





Have you ever heard the name Clementine Paddleford ?
I’d never heard the name Clementine Paddleford (b.1897-d.1967) until I found it on a recipe tucked in an old cookbook.
Turns out she was an early food writer who was a pilot, flying all around the country in her Piper Cub plane, writing about the food discovered in different regions of America.


Paddleford’s own book How America Eats (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1960) can be purchased but the least expensive price is $50
So I ordered a used book Hometown Eats written about her and learned a lot.
Hometown Appetites is a biography By Authors Kelly Alexander and Cynthia Harris include 55 recipes

A Paddleford quote in Saveur article (written by author Alexander)
“We all have hometown appetites,” Paddleford once said. “Every other person is a bundle of longing for the simplicities of good taste once enjoyed on the farm or in the hometown they left behind.”
Here’s a screenshot of one of her cookbooks you can still get from Abe Books (this is not a link)

Is it Devilled or Deviled? Who cares?
Either way you spell it, these hard boiled, then split-in-half eggs with the yolks scooped out and mashed, are frequently devoured with enthusiasm at a party. The 1800’s Housewife spells with two Ls and has a source for this question from this link at the Grammarist It depends upon where you live!
Click the link for the Devilled Eggs 1877recipe from The 1800’s Housewife




Will the real Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding please stand up!




In 2013 I did a NYC Bakery blog post which included Magnolia Bakery.

It’s Spring!
Here’s the Pasta Primavers Recipe I used as a guideline. By Giada Delaurentiis

Rainbow carrots, zucchini, garlic, broccoli, green beans, cherry tomatoes- halved, red onion, garlic cloves, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and a sprinkle of Italian Seasoning a mixture of herbs. Roasted in a hot oven. The green beans and broccoli were leftover from the past two nights so added the warmed beans towards the end.



“
dc, the Florida guy, is a blog follower and frequent commenter. His words make me laugh out loud! He’s the one who doesn’t care for mushrooms. 😉
dc was inspired by the Minnesota Hotdish blog post (thank you Audrey!)
Here’s what happened after he read the collaborative post I did with the help of Audrey H of Minnesota Prairie Roots blog.
dc wrote
What is the difference between hotdish and casserole?
Definition: Casserole is the name of the dish used to cook with, whereas hot dish is the meal itself. Ingredients: Casseroles can contain any ingredients under the sun practically, where hot dishes have set ingredients they have to have.
“Today’s post was an inspiration. Photos to follow.”
Here are the photos dc sent me throughout the day




Thanks dc. That was fun. I know it tasted good.
A tribute to a restaurant, La Cucina Flegrea– opened in the late ‘90s. now permanently closed. This print is when it was located on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill.
Rigatoni alla Vodka Spaghetti alla Rucola (Arugula) Tagliatelle Zucchini, and the soups!
Steve bought this print in Bloomfield years ago. It’s on my kitchen wall. I was thinking about all the delicious meals I had eaten over the years. My family celebrated my fiftieth birthday at this restaurant in 2002. I took a cooking class with Chef Anna Fevola in 2010 (click to see blog post)

Greetings from Zagreb.
It’s Lješnjaci season. Hazelnuts. Do you like hazelnuts? I’ve never seen them sold like this in the USA but they grow and are harvested here in Croatia. These lješnjaci are out of the shell and sold in net bags. .
“Corylus avellana. Hazelnuts are sweet with characteristic slight notes of musty and earthy. One of the significant flavor mixtures found in hazelnuts is fiber tone. Filbertone is a naturally occurring ketone found in hazelnut oil. It has a roasted, marbled, sweet, and long-lasting character”

https://youtu.be/w9NY1rTnALo video of harvesting hazelnuts in Croatia
When I was Arizona, I saw this unusual (to me) products

Nopalitos marinated Cactus recipe for cactus salad
Prickly Pear Cactus paddles Yes or No?
“Are nopales in a jar good for you?”
“Nopales and prickly pear fruit are high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. They are a nutritious addition to a balanced diet and may help decrease blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and lower cholesterol.”
The kind of peppers where you might need gloves to handle them when you cut them and you never ever touch your eye!
Here’s an article how to use them without getting burned
These were given to me a few weeks ago.
I let them dry out. Pretty soon, with the change of weather, it’s going to be chili season. A big pot on the stove’s back burner on a chilly afternoon could be a little spicier this year. I have a jar of dried red Chile peppers I use to add some zip to dishes. Sometimes they can make your lips sing.



Red hot pepper was what we used to call out when cranking a jump rope, speeding it up, seeing how many jumps you could do at a rapid pace.