Hi, I'm Erin. I live in Spring Hill, Tennessee, in a brick-and-vinyl house on the Williamson County side of town with my husband Ryan, our daughter Nora, our son Jack and Waylon, a coonhound mix who believes everything that hits the kitchen floor belongs to him.
I teach family and consumer sciences at a middle school in Maury County. Most people still call it home ec. That means I spend my days teaching twelve-year-olds why you measure flour with a spoon and how to hold a knife, and my evenings trying to get dinner on the table for four.
I grew up in Lewisburg, mostly at my grandmother's table. Granny June was a farm wife, a church cook and the pie lady at every homecoming in Marshall County. When she died in 2019 I got her red tin recipe box, her 10-inch cast iron skillet and a cutting from her fig tree. A lot of this blog is me working through that box, one index card at a time.
The other part is the compass. We are a family that will drive two hours for lunch. On school breaks we go looking for what people actually eat in a place: barbecue in Memphis, hot chicken in Nashville, a hot brown in Louisville, white sauce in north Alabama, gumbo in New Orleans. I write down what we ate and what it cost.
What you'll find here
- Dinners: weeknight food for a family with a teacher's schedule and a baseball calendar.
- Southern Classics: Granny June's recipe box, cooked and adjusted for a modern kitchen.
- Baking: pies, cakes, cobblers and whatever Nora is selling at her next bake sale.
- Grilling: Ryan's department. Brisket, ribs, chicken and the occasional lesson learned at 3 a.m.
- Food Trips: day trips and school-break trips around Tennessee and the South, with the full cost.
- Kitchen Notes: tools, groceries, cast iron and the practical stuff in between.
A few honest notes
I'm a teacher and a home cook, not a chef, a dietitian or a financial professional. What I share is what works in our kitchen. For allergies, special diets or medical questions, please talk with your doctor or a registered dietitian. Prices change by store and season, so check before you shop.
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I'd love to hear what you're cooking: erin@crumbsandcompass.com.