REGIONAL RECIPES - SOUTHWEST

Every region has foods common to that area. Since I live in the Southwest, specifically Texas, I grew up eating foods common to this part of the country. What’s known as “country cooking” or “homestyle” was just that. My mom had eight or nine menus from which she never varied. Sunday was pot roast, Monday meatloaf, Tuesday meant chicken-fried steak, etc. At any main meal of the day, we always had mashed potatoes and a lettuce and tomato salad with French dressing. Unimaginative to the max! The variations for Mom were on weekends. On Saturdays in winter, we had stew; in summer we had pinto beans with corn bread. To humor my dad, Sunday evening in winter might mean waffles instead of leftover pot roast. My bother and I joke about it now, but when we were growing up, we didn’t realize her style of cooking was unusual.

In fact, I learned to cook from her, and copied her menus. Don't misunderstand me, my mom tried very hard to provide good meals for her family. She was a product of her upbringing.

After Hero and I married, I discovered a love for cooking and trying new foods and new recipes. I collected cookbooks and recipes cut from newspapers, copied them from magazines, and saved those recommended by friends. I experimented with family recipes until gave them my personal twist. My mom loved my cooking and the changes I made to her family recipes. Hero was taught to eat whatever was put in front of him and be grateful. You see one of the many reasons I call him Hero. Fortunately, his mom was a mediocre cook, so he loved almost anything I prepared.

Except, we once had this neighbor who was always giving me recipes she assured me were terrific. She had a degree in home economics, so I thought she should be a great cook. Often when I tried her dishes, Hero would look up from his meal and say, “This is one of ____’s recipes, isn’t it?” He never criticized, but I knew he meant he hated the dish. It didn’t take long for me to realize our tastes and our neighbor’s were very different.

Hero and I get these strange ideas occasionally (but they’re harmless). One day Hero and I decided to create a cookbook from some of the recipes I’d collected over the years. Now our cookbook is available in print or e-book. I sketched a cover and wanted to paint it, but he liked the sketch, so that's what we kept.  The result is a list of eight complete menus featuring over fifty recipes for only 99 cents.
Here are the buy links:

Smashwords for the E-book
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/265772?ref=CarolineClemmons

Amazon for print and E-book $3.98 for print, $ .99 for E-book
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=caroline+clemmons+Favorite+Southwest+Recipes&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Acaroline+clemmons+Favorite+Southwest+Recipes&ajr=0

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

Thanks for stopping by!