Southern Hospitality

That's right, people. We may not have a festive parade, insanely drunk citizens, shiny beads, or a hurricane warning every other week but we do have...

Coconut Cake and Okra Gumbo. Oh. Yea. Baby. Y'all are gonna be real happy after this here meal.

Chop me up

A quick an easy way to dice onions, so you don't have to spend the evening assuring everyone that you weren't crying over lingering memories of Old Yeller.

Cut the onion in half from root to bud. You will want each half to have "ends". Peel off the crispy outer layer.

It's a chick pea party

I know it will be hard, but try not to be too jealous of this awesome meal I just consumed. I can feel your efforts straining across the world wide web, and I pity you.

I felt inspired by a friend's description of his Tuscan dinner as the best dinner this year, so I decided to grab that metaphorical bull by his gnarly horns and craft my own. It almost proved impossible as my cupboards are fairly dismal, but being resourceful and so fabulous, I made the most of what I had. The result?

The Odd But Delicious Creamy, Lemony, Chick Pea, Spinach, and Arugula over Garlic Polenta. That is the full title.

Finally! Lemon-Lavender Cheesecake

After weeks of agonizing over creating the perfect recipe, possible flavor combinations, and taking hits on the old self-esteem, I have found IT. Or at least, my IT.

("It" comes with a bottle of Calcium supplements... didn't you know?)

A week or so ago I found a suitable Lavender Cheesecake recipe that yielded a tasty non-baked concoction. The only baked cheesecakes I consistently like are my mother's and Trader Joe's. I infinitely prefer "mousse" varieties since they are less dense, easier to prepare (baking those darn things creates more stress then the stock market floor), and taste like magic. The above recipe had a good lavender flavor a day after it was thrown into the fridge, but it was not very firm and lacked shape. Since good ole' Paula Deen makes a killer Key Lime cheesecake that holds up extremely well, I decided to follow in the footsteps of our automobile makers and create a hybrid.