I lived in Pittsburgh as a child and one of the things we looked forward to this time of year was Mama’s corn. Once summer arrived, a little farm stand called Mama’s sat at the top of the hill near my grandparents’ house. From the second it opened every season, it overflowed with the sweetest corn you could sink your teeth into. As soon as the public swimming pools and Dairy Queens opened their doors Memorial Day weekend, the next question on our lips was, “Is Mama’s open yet?”
Well, we’ve made it to post #13 and I am guessing that by now you are thinking, “OK, Michelle, where are all of the vegetable recipes on My Veg Table?” Thus far, I’ve introduced many of my favorite recipes to you and most of them haven’t had a speck of a vegetable in them. Fear not, the wait is over! Now I get to share one of my favorite veg recipes that receives the most skeptical looks: Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Red Grapes with Walnuts. That’s right; the grapes are roasted in the oven alongside those tiny cabbages. Did you just raise your eyebrows, too? Trust me on this: if I can take a table full of the pickiest people I know and get them to not only taste this, but also agree that it’s good, well, I think that I just might convert a few of you as well.
Today, my son says, “I don’t like corn anymore”. To which I respond, “Everett, you just had corn the other day”. His facial expression tells me that that is irrelevant. Lately, we seem to be in an aversion cycle that changes almost daily: yesterday tomatoes and today corn—who knows what will be on the list tomorrow! Today’s Tidbit is all about the loophole I have discovered to get around his newfound dislike of corn–Hominy! As my husband always jokes, “How many?”
In my first post, I told you about my favorite go-to dish: lemon spaghetti. What better to go along with my pasta–or anything else for that matter–but a piece of homemade garlic bread. So, for today’s Tidbit, we are talking from-scratch garlic bread that you can easily make yourself. In fact, after you have prepped all of your ingredients, you can have it ready in 10 minutes or less–including toasting time! Don’t bother with the frozen stuff; in the time it would take you to bake a piece of frozen bread, you could already be eating your own fresh homemade version!
Tra-di-tion….TRADITION! When pondering the concept of tradition, the first thing that pops into my head is the opening number from Fiddler on the Roof…and now it’s stuck in my head for the rest of the day. But, on a more serious note, tradition is a big part of most families and family gatherings. Ask around and almost everyone will have a story to share about a noteworthy meal made by a special family member that evokes some kind of emotion and/or warm memories.
