Victoria Wesseler
Proposal Pork Chops
I have a friend who can remember nearly every outfit she wore during special moments in her life. Her red Mary Janes on the first day of kindergarten, the hand-embroidered peasant blouse for high school...
My Giant Pumpkin
We had a great growing season this year--with the exception of my much anticipated giant pumpkins. Every year, my pumpkin patch has produced enough bounty to keep the neighborhood children happily supplied...
A Few Sweet Potatoes
I like to say “what if” and “why not” when I cook. The same curiosity and abandon often apply to choosing plants for our gardens. So, every year we plant one or two different vegetables or fruits...
A Passion For Peppers
Like most passions, it started out innocently enough. We thought we would try “just one.” One led to two, two quickly became three, and after that there was no limit. Before we knew it, we were...
Dispelling the Greatest Culinary Urban Myth
It is perhaps the greatest culinary urban myth of our time. You’ve heard it stated repeatedly on cooking shows. The chef adds a cup of wine to a delicious looking dish simmering away on the stove,...
A Stinky Rose By Any Other Name
Can you imagine a culinary world without garlic? It’s hard to believe, but some food historians say that its widespread use in American cooking goes back no further than the mid 1960s.
Historically,...
Friends With Okra
My husband and I entertain frequently in our home. Our invitations are generally met with a quick “yes” unless I tell our guests that we are including okra on the menu. Usually this information is...
Garden Jewels
Toward the end of summer and into the middle of fall, my garden reminds me of a jewelry box filled with sparkling gems. The bright canary sapphire yellow and ruby red of the tomatoes, the amethyst of...
Walkin' the Hog
As I was picking beans a few weeks ago, I looked up and saw my neighbors walking with three hogs down the center of our gravel road. Their little jiggly butts (point of clarification--the hogs’ butts,...
Lavender at Your Table
It is a Saturday morning in late June. The weather is perfect. I am standing, eyes closed, inhaling the sweet scent of lavender. I open my eyes to see row after row of tall, majestic purple flowers...
A Bite of the Apple
What’s your apple eating style? Are you an “Equator Eater?” You are if you take a big bite out of the center of the apple and eat a band around the middle before consuming the top and bottom. ...
Persimmons, Per Se
When it comes to recipes, my friend Jane is a “little bit country” and I’ m a little bit . . . well, you know the rest. Jane has a treasure trove of vintage, handwritten family recipes stuffed into...
Preserving Tomatoes
Right now, I am having a love/hate relationship with my tomato plants. For weeks, I could hardly wait for the first one to ripen. Now, at the peak of their harvest, as I lug boxes and boxes of them from...
Summer's Best Salad
If there’s one entrée that defines “the ultimate summer meal” for me, it’s my friend Karen’s Salmon and Green Bean Salad. When our green beans are ready for harvest, this is the first meal...
Minding the Hen House
This weekend, my husband and I are watching two neighbors’ homes while they are out of town—one family is on vacation in Disney World and the other is in northern Indiana at the wedding of their oldest...
On (Not) Loving Water
With the heat of summer upon us, I thought I would write something about the benefits of drinking water. You know…how we all should drink at least 8 glasses a day… what its many benefits are to our...