Between Thanksgiving through to the new year over 144 holidays are celebrated around the world. As the earth settles into rest, and the natural world slows down, cultures everywhere give thanks to harvest, family, health, and spirit. I am blessed to have a circle of friends that broadens my celebrations outside of my own family traditions….
Category: food stories
Country Ham Scones with Pecan Cane Syrup Butter
Nothing pleases me more as a chef then to immerse myself into culinary culture. I created these scones to highlight cane syrup, one of the souths favorite but also forgotten sweet condiment. These are aggressively southern, utilizing staple ingredients that would be easily found in any southern farm kitchen. Smoky, salty country ham meets sweet…
Food Writing: Hawthorne Creek Creamery
On the back end of Covid I took a trip out to a local creamery where Kevin and Shelby Lussier and their crew have been steadily producing cheese. And they come by it honestly, the family dairy farm sits right around the corner. I wrote an article for a beautiful local publication, Edible, that tells…
The Forgotten Coast and Pickled Squash
Every year the matriarchs of the Gunter family would travel to The Forgotten Coast; a place in Florida far from where the tourists loaded with sunscreen, neck hanging cameras, and mouse ears go. The place Floridians know as “real Florida”. Located in the panhandle, it was a central place between the all the Gunter sisters…
Greek braised chickpeas
In a town 30 minutes northwest of Tampa lies Tarpon Springs, a lively coastal town tucked away in Tampa Bay. Its waterways made it a landing place for sponge harvesting and shrimping. Up until the late 1800’s sponging was being done on boats with long poles stabbing blindly and pulling them up to the surface….
Appalachian Sour Corn
What is sour corn? Sour corn is a classic Appalachian secret ingredient. This condiment, the sassy and sweet southern sister to Sauerkraut, has a long history in the Appalachian mountains who have a very rich multi-threaded historical culture that lends itself to many varieties of recipes originating in this area. If you like sauerkraut, it’s…
The Southern Caper: Nasturtium Seeds
I love capers. The little salty and tangy liquid filled bobbles that burst when bit into. Perfect for balancing a cream sauce or used as a briney addition to a martini, When I discovered nasturtiums I immediately fell in love with its peppery sweet nectar flowers. The seeds are hard to find sometimes on nasturtiums,…
Pickled Beets
When it is beet season many local farmers will have bulk flash sales. I usually will pick up beets carrots and cabbage around the same time and do a big run of pickling, canning and fermenting. Pickled beets remind me of my mothers plate at dinner time. There is reason I still have this underlying…
Gifting Soup
I love to gift soup. It’s like a little hug in jar when you get it. Maybe that’s because whenever I’m sick my mom will drop off some homemade chicken soup. But it’s always the perfect gesture of love and exactly what I need. Wintertime is when I try to use up what’s in the…
Sopa de Fuba using Georgia Southern Collards
It’s about to get real Collard-y on this site. I can’t help it when I have access to an Heirloom Collard Variety Trial in my backyard. Projects like this are a chefs dream but also an unsettling reminder that our food system is whack and void of variety and flavor. My immediate inclination around something…
The “Desperate” Buttermilk Pie
Buttermilk pie is a staple across the tables of the south and has never too far from a holiday table. But it along with other desperation pies like vinegar, custard, or sugar pie seem to be catching popularity outside of the south as curious foodies are enamored by chefs reclaiming their humble heritage in kitchens…
Black Farms, Food Systems Disruptions, and COVID-19
When COVID hit it became glaringly obvious the food system was broken. We knew to some degree it wasn’t working, but it took the gears screeching to a stop in our economy. Overnight, milk was being dumped, produce was being left to rot, animals being killed because there wasn’t room to keep them. It wasn’t…
Honey Roasted Fall Squash with Harissa Studded Ricotta
One thing I am really humbled about is getting to play with food. The byproduct if you will of saving seed is food to eat. Not so ironic why it’s so important to do this kind of work. But it gets really cool when farmers and gardeners become breeders and start designing food. Often times…
Pápalo Is the herb for Cilantro Haters
“Papalo? never heard of it.” was my immediate response. But the second I smelled its pungent aroma I knew I needed to know more. As a person who thinks cilantro tastes like soap, I can’t help but think of how often I miss the experience of the brightness cilantro brings to dishes. And while I…
The Queen Of Creole-Rest in Power
As my social media sites fill up with pictures of The Queen of Creole, Mrs. Leah Chase, I am proud and equally saddened. What she did for creole cuisine and her community will forever be carried on by chefs, mentees, and activists to come. Her incredible long, fulfilling, exceptional life is one rarely seen in…
Breakfast is ready
Open faced breakfast sandwich Griddle crisped sourdough bread rubbed with garlic Locally made goat cheese Farm raised over medium egg Garden fresh tomatoes and basil Served with fresh pressed Florida Sunrise Juice Blood Orange Lemon Ginger Apples
THE FOOD STORIES PROJECT 