I am always a little startled and disappointed by people who only blog for money. Blogs that exist only to push products tick me off. There's no heart in those blogs.
My blog exists so I can practice writing every day, and folks who read it are generally interested in my life, or entertained, or they just stumbled into the blog from a Google search.
People search Google for things like "best pound cake recipes" and "cultural differences between Russia and America" [a tongue-in-cheek title of a blog I wrote a few years ago].
I decided to write this blog because I thought hey, there are certain products we really like in my house, and why not endorse them?! Why not tell folks these are good products?
I am and always will be a capitalist, and I feel that capitalism is the best way to run a country.
I also believe in the United States Constitution, and the right to free speech. If you don't agree, you are probably a resident of a communist country on vacation, in a place where the internet isn't censored. Welcome to the free world comrade.
DISCLAIMER: Nobody from Mayfield or Bush's Beans knows who I am or cares, and they aren't fixing to send me a check. So my endorsements are REAL. I really do like these products.
I will also give recipes or cooking tips when I think of them.
Most or all of these products are made in the south and that's yet another reason to endorse them.
Duke's mayonnaise is all we use in our house. When we lived in Knoxville we couldn't get it and we used Hellman's, but moving back to Georgia meant re-discovering the glory of Duke's mayonnaise. It's really better than any other kind. I don't really like mayonnaise, never use it on sandwiches, only for cooking, and I still prefer Duke's.
Recipe: Take your favorite type of fish and poach it in a mixture of water, white wine, and a little dill. Mix in a bowl some mayo, fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice, and a good sprinkle of dill weed. Use this as a tartar sauce for the fish. Very yummy.
Mayfield ice cream is the best. Some of my favorite childhood memories involve getting peanut butter milkshakes at the Mayfield dairy store in Knoxville. Moving to Knoxville in 1971, we discovered the joy of Mayfield products. Their cottage cheese and french onion dip are also wonderful.
Recipe: Serve guests cookies and cream ice cream with a drizzle of Creme de Menthe over it. Looks elegant and tastes divine. And you don't have to cook dessert.
Margaret Holmes vegetables: I grew up thinking everyone ate white acre peas 3-4 times a week. We called them "lady peas." I don't know why. [We also called Leseur green peas "baseball peas."] Heat these up and throw in some salt and pepper and butter, and they are YUMMY.
Land O Lakes butter: This is not a southern company but we still love their products. We only use real butter. My dad had high cholesterol and I grew up thinking all dairy products were awful - margarine and skim milk, ugh. Once I discovered real butter, there was no going back.
We also use a lot of canola oil and olive oil in cooking, so our "good" cholesterol numbers are always great. Dad tried to eat low fat diets for years and his cholesterol was always horrible, so he had to take medication. Mom and I have never had high cholesterol.
Bush's beans: We've been only eating Bush's baked beans for years. They are simply wonderful. We lived near the factory in Tennessee and would go over there and get deeply discounted beans where the can had a little dent or something. They were always fine.
There's also a family connection, of sorts. A lady who worked for my dad years ago is the stepmother of the wife of Jay Bush. Mom and Dad went to Jay's wedding years ago. Jay actually had hair then.
Sunbird seasonings: Seasoning packets ROCK. Sunbird's fried rice seasoning packets are always at my house. Michael is a somewhat picky eater during the day but he will always eat fried rice.
Take a cup of cold rice, and heat up some canola oil. Add the Sunbird fried rice seasoning and soy sauce to taste. Chop up a green onion if you like that. Once the rice is hot, break an egg and stir it in. You can also add chopped chicken or shrimp and some chopped broccoli for a one dish meal.
McCormick's seasonings: McCormick is a Maryland company, so technically southern I guess. Ever since I can remember, Mom has had round plastic turntables packed with McCormick seasonings. She has the best stocked seasoning cabinet ever. Most folks just use salt and pepper, but we use a TON of seasonings. Onion powder, garlic powder, herbes de provence, dill wee - these are just a few of the many. The McCormick company also makes Lawry's seasonings, which we love.
Tuna salad: boil 4-6 eggs, and then peel them [under running water] and chop them up. Add in a can of tuna, chopped. Spoon in a big spoonful [or three] of Duke's mayo. Add in fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste, salt and pepper, and lots of onion powder and Lawry's seasoning salt.
YUM.
Ina Garten is one of my gurus of cooking and it's not just because she's short and fat [although I tend to trust fat cooks a lot more]. She is easygoing and makes incredibly good food. I've made her recipes many times, and her recipe for brussels sprouts turned me from a sprout hater to a lover - so she is POWERFUL! Anyway, she said the other day that perfect boiled eggs are easy. Boil them for 5 minutes, then cut off the heat and leave them in the water for 2 minutes.
LAGNIAPPE
This is the BEST fruit salad ever! You can use pecans instead of walnuts.
Elva's Fruit Salad
1 cup sour cream,
1/4 cup sugar,
juice of 1/2 lime
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 tall can pineapple tidbits or 2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped
2 cups seedless green or red grapes
1 cup toasted walnuts, lightly salted
Mix sour cream and lime juice until sugar is dissolved, and taste - it should be quite tart so add more lime juice if you need. Next, fold in 1 cup miniature marshmallows, and fold fruit into the cream mix. Cover and chill til ready to serve.
Just before serving , fold in walnuts
