6 Comments

Thank you for your weekly essay, Jeanne. I look forward to reading it.

I grew up in Maryland, the state that Northerners say is south and Southerners say is north. This might explain my love of food from just about anywhere. And, as a Marylander, I have to say blue crabs steamed with Old Bay seasoning are the best in the world. Hands down.

As for North Carolinian food, Pepsi - no, no, no; my mom made the best dill pickles ever; and, Vick's Vapor rub has helped me through many colds and flu. Mom used to also put it on face over my sinuses. It made my eyes water like crazy. I would rub it off when she left the room.

Now it is time to watch the women's Final game (which sadly the UConn women are not playing. Sigh.)

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Thank you for this lovely trip down memory lane! I too, experienced the every-cure that is Vick's VapoRub! My paternal grandmother preferred a sock coated with wintergreen and pinned around her neck with a safety pin, but my maternal grandparents (and hence my mother) was all VapoRub, all the time!! I was never a drinker of Cheerwine, but I had to make a Cheerwine cake once, so I know those people are out there. And nabs were also very important in my life, though my favorite snack memory is going to a country gas station with my grandfather and getting a Banana Flip, my favorite Mickey's Cake!!

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Our sandwiches wouldn’t be complete without the Mt. Olive sandwich pickles. Not the round ones, the long ones. Thank you NC.

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I learned some things about our adopted state!

Sylvie

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In further ruminating on your post I remember as a child only having sweet potatoes once a year and that was at Thanksgiving. They would come out of a can and were covered with marshmallows and brown sugar and nuts. I loved them prepared that way. I don't think we ever had a real sweet potato. I thought they were only fed to cows. Amazingly they are now part of our weekly diet and I love them.

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As a Pennsylvania transplant to the south I love my adopted state of NC but not all of its products. I confess that have never developed a taste for its pickles in any form. I do love sweet tea but usually ask for it half and half as all sweet is just to sweet for me. I also confess I have never had a Cheer Wine but need to try one sometime after reading this blog post and being from the North I was a Coke person until I gave up soft drinks. I thought Pepsi was just to sweet. I do like the occasional Nabs especially on a road trip. I also never knew what the Hot and Fresh Neon Sign was all about until Jeanne patiently explained it to me one time when I wanted to pull into a Krispy Kreme shop and the sign was not lit. Needless to say we did not stop! Thanks for this NC journey.

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