On the campaign trail we get to visit lots of places, and in the process see and taste lots of different kinds of food. We love going to church festivals and tasting the ethnic foods — like Italian and Greek. We search out the best local foods when we go to the county fairs. And I was so impressed with the wonderful healthy food that was prepared for the new mothers at the Moms2Be site I visited in Columbus last week.

Yesterday our friends invited us to their home for a reception. My friend Suzanne decided to feature recipes from my old and new cookbooks. It was a lot of fun for me to see which recipes she chose. Some of the recipes were from my old cookbooks, and some were from my new cookbook that Tina Husted and I made together. I’ve actually made 14 cookbooks so I have close to 300 recipes from which to choose. One of my favorite dishes at the reception was one I haven’t made for several years, Mrs. Fedeli’s Eggplant Roll-ups. Mrs. Fedeli, who is from Italy, is the mother of our good friend Umberto Fedeli. She is a wonderful cook! She and her daughter cook lunch weekly at Umberto’s office for his clients. Mike always hopes she will be cooking if he stops by. Several years ago I got to go watch her make the eggplant roll-ups. I loved watching her and learning from her. So I wanted to share her recipe!

And Suzanne also sent everyone home with a little bag of caramel corn, all tied up with the recipe attached. I thought it was so cute I wanted to share it with you also.

Mrs. Fedeli’s Eggplant Roll-ups

1-2 medium-sized eggplants. Peel and slice 1/4 inch thick lengthwise. Lightly salt and place on paper towel to absorb water.

Make batter of:

1 egg

1 cup water

1 cup flour

salt and pepper

Dip slices in batter. Fry in corn oil. Turn. Drain on paper towels (can freeze for later).

Mix together:

16 oz. carton ricotta cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1 egg

salt, pepper, chopped parsley

Pour some of your favorite spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce in bottom of baking dish. Spread some cheese mixture on each eggplant slice and roll up. Place rolls on top of sauce. Pour sauce on top. Sprinkle with parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Bake in 350° oven until bubbly.

Nancy’s Caramel Corn

Fill a large roasting pan with 5-6 quarts popped corn.

In another pan, prepare:

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 pound butter

1/2 cup white corn syrup

Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Blend in:

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon soda

Pour mixture over popcorn, mixing well. Place in 250° oven for 40 minutes. Stir occasionally from bottom. Spread on sheet of waxed paper and allow to cool.