12 Days of Christmas Jar Gifts – Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub
Tara on Dec 6th 2012
Here’s another easy and thrifty gift that looks so fancy in a Ball jar with some burlap and tulle ribbon that costs less than $2 to make if you already have jars. I whipped this up before dinner and used some on my hands. They are still so soft and moisturized and I’ve had my [...]
12 Days of Christmas in Jar – Home Made Vanilla Extract
Tara on Dec 4th 2012
Do you like the taste of real vanilla extract but hate to pay the price? Unless you have a relative headed to Mexico or Central America who can bring you back some foreign vanilla, you would probably pay over $20 US dollars for a pint of vanilla extract. OR you could pick up a cheap [...]
Freezing Peaches – Peach Cubes
Tara on Sep 13th 2012
This summer I’ve been busy like most working moms. We’ve painted and camped and cleaned and baked and preserved. I ran out of time to do as much preserving as I would like to have. I had 2 bushels of peaches that sat on my counter for a few days, just mocking me as I [...]
Tara’s Tennessee Sweet N Sassy BBQ Sauce
Tara on Apr 28th 2012
Every southern gal needs a tasty BBQ sauce recipe and I created this one last weekend upon the request of a friend. (Hi Brenda!) Why buy the mass produced, store bought sauce loaded with chemicals, when you can toss a few spices and other ingredients together in a sauce pan, heat the ingredients a couple of minutes, and [...]
How to Use and Care for Your Cast Iron Cookware
Tara on Jan 31st 2012
I love my cast iron cookware. I have 4 skillets ranging in diameter from 4″ to 14″ I like to use the largest on to bake casseroles, dressing, or deep dish pizza. Cast iron cookware is a must for cooking cornbread. I love to bake biscuits on my 10″ baker which was handed down to [...]
Would You Like Some Fungicide With That OJ?
Tara on Jan 31st 2012
As if we don’t have enough to worry about what we are putting in and on our bodies, we now hear that some imported OJ concentrates are being rejected at ports after Coca Cola alerted the FDA that the company found that some imported OJ concentrates it tested contained a fungicide that was banned here [...]
Why I avoid MSG
Tara on Jan 31st 2012
What is MSG? It is an acronym for mono-sodium glutamate and chemical touted as a poison by many health practitioners around the country. I really do not need anyone to tell me how unhealthy it is. All I have to do is eat something that contains MSG and my heart begins to pound or skip [...]
Better Butter
Tara on Jan 30th 2012
I am convinced that organic foods are more nutritious, better tasting, and healthier for us than conventional foods. Organic fruits and vegetables are pretty comparable in price these days to their mass produced relatives. However, they far surpass conventionally grown foods in taste and nutrition.
I always buy organic milk, organic orange juice, and organic butter [...]
More Southern Cookbook Favorites
Tara on Jan 15th 2012
Yesterday I posted about 4 of my top cookbook picks. Today I want to mention a few more favorites.
My fabulous cooking friend Karen was able to compile a family cookbook. Her in-laws, the Eatherlys, are known in this community for being some of the finest southern cooks around. I was thrilled when Karen finished her [...]
My GO TO Cookbooks for Southern Cooking
Tara on Jan 14th 2012
Thinking back, I do not recall my mother owning a single cookbook when I was very young. Her treasures were scrawled on oddly shaped bits of paper. Her muffin recipe was scratched on a note size orange paper with a smiley face. Sometimes a recipe was simply torn out of the newspaper. Some recipes were [...]
