does not involve thickening the soup. If you like it thicker, you can add fresh or thawed frozen raw okra, or use a roux. Add the thickening ingredient after the stock simmers, stirring well until the soup is smooth and bubbling. Then add seafood or other proteins.

Once you have mastered this technique, you can create a gumbo any time you like, using seasonally fresh ingredients.

Aunt Juanita's Fluffy Boiled Custard

Earlier this year, I was thrilled to be asked to write a short essay for Southern Living. Each author was to write about someone who had influenced their cooking. I immediately thought of my father's sister, Juanita, whom we all called "Aunt Wan." So I wrote the essay about how she taught me to cook in the 1960s. You can find it here.

Looking forward to the holiday season, I decided to share one of my favorite recipes from Aunt Wan. When she visited us at Christmas, this old-fashioned boiled custard was a special treat she made for Christmas dinner. I hope sharing this dessert with your family makes as many good memories as it did for me.

Aunt Juanita's Fluffy Boiled Custard

6 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the egg yolks until they are thoroughly combined. Add the sugar and milk, and transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler. Set the mixture over barely simmering water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the custard coats the spoon. Remove the custard from the heat, wipe the bottom of the pan dry, stir in the vanilla extract, and set aside. Beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the custard, stirring until just combined. Chill at least three hours, or overnight, before serving.

Golden Potato Soup Is Perfect for Fall

All the ingredients for this hearty soup may already be in your pantry. If you don't have whole mace use a pinch of ground mace or nutmeg.  Mace is the outer layer of the nutmeg seed coat. It has a subtle, sharper flavor than nutmeg itself. I ordered whole mace online for about $8 and received enough to last me a lifetime. I store it in the freezer.

The recipe makes 4 servings.

• 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• 2 cups diced potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold
• ¾ cup chopped celery
• ¾ cup sliced carrots
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme or a fresh thyme sprig
• 1 blade whole mace
• ½ cup whole milk
• Salt
• Freshly ground white pepper
• Minced fresh parsley or basil for garnish

In a saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Watch carefully and adjust the heat to prevent them from burning.  Add the broth, potatoes, celery, carrots, water, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to maintain a slow simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add the mace and simmer 5 minutes longer. Stir in the milk, then adjust the heat to keep the soup hot, but do not allow it to boil. With a small pair of tongs, remove the mace. Taste carefully and add salt and pepper to your liking. Serve the soup hot, garnished with the fresh herb.

This soup is great with any of the cornbread recipes found in Appalachian Cooking.

Pinto Bean and Sweet Corn Soup

 If you are tired of plain old beans and cornbread, here’s another good pinto bean recipe, and one that is ideal for dinner on a cool autumn evening. The recipe for my Tex-Mex Seasoning Mix can be found in Appalachian Cooking, or you can use your favorite commercial one.

Servings: 4

1 ear of corn

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

½ cup chopped onions

1 large bay leaf

1 tablespoon Tex-Mex Seasoning Mix

1 small can diced green chilies, preferably Hatch

1 15-ounce can pinto beans, or two cups cooked pinto beans

1 cup chicken broth

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

Minced fresh parsley or cilantro, for garnish

Tortilla chips, for garnish

                Shuck and silk the corn, wrap the ear in foil, and place it in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.

                Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring now and then, until they begin to soften. Add the bay leaf and half the seasoning mix. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the spices are fragrant. Add the chilies, beans, remaining seasoning mix, and broth. Bring the soup to a simmer, adjust the heat, and cook gently for 15-20 minutes.

                Remove the corn from the oven, unwrap and allow it to cool sufficiently to handle. Cut the kernels off the cob and add them to the soup. Keep the soup hot.

                Shortly before you are ready to serve, add the chopped tomatoes to the soup. Ladle the soup into heated bowls, garnish with parsley and tortilla chips, and serve.

End-of-Season Tomato Soup

Summer is winding down, and if you are like me you have a lot of small, less than perfect tomatoes on the older vines this time of year. Here is a recipe that makes use of them. You can use any type of tomato you like, or a combination. I find this recipe helpful when I have a bumper crops of cherry tomatoes, also. You can simply dump cherry tomatoes into a food processor and chop them for the soup. Larger tomatoes need to be cored. Also, of course, cut out any damaged areas. The flavor of this recipe is reminiscent of the famous commercial brand, only better!

Note: I like Better Than Bullion brand of chicken broth concentrate. Or use homemade broth instead of the water.

Homemade Tomato Soup

2 pounds tomatoes, cored if needed and coarsely chopped, about 4 cups chopped tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped, about 1/2 cup
1 cup water
1 teaspoon chicken broth concentrate
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and bring slowly to a boil, stirring occasionally. Adjust the heat to maintain a slow simmer and cook, stirring now and then, for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool 20 minutes. Transfer the soup to a blender and pulse to puree. Do not completely liquefy the ingredients. Strain the soup through a sieve, pressing hard on the solids to extract all of their flavor before discarding them. Reheat the soup over low heat, taste carefully, and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot.

Downtown Restaurant Reviews

I have now lived in Knoxville full time for 50 years. The changes have been many, and I think mostly positive. Anyone who remembers how downtown looked in the 70s will likely be thrilled with how exciting and vibrant it now is. Visiting downtown from out in the 'burbs is a genuine pleasure. At one time, you could count the restaurant choices on one hand. Now, there are many, from fast food to fine dining. We have tried more than a dozen of them, and only two were truly disappointing. These were Clancy's, located in the Burwell Building, and Kabuki, the pan-Asian place on Market Square. Interesting that kabuki is Japanese shadow theatre, as this place is but a shadow of genuine Asian cuisine. Almost any other choice will be more satisfying. Clancy's claims to be a "genuine" Irish pub, but the soggy fried whitefish and greasy, flaccid "chips" betray this assertion. They should have stuck to making eyeglasses.

The rest, especially in the mid-price range ($20/person), are good but surprisingly similar in their menu offerings. We looked around last evening and found lots of burgers and sandwiches, of course, but also numerous offerings of shrimp and grits, Cajun/Creole chicken pasta, and wings, wings, wings. Apparently every chef in town thinks they have to serve fried green tomatoes. These include Blue Coast Grill, Stock and Barrel, Blackhorse Pub, and Not Watson's.

Soccer Taco, Chivo, and Babalu all offer good takes on Latin American cuisine. Each has its high points.

Café Four is a ten for location. The outdoor tables are shaded by mature trees on the Square. A good place to take out-of-town guests. The menu is simple, good, and reasonably priced.

No mention of Market Square dining would be complete without including the Tomato Head, which has been there for decades and is still thriving. Try the pizza if it is your first visit.

Sushi, thank God, seems on the way out. Kaizen, the Japanese restaurant on Clinch Ave., does not even offer it. You won't miss it, either. Use the money you save on raw tuna to sample one of the many fine sake offerings at this location.

If you are looking for truly creative cooking, it is necessary to go to a more upscale venue. The two best ones are Knox Mason and JC Holdway. Emilia offers classic Italian for those so inclined. Have the focaccia appetizer. You won't regret it.

Oliver Royale and Tupelo Honey are upscale in price, but mid-tier in food quality. TH can sometimes be too over-the-top, and OR is for snobs who want only trendy foods mentioned in Garden and Gun, but won't pay enough to get the really good quality ingredients. Best offering in the house is Blackberry Farm Saison on draft. Otherwise, meh.

I have not included the numerous watering holes that offer some kind of food. Many house specialties are good, for example, the fried bologna sandwich at Suttree's. Nor have I included venues in the Old City or near downtown on Central Avenue. Those will form the subject of another post.

In the meantime, "Bon appetit!"

Easy Tomato Tart

Looking for a quick but elegant dish for an informal dinner party? Or perhaps you have so many garden fresh tomatoes you are running out of ways to serve them. Here's a recipe tailored to your needs and perfect for August weeknight dinner when tomatoes are abundant everywhere.

Easy Tomato Tart

1 package refrigerated puff pastry
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Sliced fresh tomatoes
Fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper

Unroll the pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (or use the parchment that comes with the pastry, if it does). Brush a little water around the edges of the sheet, and fold all four edges inward to create a 1/2-inch border all around. Press down gently with the tines of a fork to ensure the pastry adheres to itself.

Stir the two cheeses together in a small bowl, adding a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Spoon the mixture into the pastry shell, spreading it out to cover. Arrange the sliced tomaotes on top, followed by a sprinkling of thyme leaves and more salt and pepper.

Bake the tart in a preheated 350-degree oven until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is beginning to bubble. Cut into portions with a sharp knife, and serve at once.

Summer Squash

There's an old joke about living in a town so small that, if you leave your car unlocked at the shopping center lot, somebody will put a bag of summer squash in the back seat. Anyone who has ever grown yellow crookneck, zucchini, or any of several other variations on summer squash likely has also been overwhelmed by the productivity of these plants. To help relieve the glut, here are some ideas for preparing summer squash.

For many of us in the Southern Appalachian region, summer squash is prepared only two ways, battered and fried, or in squash casserole. But there are plenty of other ways to enjoy squash.

Simple Squash Salad

Choose two or three small, perfect summer squashes. Wash and slice into rounds. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Leave to sit on the counter for 30 minutes. Top with a little freshly ground black pepper, and enjoy as a salad. You can also add fresh herbs, if you prefer. The salt draws out some of the moisture from the squash, creating a "dressing" for the salad.

Squash Pickles

You can use firm summer squash to make pickles with most recipes that call for cucumbers. Do not use squash with well-developed seeds.

Stuffed Squash

Slice a summer squash lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Chop the flesh and reserve it. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet and add some chopped onion. When it is softened, add the squash flesh, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender. Combine the cooked vegetables in a bowl with bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and minced fresh parsley. Stuff the squash shells with this filling, pour any oil remaining from cooking the vegetables over the top, and place in a preheated 375-degree oven until the stuffing browns nicely and the squash is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

The squash is delicious served as shown in the photo, with white beans, pesto and a garnish of fresh tomatoes.

Ratatouille

This classic French vegetable stew combines all of the best summer vegetables into one delicious dish. Cut into bite size pieces onions, summer squash, eggplant, and sweet peppers. Use a variety of types and colors. Saute each vegetable separately in olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper, and removing each batch from the pan with a slotted spoon before adding the next one. Place the cooked vegetables on a plate to keep warm. While the vegetables are cooking, peel, seed and dice two medium tomatoes to yield about a cup of dice. When the last batch of vegetables is finished, add a minced clove of garlic and the tomatoes to the pan, increase the heat, and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes break down to create a sauce. Add the vegetables back to the tomato sauce, toss to combine, and remove from the heat. Garnish with a generous portion of chopped fresh herbs. Ratatouille is better when made ahead and reheated the next day.

Gazpacho Season

July is my favorite month in the vegetable garden. Finally, I have all the ingredients I need for a homemade, fresh-picked gazpacho. If you are not familiar with this cold tomato soup of Spanish extraction, you are, quite simply, missing out.

Gazpacho actually dates back to Roman times, when leftover bread was mixed with olive oil and garlic to create a porridge-like dish. Bread remains a key component of the dish, although the modern version, with vegetables that were unknown in Europe until the 16th Century, would be unrecognizable to the Romans. To make a great gazpacho requires tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, sweet onion, fresh basil, fresh parsley, good olive oil and some leftover bread, preferably homemade. I have also obtained great results with sourdough bread from our regional baker, Tellico Grains. The better the bread, the better the gazpacho.

A recipe for gazpacho follows, but the dish is as variable as the many cultures that now enjoy it. At a minimum, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and bread are the only constants. Feel free to vary the composition as you deem appropriate. Just be sure it's good and cold when you serve it.

John's Gazpacho

Makes 4-6 servings

2 medium tomatoes
2 medium or 3 small cucumbers
1 small sweet bell or banana pepper
1 small sweet Vidalia onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
Leaves stripped from 1 sprig of tarragon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime

1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

3 cups chicken stock, water, tomato juice, or a combination, chilled

Core the tomatoes, trim and seed the cucmbers, and seed the pepper. Peel the onion and garlic. Chop these ingredients into chunks and add them in batches to a food processor, along with the parsley, basil and tarragon leaves. Process until finely chopped, but not liquefied. The vegetables should retain their texture. Transfer the gazpacho to a metal bowl and add the salt, paprika, oil, and lime juice. Taste and adjust these seasonings to your satisfaction. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until well-chilled, or overnight.

Note: The vegetable mixture can be frozen at this point, as is, in whatever portions work best for you. Thaw in the refrigerator and add an equal amount of liquid before serving. Top with a spoonful of bread crumbs.

When you are ready to serve the gazpacho, add the bread crumbs and chicken broth. Stir well, and ladle into chilled bowls.

Gazpacho is delicious as is or you can garnish with a dollop of sour cream. Another good garnish is small cubes of tomato, cucumber or pepper, or some of each. Sprinkle more fresh herbs on top, if you wish.

Cucumber Buttermilk Soup

I created this recipe because I had run out of ideas for the abundant harvest of cucumbers we currently enjoy. It is based on a classic cream of cucumber soup, but with far less fat. The acid tang of the buttermilk is enhanced by a touch of cider vinegar. Country flavors come together to re-imagine a classic!

Cucumber Buttermilk Soup

Makes 2 servings, easily multiplied

1 teaspoon canola oil
3 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced, about 2 cups
1/3 cup diced Vidalia onion, or other sweet onion
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup buttermilk, or more, if needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
dash of hot sauce
Salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion, cover, turn the heat to low, and cook gently until the onion is translucent. Uncover, add the cucumbers, and cook, stirring once or twice, for a minute or two. Add the chicken broth and the garlic powder, increase the heat, and simmer the soup, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer the soup to a blender jar and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Add the buttermilk, cold from the refrigerator, to the blender, along with the dill. Puree the soup. If you wish, strain the soup. Transfer the soup to a metal bowl, add the vinegar and hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill.

Before serving the soup, taste and correct the seasoning. Garnish with diced cucumber, some dill leaves and/or freshly picked cucumber flowers.

Variations: Use another herb  instead of the dill. Try a different type of vinegar or lemon juice for a flavor change.

How To Pickle Anything

Warm summer weather and sufficient rain have conspired to make the garden productive. This is a great opportunity to turn some of your vegetables into pickles. While most of us think of homemade pickles as a canning project, you need not make a large batch nor can them. You can make great pickles that will keep in your refrigerator until the end of summer. Here are some tips for refrigerator pickles.

Most vegetables will benefit from blanching before pickling. These include beans, corn, cauliflower, carrots, and asparagus. Green tomatoes, peppers, okra and cucumbers need not be blanched. Cut or break vegetables into uniform pieces so they will blanch evenly. Leave baby cucumbers, okra pods, tiny peppers and cherry tomatoes whole. One to three minutes, depending upon the size of the pieces and their density, is sufficient blanching time. As soon as the time is up, drain the vegetables in a colander and plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking. You may need to experiment with blanching time. You want the vegetables to retain some crunch. Remember that the pickling process will further tenderize them.

Seasoning pickles is a matter of taste and creativity. I suggest adding whole spices and/or fresh herbs to the jar before adding the vegetables. Some of the best flavorings to use are garlic, bay leaves, hot peppers, peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice, coriander, celery seeds, clove, dill and ginger. Don't overdo it. You don't want to mask the flavor of the vegetables. Turmeric can be added to any pickle if you want the bright yellow color it gives.

Make a "universal" pickling liquid by combining equal parts of vinegar and water and adding one teaspoon of salt per quart of liquid. You can use more salt if you like salty pickles, but do not alter the vinegar-water mix, as it is crucial for preservation. Use a vinegar of 5% acidity. Clear vinegars will show off the colors of the pickles. However, many traditional Appalachian cooks use apple cider vinegar. The choice is up to you, so long as the acidity is at the proper level.

The procedure for any refrigerator pickle is as follows:

Wash a jar and lid in hot, soapy water. Rinse in hot water and stand upside down on a towel until you are ready to fill the jar.

Place your seasonings in the jar. One bay leaf, one clove of garlic and three peppercorns is a basic mix.

Next, pack the prepared, blanched vegetables into the jar. Pack them in firmly, but not so tight that their shape is distorted.

Bring the pickling liquid to a boil, and pour it carefully over the vegetables in the jar.

Allow the pickles to cool to room temperature, apply the lid, and place the jar in the refrigerator. Wait a week before enjoying the pickles, to allow the flavor to develop.

Pictured are some pickled green cherry tomatoes that I recently made when the wind broke some branches off my plant. I pierced each one with an ice pick at the stem scar before dropping them into the jar. Seasonings are coriander seed, white pepper, and celery seed. If I had added a couple of fresh, washed grape leaves, they would be called "Tennessee Olives." Grape leaves add a bitter element to the flavor, but not too much. The resulting tomatoes taste remarkably similar to green olives.

If you want to make canned pickles that will keep at room temperature, a good place to start is the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia.

Just For Fun, An East Tennessee Ghost Story

Rufe Taylor’s Ghost

by John Tullock

I first laid eyes on Rufe Taylor when I was just a little feller. He was a friend of my grandfather’s, and lived about a mile from us. My grandfather and I would sometimes walk the gravel road to pay him a visit. He and Grandpa would sit on the front porch and whittle while they talked politics.

The porch ran all along the front of the two story house. The house had been built out of bricks made on the site out of the Tennessee clay, and the floor was supported by chestnut beams that ran from the front edge of the porch all the way to the far edge of the back porch. There were two rooms on the first floor and two on the second, and the kitchen was out back. The kitchen was open on three sides, with a shed roof made out of galvanized steel, penetrated by the chimney pipe for a massive, wood-burning cast iron range. Rain or shine, warm or cold, Mrs. Taylor cooked and did the household laundry out in that open kitchen.  The house was mostly free from extraneous ornament, standing plain and foursquare upon the earth, much like its owners. Two massive oaks shaded the porch. They looked to be older than the house.

I grew up and left home to go to college, and eventually forgot all about Rufe Taylor. When the highway department built a new four lane highway within 100 yards of the Taylor house, the cross road that my grandfather and I had followed became “Rufe Taylor Road,” with a green and white metal sign on either side of the intersection and black asphalt paving over the gravel. By the time that beautiful old house was torn down to make way for a brand new Taco Bell, most of the residents of the community had forgotten all about Mr. Taylor. Ask a random stranger why the road bore his name, and they likely couldn’t tell you.

Nowadays, I don’t get up home much. Other than to visit the graveyard near Decoration Day, when all the graves are bedecked with flowers, I don’t have a lot of reason to visit. I am an old man now and most of my family is gone. But the week before Christmas a minor bit of business necessitated a return to my old home town, and I stopped into that Taco Bell for lunch. My companion and I were sitting at the table looking at our phones, when a movement caught my eye. I looked up, and at the table across the aisle sat Rufe Taylor. Dressed in a pair of Duck Head overalls and a blue flannel shirt, he looked to me no different than the last time I had seen him. What? Maybe 50 years ago. He was whittling; long, thin shavings of red cedar peeling from the stick in his calloused hands, and falling--somewhere. There were no shavings on the floor.

For a moment, I thought I was having a stroke. I read that strokes sometimes produce hallucinations. Then Rufe Taylor nodded at me. He paused whittling and spoke.

“You’re Clarence Boswell’s grandson ain’t ye?”

Nobody else in the room seemed to notice. I nodded, somewhat meekly.

“Speak up, boy! You know I been half deef since that heifer kicked me in the ear. Speak up!”

Aloud, I said, “Mr. Taylor?”

No one looked up from their nachos, including my companion. It was as if Rufe and I were in another place altogether.

“That’s right, boy. Rufe Taylor at your service.” His eyes twinkled.

“What are you doing here,” I asked, “And why can’t anyone hear us.”

“It’s a long story, boy, but don’t worry. Nobody can hear us or see me unless I want them to. It’s one of the perks, I believe you young-uns say.”

“Perks of what?” I was almost in shock. It was the strangest situation I had ever been in.

“Why, of being dead, of course. Here, sit and listen a spell.”

He reached out and seemed to touch my forehead with that piece of cedar he had been whittling on. I could hear his voice inside my head, as he began to speak again, and I found that I could finish my lunch during his soliloquy.

“Now, boy, you remember what I used to say about my false teeth? They hurt me quite a lot, and I used to say I didn’t have a hankering to actually go to Hell, but I reckon I’d like to get close enough to throw these damn teeth in.”

I noticed he was a toothless ghost.

“Well, sir. I had a bad pain in my chest one day, and passed out, and when I woke up, I was standing right in front of the gates of Hell. Lordy, it was hot and the smell of sulfur like to have choked me to death. This nasty looking little varmit was standing there. He reached out like he was going to grab me by the arm, and all at once the sky turned so bright I couldn’t see and I found myself standing at the Pearly Gates.

“Now this is more like it, I thought to myself, and I walked right up to the gate. I had figured out by this time what had happened to me, and I was looking forward to seeing Mama and the girls again. The gate was locked, but there was a little angel standing there with a clipboard. He looked me over and said, ‘Taylor, is it? I am afraid there has been a bit of an error and you were sent down below by mistake. Something about your teeth. But never mind about that, we have determined that you must return to Earth. You will go there as a spirit, and may enter the gate only when you have done a good deed to redeem yourself.’ And with that, I found myself right back here, on the porch of my house.”

“How does that explain how I can see you?”

“I’m a-gittin’ to that. The angel also told me I would have to get someone to help me in the physical world, someone I knew when I was alive. You are the only person that has been by here in fifty years that I recognize. Everybody else is as dead as I am.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Down by the creek yonder is a big sycamore tree. Can you see it?”

I turned and looked toward the creek. The deathly white limbs of the tree projected above the rest of the growth.

“Yes, I can see it from here.”

“Down at the base of that tree, between hit and the creek, they’s a rock. It’s big, but not so big a man can’t move it if he’s a mind to. Under that there rock is a Mason jar with some money I saved up after I sold that holler down yonder to Lamar Johnson, back in 1976. I was going to buy my youngest daughter a house for her wedding present, but I died before she found a husband, bless her heart.”

I once knew the daughter. She taught school for years, never married, died more than a decade ago.

“And what do you want me to do with the money, assuming I agree to dig it up?”

“Why, give it to my church, of course.”

He went back to his whittling like the matter was settled. My companion asked if I was ready to hit the road. He had heard nothing at all. When I looked back toward Rufe, there was nothing there but the laminate-topped table.

A few days later, I put a garden spade and a canvas shopping bag in the back of the car and drove back up to Greeneville. I parked at the side of Rufe Taylor Road, just around the curve from the Taco Bell. Grabbing the spade and bag, I stepped into the woods and walked the dozen yards to the edge of the creek. I followed the creek bank until I arrived at the sycamore tree. Sure enough, there was the rock. I struggled to move it, and finally found a stick that I could use to lever it up. It tumbled down the bank and landed in the creek with a splash. I paused, hoping the noise had not attracted anyone’s attention. All clear.

Digging down with the spade, I encountered something solid under about two inches of the rich, black soil. It was a pale blue Mason jar with a zinc cap. Inside was just over $1000 in gold coins. As collector’s items, they were worth at least ten times their face value. I shoved the jar in the shopping bag and headed back to the car.

When I got back to Knoxville, I found a coin dealer who would take the coins, handing me a check for $12,358.00. Not long after that, the Cross Anchor Cumberland Presbyterian Church received an anonymous donation in the same amount. As it happened, the church was needing a roof, and the tiny congregation was at a loss as to how they would come up with the money.

Next time I went to Greeneville, I stopped at the Taco Bell. I ordered some food, sat down at the table, and looked over toward where the beautiful old Taylor home once stood. Sure enough, there was Rufe sitting on the porch with his whittling. Mama was cooking out back, and his daughters were playing in the grass under one of the giant oak trees. He looked up at me and grinned. He had teeth as white as the sycamore tree’s branches. I grinned and waved, in so doing gathering an odd look from a couple of the customers.

And when I looked again, there was nothing there but the parking lot.

It's Berry Time in Tennessee

I drive by the patch nearly every day. Those wild berries will soon be ready, and I intend to pick some. One of the many pleasures of East Tennessee living is the summer's crop of blackberries. They usually are ready during the last week of June or the first week of July in the Valley, later in the mountains. Whenever you can get your hands on some, take advantage, as they make some of the best desserts you have ever tasted.

Blackberry Preserves

If your supply of blackberries is limited, you may want to consider making preserves, so you can keep that wild blackberry flavor until next year. (Note: wild blackberry preserves are so good, they may not last until next year, but theoretically they will.) Weigh the berries after you have washed and picked over them. Place them in a large saucepan or kettle. Add sugar. This can be anywhere from half the weight of the berries to equal weights of sugar and berries. You decide. Bring the mixture slowly to a boil over low heat, stirring now and then and bruising a few berries to release their juices. Watch carefully and regulate the heat so they don't scorch on the bottom. As soon as the mixture starts to bubble, remove it from the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate in the cooking container.

The following day, you should have berries swimming in their own clear, sugary syrup. Prepare canning jars, fill them with the berries and syrup, and process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Easy Blackberry Tart

Line a 9-inch tart pan with pie crust. Use your favorite recipe, or purchased crust. Fill the crust with pie weights or dry beans and bake at 450 degrees for 9 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix 2 cups of blackberries with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a large bowl. Turn this mixture into the prepared crust. Place the tart in the preheated oven and bake until bubbly. If the edges of the crust appear to be getting too brown, cover them with strips of aluminum foil.

If you prefer, use a sheet of puff pastry. Lay out the pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet. Fold in the edges all around to create a half inch border. Press this down gently with a fork. Add the blackberry mixture from the previous recipe. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are puffed up and browned. Photo of a finished tart at left.

Dust either tart with powdered sugar just before serving. Whipped cream or ice cream are perfect with them, too.



Pickled Blackberries

These are delicious as a garnish for roasted red meats. Find the recipe in Appalachian Cooking.

Perfect Picnic Fare: Trader Vic's Chicken Salad

This week's recipe is from my first cookbook, Seed to Supper. 

Trader Vic’s is a "tiki bar" type of restaurant that has been around for 80 years. This recipe came to me from a friend, who received it from a woman who claimed she refused to leave the restaurant until the chef yielded up the recipe. It is doubtful, therefore that this is the authentic dish, but who knows? Visit a Trader Vic’s location and decide for yourself. Like other mayonnaise-bound cold salads, this one travels well and is ideal for a picnic. Keep the toasted noodles and cilantro in separate containers, and use them to garnish the salad just before serving.

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast fillet, cooked and cubed, about ¾ cup

½ cup chopped scallions, white and green parts

½ cup diced water chestnuts

½ cup canned mandarin orange segments, drained

½ cup diced celery

½ cup mayonnaise (I only use Duke's)

¼ cup sour cream

1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

Packaged chow mein noodles

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine the chicken, scallions, water chestnuts, mandarin oranges, and celery in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, soy sauce and a few grinds of pepper. Stir to combine, then pour over the chicken mixture. Toss gently to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Scatter some chow mein noodles on a baking sheet and place them in a preheated 350°F oven for a few minutes to crisp. Watch carefully and do not let them become too brown.

Serve the salad in individual bowls, topped with some toasted noodles and garnished with chopped cilantro.

Succotash

I recently journeyed to UT Gardens with Stephanie Aldrich and crew from "Tennessee Life," a program about all things Tennessee from East Tennessee Public Television in Knoxville. As part of our segment on Appalachian Cooking, I had the pleasure of cooking up some of the vegetables grown by Holly Jones and the UT Kitchen Garden staff. Thanks to Holly and everyone at UT Gardens for allowing us to use their beautiful location.

Because I was unsure just what vegetables would be available on the day of our shoot, I chose a recipe that can be varied to suit whatever is in season, so long as you have an ear or two of fresh sweet corn. (I brought along corn from the grocery store.) The recipe I selected is one for succotash.

"Succotash" comes from a Narragansett word meaning "broken corn kernels," and indeed corn seems to be the only constant throughout the numerous recipes I looked at during my research on regional foods. Many folks associate lima beans with this dish, and most recipes call for the inclusion of some form of legume, but it is extremely unlikely that the Narragansett people would have grown lima beans. They grow in warm climates, like the Deep South.

The combination of beans and corn provides complete protein, with all the essential amino acids for a healthy diet. No wonder Native Americans often combined beans and corn. With the inclusion of yellow squash, the dish reflects the Native American practice of growing the "Three Sisters," corn, beans and squash, together in the garden. After the arrival of Europeans on this continent, new ingredients, such as onions, found their way into the dish. European herbs have mostly replaced the native ones in succotash recipes, but it is not hard to imagine Native Americans adding ramps, lambs quarters or some other greens. And down in the Delta, and probably elsewhere in the South, they add okra, which arrived on our shores with enslaved African people. Succotash is such a hearty vegetable dish, it is sometimes served enclosed in a crust, like a pot pie.

Succotash is, therefore, about as all-American a dish as you could imagine. Moreso even than apple pie--apples come from Khazakstan, originally.

Here is the recipe as it appears in Appalachian Cooking:

Succotash

Two servings:

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup chopped red onion

½ cup baby lima beans, frozen, thawed or fresh, blanched if fresh

½ cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen, thawed

½ cup diced summer squash

½ cup vegetable stock

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Warm the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook gently, stirring once or twice, for about 2 minutes, or until softened. Add the remaining vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.

Pour the vegetable stock into the skillet. Add the thyme, a pinch of the salt, and a few grinds of the black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm until you are ready to serve.

Serve warm.

The ingredients highlighted in yellow can be anything you like. I used scallions instead of red onions, fresh green beans instead of lima beans, and diced carrots instead of the summer squash. Just for fun, I also added a couple of sliced okra pods near the end of the cooking, to thicken the sauce.

How to Win the Chili Cook-off

Full disclosure: I have never entered a chili cook-off, much less won one. Nevertheless, I think I have come up with a pretty good rendition of chili with beans. I don't intend to share the complete recipe. I might, after all, want to enter a chili cook-off some time. But I would like to share some tips that I think can take any chili recipe from good to prize-worthy.

Use the best quality ground beef you can find. I prefer grass-fed beef from Strong Stock Farms here in Knoxville. It has more flavor and less fat than grocery store ground beef. It is available at Three Rivers Market, and probably some other locations.

Cook the ground beef in bacon drippings, and season it in the skillet with your favorite Mexican spice mix. (There's one in Appalachian Cooking.) Add the spice when the beef is about half cooked, and then toss and stir until the meat is no longer pink.

Cool the cooked beef to room temperature, then refrigerate it in an airtight container for at least 24 hours and up to three days before you finish the chili. The flavors need to meld for the beef to taste really awesome.

Make the beans from scratch using dried organic pinto beans. Soak them overnight, drain, and cook in enough water to cover them with 2-3 cloves of garlic and a bay leaf. Do not salt beans until they are fully cooked. Beans can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Use tomato sauce, preferably organic, rather than whole tomatoes or some other form.

Start the chili with a sofrito made by cooking chopped onions, Mexican spice mix, minced garlic and tomato sauce in bacon drippings until the onion is translucent. Add diced green chili peppers to the sofrito, if you wish. The sofrito can be made ahead of time. Cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

With these preparations completed, you can bring the chili together in just a few minutes. Heat the sofrito, add the meat, stir until warmed through, and then add the beans, liquid and all. Let it cook for a bit, check the seasoning, and serve.

Recipe: Key Lime Tart

Right up front, I want you to know this recipe has no relationship to the genuine Key Lime pie, except for the fruit juice itself. True Key Lime pie, according to my research, is always made with sweetened condensed milk. This tart is thickened with cornstarch, giving it a different color and appearance. I apologize for the lack of a photo, but we ate it already.

John's Key Lime Tart

Makes one 9-inch tart

Line a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom with your preferred pie crust. Cover the bottom with parchment, add pie weights or beans, and bake the shell at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until just beginning to brown on the edges. Remove the shell from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Place the following ingredients in a medium saucepan:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 ounces) water
1/2 cup key lime juice (from about a dozen fresh limes)
1 tablespoon finely minced lime zest (remove zest with a peeler before juicing the limes)

Stir with a wire whisk until the sugar is dissolved and you have a uniform slurry. Add two whole eggs and one egg yolk, one at a time, stirring to fully incorporate each one. Finally, stir in 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut in small pieces.

Set the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently and almost constantly near the end, for 15 minutes, or until the mixture becomes very thick. Remove from the heat. Stir a few moments to cool slightly, and pour the pudding into the prepared shell. Smooth the surface with a spatula.

Using strips of aluminum foil to protect the edges of the pastry from over-browning, place the tart on a sheet pan and set it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer the tart to a rack to cool completely to room temperature. Place the cooled tart in the refrigerator until time to serve.

Dust the tart with powdered sugar, if you like, before slicing and serving.

Recipe: Tropical Fruit Bread

Here we are in the Dead Zone for fresh fruit. The citrus season is largely over, except for lemons and limes, of course, and we won't be getting local strawberries for a while yet. Instead of settling for summer fruits shipped from faraway lands, or apples stored since last fall, turn your attention instead to products from the tropics. This recipe is a riff on traditional banana bread, with the fiber and nutrition amped up via coconut, pineapple, Brazil nuts, and key lime.

If you wish, substitute another fruit for the dried pineapple, or use fresh or canned pineapple. In the latter case, no rehydration is necessary.

Tropical Fruit Bread

Makes one loaf

1/4 cup Brazil nuts
1/4 cup dried diced pineapple
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh  key lime juice (about 3 limes)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Toast the Brazil nuts in a dry pan over high heat, transfer to a metal bowl to cool, and chop into dice.
Pour a little boiling water over the pineapple bits, allow to rehydrate for 10-15 minutes, then strain, reserving the liquid and pineapple separately.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, buttermilk, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut, Brazil nuts and pineapple. If the batter seems too stiff, add a little of the pineapple soaking water. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and key lime juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely before slicing.

This Ancient Land

At about the time Charlemagne was Holy Roman Emperor, the Woodland people of Camp Creek were experimenting with some new vegetables: squash and corn. This part of the Tennessee Valley, therefore, was literally the cradle of agriculture in our fair state. Prior to this time, evidence suggests that people cultivated several native plants, including sumpweed, lamb's quarters, and sunflowers. But the squash and corn, which originated far to the south of Tennessee, were acquired by trade.

The Woodland people also brought new technology to the region. Their distinctively decorated pottery, created by pressing the wet clay with a wooden paddle wound with twine, exhibits several different styles. Perhaps these indicated ownership. The Woodland people retained the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of their ancestors from the Archaic period, supplementing their diet of game, fish, crayfish, periwinkles and foraged plants with cultivated plants. The improvement in diet apparently led to an increase in the population, and a tendency to remain in one place over long periods.

Another technical innovation accredited to the Woodland people is the bow and arrow. An obvious improvement over spears for hunting, the bow made food-getting easier.

Mound-building also first appeared during the Woodland era. Pinson Mounds in West Tennessee is a good example, but there are others. Mound building, as well as the cultivation of corn, would reach its zenith with the successors to the Woodland culture, the Mississippians.

When I first laid eyes on the site of the Camp Creek settlement, it was a farmer's plowed field, littered with bits and pieces of the lives of the Woodland folk. Anything of archaeological value had already been removed by the researchers from UT a few years before. I only found one point that day, but I have a handful of similar ones from our farm, a dozen miles from the Camp Creek site. The Woodland people occupied the Tennessee Valley for about 2000 years. Their points are scattered all over Greene County.

These days, I often think about what life must have been like for the Camp Creek people. The forest surrounding them would have had trees far larger than anything most of us modern folks have ever seen. There were American chestnuts 12 feet in diameter; the tree is nearly extinct now. Tulip poplars towered 100 feet overhead, with no branches for half that distance. Only tiny scraps of that magnificent forest now remain.

When you head out this summer for the mountains, lakes and rivers around East Tennessee, take a moment to remember the people who walked the trails and fished the rivers a millennium ago.

The Warm Season Begins

by John Tullock
May brings reliably warm weather, so it is time to get those warm season veggies in the ground. I prefer buying started plants of tomatoes and peppers, because we need only a few. I plant beans and cucumbers from seed.

Other vegetables you can plant this month include eggplant, squashes, melons, okra, tomatillos, and sweet corn. Check the temperature of your garden soil with a thermometer. When it is above 60F, you can plant even the most demanding crops, like melons. If you don't have a thermometer, or are not sure, wait until after the middle of the month, by which time we are likely to have had a day or two in the 90s.

Eggplants, melons, and squashes need protection from insects. Despite all the remedies, organic and otherwise, that you may have read about, the best approach to preventing damage from flea beetles (eggplant) or squash borers (squash, melons) is to cover the plants with a fine, lightweight fabric. You can use frost blanket, sometimes known as Reemay, or nylon window shears. I find the latter work well supported over the plants by a tomato cage or similar contrivance. Remove the cover when blooms appear on the plants, and damage should be minimal. You can use the cover for multiple seasons. Covered plants may need extra water. Check the soil regularly to make sure.

This year, we are growing Sungold tomatoes for salads. This productive, orange cherry type has a unique flavor. For general use, we decided to try Better Bush, a determinate version of the famous hybrid Better Boy. We are hoping for traditional flavor on a compact, uniformly productive plant.

Our pepper selection this year is our old standby, Sweet Banana. They are hard to beat in the Valley, and can be used for salads, in Creole dishes, to stuff, or as pickles. A single plant is all we need, as it will bear peppers until frost if well cared-for.

We are growing Homemade Pickles cucumbers, for the obvious reason, and our bean selection continues to be Fantastic Filet. Three seeds every two or three weeks keeps us in beans all summer long, and they are among the most tender and delicious green beans available.

Have a vegetable gardening question? Email me.

Tusculum's Old Oak Festival

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of attending the Old Oak Festival at Tusculum College, located in tiny Tusculum, Tennessee. We met some new friends, connected with old ones, and generally had a splendid time.

Every time I read or hear someone talking about the backward hillbillies of the southern Appalachians, I want to point them toward Tusculum College. Founded before Tennessee became a state, it is the oldest college east of the mountains, and accepted women, free blacks and Native Americans from its inception. The founder, Samuel Doak, was a Presbyterian minister who gave the invocation as the heroes of the Battle of Kings Mountain departed upper East Tennessee to do battle with the British in South Carolina. His home, adjacent to the campus, is open to visitors, having been restored to its 18th Century stateliness.

Amid the centuries-old trees that give the festival its name, the oldest building still standing on campus was once the library. When it was constructed in 1841, one of the donors was Andrew Johnson, Greeneville's most famous native son. Today the building serves as a museum.

The festival celebrates local artists, craftspeople, and musicians, with continuous performances by local and regional talent, a food court, and vendors selling everything from T-shirts to hand crafted furniture.

Learn more here, and make plans to attend next April. Accommodations in the area include several major chains, along with the General Morgan Inn, a 5-star property on Greeneville's Main Street.

Before returning on Sunday, we enjoyed the hike to Marguerite Falls, along a trail lined with numerous wildflowers, including the showy display of halberd-leaf violets accompanying this post.

Gumbo

Now, I know perfectly well that gumbo is not a creation of Appalachian cooks. Indeed, the origins of this iconic dish of the Deep South are shrouded in mystery. The ingredients and techniques involved in making a good gumbo are derived from multiple traditions: okra came from Africa with enslaved people, andouille is clearly French in its origin, and the practice of substituting a mixture of onions, celery and bell peppers for the traditional European mirepoix, along with bold seasoning, comes from the Cajun people who settled in the Louisiana bayou country.

However much gumbo bears its regional imprint, its ingredients are readily available everywhere, and the technique for making it will be familiar to most cooks. If you cannot find fresh okra, frozen is just as good, and you need not even thaw it before adding it to the pot.

Good sides to go with gumbo are potato salad, three bean salad, and sweet corn in any form you like.

One Pot Chicken Gumbo
Don’t be put off by the long ingredients list. Everything you need should be available in any well-stocked grocery store. Some gumbo recipes call for thickening with a roux, which requires long cooking and some experience to get right. This recipe is foolproof, and relies on okra to thicken it. If you can’t find andouille, substitute any good smoked pork sausage. You can multiply the quantities and store the extra seasoning mix in an airtight container for use in other Louisiana-style dishes. (If you go that route, two tablespoons is the right amount for this dish.) The seasoning mix and the combination of onions, celery and bell peppers, create that distinctive Creole and Cajun flavor. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

1½ teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 ounces andouille sausage

¾ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped green bell pepper

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ pound okra, in half-inch pieces

1½ tablespoons minced garlic

4 cups chicken stock

½ cup drained and diced canned tomatoes

2 bay leaves

Cooked rice and sliced green onions, to serve

Hot sauce

Combine the paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, and black pepper in a small bowl.  Mix well and set aside. Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks. Sprinkle half the seasoning mix over it and allow to stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Chop the andouille into ¼” dice.  Combine the onion, celery and bell pepper in a small bowl.

In a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat until it ripples. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry until they are lightly browned.  Transfer the chicken to a plate. Reduce the heat and add the sausage.  Cook until browned.  With a metal spoon, remove any excess fat. Add half the chopped vegetables and half the remaining seasoning mix.  Cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the okra, the garlic and one cup of the chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring well. Adjust the heat and simmer until the stock is reduced by half. Add remaining chopped vegetables, the tomatoes, the remaining seasoning mix, bay leaves, remaining 3 cups of stock and the chicken, along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate.  Simmer 30 minutes.  Serve with rice, topped with chopped scallions. Pass hot sauce.

Meal Prepping Saves Time

If you are not prepping your ingredients for multiple meals at once, you are likely wasting a lot of time in the kitchen. Meal prepping once a week can save you hours, especially if your work week tends to be hectic. Many people prefer to prep on Sunday, but around here that is a day for a family outing or other activity, so I typically prep on Tuesday. The main reason for my choice of day is that the local supermarket offers double gas points, so making the major purchases for the week makes sense.

Because I prefer not to cook much on Sundays, that is the day I try to use up as many leftover items as possible from the refrigerator and freezer. This saves time that would otherwise be spent on the day's meal preparation, in addition to saving money by avoiding waste.

Here are some tips and safety guidelines for food preparation:

Raw vegetables, such as radishes, cauliflower, carrots, celery, onions, squash and sweet potatoes, will keep for a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Put a paper towel in the bottom of the container to absorb excess moisture.

Leafy greens and more perishable vegetables, such as broccoli, snow peas, and asparagus, keep best if they  are blanched for 1 to 3 minutes and then refreshed in ice water prior to refrigeration.

Peeled white potatoes will keep 24 hours in the refrigerator if submerged in cold water.

Fresh berries will keep better if a small amount of sugar is added to them before storage. One tablespoon is enough for a 6-ounce clamshell of blackberries. The berries will soften and release juice, but they won't mold. Store in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

You can roast multiple vegetables and proteins on one or two sheet pans and then store them separately in the refrigerator or freezer. To keep items separated, use inexpensive aluminum foil pans or just aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 350, prep your foods, and then place them on sheet pans, using one for vegetables and one for meats. Drizzle the food with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add any herbs or spices that you like. Pop the pans into the oven and bake until the food is done. Check regularly and use tongs to transfer food to appropriate storage containers as it is cooked.

Use an instant-read thermometer to insure food, especially poultry, is at the proper internal temperature. This is especially important for food that you plan to store for later in the week. Undercooked food may spoil.

Purchase ground beef in bulk when it is on sale. Weigh out portions and freeze them that day. Browning the beef, draining off the fat, and then freezing it is another way to save a huge amount of time when later you want to make tacos, spaghetti sauce, chili or Sloppy Joes. You can do the same thing with bulk sausage.

You can also batch cook rice or pasta ahead of time and store it in suitable portions.

Cooked food will keep for three days in the refrigerator. Otherwise, freeze it.

For safety's sake and to avoid damage to your appliance, cooked food should be cool before placing it in the refrigerator or freezer. You can speed up cooling with a small fan, placed to blow air away from the food. Liquid foods in pots or pans can be set in a sink and surrounded with cold water, or in a larger pot filled with ice. This is a good technique for beans, stocks, soup and stew. Stir the liquid every few minutes to speed cooling.

Keep a written inventory posted on your freezer door so you know what you have available for meals. Keep a copy on your phone, as well, so you will have it when at the grocery store.

Putting a little effort into planning and preparation a few hours a week can pay off with more time for you and your loved ones to enjoy life. And that's what it's all about, after all.

Spring Cleaning Your Pantry

You might think, given that I have written two cookbooks, that my kitchen is huge. Nothing could be further from the truth. My kitchen is only about 100 square feet, and much of that space is taken up by the sink, range, dishwasher, under-cabinet refrigerator, and main refrigerator. The main refrigerator is a compact unit that sits on the same footprint as a dishwasher, but it has plenty of room for our two-person household, including freezer space.

Cabinet space in my kitchen is, therefore, limited. Given that one needs a certain number of pots and pans and utensils, I find that the best place to conserve space is in my pantry cabinets above the counter. This is where I store the staple items that I use regularly, such as spices, flour, sugar, and snacks, such as nuts and dried fruit. Over the years, I have learned ways to maximize my storage space for these items. Here are some tips:

1. Purchase some inexpensive plastic storage containers and use them instead of the manufacturer's packaging for most dry staple items such as flour, pasta and rice. If you drop something, it won't break, and you will find that uniform containers make the most effective use of your cabinet shelves.

2. Groups items according to their intended uses. For example, one shelf is devoted to baking needs, another to spices and flavorings, and a third to dry staples.

3. Spring is a great time of year to re-organize your cabinets. Take everything out of one cabinet and place it on the kitchen counter. Wipe down the shelves and shelf liner, if you use one. Next, sort the items into categories that make sense for the way you cook. If you don't bake, you obviously don't need a separate shelf for those supplies.

4. If you can spare the room on your counter, set out those items that are nearing the end of their useful lifespan. Dried herbs, for example, keep a year at most. And you may have discovered a jar of hoisin sauce you bought on sale and forgot to use. Group those items where you will see them to facilitate using them up.

5. Instead of throwing away aging staples, set aside a day cook them and then freeze the prepared food in appropriate portions for your household. Most such dishes will keep about 6 months in the freezer.

Follow these simple tips to maximize your pantry space and get your kitchen ready for the spring and summer vegetable season!

Spring is Here! And So Is Appalachian Cooking

The vernal equinox has arrived at last, and although we have snow flurries in the local forecast, the evidence of spring is everywhere around us in pink, white and yellow.

Today is also the release date for Appalachian Cooking. For those who pre-ordered online, your book should ship today. The book is widely available, so please pick up a copy and start enjoying the simple and delicious cooking of the mountain South.

In the garden, you still have plenty of time to plant spring greens of all kinds, along with peas, cabbage family, onions, garlic, beets, carrots and turnips. If you grow members of the cabbage family, make sure to protect them from the white cabbage butterfly, or its larvae will ruin your crop.

It is too early yet for summer vegetables, although plants are appearing in the stores. Tomatoes, peppers or other warm season crops are likely just to sit there if you plant them now. The traditional time to plant is around Mother's Day, which is some weeks away yet. If you wait until the soil is fully warmed up, you will get a larger harvest and avoid disease problems that may occur with transplants that go out too early.

Review: Yoder's Country Market

Bulls Gap, Tennessee, is not a place that springs immediately to mind as a foodie destination, but perhaps it should be, based on our recent experiences with Yoder's Country Market and Deli. Located about a mile off Interstate 81, this combination grocery store, bakery and deli offers something for everyone.

Breads baked in house form the basis for sandwiches made any way you like. Diners fill out a ticket much like those in use as some sushi bars. You check off the meats, cheeses and condiments that you prefer, include your first name at the bottom, and wait to be called to the counter to pick up your sandwich. Generous portions mean you might have enough for two meals, depending upon your appetite. Grab some "home style" potato chips, also made in-house, to go with your sandwich, if you are really hungry. There is no alcohol and no tables. We ate in the car. The deli would be an ideal stop prior to a picnic in the mountains. Just bring a cooler and stock up.

Besides sandwiches, the deli serves up meats and cheeses by the pound, along with a variety of other products. In addition to bread, the bakery creates and ever-changing array of cookies, pies and cakes to tempt you off your diet.

Most of the floor space, however, is devoted to the grocery, which stocks a huge variety of bulk goods and items not often seen elsewhere. The emphasis here is on products from the Mennonite and Amish farms of Pennsylvania and the Midwest. If you are into baking, you can find everything from spelt flour to bulk yeast to dough conditioner on the shelves. The variety of jams, jellies, condiments and pickles is literally overwhelming. All the bulk items are pre-measured in reasonable quantities, but you can also purchase larger amounts if you need them.

One noteworthy feature of the inventory is the number of dehydrated and canned products that might be used to stock an emergency pantry. Soup mixes and dehydrated vegetables are also great for backpacking, and dried kiwi fruit seems like an excellent choice for an occasional snack.

Put all of this together with a friendly, courteous and professional staff, and you can see why we stop at Yoder's every time we are in the vicinity. All major credit cards are accepted. Check them out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yoderscountrymarketbullsgap/

Review: Pero's in Powell

Just off I-75 at the Powell exit, we have a new community asset: Pero's, a family-friendly restaurant that offers up nostalgia along with some fabulous food. Decades ago, Jerry and I were partners in a business that was located along Kingston Pike. Three or four blocks away was the original Pero's Steakhouse. While the steaks were good, it was the Greek salad and the pasticcio that kept us coming back.

I am happy to report that the new restaurant makes a killer pasticcio, not to mention ravioli. We have not yet had the Greek salad. In its former incarnation, it was a good choice for lunch. But the side salads, one tossed, one a Caesar, that we had last evening bode well for everything in that section of the menu.

Our food was delicious, service was prompt and professional, and we took home enough of the generous portions of pasta for another meal. At just over $50 for two including beverage, tax and tip, Pero's is a great value.

Did we mention the freshly baked dinner rolls that came with the entrée?

Look for additional reviews of the food in this space in the future. We are happy to have a new local place that we can return to often.

The Vegetable Garden Season Begins

Lettuce 'Buttercrunch'

March 1 is the unofficial start of the vegetable gardening season here in the Tennessee Valley. While those warm snaps in February probably caused many to put some peas in the ground, most of us don't really get motivated to garden until closer to the Equinox.

Cool season vegetables that should be planted now include: arugula, beets, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, peas, spinach and radishes. You will find cabbage and lettuce transplants in local garden centers. The others should be sown directly in the garden. (Lettuce can also be sown directly in the ground, but using transplants gives you an earlier harvest.) Peas will need a trellis to climb. They and the cabbage will be the last of these to harvest, so place them near the rear of the garden bed, with the faster maturing plants nearer to the path. Arugula and radishes will both be ready within a month from the time the first seedlings emerge. Beets, carrots and spinach take about six weeks.

You can also sow seeds of cilantro now. Scatter them where you want the plants to grow, and they will sprout when the time is right. Transplant parsley to the garden now, but hold off on sowing seeds until the soil is a little warmer.

Sow spinach thickly and be prepared to thin the seedlings. Germination is spotty, especially when the soil is cold. Add the culled seedlings to salads.

Lettuce, arugula and radishes are great choices for growing in containers, if you prefer. Look online for Atlas, Thumbelina and Little Finger carrots, which will also grow well in containers. Growing carrots in our clay soils is often problematic.

Keep cabbage, kale, and broccoli covered to avoid the larvae of the cabbage butterfly. The insects can ravage a crop in short order. Your only other option is regular dusting with Dipel powder, a product containing bacteria that are harmful to the cabbage butterfly larvae but not to pets or people.

Thinking ahead to summer, plan on following the peas with cucumbers. The timing should be perfect and they can both use the same trellis. When the peas start to fade, plant the cucumbers and allow them to grow over the old pea vines. If you planted lettuce at the garden's edge, bush beans are a great follow-up plant.

Time to get out there and get dirty!

Homemade Corned Beef

Do you make the traditional corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day? If so, start now if you'd like to have the best corned beef you have ever tasted. It should be ready just in time for the "wearin' o' the green." And if you haven't an Irish bone in your body, you can still enjoy some damn fine comfort food.

"Corning" is merely a salt curing process. The name originated in the British Isles, where the coarse salt used resembled barley "corn." Added spices helped prevent spoilage as well as contributing flavor.

To corn beef at home, you need only to remember this simple ratio: one ounce of kosher salt for each pound of beef. Place the beef in a large zip-closure bag and sprinkle it with the salt and your preferred spice mixture. Close the bag, and place it in the refrigerator.

Each day, turn the beef, and massage it through the bag, pressing the spices into the meat. After a couple of days, the bag will accumulate a small amount of liquid. This indicates the cure has begun. For the first week, turn and massage the bag every day. Thereafter, continue to do so occasionally. After two to three weeks, the beef will be ready to use, or you can leave it in the bag in the refrigerator for up to six months. You can also cut off a portion of the cured beef and return the remainder to the bag.

The best cuts for corning are the ones comprised of a single muscle, with very little fat and no connective tissue. While brisket is the traditional cut used, chuck eye, top round, and eye of round roasts make delicious corned beef.

You can purchase a commercial pickling spice mix, or make your own. For two pounds of meat, I suggest a teaspoon each of yellow and brown mustard seeds, a half teaspoon of black peppercorns, a half teaspoon of whole allspice, and two bay leaves, crumbled. Crack the peppercorns and allspice in a mortar, or place them in a plastic bag and crush with a heavy skillet. Mix them with the other spices and the salt before sprinkling on the beef.

When you are ready to cook the beef, remove it from the cure and rinse it well. Cover with water, using a quart per pound of meat, and add half a medium onion, chopped, per pound of beef. Bring to a boil, adjust the heat, and simmer gently for two hours or until the meat is meltingly tender. Add vegetables to the pot for the last half hour of cooking.

Whatever Happened To Kumquats?

During holiday seasons past, kumquats were as much a feature of the fruit bowl as oranges and tangerines. These days, they seem to have disappeared from the market. That is a shame, because the small, oval fruits are delicious prepared in a variety of ways, and they are in season from November to March.

Several varieties of kumquats are produced in Florida and other areas favorable to citrus fruit production. The skin is sweet and fragrant, and you can eat the entire fruit. Although they vary in texture and sweetness, all varieties of kumquats can be put to use via the same techniques. Poaching them in sugar syrup to serve as a dessert topping is perhaps the simplest approach. You can vary the sweetness of the syrup as you like. Anything from one part sugar to two parts water (a light syrup) to equal parts sugar and water, should be fine. Wash the kumquats, slice or quarter them, and simmer them in the syrup for 10 minutes or until they are tender.

Longer simmering over low heat until almost all of the water evaporates will produce candied kumquats. Stored in the refrigerator, they will keep for weeks and can decorate all sorts of sweet goodies. Watch carefully to prevent burning, and take them off the heat as soon as they appear translucent. Remove the fruit from the pan and place it on wax paper to cool before storing.

Kumquats can be included in fruit salads, or sliced and used in a salad of mixed greens, vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Now if I could only find a basket or two...