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Here’s a quick summer side dish using fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and oregano. We usually don’t peel our cucumbers, because we like the color and that extra crunch. The fresh oregano [...]The post Fresh Cucumber and Tomato Salad appeared first on olives-n-okra.
My grandmother made banana pudding every Sunday when my mom was growing up. Vanilla wafers came in plastic bags back then, and my grandfather would pick up a bunch of [...]The post Minnie’s Banana Pudding appeared first on olives-n-okra.
Here’s another recipe we picked up when my dad was in the Army. Creamed Beef (good old SOS) was introduced post World War I, but it has roots in the Army’s [...]The post Creamed Beef appeared first on olives-n-okra.
It’s about time the Vietnamese cuisine of downtown Orlando came to the east side of town. Saigon Flavors is owned by Charlie Tang, previous owner of Viet Garden in downtown Orlando. Saigon Flavors is [...]
When my grandmother made pizza, she made enough for at least 20 people. Her pizza was extra thick, and she covered it with a layer of tomatoes that she crushed over [...]
Every Easter, my grandmother made Italian Easter bread minus the colored eggs (she used white eggs). She didn’t like the bleeding of the colored eggs on the bread. She always [...]
Most people have those Spring or Summer-like drinks about this time of year, but on Easter Sunday, we made Poinsettias. Yes, the drink suggests all things Christmas, but only until you [...]
My grandmother, Letizia, or Lily, made several rice pies every Easter—two or three with citron and at least one without (some of my dad’s brothers and sisters didn’t like citron so they picked [...]
Pastiera Napolentana is a traditional Easter pie that originated in Naples. The filling is made with ricotta, orange flower water, candied citron, and softened hulled wheat berries—the pie’s trademark ingredient. The [...]
This classic recipe is a must have around the holidays. I like to make my cornbread a day before so that it’s a little dry. You can serve it as a side [...]
My mom’s parents were farmers, and they planted potatoes among the many vegetables they grew. My grandmother would occasionally pick a bowlful of potatoes when they were ever so petite [...]
These pickled eggs are a bit different from those you find in stores. These are colored and slightly flavored with beet juice. My dad’s been dying to make them, and [...]
Egg salad is a long time family favorite and it’s a reliable standby. I ate it a lot when I was growing up, but it’s not just a school lunch [...]
We grew up on pepperoni, and despite all of the negatives associated with the fat and calories, we still eat it. Most of the time, we make frittata with potatoes, [...]
Apostles’ Fingers are crepes filled with a sweet ricotta cream. There are many variations of this recipe, but this one is my favorite. It’s simple, and the sweet ricotta is [...]
My grandmother usually made her Easter bread a day or two before Easter. Her bread was a little dry and not as sweet, because, I think, it was meant to [...]
I recently was given the opportunity to host an Eggland’s Best Brunch. Some of my family planned to be out-of-town on Easter Sunday, so we held our brunch on Palm [...]
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a dish of corned beef and cabbage? There’s not much prep required for this tasty one pot meal. [...]
My cousin gave me this recipe for chicken and dumplings. She said, “Momma (my aunt and my mother’s sister) made her chicken and dumplings like Mamaw did, but with much bigger dumplings. [...]
I picked up a flat of fresh strawberries last week at the Florida Strawberry Festival. A flat was $10, and it was a deal I couldn’t pass up. The strawberries [...]
I was gallivanting around the craft stores today, and I found the cutest Easter egg baking accessories. I decided to make cupcakes before my grandkids came over for the night. (This was [...]
The waiting is over for all of you strawberry lovers—the Florida Strawberry Festival is finally here! It’s located at the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World in Plant City, between Tampa and [...]
It has been fairly cold here in Florida these last few days but that didn’t stop me from going to a couple of annual festivals. I spent Friday at the Florida Strawberry [...]
Not even cold temperatures can keep a crowd of 30,000 away from the annual Grant Seafood Festival. The crowd, mostly adorned in winter wear, showed up today for the 47th [...]
My husband and I are on this “let’s eat light” kick, which really means “let’s eat whatever we can find that’s ready-to-eat”. We split a cheese log the night before [...]
I stumbled upon a Wilton Step-By-Step Bunny Pan in Walmart today, and I just had to have it. My grandkids are staying over tonight, so I thought this would be [...]
Last year, I had a long running list of recipes I wanted to make with fresh strawberries. I made some of the recipes (strawberry jam, strawberry ice cream, strawberry shortcake, strawberry [...]
I’ve eaten at a number of Mimi’s cafes around Central Florida, but the one I usually visit is located in Altamonte Springs near Florida Hospital and the Altamonte Mall. I met one [...]
I used to go clam digging on the beaches of Rhode Island years ago when my dad was doing a tour in Vietnam and we were living on the economy. When I [...]
I often buy fruits and vegetables in bulk from Costco then I’m left to figure how to eat them before they all go bad. Last week I bought a two-pound bag [...]
I finally made pasta with walnut sauce with some of the walnuts I bought for holiday baking. I always buy more baking ingredients than I ever get around to using, [...]
Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries is an Ocean City, Maryland tradition. It was established in 1981 when brothers Dave and Fran DiFerdinando, who vacationed there as kids, decided to make the [...]
Now that Christmas is over, it’s time to start baking for the next holiday: Valentine’s Day. I tried unsuccessfully at Halloween, and then again at Christmas, to make cake pops [...]
Mango with sticky rice is a traditional Thai dish. It’s one of my all-time favorite Thai desserts, and I find it hard to dine at a Thai restaurant without asking about it. (Don’t [...]
[Guest post by Chris] I’ve always loved lentil soup–in fact lentils are my favorite kind of bean. The kind of lentil soup I grew up with usually entailed a good [...]
Shin Jung’s, I’m convinced, is one of the best places to eat in Orlando. When you get out of your car, take a deep breath and inhale the delectable aroma [...]
[Guest post by Chris] Amatrice is a town in central Italy, not too far from Rome, which has given its name to this simple but tasty pasta dish. There are a [...]
Cornish hens are just about the right size when a whole chicken is too much for one or two servings. We’ve made them for years, usually roasted with a good [...]
I don’t remember when or how I first learned of Babani’s, a Kurdish restaurant on the edge of downtown St. Paul. If you don’t know, the Kurds are a people [...]
Hey…check it out this weekend. I’m going for sure! http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2013/jan/16/4-day-frog-leg-festival-opens-thursday-night-in/
[Guest post by Chris] Chili remains one of the most popular dishes in the country, but there seems to be no consensus about what defines it except for the presence, [...]
[Guest post by Steve] One of the side effects of a constantly evolving holiday dinner menu is that you will invariably end up with an ingredient that you no longer [...]
Viet Garden is my usual eatery when I’m in the downtown area. It’s on Colonial Drive in the section of downtown known as Little Vietnam. I constantly swear that I’m going to try [...]
Wild Rice buffet is one of the latest contenders in the Central Florida rebirth of all-you-can-eat Asian buffets. The restaurant is on Lee Road in Winter Park in what once was a [...]
It’s the start of strawberry season here in Florida, and that’s evident with strawberries flooding the market just before Christmas. Chocolate covered strawberries are simple and quick, and, well, downright [...]
One of my grandmother’s made gingerbread when she had the hankering for it. She didn’t have a recipe; she just threw things together, mixed it up, and baked it in [...]
Biscotti is one of the many cookies we usually bake for our holiday celebrations. Amaretti biscotti with almonds and anise biscotti are my favorites. Serve with a cup of hot coffee and [...]
Here’s an effortless sugar cookie recipe that works well with an electric cookie press. Cookie presses are meant for people like me who can’t rollout, cut, bake, and then decorate [...]
Chocolate crinkles make for a good year round cookie. It’s one of our Christmas favorites mostly because of the chocolate and powdered sugar combination, but also because they’re easy to [...]
Penuche is another old American fudge recipe. The key ingredients are brown sugar and walnuts or pecans, so the fudge tastes like a Praline. We made fudge for the holidays when I was growing up, and [...]
