The El Chico Pizza Recipe aka Shakey’s Pizza
By Maryellen Burns The story the Sacramento Bee wrote for Sherwood “Shakey” Johnson’s obituary was that in 1954, he and Ed Plummer – a college friend and fishing buddy – each put in $850 and rented a defunct mom-and-pop grocery store at 57th and J streets to open a neighborhood draft beer place. They later…
1000 Miles in a Smart Car. With Pete.
By Lesley James A friend of mine has a fantastic tale – ALL TRUE – about her trip to the Bahamas in 1999. Hurricane Floyd hit during that trip. The category 4 hurricane was at peak strength when it almost leveled the Bahamas. Needless to say, it’s a pretty riveting story. It’s an interesting fact…
Cookbooks Past and Present: A Story of Sharing
by Lorene Sarne When I was ten years old my mother gave my two sisters and me her cookbook so that we could make a marble cake for her bridge party. The recipe was simple and if followed exactly, foolproof. We made an eye-popping Technicolor marble cake and I have been baking ever since. The…
The Equivalents: A Story of Art, Friendship and Liberation in the 1960s By Maggie Doherty
Reviewed by Susan M. Osborn, Ph.D. Based on her belief that most women want to find a way to combine professional interests and family life, and her recognition that this often requires having a room of one’s own, Mary Ingraham Bunting undertook what she called “a messy experiment” in 1960. As Radcliffe president, she created…
Culinary Confessions
By Maryellen Burns I confess. I am obsessed by food. I like to grow it, buy it, cook it, share it, consume it, talk and write about it. Over my lifetime I’ve probably eaten more than 70,000 meals and snacks. Assuming that at most meals I eat or drink four items (bacon, eggs, toast and…
Moment to Moment Experiences
By Janice Kelley Saturday, October 28, 2017, 7:20 am, 52 degrees Why do boats line up on the eastern side of Fair Oaks Bridge? Seven boats sit in line on the American River (from east to west). Fishermen always anchor their boats on the north side of the river. Is the water level deeper on…
Experience Parallel Universes in Melodramatic K-Dramas
By Jennifer Kerr Does this sound familiar? Our heroine is caught in a sudden tornado and dropped into a strange world where escape is unknown until she meets new friends who make her a better person and help her get back home. If you, like me, spent a childhood obsessively reading the 14 L. Frank…
Renaissance Café 