Nana Chickens

about me

Well, after a year, it's almost June '07, I picked a public name. I was known as chef 339280. The name came from my granddaughter, Payton in Florida. I'll get around to updating this page shortly.

Recently my spousal equivilant and I moved to the "Heartland" from southwest Florida (Port Charlotte) by way of southeast Pennsylvania ( the suburbs of Philly) and south New Jersey. We bought a fixer-upper that has 20 +- acres. Our plan is to be self sufficiant. We are one our way with our livestock and garden and not too soon because it was quite a culinary shock moving to this part of the country. Alot of the meats and seafood that we were use to are not available locally. Nor are they into herbs except badly wilted curly parsley and the same for the cilantro. Now we need a green house. Thank God for the internet and the "Brown" truck. After all that we do love it here and we feel very blessed that we are here able to start a new chapter at our ages. Anyhow, we are retired and work here at he "homestead".

Cooking and baking are my #1 passions. A close second would be sewing and knitting and followed up by decorating and landscaping our old stone farm house. Gardening is thrown in there too.

I have so many cookbooks that it is too hard to say which one is my favorite, it depends on my mood. But I have to say the one I go to for inspiration most of the time is "American Cookery" by James Beard.

My pet peeves are insensivity, lack of patience and when the TV commericals come on too loud.

Favorite Foods:

I love to make almost everything, but I would have to say what makes me happy is when I can make a dish and it freezes well. Then on those days when I'm persuing my other passions I don't have to worry about what's for dinner. I call these my frozen assets.

I'm pretty sure my pasta (any) and sauce (any) would be what I'm famous for, at least that what my family says and would be the most requested.

It's hard for me to name a favorite restaurant, but I can tell you what's not, chains. Three small French restaurants in PA were memorable, The Vickers in Exton, PA,the Coventry Forge in Coventryville, PA and the Dillworthtown Inn in Dillworthtown, PA. All three were in old and I mean old renovated buildings, that were full of wood, leather, fireplaces and history. Honorable mention would have to go to Carmine's in NY,NY, great Italian.

The two foods that I avoid would be tripe and beets. Beets I'll give a few more tries but not the tripe, never.

I do love RZ. What a great resource and it's fun communicating with all the chefs.

http://daleleclare@aol.com