eating my words

We love sharing our delectable recipes and enticing photos with you each and every month, but we rarely get a chance to show you what's involved with an actual photo shoot.  In fact, most folks are surprised to find out just how much work (and talent) goes into creating food images.

Back March, with camera in hands, I peeked in on the team producing the "No-Fuss Tarts" story (which is currently running on page 106 of the July issue) to document a day in the Southern Living Photo Studio.

I was lucky enough to make a trip out to Austin, TX to do research for an upcoming story in the magazine. I love the oasis that is Austin and I was once fortunate enough to call the city my home. It had been awhile since I last visited so I was very excited to return. My friends Shelley and Brian, natives of the area, have been going on and on about how the city is changing so fast since I have left. "Lots of new development and lofts everywhere....very California," to quote them, so I was very curious.

My buttermilk biscuits will never be the same.  Nor will my buddy, Jay's, awesome Mexican cornbread.  I can kiss that skillet of goodness good-bye.  Why?  White Lily, the grand dame of Southern baking, has, like Elvis, left the building.  Parent company, J.M. Smucker, transfered the original production facility from Knoxville, TN to plants in the Midwest. (White Lily's previous owners, C.H. Guenther & Sons retained ownership of the Knoxville location.)  The reality of the situation has set in and everyone -- from home cooks to gourmet chefs to the food editors of just about every newspaper around -- is lamenting the "passing."

The buzz surrounding the latest food scare -- salmonella-tainted tomatoes -- is substantial.  One network is busy reporting the situation is only going to drive up the cost of these precious summertime gems, while another says this will steer even more folks away from anything fresh.  (I reckon now’s a good time to be in the canned food business.)

As y’all might imagine, this got me thinking about a whole host of things ranging from eating local to growing your own fruits and vegetables to the FDA (oy, vey!).  But I’ve mostly been thinking about the Young Ones (and I don’t mean Vyvyan, Rick, Neil, and Mike).  I’m referring to my kids and their friends who need a constant reminder of where their food comes from and continual reinforcement that growing your own tomatoes, for instance, is easy (and important!) even if you don’t live on a farm.