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Do you know a homesick active-duty service member who could use a little taste of Texas? You’re in luck! As part of its “Operation Appreciation” initiative, H-E-B is giving away care packages to active-duty U.S service members who are currently deployed overseas. Through its new patriotic mission, the beloved Texas-based grocery chain plans to distribute approximately 500 backpacks full of H-E-B favorites, offering troops a little taste of the Lone Star State....

Let’s say you’re standing at the stovetop, making banana pudding, or some sausage gravy, or a stir-fry sauce. It’s all coming together nicely, but you need to thicken things up. Enter cornstarch. This pantry staple makes thin liquids rich and smooth without changing their flavor. It also adds an attractive glossy sheen—a bonus when you’re making a fruit pie filling or a buttery pan sauce. What Is a Slurry? Adding cornstarch directly into what needs thickening will only result in clumps....

Espadrilles are the undeniable, eternal It Shoe of summer: they’re breezy, like your favorite sandals, but they don’t require a pedicure, as with your old-faithful sneakers. Considering its uber-stylish modern interpretations, with playful embroidered daisies, it’s hard to imagine a time when the espadrille was anything beyond a leisure shoe designed for resort stays and weekend beach getaways. But the espadrille has quite the storied—and spirited—history. Espadrilles have been around since the 1200s, the footwear of choice in the Occitania and Catalonia regions of the Pyrenees mountains on the Spanish and French border....

At its core, baking relies on a series of chemical reactions—from gluten development to leavening, baking is a true science. Understanding the science behind baking will help you hone your skills and ultimately become a better baker. Today, we’re diving into one of the trickiest factors to master: Fermentation. According to Oxford Languages, fermentation is defined as: “The chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeasts, or other microorganisms, typically involving effervescence and the giving off of heat....

No one wants to clean their oven–it has a bad reputation for being a time-consuming and messy task. But, it’s an important task. Not only does a dirty oven affect the outcome of your favorite recipes (it can even drip a little grease into your pie, if you’re not careful!), it can also be a hazard in the kitchen for potential fires. So, when you notice some built-up grime and blackened bits, take 30 minutes or so and tackle your oven....

Some grills are blessed with griddles elegantly built in to the whole structure—if you have one of these grills, you can stop reading now and just use that to cook your bacon. For the rest of humanity, our grills consist of a metal grate over a pile of hot coals or gas-fed flames. It’s this group of people (most of us) that must take special care when trying to throw bacon on the grill....

What is it about meringue that makes it so delicious? It could be the mile-high fluff or the delicate, airy texture. But the art of making meringue is no easy task, it requires skilled knowledge of ‘folding’, which, in short, is the art of folding lighter batter into a heavier batter. This technique most commonly uses whipped cream or meringue to make a light, fluffy cake batter. Unlike the typical practice of stirring, folding is a delicate process that allows the batter to keep its gentle shape without deflating the air out of the lighter ingredient....

If we had a dollar for every potato peeler we’ve used and abandoned in the kitchen, well, we’d be able to splurge on quite a nice potato peeler. But why buy a pricey peeler when the Barefoot Contessa backs a vegetable peeler that will set you back less than $5? As The Kitchn recently pointed out the Kuhn Rikon Straight Peeler ($4 at Williams Sonoma) is featured on her Barefoot Contessa Equipment List, which features a mere 35 products in the entire world of culinary wizardry....

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted Friendsgiving for a few people in my tiny apartment. Given that we were all about to roll out of town for the holiday, the menu theme was ’easy and no fuss.’ I skipped the turkey in favor of Publix fried chicken, and our baking labors were limited to sliding a pan of Sister Schubert’s dinner rolls into the oven (thankfully, we hadn’t planned to include the sausage wrap rolls; may they rest in peace)....

Thursday morning a brave, hardworking nurse serving on the front lines in Memphis, Tennessee got a wonderful surprise from her favorite singer. Good Morning America anchor, TJ Holmes, has pivoted his series “Tell TJ,” from generally supporting and surprising deserving folks around the country, to using it as a platform to boost the morale of our front-line workers during the coronavirus pandemic. The morning show anchor has had to adapt his production process as well, where he would normally have travelled to surprise the worthy hero in person, Holmes is now harnessing the power of technology to video chat the honorees....

I get it - such a statement is quite bold. Let it be. This ain’t my recipe. It’s my grandmother’s. And anything she cooked was perfect. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I’ll say it again full of pride: This is the best darn fried chicken, ever! Speaking of pride, ma’am’s and sir’s, and what I was raised to do or not do, I’ll say that my father, a Southern gentleman, taught me, with an ear-to-ear grin, to open doors for women right alongside the ways and means of sipping a dark drink....

Often referred to as the Rose of Spring, ranunculus is a favorite amongst flower lovers for good reason. With its defined round shape and whisper-thin petals, ranunculus may inspire comparisons to roses and peonies—an aesthetic crowd-pleaser on all fronts. It’s utterly romantic and undeniably whimsical: Tucked into a bridal bouquet, ranunculus looks delicate and sweet; sprouting from a colorful Mother’s Day centerpiece, it’s playful and offbeat. Here, we’re singing the iconic spring bloom’s praises, from planting them to arranging with them....

This season marks the stretch when your pots, pans, skillets, and other items get heavy use, making it also the season when you realize your budget picks simply aren’t cutting it any longer. Whether you’ve whipped up comfort food as the temperatures have gotten cooler, or were single-handedly responsible for your loved ones’ Thanksgiving feast, you’ve likely noticed the need for durable, stylish, and lasting items that help you out just as much as a second set of hands in the kitchen....

Let’s level, hm? There are things we all say we do—or at least say we’re going to start doing—but never actually do. Drink a gallon of water every day, floss after each meal, do all 10 steps of the Korean skincare routine (once we do, it’s game over for you, pores!), and wash all of our makeup brushes after every use. In the words of Jane Austen, “I never saw such a woman....

If you have a belly rub-loving dog, you know the drill. She immediately rolls on her back and exposes her belly, and you proceed to rub and scratch till her heart’s content. Just like a good back scratch or back rub for us humans, the belly scratch feels good! The typical dog is supposed to love a good belly rub. “This is certainly something that features regularly in cartoons. In reality, not every dog is a fan, and some dogs may find a belly scratch an invasion of their personal space,” says Dr....

Few types of makeup are as intimidating as liquid eyeliner. A shaky hand or one wrong flick of the wrist could instantly ruin your look, and force you to grab the makeup remover and start all over again. However, if you’ve mastered the art of applying liquid liner with ease, you already know how powerful and fierce expertly wielding the delicate applicator can make you feel. Whether you’re a beginner or a veritable pro, there are tons of different eyeliners to try, even if you’re not quite looking to spend the big bucks on your next makeup purchase....

Even the briefest surf on the internet will show you a spiking interest in gardening right now—and not just hydrangeas and geraniums. Lots of us who never planted the first vegetable or fruit tree have apparently decided that the ability to grow our own food could come in mighty handy in a tight spot. And as long as you’re at it, you might as well grow produce that’s simple to care for and pretty to look at....

In February, 1978 we shared a recipe for Hummingbird Cake submitted by one of our readers, Mrs. L.H. Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina. That layer cake turned out to be Southern Living’s most requested recipe in our 51 years, elevating it to the echelon of classic Southern cakes. That’s quite a feather in hummingbird cake’s cap considering that we’ve published tens of thousands of recipes, which leads to a couple of questions....

After more than 50 years in business, an Auburn University institution reached its final chapter. Anders Bookstore, which has stood on West Magnolia Avenue since January 1966, shuttered for good last week. According to Opelika-Auburn News, the store will be demolished to make way for a 177-room Graduate Hotel—the chain’s first Alabama location. “An Auburn icon closed its doors this week,” the Auburn Alumni Association announced on Facebook on March 16....

Call the paramedics! Your hydrangea’s leaves have spots on them! What, oh what can prevent your beloved plant’s imminent demise? Don’t worry. Nothing dire is going on. Something very common is. Your hydrangea has leaf spots caused by a fungus (Cercospora or Phyllosticta hydrangea). To demonstrate just how common this is, that’s Grumpy’s hydrangea in the picture above. I know what you’re thinking: “Well, if it could happen to Grumpy, it could happen to anybody....