The Melon-Eye

When I was a kid, my parents would often take my older sisters, brother, and I back to their small hometown in California’s Central Valley. Think cotton fields, dust, unbelievable heat, drive-in movie theaters, strawberry soda, and the smell of alfalfa everywhere. One of my uncles, whom I’ll call Floyd Owens, was a real character. [...]

Read Full Post »

Okie Beans

I’ve been meaning to write this post since Christmas, when I finally got my dad to show me start to finish how to make beans. My parents are from a small town near Bakersfield, California, a place I tell my friends is just like Arkansas or Texas, although it is rapidly changing, like many other [...]

Read Full Post »

Reader Recipes, Family Recipes

My last post got me to thinking about sharing recipes. I love when people send me recipes. I even got one in the mail the other day from RCMB, which was very cool.
Making someone else’s recipe is like discussing a favorite novel. You’re like, “Remember at the end of Jane Eyre when…” And then, if [...]

Read Full Post »

Okie Food, Home

Note: There is an interesting follow-up to this post on my About page in the Comments. I can’t figure out how to move those Comments to this post. If you want to comment about Okie food, please do it here. Thanks! -mj
Might as well get this part over with: I’m a California Okie. Some of [...]

Read Full Post »