By Donna Cornelius Sept. 19 was prominently marked in my datebook, circled in red ink and decorated with stars – the treatment I usually reserve for my grandchildren’s birthdays and major holidays. That Saturday night, my younger son and I were set to go to Tasting TBL, Tyler and Jennifer Lyne’s new supper club at their home in Hoover. Tyler, a College Station, Texas, native, … [Read more...]

Birmingham’s Jones Valley Teaching Farm is one of three winners of the Produce Marketing Association’s inaugural Impact Award. Joe Don Zetzsche, chairman of PMA’s board of directors, said the award’s purpose is “to honor excellence and inspirational actions of people and organizations helping to grow a healthier world.” Jones Valley Teaching Farm and the other winners are … [Read more...]

By Donna Cornelius One of Birmingham’s newest restaurants doesn’t have dancing forks and spoons like the ones that sing out the welcome-to-the-table tune in “Beauty and the Beast.” But “Be Our Guest” could be the theme song for Rob and Emily McDaniel’s Helen in downtown Birmingham. Chef Rob’s favorite food memories of his grandmother and her cooking inspired the name of the … [Read more...]

By Donna Cornelius Gleaning” isn’t a word you hear often nowadays unless you’re listening to a church sermon about the Book of Ruth. In Old Testament times, hungry folks were allowed to glean – to go into farmers’ fields after harvests to gather up leftover crops. The Society of St. Andrew, a national nonprofit hunger relief organization, is based on this tradition. Its … [Read more...]

By Donna Cornelius Dinner at Jim ’n Nick’s Bar-B-Q wouldn’t be complete without two of the restaurant’s most popular products: its cheese biscuits and its barbecue sauce. But those who love the taste of the sweet little muffins and the tang of the sauce can enjoy them at home, too, thanks to JNN Retail. Since launching in 2011, the biscuit mix and three flavors of sauces are … [Read more...]