By Jamie Strickland

When it comes to food, I’m fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best culinary influences on the planet. On my husband’s side of the family, his grandmother and aunts are amazing Southern home cooks who have been feeding their families with recipes that have been around for generations.

To my family’s delight, among other things, they taught me how to make chicken and pastry (the real kind, like you get from a church plate sale.)

He grew up in Wilson County and fondly remembers he and his brother stopping by his great-aunt’s house on the way home from school for a “snack,” which really consisted of an entire meal’s worth of home-made goodies. 

His dad was the master of cooking chicken, either barbecue or fried, and there would be nothing left on the bone when they were done.

On my mom’s side of the family, we’re Italian. I grew up with homemade tomato sauce that would simmer on the stove all day long, and hand rolled meatballs and cookies galore.

Just as family recipes are passed down through generations, so too is the tradition of cultivating fresh, local ingredients — something Johnston County farmers have been doing for centuries.

While our area offers some fantastic options for dining out, sometimes you just want a nice, relaxing day at home. Thanks to our rich farm heritage and the local farmers who are keeping it alive, some of the best fresh ingredients can be found in JoCo.

With an abundance of local produce stands, in-season fruits and vegetables can be purchased fresh from the farm throughout much of the year. Sometimes those simple, whole food ingredients make for the best meals.

Here are a few very simple recipes to make the most of them.

Granny’s Sweet Potato Biscuits

My husband makes these every year for Thanksgiving now that his granny has passed on. They are even better with a slice of country ham in the middle and a drizzle of local honey on top.

What you’ll need:

• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 6 Tbs milk
• 2 Tbs butter (melted)
• ¼ Tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 Tsp ground allspice
• ¼ cup butter (not melted)
• 3 Tbs shortening (You can use all butter in this recipe if you prefer. We found this out by doing that when we didn’t have any shortening once, and haven’t gone back since.)
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes (cold/room temp)

How to make: (about 15 biscuits per recipe)

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and allspice in a large bowl
• Cut in ¼ cup of butter and shortening (or all butter) with a pastry blender or with two forks until the mixture is crumbly.
• Add mashed sweet potato and milk. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened.
• Turn out dough onto a floured surface. Knead just a few times.
• Roll out dough to half-inch to three-quarter inch thickness and cut out with a two- or three-inch biscuit cutter.
• Place biscuits on an ungreased pan or parchment paper baking sheet.
• Brush biscuits with melted butter.
• Bake in pre-heated oven for 12 minutes or until evenly browned.

Simple Italian Tomato Salad

There are few things better in life than a perfectly ripe, home grown tomato, plucked fresh off the vine. Here’s a simple way my family likes to dress them up as a perfect summer side dish. This is best enjoyed with some fresh, soft Italian Bread to soak up the delicious tomato and olive oil juices.

(If that doesn’t sound good to you, you could always just slice up that tomato and put it on some regular white bread with Duke’s mayonnaise and a little salt and pepper. Yes, it does have to be Duke’s. Yum.)

What you’ll need:

• A few fresh garden or produce stand tomatoes
• 1 onion, any variety you like
• A few banana peppers cut into thin rings (optional)
• Olive oil, salt and pepper

That’s it. Chop the tomatoes up into bite-size pieces, slice the onion into very thin slivers, then do the same with the banana peppers (if desired). Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Throw in some fresh basil sliced into thin ribbons if you have it, or dried Italian seasoning works too.

This is best after it sits for a while to let more of the juice seep out. For best results, eat it with the Italian bread. 

My Mom’s Zucchini Bread 

We all look forward to this in the summer when garden grown zucchini is in abundance! My mom’s mother came to the U.S. from Southern Italy when she was just a teenager. Many of the same local fresh ingredients like zucchini and tomatoes also grew there, and they always kept a huge garden.

What you’ll need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
• In another bowl, whisk eggs, oil, milk and vanilla until smooth.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones until just combined (don’t overmix).
• Fold in the shredded zucchini.
• Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. This is even better with a smear of creme cheese on top!

1-Cup Cobbler

This is a simple recipe that is good with just about any fruit you can think of. My favorite is a combination of peaches and blueberries. They’re in season at the same time, and the sweetness of the peaches is perfectly balanced with the tart blueberries. 

It’s called “1-Cup Cobbler” because you use a cup of sugar, a cup of flour and a cup of milk.

What you’ll need:

• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• ½ tsp cinnamon (optional, but delicious!)
• 2 cups peaches (sliced and pitted)
• 2 cups blueberries

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place butter in a 9×9-inch or similar baking dish and melt it in the oven.
• In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, milk and cinnamon. Stir until smooth.
• Pour the batter over the melted butter (don’t stir).
• Evenly sprinkle peaches and blueberries on top (again, no stirring).
• Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

Let it cool slightly, then serve with vanilla ice cream.