Tag Archives: Virginia

Sunshine in a Jar

Berries go into preserves, tomatoes into sauce, right? That’s what I always thought until I found my grandmother Hanna’s recipe for Yellow Tomato Preserves.

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Freshly Picked and Marinated

Marinated vegetables usually remind me of mushrooms dripping with oil, plus already-soggy white bread on the side. Yet a 1980s recipe from the Richmond Times-Dispatch tempted me because in the past month, I’ve eaten enough crudités to feel like Peter … Continue reading

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Candied Virginia Tomatoes From a Surprising Source

Inside a booklet that promised nothing more than Great Ideas for Barbecues & Summer Meals (Family Circle, 1983), I ended up finding a recipe for Thomas Jefferson’s Candied Tomatoes sent in by someone I knew quite well — the mother of my … Continue reading

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A ‘Cheap and Quick’ (and Comforting) Pudding from 1862

In any era, wartime cooking brings out the spirit of making do with whatever can be scrounged up when most supplies go to the war effort. The Confederate Receipt Book, published in Richmond in 1862 as the Civil War entered … Continue reading

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Just Add Crab and Crackers to this Dip

One of my favorite sources for quick party appetizers comes from a private school in Richmond, Virginia. With its yellow and green plaid accents, the cover of the cookbook, The Stuffed Cougar (1973) from the Collegiate Schools looks the part … Continue reading

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A Chocolate Mint Tea Room Treasure

Before malls swallowed up main streets, department stores reigned during the Christmas season. People lined up at display windows around the country to gawk at elaborate renditions of Santa’s village as well as mannequins in sequined party wear. The tea rooms … Continue reading

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A Lemony Holiday Cocktail

My search for an historic holiday cocktail turned up endless variations of egg nog, mulled wine, and spiced/spiked coffee. The Boston-based cocktail virgin slut blog posted many tempting ideas. Yet the folder of family recipes yielded the best

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C is for Concord Grape Jam

As a pre-school teacher at the Grace House community center in Richmond, Virginia, my mother taught a whole generation how to distinguish a circle from a square, how to count to 10, and how to do the “Hokey Pokey.” At least … Continue reading

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Pears with a Virginia Past

A Taste of Virginia, published by the James River Garden Club in Richmond, presents traditional fare fit for serving in grand homes around the Old Dominion. The recipes in this book veer far from the humble roots of my Virginia … Continue reading

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A is for Grandma’s Apple Cake

I’m not sure what variety of apples my grandmother, Hanna, used in the Fresh Apple Cake recipe she clipped from the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper in the 1930s, but I wanted to try it this week because apples – especially when … Continue reading

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