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Make a Main Dish for Peanuts
I have a long relationship with peanut butter. It began with breakfasts of toast with peanut butter and jelly. Once I was in grade school, the centerpiece in my Roy Rogers lunch box was a PB&J sandwich. As I grew…
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You Don’t Know Beans
Growing up, I never would have expected to sing the praises of beans. But, of late, I’ve come to admire the lowly pods of protein and carbohydrates first domesticated in South America 10,000 years ago. Compare them with a hamburger.…
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Stewing About the Cold Weather
This time of year, most of us start thinking about a stew. It’s cold and rainy outside, we can’t go anywhere, and we’re yearning for a simple, satisfying meal. A good stew has that satisfying warmth that fits the bill.…
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Farmboys and Indians
One of Mrs. Farmboy’s favorite stories involves my longstanding aversion to Indian food. For years she knew that although I have a decidedly adventurous palate, I had declared that I didn’t like Indian food. She left it at that. Then…
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Welcome to Comfort Food Season
Tis the season for something substantial. The cool temps at night means that most diners are not in the mood for a salad. Nature agrees. The summer birds have headed south, and the leaves are beginning to turn. One advantage…
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Add a Little Spice (Blend) to Your Life
In March 1959, when I was in the eighth grade, my family embarked on a monumental road trip from the freezing farmland to Arizona and sunny California via Route 66. That road trip would put National Lampoon’s Vacation movie to…
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A Guy’s Gotta Eat!
My mother was a farm wife on a 400-acre farm in northern Illinois in the 1950s. She could feed a hungry crew during the harvest and could help in the fields, when necessary. This is the environment in which she…
