Believe it or not, this old tomboy is a pretty decent cook. Most people don’t expect a girl who grew up wrestling and playing ball to be able to prepare scrumptious food. You see, I had the advantage of learning from two awesome southern cooks: my Mamaw Myrtle/Girdle and my Mamaw Jo.

Mamaw Myrtle/Girdle was more of a “fancy” cook; whereas, Mamaw Jo cooked with a country flair. I still use a combination of their different methods, but there was one thing they both agreed on: bacon grease could make dirt taste good.

Let me tell you, as long as Mamaw Jo was alive, there was always a pot of coffee brewing and a cup of bacon grease sitting in her kitchen. Of course, I thought that was the norm. Boy, was I wrong.

One day, I was watching a cooking show where one of the guests was discussing cooking and eating healthy. Everything was going along fine until she made the comment, “First, you need to get rid of your cup of bacon grease sitting on the stove.”

The majority of the audience gasped.

Let me clarify here, the audience didn’t gasp because they wanted to continue using bacon grease. They gasped because they had never heard of keeping bacon grease.

Obviously, those “gasping” people hadn’t grown up in the south and/or on farms. And they hadn’t experienced (as we say in the south) some real good eatin’.

This reminded me of a “Hee Haw” skit with Grandpa Jones. He would be cleaning a window when people hollered, “Hey Grandpa, what’s for supper?” After he told them quite the southern menu, the people replied, “Yum! Yum!”

I would dare say just about everything on Grandpa Jones’ supper menu had bacon grease in it.

As for my grandpa, or should I say papaw, bacon grease was a sauce. I’m not exaggerating. When we had potatoes mashed or baked, my mamaw placed the cup of bacon grease next to his plate. Do you already have the image in mind?

Papaw would pour the bacon grease over his mashed potatoes as if it was a sauce or gravy. And since he didn’t eat butter, he would dunk his baked potato into the grease.

My Mamaw Myrtle/Girdle also used it as a sauce when she made wilted lettuce. Ever heard of it? She heated up bacon grease and poured it over lettuce. My mom still talks about it.

So, if bacon grease tastes so good, why did the cooking show lady suggest getting rid of it? I think we all know the answer to that one. Bacon grease is actually very bad for us. In fact, I haven’t used it in years.

But that doesn’t mean you have to give up on cooking tasty food.

As you may know, giving up isn’t something I like to do. Whenever you hit an obstacle, don’t give up and stop. Find another way to skin that cat.

For instance, my mom uses chicken broth in her cooking. Her green beans are delicious. Yum! Yum! As for me, I like to sauté onions before I use them. And I have many sauces and seasonings in my cabinet and refrigerator. I like to experiment with different flavors. Most of the time, it works. A couple of times we headed to Burger King or Hardees.

I hope you find what makes dirt taste good to you all.

“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.” Isaiah 55:2 (KJV)

And I hope it is healthy as well.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19 (KJV)