Welcome to Food Historian

Foodhistorian.com was established in Fall 2008 as a fun, self-directed project combining of three of my favorite things:

1. engaging technology,
2. hands-on learning, and
3. cooking/food.

I hope it delights and entertains you and leads to some top notch cookery in your very own kitchen.

I also hope that it encourages you to become your own, self-appointed family food historian on a mission to capture your own recipes, memories, traditions and history - all surrounding great food.

Never Hangry in Horseheads

Surprise surprise surprise!

A well worth it drive if you’re hungry and near Watkins Glen, Mountour Falls, Chautauqua, Elmira or the Corning airport, please find:

  • Curley’s Chicken House - long-standing family favorite
  • Dragon Wok Chinese - Delicious and Fun

Caponata - Ralph's Grandmother's Original Recipe

Caponata is the perfect Summer cooking project - it combines fresh eggplant, onions, and celery with canned tomatoes, capers and pinenuts. It cooks down into a wonderful spread for bread or crackers. It can also be used as a relish, condiment, side dish, or a sauce when tossed with hot pasta.

Folks love caponata and they demand the recipe whenever I make it here in the "nut house". And so I share it with everyone below. It is in handwritten scribbles from my dear friend and favorite pennywhistler, Dr. Ralph Minervino of Rochester NY.

Far too many traditional, old-fashioned, family recipes are lost in the modern day shuffle. So, so SAD!

Sylvia's Bok Choy Salad - A Happy Mother's Day or Anytime Treat

When I turned 49, my girlfriends bought me a groovy, blank book with a decorative cover. The idea was that we would keep a log of our annual celebratory activities, inspiring thoughts, and details of our prolific, edible indulgences. We've done a pretty good job at keeping it going year after year - it's become my "go to book" for special recipes.

Last week, for my 57th celebration, I pulled it out again and made two of the recipes - Sylvia's Bok Choy Salad and Moroccan Chicken. Both were big hits and I share the salad recipe below. - it came from my Mom's best friend Kaye Halter who got it from Sylvia.

It's a crowd pleaser and I know for a fact that my neighbor and fiddle friend Patty is preparing it for her family's Mother's Day celebration today.

Enjoy!
And Happy Mother's Day!

Ingredients:
  • 1 bunch bok choy
  • 1 bunch scallions
  • 1 packages ramen noodles
  • 1/2 cup or more slivered almonds
  • 3 cloves garlic
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