The Warped Spoon

08/31/2026

It’s time to get those tickets for the Historic Ilasco
Cake Piknik you wish you had attended last year! We had an outpouring of people wishing they had come & asking when the next one was. IT IS OCTOBER 10, 2026. The space is limited so don’t wait to grab your reservations (and make sure you read the rules….you MUST bring a cake to attend). We can’t wait to see you this year! Every penny supports the history of ILASCO.

08/19/2026

🌿 ZSUZSKA’S GIRLS SPICERY 🌿
Curators of Gastronomic Traditions

THE SPICES ARE AVAILABLE NOW!

🌿 14 blends. Handmade one packet at a time.
🎄 100% benefits Christmas in ILASCO.
📅 Order now through September 3, 2026.

We want to tell you why this little project means so much to us.

See that little girl on our logo?
That’s the big girl in this photo, Helen Shively (she is now 98 years old).

Helen (my gram) was born in ILASCO in 1928. In the original photograph that inspired the logo, baby Helen is being held by her mother (my great gram) Zsuzska Chmelkova the namesake of Zsuzska’s Girls Spicery.
Zsuzska came to ILASCO with her family in 1912 when she was just three months old.

So when we say Curators of Gastronomic Traditions, we mean it.
These little black packets carry five generations of our family, food, stories and ILASCO history.

ORDERS ARE OPEN NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 3, 2026!

This is a limited-time FUNdraiser for Christmas in Historic Ilasco, and 100% of your donation goes directly to ILASCO to help fund this year’s Christmas light display.

We have 14 spice & seasoning mixes to choose from and we aren’t big-batching any of them.
Every. Single. Packet. Is. Mixed. By. Hand.
One little black pack at a time.
Just like we were standing in our own kitchen getting ready to cook supper. That means every packet gets every little nugget of flavor it’s supposed to have. No giant commercial batches. No assembly-line seasoning.
One recipe. One packet. One at a time.

And because apparently we’re giving away family secrets now… 😂
Their Taco, Loose Meat & Chili seasoning packets come with my actual recipes -never shared with anyone. Of course, you can make them your way. But now you’ll also have the option to make them The Warped Spoon way.

Most importantly, though, you aren’t just buying seasoning.

You are wholeheartedly supporting the heritage of my family and their story and the story of every family who once called our little village HOME.

Every packet helps us keep ILASCO’s history visible.

Thank you for supporting the nonprofit working to keep the legacy of our ancestors alive. Thank you for caring about this little village and the people who built their lives there.

It truly means more to us than you know.

Link in the comments. Local pick up in September. We do not ship.

08/12/2026

Introducing Zsuzska’s Girls Spicery — Curators of Gastronomic Traditions.
Recipes of The Warped Spoon

Our little spice company has a whole lot of history behind it. Five generations of gastronomic traditions, family recipes, old-world flavors, and the kind of cooking that was taught by watching the women who came before us (not by reading a recipe card).

Inspired by our ILASCO roots, Zsuzska’s Girls Spicery is our way of bottling up a little bit of our heritage and passing it along for a merry reason.

We aren’t doing this to make money. They’re doing it to make Christmas!!

The sole purpose of Zsuzska’s Girls Spicery is to raise money for this year’s Christmas in ILASCO light display in Historic Ilasco.
Every blend sold helps us bring a little more Christmas magic to the place our family once called home.

So when you buy a spice blend, you’re getting more than seasoning. You’re helping preserve traditions, celebrate our ancestors & keep a little piece of ILASCO alive.

Five generations of flavor. One little village. One very merry purpose. ❤️🎄

The link to PREORDER for local pick up (in ILASCO) goes live next week.
Keep an eye out!

Unfortunately this fundraiser cannot be shipped (but the stickers on the Historic Ilasco website can & they also go towards the Christmas light fund).

08/03/2026

Seemed like a great time to share this recipe since Longhorn Pepperjack is a deli special at Clemens General Store this week.

07/27/2026

It’s satisfying, isn’t it?

07/26/2026

We are about to make some garden fresh golden tomato sauce. Or, as I call it, SUNSHINE SAUCE.
Let’s learn the history behind these beauties first.

Golden tomatoes are yellow to deep golden-orange tomatoes prized for their mild, sweet flavor and beautiful color. They aren’t a single variety but a broad group that includes heirlooms and modern hybrids, each with its own characteristics.
Mine are Lemon Boys – a hybrid known for bright yellow color and mild sweetness.

Golden tomatoes have been grown for centuries. In fact, some say the earliest tomatoes cultivated in the Americas and Europe were likely yellow rather than red. Did you know- the Italian word for tomato, “pomodoro,” means “golden apple,” reflecting those early yellow fruits? True story. Interesting, right?

Golden tomatoes generally have:
🍅 less sharp acidity than many red tomatoes.
🍈 hints of citrus depending on the variety.
🧈 are creamy, juicy, and smooth.
🌿 mild, making them taste less tangy than classic red tomatoes.
🌞 clean, fresh, and buttery rather than bold or earthy.

Golden tomatoes provide beautiful color contrast on a plate and offer a gentler tomato flavor that doesn’t overpower other ingredients.

This concludes your lesson for the day. Stay tuned for the sauce. 😉

06/03/2026

Hope to see you in Historic Ilasco
to support a nonprofit that historically educates thousands of school children, bus tours and tourists every year for no charge.

03/02/2026

Made some Borscht for our Soup Cooking Class at The Belvedere Inn. Thanks for having awesome oils, Show Me HH Farms!

01/28/2026

Reminiscing on last year’s Bread Baking Class as we prep for this year’s here at The Belvedere Inn! If you’re signed up we will see you Sunday!
Ps- we message you the info you need for arrival. 😀

01/01/2026