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We all know we need to eat more whole grains, and one of the easiest ways to start doing just that is to swap out white rice for brown rice. Any recipe that calls for white rice can be made with brown rice (with some exceptions, like risotto). And in some cases, brown rice might even make your dish taste better. It has a toasty, nutty flavor that pairs wonderfully with ingredients like roasted vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, and hearty proteins like steak, salmon, and pork....

At this point, we probably don’t have to tell you that cooking three meals a day while avoiding grocery stores is no easy feat. It’s no surprise that the coronavirus pandemic is changing the way we approach our favorite recipes. Without the ability to run out and pick up whatever ingredients we’re missing, home cooks are experimenting with substitutions and making more and more things from scratch. From chocolate chip cookies to banana bread, if you’re baking your way through quarantine, you’re not alone....

There is no getting around it: The largest chapter in a catalog of favorite Southern foods would undoubtedly be fried foods. There is fried chicken, fried okra, fried catfish, fried pork chops… the list goes on. If we choose not to fry, it is usually for one of two reasons: We opt for a healthier cooking method, such as roasting a chicken instead of frying it, or we don’t want to deal with cleaning up the cooking oil....

We can all benefit from some big cheese knowledge, but who do you turn to when you need all the facts on Parmesan, Gruyere, and Cheddar? Raymond Hook. He’s been in the cheese business since 1984 and is in the midst of opening Capella Cheese, his gourmet shop in Atlanta, where customers will be able to shop over 300 varieties of cheese. He shared with us a slew of tips and tidbits about cheese storage....

Come summertime, farmers’ markets are buzzing with shoppers lining up to purchase their haul of peak-season tomatoes. These plump, juicy gems steal the show in summer recipes, from fresh salads to savory pies to BLTs. Not to mention, those thick slices sprinkled with nothing but salt and pepper. The selection of tomatoes seems as endless as the dishes, with colorful heirloom varieties, petite cherry tomatoes, or larger beefsteaks. Whichever you choose, storing these prized pieces of produce in the right spot can help keep them fresher for longer....

As the Appalachian Mountains cascade down the East Coast, punctuating the landscape with peaks and valleys, they find at their southern reach a stretch of small towns so charming that they seem as if they’ve appeared from the pages of a storybook. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia, they invite visitors to wander picturesque downtown districts and explore the rolling countryside where autumn weekends can be spent harvesting apples, riding aboard a scenic railway, and strolling through the changing leaves....

They’re cute, furry, playful, and now, after a prolonged hiatus, they’re on the rebound in Texas! That’s right y’all, North American river otters are reportedly reclaiming their former territory in the Lone Star State. Diana Foss, an urban biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), confirmed to Texas Monthly that otters have been returning to the state’s waterways over the past decade. They’ve even been spotted frolicking in Houston’s Buffalo Bayou....

Haven’t tuned into the premiere of season two of Sweet Magnolias? Thanks to author Sherryl Woods, we’ve got new tea on what we can look forward to from our highly anticipated return to Serenity. Warning: spoilers ahead. In addition to finally finding out who was in the car, Woods—who wrote the books the show is based on—promises an “interesting and different season” with some “really raw emotions coming to the surface....

Fall is around the corner, which means it’s pumpkin spiced-everything season. You can keep your pumpkin spiced lattes, and Oreo cookies, and cereal, and M&Ms, and donuts, and ice cream. Just leave me a loaf of pumpkin bread and I’ll be happy. Pumpkin bread is my favorite quick bread, but I only bake it in the fall. You can never go wrong with a classic recipe, but one reason I love pumpkin bread so much is because pumpkin is a surprisingly good match for lots of flavors....

Mamas across the South are shaking their heads in unison. According to a new study by HomeAdvisor, we’re all dealing with the same strife in our households when it comes to the rules that go wayside. In fact, the study found that house rules are broken at least once daily in a third of American homes. The survey results also show that some rules are more commonly set than others. Putting things back in place is the most common expectation in homes, according to the study....

You’ll hear the uptempo favorite Rocky Top played between 40 to 50 times at any University of Tennessee football game—especially when the team is on fire (as it is this season, ranking this week as #1 in the country).“There’s no set number,” says Dr. Michael Stewart, director of Tennessee’s Pride of the Southland Band. “We play it after any touchdown, any field goal or any big play. We incorporate it into our pregame show and our ‘March to the Stadium’ parade route....

Mark your calendars, on Sunday, August 16, at 8 p.m. ET, you’re going to want to tune into PBS to watch Lucy Worsley’s Royal Photo Album. In the one-hour special, the British historian looks at some of the most famous and infamous photos of the royal family and examines their relationship with the medium, from staged “royal walkabouts” to tabloid snapshots. In the exclusive clip above, Worsley discusses Princess Margaret, her style, and her relationship with the camera, as well as her tumultuous relationship with Antony Armstrong-Jones, who became the Earl of Snowdon after the couple married in 1960....

It’s as recognizable as Spode’s Christmas dishes, as beloved as Blue Willow china, and as collectible as Depression glass: cabbage and lettuce ware have graced Southern tables for decades. Heck, it’s such a staple in this part of the world that we even have our own collection of cabbage-shaped ceramics at Dillards! (BUY IT: Cabbage Serving Bowl, $42; dillards.com). But the origins of the veggie-inspired dishes reach across the pond (and much farther back in history), says Sotheby’s porcelain and ceramics specialist Suzanne Harrison in a 2013 article from the Wall Street Journal: “Pottery and porcelain table wares in naturalistic forms such as fruits and vegetables were widely produced in England and Europe throughout the 18th and 19th centuries....

Organizing stuff just might be the South’s favorite pastime. Well, next to collecting stuff, that is. However, thanks to the example set by the decluttering magicians at The Home Edit and Marie Kondo urging us to ask whether each item in our linen closet sparks joy, getting rid of stuff can be pretty thrilling, too. Cleaning out your laundry room, garage, or even desk can feel daunting, but there are real psychological benefits to it....

Hundreds of eggs. Crates of liquors. Pounds of sugar. Gallons of milk and cream. Eggnog parties were once a staple of Christmas in Alabama, but the labor behind the beverage complicates its associated merriment. As polarizing as the drink might be today, eggnog was the height of festive luxury in the 19th and early-20th centuries. “An Alabama eggnog is one that caresses the palate with velvety gentleness,” journalist and author Jack Kytle explained in the late-1930s, “and then once it is within the stomach, suddenly it becomes the counterpart of a kicking mule....

Among the lush mountains and quaint suburbs of Alabama lies a tiny kingdom that 20,000 people love to call home. Right on the outskirts of Birmingham, the historic city of Mountain Brook matches the vibrant culture of a big city with all the charm of a small town. Whether setting up a permanent residence or just passing through its charming neighborhoods, this community is ready to cater to your every indulgence all within a few square miles....

Holidays, family in town, and celebrations galore—this is the time of year when we’re gathering with loved ones more than ever. If you’re hosting a get-together, the right supplies are a must. Hosts shouldn’t spend all their time working, either; come the holiday season, it’s important to spend quality time with friends and family. To make hosting as hassle-free as possible, a little pre-planning will do wonders. Keep the menu simple, don’t stress about everything being perfect, and keep these hosting must-haves on hand....

There are no shrinking violets in Grandma’s house. No, her house is filled with a particular perennial planted in pots, and it’s one of the most popular houseplants known to gardeners: the African violet. These bright bloomers offer up flowers all year long. They’re nostalgic plantings, and our childhood memories are filled with them, their purple, pink, and white blooms peeking out from windowsills and their fuzzy leaves inching over the lips of terracotta pots....

While we don’t know what spurred this amazing discount, we do know why the simple dishes are still as popular as ever among bakers. The durable glass is safe to put in the microwave, dishwasher, oven, and freezer. You won’t have to worry about last week’s quiche commingling with this week’s apple pie since the non-porous dish doesn’t absorb food odors or flavors. Finally, the glass dishes are sleek enough to include in your tablescape, so you can serve whatever delicious creation you’ve just made in style....

People generally hate it when their plants die. They feel betrayed. They feel cheated. Mostly, they feel embarrassed, because they think they did something wrong. Cheer up. I present to you a flowering plant that has never be known to die. It’s called a crinum lily. Many types of crinum lilies exist, native to the warmer parts of the Americas and Africa. Some represent a single species, but most that you encounter are hybrids of different species....