Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: How-To Charcuterie Boards

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: How-To Charcuterie Boards

ROCKWALL, TX (Nov. 29, 2021) What is a charcuterie board? Well, the word “charcuterie” means prepared meat. We, the people, have turned charcuterie boards into what they are today. Meat, cheese, fruits, nuts, crackers, breads, desserts – all the things. I am totally fine with this but also, if your “charcuterie board” doesn’t have meat on […]

Cooking with Ease: Gail Spann’s Ginger Meatball Recipe

Cooking with Ease: Gail Spann’s Ginger Meatball Recipe

ROCKWALL, TX – Nov. 8, 2021 — A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of stepping into someone else’s kitchen and watching them cook alongside friends. My husband, Evan, is on the Board of the Rockwall County Historical Foundation. Every year the foundation hosts a Brunch with Minerals tour and fundraiser with board member, […]

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Homemade Hamburger Helper

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Homemade Hamburger Helper

ROCKWALL, TX (August 22, 2021) If you’ve read this column in the past, you probably know I love meals and memories – meals that we’ve attached to positive memories in our life. Meals we’ve shared with loved ones while recapping our day or having important life conversations. As families head back to the classroom, memories […]

Cooking With Ease: Texas Pie Fest

Cooking With Ease: Texas Pie Fest

ROCKWALL, TX (June 23, 2021) Something very special happened a few weeks ago here in Rockwall County. The Texas House of Representatives recognized June 12, 2021 as the official Texas Pie Fest Day. Brittany Hardin of Bonafide Betties Pie Co. and I, Melissa Tate of Tate Farms, started Texas Pie Fest in 2019. That first year, […]

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Easter Banana Pudding Cups

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Easter Banana Pudding Cups

ROCKWALL, TX – April 1, 2021 – It feels like Easter 2020 was a lifetime ago and yet, we have only lived one year in that amount of time. I remember last year we were all still filled with immense uncertainty. Churches scrambling to find ways to reach their congregation without meeting in person, shelves […]

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Love Letter Hand Pies

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Love Letter Hand Pies

ROCKWALL, TX – February 5, 2021 — Love letters are a lost art. Email began to replace written word, quickly followed by the text message – some even giving the sender an immediate “read” so they know the recipient has seen the note. Can you imagine the vulnerability one had to have in sending a […]

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Tate Farms Chicken & Dumplings

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Tate Farms Chicken & Dumplings

ROCKWALL, TX – Nov. 23, 2020 – This time of year is what I like to call Chicken and Dumplings season. They are fitting for any occasion these days. Chicken and Dumplings can warm a cold body or a worried soul. They are perfect to share with family during the holidays. The best door step […]

Staple Goods Market opens this Saturday in Heath

Staple Goods Market opens this Saturday in Heath

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Standard Service to present Fall Market  HEATH, TX (Oct. 6, 2020) As most of you know, Sept. 26 wrapped up the 13th year of Rockwall Farmers Market. Evan and I were absolutely honored to have our Tate Farms Market Wagon accepted as one of the vendors this year. We […]

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: ‘Grandbaby Cakes’ Caramel Peach Dump Cake

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: ‘Grandbaby Cakes’ Caramel Peach Dump Cake

ROCKWALL, TX – August 24, 2020 — What does “amplify black voices” mean? Well, I’ll tell you what it means to me. For years, I’ve collected cookbooks. Cookbooks from my mother, my late mother-in-law, estate sales, vacations, birthdays and holidays. If you ever wonder what to get me…a cookbook is always welcome! The cabinets in […]

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet

Cooking with Ease by Melissa Tate: Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet

(ROCKWALL, TX – June 25, 2020)  Warm chocolate chip cookies bring a certain sense of peace to the soul. A certain sense of calm and comfort. A sense of HOME. Food can do that, you know? It can relax the mind and help you to feel more at ease. These past few months have been […]