About Us

If Valerie wasn’t in the kitchen baking with her Mom or Grandma, then you could find her out mullet fishing with her Dad. She had to hang onto her Dad’s belt to string the mullet until she was big enough to throw a cast net.

She loved fishing for mullet, because after they caught a boat load they went home to scale their catch. Once the fish was prepared, her Dad smoked them very slowly in an old icebox. {Okay, so for those of you who don't know what an icebox is, it’s a refrigerator.} Her Dad took an old icebox that was sitting around and removed the motor out from the bottom, which is where the wood would go. He then cut a hole so the heat and smoke could come through, because back then the racks in an icebox were metal, so they were perfect to lay the fish on. Her Dad would season the mullet with plenty of salt and pepper, and when they were almost done he would mop them with butter. That was their first smoker.

When she was a young teenager it was finally time to learn the skill of making chicken and dumplings. As a southerner you know how important this task is.

However, one of her favorite cooking lessons was going to her Grandparents fish camp on Lake Istokpoga where she helped her Grandpa pick buckets, and she means buckets, of fresh, pink guavas. After the harvesting was completed she would line up with her siblings with their spoons in hand. Her Grandma and Grandpa peeled the guavas and cut them in half. Valerie and the kids would scrape out all the seeds into a washtub and put the peelings and hulls in another tub. Once the meat of the fruit was prepared, then it was time to make jelly and guava cobbler.

Valerie got married and had four daughters. She was a busy mom, juggling many tasks, however she always made time to spoil her family, friends, and neighbors with good eats during any celebratory event like a birthday party, summer barbecue, or Christmas dinner.

Green Apple Catering opened its doors with the intention to cater homemade foods made from scratch served with old fashioned southern hospitality

Valerie has four siblings and three of them cook for a living. Her sister cooks something new everyday, just because she loves it and loves to share her recipes. One of her brothers owns a dairy where they make cheese, kefir, and sour cream, and another brother has a barbeque business in town. Therefore, the tradition of cooking goes on and on in their family.

Today

As for her Mom and Dad’s house, there is still always a dessert on the counter or something in the oven, just in case a few or 20 people stop by for a snack or dinner, which is very often the case. So it's pretty safe to say Valerie comes from a long line of southern cooks and hospitality. She still sets the table, eats together as a family, and they dip their plates until every last bit is gone, because the food is just that good.