If you guessed, by the title of my blog, that I’m a northern transplant to the south, you’d be correct! There are so many differences between the culture I grew up in (think rural New York and Italian) and the South (particularly North Carolina). I love the saying, “I wasn’t born in the South, but I got here as fast as I could!” Please don’t take this to mean I don’t love where I come from - I just love learning about and experiencing the history and culture of where I live now. Every once in a while, I encounter a southern tradition that is completely and totally new to me. Several years ago, one of my closest friends mentioned that we should have a chicken stew. Okay, I thought, sounds great. I thought it meant a trip to the grocery and breaking out my slow cooker. I wasn’t even close. What he meant was, let’s have a big cookout that involves a black cauldron and open fire; a chicken stew is an event as much as it is a dish – and a particular dish, at that! Traditional ...
A Yankee gal living her best life in the South. I love all things history. I'm an academic advisor by day and a domestic goddess and family historian by night - and whenever I get the chance!