I got a call from Aaron Russell the other day. He was checking to see how I was doing. He hadn't talked with me in a while. During the conversation, he mentions that he likes to bake bread. Not just any bread, but salt-rising bread. He described the process as well as how good the bread tastes. That got me thinking.

Fresh pie cherries aren't available in February. That's okay. Food City does my canning for me these days. They have one pound cans of red tart cherries on the shelf every day. I call them sour cherries.

Do you really think George cut down a cherry tree? Do you really think he fested up to the deed? Naw. George was known as a ladies man. I wouldn't be surprised if he did tell a lie now and then.

Here is a fudge recipe I made a long time ago, that is, if you call 1981 a long time ago. Fudge recipes have evolved over the years. They are easier to make now. Just cook up some sugar and evaporated milk. Add chocolate and marshmallow cream and you have fudge. But it is not the same as the old fashioned variety. Oldsters will agree with me. (I will share one of those recipes at a later date.).

This offering is about oatmeal muffins. But let me stop and say a few words about blueberry muffins. My youngest daughter's first job in Tennessee was at Krystal's on Broadway. We had never heard of Krystal or even White Castle, for that matter. They both set their reputation on dinner roll sized hamburgers. In 1987, you could buy an entire meal for a dollar. I fell in love with them and ate until I couldn't stand to see another one.

Who doesn't like banana pudding? It is the signature dessert of the South. Here is a variation of that yummy classic. I like strawberries almost as much as I like bananas.

I first made this variation in June of 2013 as a dessert for the Wednesday Night Bible Study Supper at Revival Vision Church of God. I delighted in introducing a dish the group wasn't familiar with. This is a tasty example.

Have you ever eaten Perfection Salad? It is one of my favorites. Back in the day, you would see at least one at every potluck on the end of the table among the several macaroni salads. It is one of those dishes they say we are tired of. Not so. If I should be fortunate enough to spy one at a potluck, I wIll plop a good-sized spoonful on my plate and probably go back for more.

Grandma made the best cookies, didn't she? She didn't work outside the home. Those were the days when she washed, starched and ironed her ruffled curtains and had time to crochet frilly doilies for the end tables next to the sofa. Ruffled curtains are things of the past as are crocheted doilies. She didn't have to get the kids properly dressed for school and then get herself to her job on time. She did have time to polish up on her cookie recipes.

I saw an article online the other day. It listed recipes that are outdated and thankful to be gone. I don't agree. Everyone of them are on my “favorites” list. I think the reason they are outdated is that they were over-used back in the day. I remember when I first discovered canned tuna fish. We had a Tuna Noodle Casserole about every other week. I have a good recipe for that, too.

I have had this recipe for years. I love doughnuts, either cake or yeast. I don't eat them much any more. They quickly add pounds to this old frame. With no exercise and a healthy appetite, Anne limits my diet as best she can. However, sometimes we do splurge.

Krispy Creme is on my “do not even look that way” list as we drive by. I do sneak sweets at Revival Vision Church of God's Sunday morning coffee hour before Sunday School. Pat Hunt makes some tasty goodies.

New Years 2019 is here ready to start us on another year long adventure. Black eyed peas are supposed to bring good luck. Maybe so, but they taste good anyway. Here is an easy recipe to make. You probably already have the ingredients in your pantry. No need to trudge out to Food City. Let's get marinating!

Cold weather is here again. The wind whips around the house stirring up piles of fallen leaves. As soon as it warms up a bit this morning, Anne will be out there with the leaf blower corralling leaves, blowing them across the road into the woods. It is weather like this that calls for a hearty breakfast.

I like cabbage just about any way you fix it. Stuffed cabbage is my favorite, with cole slaw a close second. That said, there was often more cabbage in the garden than I could use. Those heads were wrapped in newspaper and hid away until December or so. That is when Scalloped Cabbage entered the picture.

Are you having ham for Christmas dinner? In our house, that feast is too close to Thanksgiving Day to have turkey again. We only like so much. A couple days of second-day turkey dishes and we are over it.

Anyway, turkey is a lot of work to prepare. There are a lot of ham recipes that don't take much time. With so many things to do on Christmas Day, roasting a turkey is not on my agenda. Opening presents is number one on my mind for Christmas morning.

Not really. This is the time of the year when we attend Christmas parties at church, at work and among family and friends. It's party time! After New Years Eve we are all partied out. That's when the bills start rolling in. So while we can, let's look at some recipes to enjoy. I like cheese balls and such. They can be made ahead of time, stored in the fridge and brought out a half hour or so before the first guests arrive.

My favorite kind of chocolate to work with is cocoa. However, that doesn't work for making dipping chocolate. At least I don't know how to do that. I have several candy recipes I make every Christmas, but Anne's favorite is my Chocolate Bon Bons.

I came across this candy recipe a few years ago. It certainly didn't look like a candy recipe. What candy lists flour among its ingredients? This is the only one I know of.

There are handsome gingerbread men. This is not that recipe. This is an, oh, so soft, ginger flavored work of art. The aroma lingers in the air long after you bake a batch. Your kids coming in the door from school will head straight for the cookie jar. This is a cookie to make when a cold west wind is swirling snow around the yard and you hope the kids get the mail from the mailbox when they get off the bus so you won't have to go out in it. It is that kind of cookie.

Not everyone likes liver. It is safe to say that most people dislike liver. I love liver. My daughter Anne hates it. We live together, so I can only fix it if she is not going to be home that day. That out of the way, let me tell you why I like liver. Well, I don't know why, I just do.

Why does fruitcake get such a bad rap? They aren't all hard and tasteless. I like mince pie and I like fruitcake. To me they are in the same class of food. To prove it, I have a recipe to share with you for a Mincemeat Fruitcake.

We sold my dad's farm to some folks from Chicago. I shouldn't say that these Chicago people were different, but they were. They had never farmed before. This was to be an adventure. Yeah right, adventure! It was hilarious watching those city dudes adjust to country living. They stood out on a goat farm in a county that didn't do goats. We couldn't give them any advice on how to raise goats. We recognized a picture of a goat when we saw one. That was about it. Fortunately, for the goats, their enterprise thrived.

We all have our own recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes. I have mine and will share it with you. Green tomatoes fresh from the garden are best, but nowadays, you can buy them at the grocery store. I buy a couple whenever I see them, even though they cost the same as the ripe ones. Do you think, like I do, that they should be cheaper, since they're not ripe? Oh well.