By Donna CorneliusAt first glance, The Abbey may seem like just a cool community coffee bar. You may see a young professional type of fellow sitting at a table with a mug beside his laptop, or women gathered for conversation and chicken salad sandwiches.But if you drop into the Avondale establishment late on a Sunday afternoon, you’ll notice a different crowd. That’s … [Read more...]
Tomato Relish: Southern Favorite is in the Spotlight at First-ever Event
By Donna CorneliusA daylong celebration that moves from downtown Birmingham to a Harpersville farm pays homage to the South’s favorite veggie – or fruit.Tomatoes are fruits, botanically speaking. But in the late 1800s, the U.S. government classified them as vegetables for taxing purposes.However you describe these juicy globes of goodness, you should be able to get … [Read more...]
The Time is Ripe: Morgan Murphy is Looking Forward to New Tomato Festival
By Donna CorneliusMorgan Murphy likes digging into the roots of food.“I talk a lot in my books about why we eat what we eat,” said Murphy, a TV personality, food critic and cookbook author. “You can separate people from their religion, their country and even their family – but not their food.”One of the Birmingham native’s recent cookbooks, “Bourbon & Bacon: The … [Read more...]
VanHooser: “Keep it Simple”
How did you get interested in cooking?Watching my grandmother cook when I was a child. Then when I started in the fire service, everybody cooks, so I figured I might as well get competent at it. That is when I realized I loved to cook.What’s your favorite thing to cook at the station?Red beans and rice with Mexican cornbread.What’s your favorite thing to cook at … [Read more...]
Pegues Draws Inspiration from Paula Dean and The Karate Kid
How did you get interested in cooking? I started cooking for the 10 guys on my shift a long time ago, and it became a routine every third day. Plus, I love to eat.What’s your favorite thing to cook at the fire station? It’s a hybrid red beans and rice, jambalaya and gumbo. We nicknamed it “beans,” and it goes great with cornbread. I only cook it when it’s cold … [Read more...]