“I just love summer!” insists The Old Lady, “Southern summertimes mean real red-ripe home-grown tomatoes and you know what that means (dramatic pause)… BLTs!”

For the uninitiated BLTs are Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches.

We’ve talked Tomato, now let’s talk Bacon. Three things: thick sliced, cooked crispy, and save the bacon grease! The Old Lady is a progressive Southern cook; she does not strain her bacon grease but pours it bits and all in an old jelly jar. “Just like the health benefits of eating a whole apple versus drinking the juice, when I add bacon grease to my cornbread I want all the nutrition of these crunchy bits,” she says.

“Lettuce? Anything but iceberg.

“Mayo? Nothing but Hellman’s.

“Bread? Whole grains please.

“I sing the praises of the BLT,” hummed The Old Lady happily. “It is the song of my people.”