Drusilla “Dru” Gladden was maybe not the most prominent Eastern Shore woman I’ve researched, but hers is the type of story and recipe I like to uplift in my work – everyday people – and in this case, a prized local ingredient. Dru Gladden liked gospel music and lighthouses, according to her 2023 obituary. At…
There aren’t many recipes specifically for blackberry pie. Usually, older recipes for “berry pie” will specify that blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries can be used. Blackberry pie has been a longtime favorite of mine. I grew up making them with my grandmother so I wanted to make one for her birthday in September. I have also…
NOTE: For a better at-home Baltimore Peach Cake recipe click here Baltimore Peach Cake seems to be the bane of local recipe writers. By 1966, Evening Sun food columnist Virginia Roeder was exasperatedly telling readers “as for peach cake, I have published the recipe several times.” In 1958, she wrote about how she was bombarded…
While vacationing in 2015, on a day drive down the Delmarva peninsula, we found ourselves in the relatively sparse landscape of Bloxom, VA. We spotted a striped truck off of Route 13 with stenciled letters announcing “Mi Pequeña Taqueria” and pulled over into the scorching parking lot where this taco truck stood. We enjoyed classic…
“Once upon a time, people were wont to talk about the strawberry season and to look forward to it with delightful expectation. It brought visions of strawberry shortcake with mashed berries… and there was the social angle, the strawberry festival which brought together the elite of the neighborhood… Gone are these amenities, sacrificed beneath the…