liv bites

Remember when I described my lunches comprised of quinoa and veggies and bragged that I never get tired of them? Well, I finally did, so I made some hummus. I rarely eat hummus anymore because my assistant is allergic to legumes, but making it myself reminded me how much I adore it. In fact, before [...]

I can remember my mother making “banana nut bread” back when I was wearing school uniforms, and she almost always has some on the counter when I go home today. To me, it’s always symbolized southern hospitality — something to give as a gift to a friend or teacher, or something just to have around [...]

It’s no accident that even when there is absolutely no time to spend an hour cooking dinner, dessert always seems like a manageable time commitment. Such was the case the other night when I threw together a spinach salad, starving, and was fully nourished by 7:45 — and found myself with most of the evening [...]

When you’re craving a juicy, old-fashioned, no-nonsense steak, I find there is no substitute. A delicate filet of fish can’t compete, and even a hearty pasta dish falls short. It must be the umami flavor that makes your mouth water at the mere thought of red meat (I stopped myself from writing “je ne sais [...]

I was flipping through my new Southern Living the other morning before work, and my coffee cup stopped en route to my lips when I saw their featured seasonal ingredient. I love fresh figs, and it seems like they are one of those tricky fruits that’s only good for about a second out of the [...]

Ever since we made that delicious pork tenderloin in our Napa Valley cooking class, I’ve been dying to try some more pork dishes of my own. The catch, of course, is that I couldn’t just rip off the same recipes we cooked in the lesson, so this time I went in a completely different direction. [...]

Although most people imagine Mississippi as a hub for consuming grits, my mom only makes them once a year, at Christmas brunch. Along with about a hundred other side and main dishes, she whips up her version of gruyère grits that I adore, topped with mouth-watering grillades that take her all day to make (it’s [...]

I tend to blog about my farmer’s market creations more than my grocery store ones, probably because I’m just more excited about the former. Aisles of flour and dishwashing detergent don’t do too much for me. But on Saturday my assistant and I built a lunch entirely based on our findings at the market, a [...]

My complaints about not having an outdoor area to grill in have been well-documented on this site, and I guess my generous dad took note! He sent me a very cool product, the Sanyo Electric Indoor Barbeque Grill, so I can fire up some meat and veggies in my little one-bedroom. The grill doesn’t get [...]

I love pizza. Especially the fancy Neapolitan kind with the rich, moist cheese and crispy crust that bubbles up. In fact, I love it so much that I gave it extra attention on my About page, but I’ve never made it for the blog before. Truthfully, I’ve been waiting for a very special ingredient that [...]