About Flaviella
A seasonal recipe site cooked, tested and written in Monticello, Florida.
Flaviella started as a recipe binder on the kitchen counter — index cards tucked into sheet protectors, sorted not by course but by month. I am Dorethea Schwendemann, and this site is that binder, opened up.
Why a calendar, not categories
Monticello sits in the Red Hills of the Florida Big Bend, about half an hour east of Tallahassee. Life here runs on harvests: green peanuts in late summer, pumpkins and Gulf shrimp in October, pecans and satsumas by Thanksgiving, strawberries in early spring, and the county watermelon festival every June. The festivals we celebrate with friends and neighbors — Halloween, Diwali, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Lunar New Year, Easter — shape the table too.
So every recipe on Flaviella belongs to a season or a date. When its window comes around, it moves to the front page. When it passes, it waits in the index until next year.
How recipes are tested
- Every recipe is cooked in a regular home kitchen with ingredients from local grocery stores and farm stands.
- Times are measured, not guessed, and include resting and chilling so you can plan honestly.
- Food-safety temperatures follow USDA guidance.
- Recipes shared by friends — like our neighbor Priya's Diwali samosas — are credited and cooked alongside them.
About the photographs
Every image on Flaviella is a real photograph of real food. Nothing is AI-generated or animated. Where a photo comes from another photographer, they are credited under the image with a link to the original, under the Unsplash License or a Creative Commons license.
Get in touch
Recipe questions, corrections and ideas for next season are always welcome. Contact us.