Last year, I became fascinated with Clara Cannucciari (August 28, 1915-November 29, 2013) after reading Clara’s Kitchen, a book she co-authored about growing up during the Great Depression. The cover of her book states she is, “Everybody’s favorite YouTube Grandmother,” as she also hosted online cooking segments through age 96. She’s certainly mine, as none of my grandmothers […]
Brined & Roasted Chicken Legs for Two (Adapted from The Pioneer Woman) + Curry Mayo
I was a hesitant Pioneer Woman fan. When her cooking show first aired, I wasn’t sure I liked her. Soon, I found myself watching her show with surprising regularity and setting my DVR to record it. And when she made those darn hand cookies, well, I just found myself wishing I could make hand cookies […]
Trying Grandmother Jane’s Mysterious “Fruit Appetizer”
This is the sixth installment in my series in which I cook all eleven recipes I found my grandmothers had submitted to their old church cookbooks. Previous recipes include Salad with Cashew Nuts, Ham & Sour Cream Casserole, Old Fashioned Cauliflower Slaw, Apricot Jello Salad, and Ship Wreck casserole (the one my mom hated). For Fat Tuesday, we went sweet. Way sweet. […]
My Childhood Heroes Sang & Cooked: My Top Four
I’ve been thinking a lot about my childhood heroes and role models. I recently started a part-time job assisting a nonprofit that matches youth with mentors with their communications and programming. Therefore, the topic of role models and childhood heroes is often swirling around in the forefront of my mind. This past weekend, the Academy […]
I Love Mail & Hate This Winter So I Signed-Up For The Mug O’ Comfort Swap
I’ve been relatively quiet about my opinions regarding this winter’s weather simply because I would only be adding to the noise. This week we started running our sink to prevent our pipes from freezing, I tried to walk my dog today and we both went numb halfway down the cul-de-sac, I drove home in a […]
Church Cookbook Wacky Cake With Cocoa-Coffee Glaze
I stumbled upon Wacky Cake as a youth quite by accident. My parents were very frugal, especially my mom. I’m sure she learned this from her parents who lived through the Great Depression. I remember visiting my grandma in Cuyahoga Falls, OH and finding bags filled with bags, boxes filled with wrapping paper she had […]