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.