blog Archives

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Pumpkin Glows As A Fall Favorite

September 4, 2024 . Has one of the season’s favorite flavors already grabbed hold to your taste buds and decor, like it has for so many others? Of course, we’re talking about the great pumpkin! Hardly a restaurant menu or store display anywhere misses out on spotlighting the pumpkin as a special feature this time of year. I usually don’t “go pumpkin” until October, but I’d likely be too late if I wait much longer. Like everything else, it seems to be rushed this year. Apparently, the giant colorful gourd has grown in abundance around these parts once again — huge piles are showing up on roadside stands everywhere. A little history-digging reminds us that pumpkins are believed to have been first cultivated in Central America, and that Spanish and Portuguese explorers carried pumpkin seeds back to Europe in the 14th century. However, In North America, Native Americans grew pumpkins for food long before the first Europeans arrived on the continent in the 1600s. The pumpkin certainly has its share of lore associated with it, and even beyond that, its orange coloring indicates a high content of carotene pigments such as lutein, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, which becomes vitamin A in the body. By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Labor Day Ushering In Summer’s End

August 28, 2024 . It’s hard to believe that another Labor Day weekend is on the doorstep of time and the end of summer is insight. And, folks, the older we get, the faster it happens. Beach trips will be replaced by many in the coming days with Friday night lights and excitement on the football fields, and locally, as we also know, Saturdays at the stadium; each game will be preceded by tailgating, which has become an event all its own and something we’ll explore soon. This year has been a blur to me for reasons most of you all know, and I won’t continue to rehash the personal setbacks I’ve encountered with health scares and family loss, but “it’s been real,” as the saying goes. At the same time, however, I am blessed to be here to share food, fun and fellowship ideas with you through each season. The High Country of North Carolina is such a great place to call home, so let’s make memories, eat well, love well and enjoy life while we can. Hope you have Labor Day off from work to spend with your loved ones and are able to cook up a few favorites for your family and friends. Maybe these suggestions will help. By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: After School Snack Ideas As New School Year Begins

August 14, 2024 . Talk about a fast summer. Wow. It seems like just yesterday that the bells rang for the last time and the busses made their final rounds through the High Country. And we parents and grandparents were sitting in the pick-up lines at school, wondering just what “surprise snacks” we had on hand once we made it back home with the littles. And now, we get to do it all over again. I’ve loved how my grandson coined the phrase for his afternoon snack a couple of years ago, when asked what he wanted to eat after a long day at school. “Just surprise me, Nana.” I loved even more that he trusted me to provide something I knew he wanted. Of course, it usually included an apple, cut up with Nutella or caramel on the side for dipping. And maybe a few chips of some sort, a carrot or celery stick, a Slim-Jim and probably an Oreo or two, despite the fact that there was already enough chocolate in the “dip.” And then, little sister started school and wanted her own “surprise snack,” which has been similar, but her chosen preferences often included more salty, crispier treats. And with cheese. Of yeah, if there’s a gummy bear or three thrown in for good measure, everyone is happy. By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Transitioning With the Month of August

August 7, 2024 . August has long been a time of transition for us here in the mountains. In fact, August 1 each year begins the “bean counting” that has little to do with cooking and eating. Rather, it has become a tradition, of sorts, to place a bean in a jar to represent a foggy morning. And then, at the end of August, each bean helps “forecast” how many snows we should expect in the coming winter. If it’s a light fog, then a small bean goes in. Larger beans are for heavier fogs, and thus, a heavier snowfall.
Some of the “old-timers” lean heavily upon this method, and more times than not, the end result is pretty accurate.
Then, there’s the start of a new school year from mid to late August in most counties, and with that comes a plethora of schedule adjustments. But, also, within the month come other southern traditions, including family reunions and related activities, namely first meeting at the family cemeteries and decorating the graves of loved ones with colorful floral arrangements and a few tears. By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Vine-ripened Tomatoes and More Continue to Grace the Garden

July 31, 2024 . There is nothing much more satisfying this time of year than that first vine-ripened tomato from the garden. We are blessed in our neighborhood with an amazing “mater man,” as I call him, and sure enough, he arrived last week with a basket full of his signature product. Big, beautiful, red, ripe tomatoes. Oh my! And we have certainly enjoyed them in a variety of ways: Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with a dollop of Dukes on white bread, chopped up with onions and cucumbers in a vinegar-based dressing, simply sliced onto white bread with mayo, salt and pepper, and even occasionally with a thin slice of cucumber or onion on top. And, then, there’s the incredible tomato pie that I have discovered in recent years, and the list goes on. And even before the tomatoes turn, many people love fried green tomatoes that have become a favored appetizer in many homes and eateries across the south, especially. So, here we go, as the summer progresses and the early-to-mid season gardening goods continue to thrive and survive. The squash, zucchini, cucumbers and peppers are still producing abundantly in our son’s garden, which fortunately for us, is located within a stone’s throw of our front porch. Yeah, we don’t mind “helping” just a little. The pay-off is well worth it all. By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: All Things “Gardeney”

July 24, 2024 . I’ve received ample confirmation that our readers enjoy the “hodgepodge” of recipes I’ve been including recently, featuring all things “gardeney,” rather than spotlighting one veggie or fruit at a time. I appreciate the positive feedback. We can become overwhelmed with all the produce that begins to appear at the same time, and I’ve been guilty of missing out on a few of the seasonal treats by doing the one-at-a-time feature. So, for the remainder of the season, you may see cucumber recipes thrown in with the tomatoes, berries with the squash, etc. It makes sense and I’m not sure why I’ve not thought about that before this year. I mean, a perfect summer plate will include sliced cukes, squash casserole, freshly cooked, seasoned green beans, tomato pie and a chunk of hot cornbread. So, here we go again. Hope you enjoy every morsel!. By Sherrie Norris

July 19, 2024 Once a year, the second week in July. Tents are raised, kilts are dusted off, sporrans and Sgian-dubh are properly placed. People start pouring in from around the country, even parts of the world to Grandfather Mountain, NC, all with one thing in common–the gathering of the Grandfather Highland Games. It’s a time when those with Scot-Irish heritage and those without can learn and research history. It’s also a time for my sons–Laiden Gragg-Smith, Cam Gragg-Smith, Mason Gragg-Smith–and me to get in contact with our roots and a way to keep our heritage alive. We are made up of several different clans. On Saturday of last week (July 13), we were in attendance for the 68th annual Highland Games. By Tara Gragg Daniels

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Ripe for the Picking!

July 17, 2024 . Summer in the High Country has been hot so far and the gardens are flourishing even with little rain, but there’s relief in sight, so say the meteorologists. A few passing showers have, so far, dampened the ground enough to give us hope that our gardens will survive and thrive. And, as soon as those welcomed drops arrive, it’s almost as if we can see the plants rise up with pride. And underneath the vines are those squash and zucchini, especially, that appear to double in size from one day to the next. We love seeing our grandchildren run to their garden and start looking for veggies that are ripened and ready for harvest. It’s especially endearing when they look in amazement at the goods that, just a few weeks ago, they helped plant as small seeds. I hope the wonder and excitement in their eyes never leave them. And I hope those garden goods continue to grow, despite the intermittent dry spells, as well as the deer and ground hogs that are also enjoying nature’s buffet. So, let’s begin digging through the files for summer’s bounty and make the most of the fresh produce while we can. By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Cooling Off In and Outside the Kitchen

July 10, 2024 . As I “watered down” the grandkids earlier this week, keeping them cooled off as they made their way down the slippery slide in the front yard —without a care in the world, I might add — I was taken back for just a little while to simpler times. I thought about the days of my own childhood summers that had moments of fun and frivolity, along with the not-so-easy or fun times of picking beans and peas from the garden. We might’ve had a popsicle or piece of watermelon to cool us off during the day, and a Dixie cup full of Kool-Aid and a cookie or two. I recalled the evenings sitting on the porch, mainly with my mama, granny, and younger sister, after the work was done, supper was over and the dishes were washed (by hand) and put away for another day. We would eventually go to bed and not even bother to lock the front porch screen door, counting on the cool breezes to fan us through the night with no worries of intruders.Times were different, for sure. And that doesn’t seem so long ago, actually. By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Healthy Summer Snacks For All Ages

July 3, 2024 . There is always concern for the kids and seniors during the summer months, not only for their safety from the heat, but also for their nutritional needs. We are blessed in these mountains, especially, to have churches, organizations, schools and various agencies always prepared to lend a hand when needs arise. Whether it’s for a fan or a box of food, folks in our High Country area can usually find what they need to get through a time of personal crisis. But if not, please let your local departments of social services know if you or someone you know is suffering from heat of hunger. In the meantime, hopefully this week’s selection of quick, easy recipes and ideas will help provide a few (mostly) healthy snacks for kids of all ages to stay nourished without too much trouble or expense. By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: God Bless the USA!

June 26, 2024 . Van and I were able to see Lee Greenwood in concert recently during his 40th anniversary God Bless America tour. WOW is all I can say! Not to mention the fact, (well that’s what I’m actually doing) that I was just a young thing when that song hit the airways. And, to see Greenwood, now in his early 80s, strutting across the stage belting out that huge hit still today was a treat, for sure. And, yeah, there were only a handful of folks under 50 in the audience. That song has spoken to millions of people through the years, and exceeded any expectations Greenwood had, he said, when he wrote it in the back of his tour bus in 1983. It has been in the top five on the country singles charts three different times, the only song in any genre of music to achieve that feat. It was also No. 1 on the pop charts after 9/11/01. In addition, CBS News voted “God Bless The U.S.A.” the most recognizable patriotic song in America. Greenwood said, “It is the song I always felt the need to write. I wanted to have something that would unite Americans from coast to coast and to instill pride back in the United States. The song represents my family, my community and those men and women who have paid the price for the freedoms we all love and enjoy.” By Sherrie Norris

Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Summertime in the Mountains Has Arrived!

June 19, 2024 . We don’t need the calendar to remind us, but just in case you haven’t figured it out yet, summer has arrived in the mountains this week. Not only are the roads crowding up with seasonal visitors coming to enjoy what we are blessed with year-round, but so are the local entertainment venues, hotels, restaurants, grocery store parking lots, pools, quaint downtown shopping attractions and more. And the thermometers are definitely reminding us that summer has arrived, unlike what we were experiencing just a few days earlier. So, what are we going to do about it? I say let’s make the best of it! Let’s make memories with our own families, even if we can’t run away anytime soon to a different playground. Get that fire pit cleaned out and bring on the s’mores. Head to the Blue Ridge Parkway before the sun rises to witness the world come alive over our amazing terrain. Featured recipes this week include few “cool” ideas to help keep the awesome in your summer. By Sherrie Norris

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