Wow, thanks Gracie for taking the time to type that out. It sounds delicious! I am going to try it this weekend. I suppose it is just a matter of taste if you use yellow split peas or green, right? I prefer yellow myself, but when my sister makes pea soup, she always uses green. Now, her pea soup is mostly just the ham bone with peas, onion and carrot. So, I am going to pass this on to her as well.
Thanks again and I will let you know how it turns out.

Hope it turns out well for you! I really sort of discovered this whole thing by accident and have never even tried yellow split peas. I can't imagine it would make a difference (it might look prettier, that's for sure!)...is there a difference in taste?

Bridget...that was a perfect mental image. Talk about getting hungry. All of the above sounds good, but as far as comfort food goes, I'd have to say my absolute favorite is homemade beef stew (especially when the weather is cool). I'm a meat and potato kinda gal! There is nothing better than to have the wonderful smells of your cooking steaming the windows from the heat. That is good living!!

Another thing that does it for me is the smell of the bbq grill. Gosh, it brings back so many good memories.....both old and new.

Anyway, I just had to chime in here since ya'll were talking about my favorite subject..........FOOD!!!

Take care everyone

Bridget,

To answer your question about grits, it is hominy (corn). I was born in Georgia and spent half my time down there (mother is from Georgia and father from Maine). Grits do look like cream of wheat, but you eat them with butter and salt and pepper or with gravy (I prefer salt and pepper). They are usually eaten for breakfast. They are also great with fried eggs over easy mixed in (a great baby food which I fed to my boys).

I have also been exposed to Maine cooking and Eritrean (African) cooking, which is hot and spicy--love it! Can you tell that there's not much I don't like? Maybe that's why I'm a Weight Watchers member! I also like modifying recipes to make them more healthy!

Now I'm REALLY hungry--grits are sounding good right now . . .

It might be hard to find grits in Nova Scotia, but I'll bet if you asked at the grocery store, they could get them for you. When we first moved back to Maine we had to ask the grocery store to get grits--my uncle lived in the same town so they had 2 customers for them!

Oh them grits! My favorite way to eat them is on a piece of buttered toast. That way I don't load up on the grits.

I grew up on cream of wheat also. I was raised in St. Louis in an Italian community and never heard of grits until I moved here. There are a lot of other southern foods I can't eat though like okra, fried green tomatoes, and fried pickles. Still can't eat gravy in the morning either. My husband was born in Tennessee so I've learned to cook a lot of southern fare for him.

Also, living in Louisiana, there's a lot of Cajun influence in the cooking, but I just can't get used to the seafood gumbo, jambalaya, and etoufee. Just too too fishy and too many mixed up flavors - they throw everything together in a big gumbo pot - crawfish, chicken, sausage, shrimp. BLECK!

Well, now that I've ruined y'all's appetite :p , I'll get back to work.

Have a great day!

Spinach Pepperoni Pasta

1 pkg (8 oz) penne pasta
1/2 lb fresh sliced mushrooms
1 pkg (3-1/2 oz) papperoni, cut into thin strips
2 Tbsp butter (or olive oil, which I prefer)
6 cups torn, fresh spinach
2 Tbsp minced fresh basil
2 tsp lemon juice
4 Tbsp grated parmesan, divided
(1 clove minced garlic, if desired)
pepper to taste

Cook penne pasta according to package directions. While penne is cooking, in skillet, saute mushrooms & pepperoni in butter (or olive oil; add garlic if you're using it) until mushrooms are tender. Stir in spinach, basil, lemon juice. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Drain pasta. Toss with pepperoni and 3 Tbsp parmesan. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Add pepper to taste.

Yumm! Sometimes I make this with strips of sliced hard salami instead of pepperoni; it's a little less spicy and still really good!

And about Southern cooking--I grew up all over the country (Air Force brat) but spent lots of time in Mississippi...now I LOVE turnip greens, black-eyed peas, and GRITS! Can't get enough of this stuff up here, though.

Thanks for the recipe Gracie. Guess what's for dinner tomorrow night? LOL

Take care!

Gracie - The recipe sounds delicious! Will try it this weekend. It should be great this summer when my basil plants get going.

I like blackeyed peas and turnip greens, too, with turnips cut in nice sized chunks. We also eat a lot of cornbread - made a pone last night to eat with "white beans."

Thanks for taking the time to share your recipe with us!

Toni

Okay, Toni, I can't resist jumping in to ask, WHAT IS A PONE?

I've heard of CORN PONE but never had any idea what that means. You made one? Hmmm!

Thanks again for inviting me to this terrific board. Just wish I had more time to spend here!

Hi Ruthie,

My husband calls it a "pone". I make it in a cast iron skillet. I mix up the batter, put it in a hot greased cast iron skillet. When you pour the batter in, you can hear it sizzle - that's what makes the nice crust. Then bake until done and turn out immediately on a plate.

Good eatin', 'specially for southerners.

Glad to see you back on board!
Toni