During the second world war, I was very small about four or five but remember that cheese and meat and eggs were rationed. We had friends on a farm who would gift us these precious commodities sometimes and I remember seeing grown ups making butter with a churn in our kitchen and they would make cottage cheese. I remember it hanging, dripping, from the clothes line in back.

Growing up we had a tobacco farm, horse farm, and the largest dairy farm in Kentucky. We used to go out and get fresh milk make our own cream, butter, cottage cheese. Yes there was a churn involved. We made cows milk, goat, and sheep cheese before it became a hot commodity as it is now.
Sur La Table has great cheese making classes, done pretty much the same as we did in the 60s.

We had all that in Connecticut (the East coast). In fact at one point in American history, our state was famous for its tobacco; the finest cigars in the world were rolled in those leaves. There are horse farms, dairy farms galore, and we got fresh hen and duck eggs from a small family farm 10 minutes from us. No refrigeration needed because we picked them up unwashed, and washed right before using. We also got fresh-picked produce from one of several organic farms in the area. I worked for one of the dairy manufacturers as a marketing secretary, our milk came from local dairies throughout the state. And Liuzzi cheese and Elm City cheese have been around forever (Elm City since 1896).

When someone from somewhere other than the east coast claims that "East coast people" are somehow lacking because we don't have the benefit of fresh milk and eggs, I don't know whether to roll my eyes or go all Jersey Girl on them.

Maybe they meant just Manhattan life long residents.

I do know this;.....I have heard with my own ears, from my very own friends that some people from New Jersey claim to have eaten New Jersey corn and tomatoes that were superior to Ohio corn and tomatoes. Any living breathing American, knows that isn't possible!!!

reynoldsburg, ohio tomato festival - Bing images

Ohio sweet corn - Bing images

We’ve been curious about the Little Italy Deli in Inverness, particularly their 5 course dinners on the weekend. Well today we decided to check out the deli. It’s closed till January. The deli is a literal hole-in-the-wall. We assume the restaurant is located behind the deli. Don’t want to prejudge this place based on appearances but having seen it, we’d be hard pressed to return. BTW, we met a local from Inverness earlier this month in TV. He described the Little Italy Deli in Inverness as “OK, but not worth the drive from TV.” We should have listened to him.

Italian Deli
 

Mazzaros in St. Pete is outstanding. I drive there every few months.

I really wish Sclafani or Cento would market their products down here in Florida. I haven't seen a single jar of marinated eggplant on a shelf in any supermarket or Target/Walmart I've been to. Not even Fresh Market.

Oh no GG, Ricotta pie or a cannoli even a lasagna must have ricotta cheese. Both my parents would roll over in their graves and reach out and slap me with the proverbial wooden spoon.

You can get Cento San Marzano Organic canned tomatoes in WalMart and also online from Amazon. You can also get marinated egplant online. The earth is flat now and everything is available somewhere!

We are from the suburbs of Boston. Our two sons live in New Hampshire. Both States still have farms where you can get fresh milk, home made cheeses, home made ice cream. My son lives on 7 acres and has chickens for fresh eggs. They get their grass fed meats from a local farmer who has his animals humanely euthanized and sells his meats from the farm.

From living in TV I have learned one real lesson - most of us are ignorant of how people from different areas have been raised. To me, this country is more like a group of different countries than States.

Oh Gracie you are always so helpful - Thanks for your suggestion

As has been stated earlier by others, cottage cheese is a very poor substitute for ricotta in Italian cooking, unless of course you grew up with the substitution. I tried lasagna once with cottage cheese and couldn’t eat it. It tasted sour. Everyone else at the table who were not Italian, loved it.