Archives of Eat

This story was first published as “Community Cookbook: Make Cornbread with Val Grant from Sikeston, Mo.” in the September 2024 issue of The Best Years.  Violet “Val” Grant grew up in a large family in Sikeston, Mo. Her mother, Hattie, birthed 18 children, with Grant coming close to the end at No. 16. Her dad […]

This story was first published in the October 2025 issue of The Best Years as “Community Cookbook: Make pecan tassies and kolackys with Mary Rowe of Marble Hill, Mo.” Mary Rowe of Marble Hill, Mo., grew up the fourth child out of 10. Since her father was in the Navy, they often moved throughout the […]

This story was first published as “Community Cookbook: Make Senior Center meatloaf with Dara Drury of Cape Girardeau” in the August 2025 issue of The Best Years.   Mondays through Fridays, Cape Senior Center kitchen manager and head cook Dara Drury feeds approximately 400 people in Cape Girardeau County, from Scott City to Whitewater to […]

This story was first published as “Community Cookbook: Make a beef and broccoli bowl With Kristi Meyr from New Wells” in the January 2025 issue of The Best Years.   Kristi Meyr, born and raised in Jackson, moved to New Wells after marrying Brad Meyr in 2000. The couple, along with their four children, live […]

This story was first published as “Community Cookbook: Make Chicken Spaghetti with Brenda Robinson-Echols of Sikeston, Mo.” in the April 2025 issue of The Best Years. Brenda Robinson-Echols of Sikeston, Mo., has always had a love for her community. It’s where she was born — delivered in a house down the street by a midwife […]

This story was first published as “Community Cookbook: Make spicy beef salad with Simmaly Mahathath of Perryville, Mo.” in the July 2025 issue of The Best Years.  Simmaly Mahathath, her husband Bounliem and their seven children came to Perryville, Mo., in September 1979, through local sponsorship from the Daughters of Charity in Perryville through St. […]

This story was first published in the June 2025 issue of The Best Years as “Community Cookbook: Deborah Drummond of Jamaica makes curry chicken with potatoes and yellow lentil rice.”    Deborah Drummond grew up in Jamaica and learned to cook curry chicken from a young age. The oldest child of three in a single-parent […]

This story was first published in the May 2025 issue of The Best Years as “Community Cookbook: Make Chicken and Dumplings With Sonja Davis.” Sonja Davis of Jackson grew up learning the ropes of farm life. Her dad raised cattle and pigs on his 500-acre farm. Chickens were ordered in the spring and butchered in […]

This story was first published in the Community Cookbook series in the February 2025 issue of The Best Years. Every Sunday, Melissa Turner of Jackson prepares food for the week ahead. She chops veggies, cooks meat and makes a casserole to be eaten on Monday. A few years ago, she added soup to the schedule […]