“Yay! Spaghetti for dinner! Are we having real noodles or plastic noodles?”
Real noodles? Plastic noodles? Yes, indeed. I grew up in back country North Carolina, where my mom was an avid and wonderful cook. In culinary terms (as well as maybe some others) I was spoiled rotten. I grew up on fresh, homemade pasta noodles covered in homemade chunky tomato sauce. That was the norm for us. If we were pinched for time, mom would make us some quick cooking “plastic noodles” (aka dried noodles you buy at the store), and this was always a bit of a disappointment. Once you’ve tried the real thing, you can never go back.
Mom also dropped a couple friends and I off at the bus stop every morning and picked us up every afternoon. Most days there would be a homemade dessert on our seats of the car, a little “welcome home from school” treat. We also grew up on homemade bread, cookies, biscuits, pies, and other fantastic treats. I assumed all moms cooked this way. I had no idea how wrong I was.
And all this brings me here. I have come across some amazing food blogs lately and thought I should throw my name in the hat. I wanted to start a food blog that reflected my values – eating locally and in season – and my tastes. As a picky eater that has been accustomed to the best, and as someone who wants to maintain my girlish figure, I choose what I eat carefully. For this reasons, you know the recipes you find at Dishing The Divine are absolutely worth making. They have been lovingly researched, photographed, transcribed, and posted here so that you can join me in continuing this tradition of excellence in your own sphere of influence.
Please leave your comments, especially if you have tried the recipe and loved it (or even if you’ve tried the recipe and think you know of a way to improve upon it!). Comments are my inspiration to keep posting so that I don’t feel like I’m just talking to myself. 
Please send questions or recipe suggestions to paula at dishingthedivine.com!
-Paula
10 responses so far ↓
1 Shirley Madsen // Jan 29, 2010 at 8:44 am
Thanks for the loving tribute and for inspiring me to continue cooking at a time in my life when it seems easier to simply open a can of whatever is in the pantry and call that dinner.
2 Cathy // Jun 26, 2011 at 4:47 am
I love this bog! The chocolate cake looks delicious!
3 Peggy // Jul 22, 2011 at 6:15 am
My mother grew up in Korea when it was poor and packaged food was only beginning to become available. Her mother made noodles at home because store-bought was too expensive. My mother and her siblings used to COMPLAIN about being given home-made noodles! They wanted the store-bought! You deserve credit for knowing you were getting a good thing as a kid; it took my mom quite a while to figure it out!
4 Katie @ Healthnut Foodie // Jul 27, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Today’s challenge is so worth it. Real food is on the rise! So excited to have found your blog!
5 Heidi @foodiecrush // Aug 18, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Hi Paula, I’d like to use one of your recipes in a blog round up but don’t see contact info to ask for permission to use a pic. Can you e-mail me please? THX!
6 clint ferrara // Sep 17, 2011 at 10:13 am
Paula, Nicole Davis sent me and I’m glad she did. As a youngster I spent alot of time with my Sicilian grandfather in Boston learning to shop and cook fresh and local.
I will check back often.
7 claire @ the realistic nutritionist // Oct 25, 2011 at 9:39 am
Hi!!
Your photos are absolutely INCREDIBLE. What kind of camera do you use? Do you use a lightbox or external flash?
Thanks!
8 Paula // Oct 25, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Claire – Thanks for your incredibly sweet comment! I use a Canon Rebel XSI. I try to shoot with only natural lighting. I have an off camera flash, but I find it does amazingly horrific things to my food.
9 Mona // Mar 18, 2012 at 5:14 am
Hello there, I love the post with your no knead bread. I now make it everyday. Question for you, do you have a problem with your cast iron turning rusty? I do. I do put a neutral oil inside the pan when I’m not using it, however, I still get the rust on the outside. Any idea’s. Thanks.
10 Ariel@ Homesead Anywhere // Apr 30, 2012 at 7:14 pm
Hi Paula! I love your blog. The recipes and the pictures look great…my kind of food. I also have a mother who is an incredible cook and set my standards so high that I now have to make everything from scratch too! That’s why I started my website, because all this homegrown and homemade food is just too much fun and needs to be shared! (www.homesteadanywhere.com)
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