“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