Pumpkin pie is a must-have for Americans around the holidays. In fact, an estimated 50 million pumpkin pies are consumed every year at Thanksgiving. But what if I told you that’s not real pumpkin pie you’re eating?

One of my favorite childhood memories is traveling up the mountain to Julian, and eating pie at the Julian Pie Company. When I smell apple pie, it always takes me back to that cozy pie shop. Now, I also make my house cozy as I put up apples in all forms, not just pie. And my house, well when September hits and I’m preserving an apple bounty, it smells like Julian to me.

Grocery prices are climbing, so turn scraps into savings while adding interesting and healthy items to your pantry.

One of my favorite snack recipes is layered Greek dip, which makes a substantial number of servings. Homemade hummus is topped with layers of vegetables, whole Greek yogurt, olives and feta cheese.

Today’s busy cook is veering away from just quick, to quick and healthy. It’s my opinion the days of the blue and green dinosaur shaped chicken nugget are coming to an end. People want real food.

It’s possibly nervy thinking I have anything to serve up Southern California’s community in terms of a Mexican rice recipe, but I absolutely do. I might not have an abuela who passed down authentic Mexican recipes, but I grew up in Southern California, and know what good Mexican rice tastes like. The standard for me was set years ago at Carlsbad’s Fidel's Mexican Restaurant. It’s now called Norte, but to some of us, it will always be Fidel’s.

Thumbing through the yellowed recipe cards from years back, I can see glimpses of times gone by — the ingredients, the lingo, and the simplicity. I loved the stains and crinkles on the cards, thinking of busy hands pulling them out of the box, hurrying to get dinner served on time. My grandmother ate poor man’s soup, but there is only a richness in the care, creativity, and even worry people faced, and still face today, about nourishing their families.