the adventures of an incurable optimist

Category Cookery

Happy new year, southern style

Recipes for my deviled eggs and for my mother in law’s cole slaw

Pimento Cheese

Yes, yes, it’s finally here: the McDonald recipe for pimento cheese. What is pimento cheese, some of you are asking? It’s an appetizer, a snack, it makes a great sandwich, it pairs well with those best summer tomatoes we all… Continue Reading →

Pizza joy

This is too, too good not to post – this way, when I need to watch it another 427 times, it will be easy to find. Guarantee the one -minute time investment is worth it.

Liberté … from the same old boring cocktails

Hello from the inside. I, like everyone else, have been living out the ultimate ‘I just wish I could stay home ALL THE TIME’ fantasy for the last five six who-knows how many weeks due to “the unprecented circumstances” and… Continue Reading →

No baloney

Dear all, the post below was (mostly) drafted on December 27, 2014. That’s a long time ago. In fact, that’s bologna. Or baloney. Except, well – read the below about that. I can now see that I was held up… Continue Reading →

holiday edition: green bean casserole

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all. It’s been a while – I got a little busy. Had to move this blog, a couple big projects at work, got married, you know, just this and that. Anyhow in honor of the holiday today, I… Continue Reading →

sunshine in a jar

If you don’t like lemons, there’s nothing for you here today. Unless you like limes. If you don’t like lemons and you don’t like limes, I hope you like oranges, although this post won’t help you with those. If you… Continue Reading →

Curing what ails you: chicken soup for the MOUTH

I have a true confession to make. I am 36 years old, and until just a couple weeks ago, I’d never made chicken soup from scratch. I can see now that was a huge mistake. By the time this recipe… Continue Reading →

Farmer Maggot’s creamy mushroom & potato soup

I considered calling this Samwise’s Tater and Mushroom soup but once I added the cream I figured it would be more of a Shire soup than an on-the-road soup. For those less enlightened nerdy than I, here’s the deal on… Continue Reading →

The vinaigrette that changed my summer

It seems overstated. That’s okay. It’s still true. Whether we like it or not, we all know … we should eat healthily – lots of veggies and greens and such, and that often gets interpreted as lots of salad. I… Continue Reading →

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