Tag Archives: Richmond

Spiffed Up Saltines

Think saltines are just for snack time at nursery school? This recipe, a favorite from the 1970s, adds a toffee topping and transforms an ordinary cracker into a holiday treat. I first tasted this kind of toffee at the annual … Continue reading

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The Best of the Clippings for Kugel Recipes

I don’t think my mother ever made a noodle kugel for the Jewish holidays, but that didn’t stop her from clipping recipes from a variety of sources and stuffing them into a Jewish cookbook that she kept on her shelf. … Continue reading

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Recreating a Tearoom Treat

Through the mid to late 20th century, department store tearooms gave shoppers a place to relax and regroup. Originally a clever marketing ploy to keep customers in the store, the tearooms became a beloved part of the community. Many were … Continue reading

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A Sweet Ending

For a dessert to end 2018, I found a recipe with just eight ingredients, all of them pantry staples: butter, two kinds of sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, chocolate, and nuts. The shortbread base with melted chocolate and nuts on top … Continue reading

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Gardening in a Time of War

You won’t find too many sumptuous meals in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy in the Civil War. You will find two women gardening to supplement their meager larder in Secrets in a House Divided, the historical  novel I just … Continue reading

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Got Mint? Make Juleps!

When your garden is overrun with mint, it’s time to think beyond garnishes for fruit salads. I muddled my way through mojitos and decided to make another classic, the mint julep.

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Lemon Pudding Adapted for Passover

If you’re keeping Kosher for Passover, you already trotted out your standard recipes at the seder. Now comes the drudgery of making lunch with matza and boiled eggs, then dinner with leftover brisket. That’s why I looked through my family … Continue reading

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Grandma’s Saucy ‘Snap’ Beans

When I was growing up in Richmond, Virginia, my grandmother always called green beans “snaps,” short for snap beans.

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Havin’ a Fit of Spring Fever

An unruly but quite productive rhubarb plant grows in my yard in Boston, so I’m always looking for ideas beyond my standard strawberry-rhubarb jam. I found this one in Signs of Good Taste by Ann Meade Besenfelder (2000), a book … Continue reading

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Cranberries for Chanukah

This year marks one of the rare times that the first night of Chanukah coincides with Christmas Eve. Interfaith families might be lighting candles while waiting for Santa. My favorite latke recipe never changes but this year I decided to … Continue reading

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