YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING !

I read in a magazine article recently about a DIET FORK. Now I've heard of just about everything ! The creator claims that by using the fork and eating smaller bites, you'll chew more slowly and feel full before you overeat. Pass that by me again ? He must've been up all night thinking of that one. He's selling them in a package of 10 for $9.00.

My idea is illustrated in the photo above : Smaller plate, smaller portions, BIG FORK . The exercise you'll get in just lifting it will help you lose weight. I wonder if I should start a new business . I've got an idea : Chopsticks !

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL !

Hoppin' John
A Southern New Year's Tradition

Duk Mandu ( Dumpling Soup with Rice cake )
Traditional Korean New Year's Dish

I celebrate two cultures that require special dishes be made for bringing good luck in the New Year. I will be making the traditional Southern dish, Hopping John with Greens, and Duk Mandu, the Korean dumpling dish with rice cakes.

If you'd like to try the Hoppin' John visit recipes.howstuffworks.com/hoppin-john-supper.com.

For the Korean dumpling soup visit www.recipezaar.com/142562


HAPPY NEW YEAR !

A CHRISTMAS MEMORY

Truman Capote's A CHRISTMAS MEMORY is one of my favorite stories. He grew up in Alabama and was taken in by his cousin who, although poor, always scraped enough money together to make 30 fruitcakes which she would send to deserving folks, among them the Roosevelts in the White House.

Our christmases as a child were about simple pleasures -gathering holly and pine boughs from the woods, making a sock doll for my younger sister, carving birds out of wood scraps, making christmas tree ornaments and going to church for the Christmas pageant about the birth of the christ child.

One of my favorite childhood Christmas memories was of my sister Wilma creating the Lane Cake she baked each year. The three or four layers were composed of buttercream frosting, egg yolks, sugar, raisins, pecans, fresh coconut and bourbon. The smells that filled our little house were wonderful and we could hardly wait for Christmas day to sink our teeth into that heavenly creation.

It seems that a Mrs. Lane of Alabama wrote a cookbook around the beginning of the 20th century called Some Good Things to Eat and the cake recipe which won the state fair's first prize became known as Lane Cake. McCall Magazine featured it in an issue and declared that it was one thing you had to taste before you died. It's probably 2,000 calories a slice ! It became an integral part of Southern culture and was mentioned in To Kill A Mockingbird.




FOOD AND WINE Magazine ran a recipe in its February 2007 issue. At the end of the recipe they correctly stated : " Bourbon is key to the filling and a good glass of bourbon is also key. " Just be sure to drink the bourbon after the cake is done or both you and the cake will be soaked.

MAKING THE DOUGH

My first Parmesan-Herb Bread dough

Another passion of mine, besides gardening and painting, is cooking. I always used to pick up an artisan loaf of olive rosemary bread at the bakery. I just love it and it got me to thinking I can do that ! So I did and it turned out pretty good. Onward and upward with the dough !

So what's cooking in the Sweet Home and Garden kitchen ? Parmesan-Herb bread kneaded personally by moi for 15 minutes ( my biceps are getting a workout ! ) . The aroma of herbs filled the whole house and it smelled wonderful.

To go with the Parmesan-Herb bread I made navy bean soup with a big old hambone from a Smithfield Country Smoked ham I was finishing up.

That' s a huge hunka' hambone in the bean soup

The bread turned out yummy ( the missing piece is what I ate ! ) :

Dinner's ready, y'all ! Anybody hungry ?

SLOW FOOD IN A FAST CITY

Alice Waters, often called " The Mother of American Cooking " was in Chicago to promote her new book THE ART OF SIMPLE FOOD, a subject I know a lot about since I grew up doing what the book advocates : Eat seasonally, eat local and sustainable, shop farmers markets, conserve, compost and recycle, cook simply; cook together, eat together and remember that food is precious. She's also the Vice President of Slow Food International which was started in Italy in 1986. Apparently the Italians, like the French, enjoy cooking and eating fresh, local produce instead of fast food. The slow food movement is catching on in major cities in the U.S. There's a Slow Food Chicago organization that lists restaurants that feature dishes from local sources.

Alice met with Hiz Honor Da Mayor, Richard M. Daley, and she pitched her innovative model public education program , an Edible Schoolyard ,which has students involved in all areas of food production from growing to eating. What better way to teach our youth ? Our Mayor has done a lot to green up Chicago and is always interested in gardening. He can't help it, he's a Taurus like myself. Salt of the Earth.

Alice promised the Mayor that she would be back to help put the Edible Schoolyard program in place. How exciting for Chicago !

Besides talking slow, eating slow is one thing we know about in the South. I remember one summer when my cousins from Detroit came for a visit. They were fascinated when I asked them to come with me to the garden to pick vegetables for dinner ( Southern for lunch ) . A simple meal of fried okra, freshly sliced tomatoes and cucumber salad, sweet corn on the cob , cornbread and blackeyed peas to go with the fresh chicken sacrificed in honor of their visit was an experience they talked about for years.

I am so spoiled now living in a time when almost everything that used to be seasonal is at our fingertips year round. I mean, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers in the winter ? These were always early summer fare to us and I still find it hard to enjoy a salad in the winter. Winter always meant stews , soups and comfort foods to keep us warm and toasty.

I like the title of the first half of the book - " Starting from Scratch ". That's how I like to start. And it concludes with " Recipes for Cooking Everyday. " Simple, honest and tasty.

THE BEST THERE IS

You haven't lived until you've tasted Fried Green Tomatoes !

I don't wait for my tomatoes to get ripe, just big. That's about the time I get a craving for my favorite fried green tomato dish.

This is the recipe I use, straight from Sipsey Peavey, Whistle Stop Cafe, Whistle Stop, Alabama which was made famous by Fannie Flagg's FRIED GREEN TOMATOES :

3 tbs. bacon grease

4 tomatoes-green, firm, sliced ( thick )

2 eggs, beaten
flour
salt
pepper

Heat bacon grease in a heavy frying pan ( cast iron is best ) . Dip tomato slices in egg and then in bread crumbs or cornmeal. Slowly fry until golden brown on both sides. Place tomatoes on plate. Stir in one tablespoon flour for every tablespoon grease in pan , blend well and add one cup warm milk. Stir constantly. Pour over fried green tomatoes. Add salt and pepper until you like it. The best there is !

For those of you watching your cholesterol, you can substitute olive oil but it won't taste as good. I once saw Dolly Parton on the Johnnie Carson show talking about how she loved bacon grease and would have her cook make a batch of bacon. She picked the bacon out of the grease and poured the grease in a bowl and proceeded to dip her biscuit in it. The cook almost died of
shock ! You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl.

T.G.I.F. y'all !