A modern Appalachian woman's kitchen adventures
Salmon Patties are one of my very favorite Appalachian foods. Fresh salmon wasn’t something that was available in grocery stores in the area that I grew up and I don’t think I’m alone when I say my first experience with salmon was the canned variety. I always loved when my mom would fix Salmon Patties,…
I love fall! And while I don’t go pumpkin crazy each year, I do enjoy some pumpkin treats here and there once October comes. This recipe is an adaption of one that I found in Men’s Health a few years ago. I’ll be honest, pancakes aren’t my favorite breakfast item. I usually find them too…
The origin of this recipe is one of the oldest and most well worn in my collection. I found it in a magazine in the early 90s. It was in an ad for Miracle Whip Salad Dressing and was called Chinese Chicken Salad. It was probably the recipe that introduced soy sauce to my household.…
This cake doesn’t photograph well. Bless its heart, I can relate. I didn’t even try to do a step by step photo spread because it didn’t seem necessary. And I didn’t think that either the chocolate batter or chocolate frosting would show up well. This one of the recipes that I swiped from my mom’s…
I’ve written before about my great love of fresh peas and how hard it is to find them here. You can imagine my excitement then when I found fresh “picked this morning” salad peas at the campus farmers market on its opening day. So what exactly is a salad pea? Good question. In my growing…
Although the calendar says that Summer is still about a month away, here in Kentucky, it feels like it’s well under way. Due to an unseasonably mild winter, schools are finishing up for the year. My Facebook feed is full of graduations, awards days, and proms. Summer is a wonderful time to be a foodie…
Back before she got so orange and loud and over-the-top with the butter thing, I really loved Paula Deen. The early episodes of Paula’s Home Cooking on Food Network featured some really good, down home cooking. Like many of Food Network’s cooks, she wasn’t a trained chef which made her very relatable to people watching…
As you may have noticed if you’re a regular around here, I am very fond of pie. It’s not as mainstream, it seems, as cake or as trendy as cupcakes but to me, pie is the quintessential Appalachian dessert. My mom makes delicious made-from-scratch cream pies like chocolate and coconut. She doesn’t have a recipe…
Pea Salad is one of those great side salads that you often see on salad bars in these parts. (The really good salad bars, you know, that have like a dozen varieties of creamy, fatty salads.) I’ve always been a fan but then I’m also a fan of peas. And salad. So pea salad is…
This is one of my favorite recipes and one of the most popular dishes that I’ve ever served. For years these apple dumplings were a tradition at our homecoming gatherings. People always ask for the recipe and are shocked when I tell them the ingredients include…Mountain Dew! Believe it or not, the soda and butter…