A Common Shepherdess

Pepperoni Rolls Fried potatoes with green onions Apple Butter Oatmeal Bars Apple Juice This dinner is a little heavy on the carbs. In the early 1900s, Italian immigrants moved to West Virginia to work in the coal mines. An enterprising restaurant owner created pepperoni rolls, a meat and cheese filled roll that was easy to carry into the mines for lunch. At one time, these rolls were rarely seen outside the state. They are found in just about every grocery store, bakery and gas station in West Virginia. Ramp is a wild vegetable that grows in West Virginia. The Ramp Feed is held in Richwood each April. Ramp is a member of the onion family. They look a little like a green onion and have been referred to as the King of Stink. Ramp is often fried with potatoes. I used left over garlic mashed potatoes, added an egg and a bunch of chopped green onions and then fried up the patties in a little olive oil. The Golden Delicious apple is the state fruit of West Virginia. The West Virginia...

Maryland-Style Crab Cakes Maryland Spoonbread Marinated tomato and cucumber salad Smith Island Cake (official state dessert) Milk (official state beverage) Blue crab is one of Maryland's leading products. McCormick, the spice company that makes Old Bay Seasoning, is head quartered in Sparks, Maryland. A friend of ours who grew up in Maryland said that whenever he wants food to taste like something from his childhood, he sprinkles some Old Bay Seasoning on it. (I cheated and bought premade crab cakes. They were on sale at our local natural foods store.) Corn was one of the foods discovered in the New World and cornmeal quickly became a staple in Colonial times. Spoonbread is a cornmeal-based pudding or souffle culturally connected to the Southern states and often served with fried seafood. Tomatoes and cucumbers are important vegetable crops grown in Maryland. Smith Island Cake is the official state desert of Maryland. Smith Island is the only inhabited island in Chesapeak...