tips & tricks

It's peak season for blackberries locally, ensuring their best flavor possible.

August is a month with so many choice pickings

Baked goods don’t generally get much grill time, but even the most inexpensive charcoal grill can bake all types of bread.

Coming up with a last-minute meal led us to the perfect risotto.

Last summer we gave you our Vacation Packing List of "essential" kitchen items to bring. This year we thought we'd help you plan your vacation meals

We thought we couldn't learn anything new about making a hamburger. But, our friends Lou and Ian taught us this trick:

The cooking of the American South starts in a family kitchen - it's the custom of passing on recipes from generation to generation, the sense of pride and attachment to both people and place,

Virginia Willis (we still have just a couple of spots left for our lunch) has a smart tip for measuring out sticky ingredients such as honey, molasses, and syrups: "first spray a little nonstick spray into the measuring utensil, then fill with the ingredient. The sticky substance will slide right out".

Also, because honey does not mix well with cold drinks you can create a twist on traditional simple syrup: Pour 1/2 c. hot water over 1 1/2 c. honey and stir until fully incorporated. You can store this in a clean jar at room temperature for future use.

Use a honey simple syrup when you want a bit of sweetness with honey overtones. We use it with tarty hibiscus flowers for agua de jamaica, a Latin American iced tea.

Recipe: Agua de Jamaica

7 c. water
1/2 c. dried hibiscus flowers
1 lime, thinly sliced for garnish
Honey simple syrup, to taste

Bring 4 cups water to boil in a non-staining saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in hibiscus flowers; let steep for 10 minutes.

Pour infusion through strainer into glass, glazed ceramic or other non-staining pitcher. Add remaining 3 cups of water to pitcher. Stir. Chill.

Serve over plenty of ice in glasses, adding honey simple syrup to taste. Garnish with a slice of lime.