Okra is easy to fix, that is if you choose the young tender pods. If you didn't know better, you might think the larger pods are the better choice. Boy oh boy, would you be wrong. Okra gets woody and tough as it matures. Only the young ones are tender. I learned this the hard way the first time I grew okra in my garden here in Tennessee. It only happened once. My mother never raised okra. I did, but at that time only used the dried stalks as part of a dried flower arrangement. I had no idea they were edible.

During the Great Depression, I remember growing up with the horrors of being quarantined. It seemed kids only caught the measles, whooping cough, mumps and such during the school year. Maybe the problem was the close contact we all had during the school day. If you or someone in your home had an infectious disease, the sign went on the door. There were no vaccines.

Have you ever made a jelly roll? I have made a few. My first one was for the fair in my home county. I was trying for the Homemaker Award that year in the early '60s. The person who won the most ribbons in the Food and Needlework categories would get the prize. I entered everything I could think of, including a jelly roll. It was my first one. I won the Homemaker Award as well as the silver tray for Best Cake. Guess what? My jelly roll beat out those fancy frosted cakes. Wedding cakes were in a different category.

Back in March of 2018 I submitted a recipe for Macaroni and Tomatoes, a staple in our house during the Great Depression. It still is a favorite of mine.

Recently, Anne and I were visiting a elderly couple I attend church with. She had been in an automobile accident. It was her first day home from the hospital. We took them two plates of cookies; one of chocolate chips and the other of sugar cookies. There is something about getting older that makes sweets especially tasty. I know.

I have an easy recipe for Batter Buns. Okay, so they're yeast rolls whipped together, not kneaded.

Lazy as I am, I'm always looking for the quick and easy way out. Here it is. They have a good flavor and don't harden down overnight. That is, if you keep them in a gallon plastic freezer bag.

Yes, I know, a well-kneaded roll has a texture and flavor that can't be beat. These are the next best things. Give them a try.

Every September I buy a 20 pound box of Carolina sweet potatoes. A truck would be parked in front of Janet's Beauty Shop in Maynardville. Since I am the only sweet potato aficionado at this address, the supply lasts most of the year. I keep the box in the hallway just off our Great Room. I am telling you this because long red sprouts are rising from the box. It is past time to finish up my supply of sweet potatoes.

The first books I read as a child were the Dick and Jane readers in school. They had pictures with the prose. Later I discovered the Sunday comic strips in the newspaper. They were a step above Dick and Jane and their dog Spot. I fell in love with the Sunday comics. They were in color. The dailies were in black and white. I was much older when I discovered comic books. Married, with children, I secretly read their comic books while my kids were at school.

I never saw a carnival or circus in the years we lived on the farm. Oh, they were around but I never had the opportunity to check one out. All I knew about a circus was what I saw in the movies or on the newsreels. They usually came to town by train and paraded the entire company, elephants and all, down main street. What a wonderful publicity promotion. The calliope would be blaring out circus music like you hear on a merry-go-round. It looked like the life to have, going from city to city. What fun that would be, especially in America during World War II.

Who says you can't have chili in the summertime? Hot dishes come from the south of the border tropical climes. Chili is good anytime and any place. This is a real summertime recipe. It features the plentiful zucchini fresh from the garden or Food City. It makes a big batch so plan to freeze some for another day.

Have you ever heard of a hobo? It has been a couple generations since they walked the land. It was a different time, the Great Depression, that is. The hobo phenomenon was part of it. They weren't bums. A bum won't work. A hobo took to the roads to find work. Let me tell you what I remember about them.