The series of questions for my family on their life in food continues. If you missed my dad’s or my answers, feel free to review what was missed. If you’ve been following along, thank you!
Linda B.  - Born in 1948 (wife of Andy, mother to Jodi and Jeff)
If you were given a dollar to buy treats when you were a kid, what would you buy?
Hostess cupcakes with the white creamy filling.
Was dessert a special treat or a nightly ritual?
Desserts were a nightly ritual and we would eat canned fruit …

If you live or have plans to visit Northern or Central California (Berkeley, Napa Valley and Monterey), I have some recommendations for you!
Food lovers who visit Berkley generally make it a point to pay homage to Chez Panisse. As fellow food blogger Chance wrote in his roundup of SF restaurants, “the place definitely lives up to its reputation.”
I made a reservation for lunch on a weekday and it was no problem to get in. I opted for the $24 fixed price meal of Garden Lettuce Salad; House-Made Rigatoni with Kaki …

Earlier this year I posted, “Love, 1930s style,” a letter written by my mom’s father, Papa, upon meeting his future wife. Last November, I posted my dad’s mom, Nagymama’s, recipe for chicken paprikash.
Last week Nagymama passed away. I was lucky to have her in my life for such a long time and have so many loving memories of my grandparents.
I flew home to Maryland and spent the weekend looking through pictures, sharing stories, and being together with my brother, parents, and friends. This is exactly how Nagymama, who loved nothing …

If you love ice cream cones as much as I do, you will be very happy at least twice in the next two weeks. Why? Because Ben & Jerry’s and Baskin Robbins are providing FREE and as good as free ice cream cones.
I’m not afraid to say that my favorite ice cream is Baskin Robbins — probably because we would go there every week during the summer months in Maryland and my mom and I would always get mint chocolate chip or pralines in cream. While I enjoy the big …

My mom found an old photocopy of a letter her father wrote in early February, 1936 after meeting her mother. I never met my grandfather (Joe) as he died before I was born. This letter gave me a better picture of who he was as a person than any other picture or story has done.
Joe is writing to his sister, Freda, to tell her about the wonderful woman he has decided to marry after only knowing her for eight days. He was 29 years old. The first photo below features …