The Best Southern Meal Ever

I had a rare weekend without many plans this past weekend, so I called my mom and asked her to cook me dinner! My parents live an hour away in Arkansas, which makes it super-convenient for me to make a quick trip over for a family dinner night. At least once per summer, I like to make sure I have a plate of Southern fried veggies while they're in season. I LOVE fried veggies, but I try to stay low-oil at home. But when mama is cooking, all food rules are off!

My parents were happy for an excuse to eat all that fried goodness too! So my mom made a big ole plate of everything awesome — Fried Summer Squash, Fried Okra, Fried Green Tomatoes, Fried Potatoes with Chow Chow, and Corn on the Cob.

Okay, actually my dad made the corn on the cob. He learned a cool trick on the internet for microwaving corn in the husk. You microwave for three-and-a-half minutes (in the husk) and then chop the stalk end off. Then you can shake the corn out of the husk without those pesky strings! It's similar to opening a banana backwards (to avoid the strings). Plus, the corn comes out perfectly steamed!

We smeared our corn with Earth Balance and dipped our fried green tomatoes in Daiya vegan ranch. By the way, my mom says my recipe for fried green tomatoes in Cookin' Crunk is her all-time fave, so she uses that one all the time now.

Mama also made some Soup Beans & Cornbread. She put fresh jalapenos in the pinto beans, which added a great lightly spicy flavor. The little cornbread sticks were perfect for our tiny bean bowls (we had to eat little bowls since we had so many other foods!).

My dad has become quite the cook over the past couple years, so of course he had to show off his skills too. Daddy made a Vegan Blackberry Cobbler with a very buttery, cakey crust. So perfect with a scoop of CocoWhip!

But that's not all! He really outdid himself by making two desserts! He also made Bourbon Peach Sorbet using fresh peaches and Jim Beam. So good and perfect for these hot temps! Here's the recipe he used.