There probably isn't anything more southern than sweet tea. In high school, I worked at a restaurant that literally made large garbage can sized batches daily. The servers would swing into the kitchen and dunk a pitcher to keep the endless refills flowing! One of the culture shocks I experienced when moving away from the south was the lack of sweet tea elsewhere. Sure, you can order an iced tea and doctor it up with a packet of sweetener, but it just isn't quite the same. If you come to visit me, you can pretty much bet on being offered a glass of sweet tea (or honey lemonade).

Greens are a southern staple. Collard, turnip, and mustard greens can be found on menus everywhere, and gardens in the south are bursting with them. Once on your plate, the greens can be doused with a splash of "pepper sauce," which is just hot peppers soaked in vinegar.

 In northeast Ohio, the growing season is much shorter than what I am used to from the south. However, this year has been unseasonably warm and my garden tomatoes have been chugging along. While this extended warm weather has been beautiful, I have to face the music and accept that the cold weather will be coming on soon. After taking a look at the forecast for the week, I knew I had to do something with the last of my green tomatoes. 

Butternut squash is my favorite winter squash. It is so versatile and fun to experiment with. While I like adding them to dishes such as enchiladas, a good butternut squash soup is a lovely comfort food when the weather turns and brings a nippy fall chill to the air. 

Potatoes are above all my favorite food item. I am sure I am not alone in this feeling, either! They are such a stable side item and can be fancied up or just delicious with salt and pepper.

We may be at the very tail end of sweet corn season here in Ohio, but fresh corn is still plentiful at the farmers markets. If you grew it this summer, you may have a freezer full of it by now! Corn chowder is a simple dish that you can make with fresh or frozen corn, and is so delightfully flavorful.

During a recent Saturday sofa movie night, I stumbled across the film Chef. It was written, directed by, and starring Jon Favreau. It came out a few years ago, but I somehow managed to miss it until now. They cooked up so many delicious looking Cuban sandwiches in the film that of course I had to make them myself the next day. 

Tomato season is finally here in Ohio! All of my tomato plants have been loading themselves up with fruit and taunting me as they slowly take their time to ripen.

Peach season always takes me back to fond memories of my grandmother, a favorite of which being when we went peach picking! My grandmother never got her driver's license, but her friend would drive over in her bouncy old pick-up truck and the three of us would pile in and head out to the orchards. I would just about eat myself sick on peaches while picking... it was glorious.