the mehallo blog. beta.

Pennsylvania Chow-Chow was a mainstay in my family.

My grandfather used to jar his own and about 15 years ago, I went in search of the Official Family Recipe.

And it turned out, no one ever wrote it down.

So I ended up questioning my mother, aunts, uncles how it was done. Pieced together what I could and whipped up a large batch.

Designed some homespun labels and sent a bunch of jars out to the family.

In my version of the recipe, I keep the veggies crisp – which I define as A California Thing. I never understood the need to make cooked vegetables come out mushy.

My grandfather’s reaction was, ‘Oh, you’ll get it right next time.’
[Read more →]

Tags: cool finds, culinary, design, recipe by steve
1 comment  . . .   

‘Interesting to see which colors went first. PMS 485, PMS 183 and Silver 877 seemed to be the most popular’

Kim Neill’s Pantone color chips in tasty cookie format.

Details and recipe here.

Found via Chank Diesel

Tags: cool finds, culinary, design, recipe by steve
4 comments  . . .   

Recently we dropped in one of our favorite places, Duarte’s Tavern in Pescadero, CA. Their incredible Cream of Artichoke Soup is worth the drive – among the other freshly grown offerings on the menu.

Snag the recipe for their artichoke wonder here. Plus, their Cream of Green Chile Soup is also pretty dang good, tho a bit quicker to make.

And, of course, ocean views on the drive to and fro are part of the package.

Tags: cool finds, culinary, recipe by steve
4 comments  . . .   

I remember the first time I whipped up a batch of Chex Party Mix.

It was a quiet Friday night and we were watching this Love Boat/Charlie’s Angels airline knockoff called Flying High. It was the late 1970s and at the time the only way one could get a snack mix like this was to make their own.

Well, there was Doo Dads. An exception.

Today, there’s pre-bagged stuff everywhere. Chex makes a ‘traditional’ mix, though it doesn’t taste a thing like The Real Deal.

It has to come out of an oven. And I have my own version. Of course. [Read more →]

Tags: culinary, recipe, thoughts by steve
Comments Off on Mehallo’s Holiday Chex Mix

‘Nasty.’ -Jeanne Mehallo

One either likes it or hates it. No compromises. It’s my favorite soup, the recipe was given to my mother when I was a kid.

It’s hearty and I’m pretty sure it’s responsible for hairy chests all over Europe. Hell, it could grow hair on an onion.

And it’s dang easy to make. [Read more →]

Tags: cool finds, culinary, recipe by steve
2 comments  . . .   

‘found in an old formulary book that Coca-Cola inventor, John S. Pemberton, was using shortly before his death’

Was bouncing around online and stumbled upon Coca-Cola’s Secret Formula.

Well, Coke’s original sugary, cocaine-based Secret Formula.

Not quite ‘The Real Thing’ we have today . . . [Read more →]

Tags: cool finds, culinary, recipe by steve
5 comments  . . .   

Apnea with pumpkin innards.

And if you have a pumpkin lying around, here’s the ‘official’ recipe for my absolute favorite pumpkin pie.

Tags: culinary, photography, recipe by steve
Comments Off on Pumpkin guts

Been making my own Sweet Tea. Traditional Southern style sweet tea, but without sugar.

Here’s my recipe  . . . [Read more →]

Tags: cool finds, culinary, recipe by steve
2 comments  . . .   

‘Rick’s Picks artisinal pickles – all natural, award winning, hand-packed pickles’

From NYC. Snag a bottle here.

And – here’s the recipe (with video).

Photo found via Sodium Girl

Tags: cool finds, culinary, recipe by steve
Comments Off on Rick Field’s Phat Aromatic Pickled Beets

Here’s a little piece of San Francisco that only a local would know about.

Riviera ‘Authentic San Francisco’ Minestrone has been around since 1934. The green cans used to show up in drug stores and markets. Made from an old Italian family recipe.

It’s a rustic, bean-based soup with Swiss chard, noodles and a deep meaty flavor. It’s owned by the Birds Eye food company – and recently, they were even carrying it with a Nalley label (above, right).

Unfortunately, any form of the Riviera ‘Original Recipe’ Minestrone has been off the market for a few months now – and the Riviera ‘Authentic San Francisco Soup’ brand is now selling more mainstream canned soup flavors.

Luckily, I have a recipe of my own. [Read more →]

Tags: culinary, recipe by steve
4 comments  . . .   

‘a side dish that gave Kraft Macaroni & Cheese a run for its money in the 1950s’

Pailadzo Captanian and her Armenian rice pilaf became ‘The San Francisco Treat.’

Here’s NPR taking a look at where this Armenian/Italian treat comes from. Original recipe included.

Tags: cool finds, culinary, design history, recipe by steve
4 comments  . . .