About Lana
Hi, I’m Lana. I grew up in a rural southwest Georgia town of about 1,200 residents among a large family of excellent southern cooks. At the time that I was born I had eleven living grand and great-grandparents along with more aunts and uncles than I can count! It was a very large, close extended family, all of whom loved to cook and eat. It was in this small town, surrounded by wonderful cooks, that I learned the love for and art of southern cuisine.
I have so many treasured memories of cooking and huge family meals shared on fine china in my mother’s dining room. Memories of grandmothers and aunts whose specialties included things like coconut cake, ambrosia, turnip greens, cornbread, and, yes, congealed salads.
When I started Never Enough Thyme in February 2009 I really had no idea where it was going. It was Super Bowl Sunday afternoon and I was bored. I’d been thinking about blogging for a while but wasn’t sure of what I could share that would be of interest to anyone beyond my immediate family. But I went ahead and took the first step anyway. It was no time at all before I realized that what I wanted to do was share my love of cooking with an audience.
When I first started blogging, it was just me, my kitchen and the computer. My only readers were my daughter, my husband, and my mama. Over time I’ve grown my readership a little more and have come to know other bloggers through their comments, on facebook and twitter.
Many of my recipes reflect the culture and time in which I grew up. Occasionally, I share glimpses of the simpler more genteel life we led during my childhood. Although traditional and updated southern recipes are my focus, I do include other dishes that we’ve enjoyed. For instance, I recently posted a recipe for Machaca Burritos. Definitely not traditional southern, but delicious!
I’ve been posting here for a while now, enough time that I can reflect back to the beginning and think about what’s important. For me, it’s essential to be authentic. I try to always remember that traditional southern cooking is humble food. For some of us it is a reminder of where and from whom we came. The humble, but filling and satisfying, food that our farming ancestors provided for their families. Humble food, humbly but graciously prepared and gratefully received by hard-working, humble families. I know full well from where I come. I come from some of those humble, hard working, farming folks who appreciated what their Mamas put on the table for them. And I thank every one of them, the ones who came before, the ones who I knew and now miss, and the ones who are still here with us, for their part in making me who I am today.
I truly appreciate each and every person who stops by here and am so tickled when one of my recipes works out well for a visitor!!
Drop me a line any time at LanaAnn@gmail.com
