Food & Drink

[Lunch Lady] One-Offs

"Sometimes we have to be judged on our one-offs," wrote Nick Hornby...

[Lunch Lady] Brand Spankin' New Downtown

In some cities, storefronts are full, and any time one business vacates, there is another one on its heels to take over. In other places, storefronts stay empty for years and fall into disrepair, and the vacancy seems more like an epidemic than an opportunity. The restaurant scene in downtown Jackson seems to be tilting toward the former lately, which is great news for local diners.

[Green Girl] Fewer Cow Pies, More French Fries

One major solution to the problem of global warming is making small changes in our own homes. A multitude of thingscars, factories, power plantsheavily contribute to global-warming pollution. We've heard a lot about driving less, changing our light bulbs, recycling. Even our weekly grocery trips have come under scrutiny. We've talked about the importance of incorporating organic and locally grown foods into our diets. But the issue is bigger than that. A major contributor to global warming is the cow.

Krewe of Broccoli

Can't get enough of Mal's St. Paddy's Parade? Continue the party at home, and have another Mal-athon on your dining room table. You need only to create a krewe of broccoli stalks marching on a street paved with split peas and red beans—and, presto, you've got a green parade. This year's theme celebrates nutrition and health. (Stick the broccoli in candle holders or use pin frogs.)

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four…

Mark McCrary, executive director of the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits and enthusiastic St. Paddy's Day celebrant, grew up eating potatoes—the most Irish of vegetables. His mother no doubt used them because potatoes are not only nutritious and inexpensive, but can be cooked in endless ways. Mark was kind enough to share his mother's recipes for scalloped potatoes and ham, and Irish coffee.

How to Make Irish Coffee

Step-by-step instructions for a tasty beverage.

DIY: The Day After

For the past three months I've been stuck inside the four walls of my house, braving this new-fangled "southern winter" we're experiencing, and I am bored. I'm dying in here. I've clung to the fact that the St. Paddy's Parade is only a few days away. I know that, on that day, everyone will once again leave their homes—suspiciously tan—dressed in anything but dull winter clothes. I crave this day every year. The day after the parade? Not so much.

Irish Cocktails

If you can't find anything green in your closet, a green drink could be your best defense against pinchers ready to pounce on their non-green companions. You can add green food dye to pretty much anything and make it festive, but to be truly St. Paddy's ready, try a more organically green cocktail. Below are some recipes that will suit any taste, and if not, I hear absinthe's legal now.

Beer Me Up, Scotty

This St. Patrick's Day, forget the artificially green light beer, and pick up a real Irish beer. The Irish have been brewing beer since at least the 12th century, so you can figure they are good at it. Beer generally falls into one of two categories: lagers and ales. But Irish beer has one more category: stout, or porter.

[Lunch Lady] Beer Me!

Lunch Lady's friends hear it all the time: Lunch Lady's getting too old for this. Too old for what, you ask? And for what, short of wearing footie pajamas, could a 24-year-old be too old? Well, Lunch Lady is too old to go out with her friends, watch them drink too much, wait around until they're ready to go home, and then follow them here and there to make sure they're not making regrettable decisions. This isn't college anymore, folks. (Well, maybe it is for some of you.)

The Lost Art Of Eating Breakfast

When I was a child growing up in Montana, my family would take annual trips to California to visit my mom's parents. My Nana and Pompa lived in a big house high above the San Francisco bay. I would wake up every morning to the smell of coffee wafting through the heater vents. As I staggered downstairs, I could hear Pompa watching "Kathy Lee and Regis Live!" in the other room. Nana would make me oatmeal with sweet chunks of peaches and bananas. Ah, breakfast, your beautiful beacon of sustenance and motivation.

[Lunch Lady] Local Flavor

As you may know, to be a true Jackson Free Press foodie, you must require a few things of your restaurants: Located in Jackson? Check. Locally owned and operated? Of course. Local flavor? You got that right.

[Fly] How to Do Valentine's Day, Sans Date

If you've recently kicked your valentine to the curb, don't sit in front of your private bonfire burning every item that reminds you of him or her. Instead throw a "Love Stinks" anti-valentine bash. Have everyone purge their useful and gently used items that bring up remembrances of the ex from hell to offer to the greater good. Everyone gets to pick up stuff they want, then pile everything no one wants into the community bonfire and howl in concert to let it all go up in smoke.

[Fly] Decadence and Chocolate

On Valentine's Day, forsake your inhibitions and romp with your lover beginning with a little chocolate. Taken to the extreme, it could conceivably lead to cuddling and even (dare I say it) participating in more strenuous lovers' "exercise." And though I am not recommending such dual endeavors, I am not necessarily discouraging them.

[Lunch Lady] Setting the Mood, With Food

Lunch Lady is excusing herself from offering you any aphrodisiac advice this year, in part because she realizes that you can't all agree with her on the powers of tweed jackets with elbow patches, cheap cologne and a week's worth of facial hair, and in part because she has a replacement. For this special fly Valentine's Day, Lunch Lady is taking a break and yielding to her French counterpart, La Demoiselle de Déjeuner, who might have a better idea of romance and increasing your (sexual) appetite.

Ellington