Clik here to view.
Now bring us some figgy pudding
The Christmas tradition I’m featuring this week is the Christmas pudding, which figures in the newest release in the Cotillion Christmas Traditions series, Helena’s Christmas Beau. I mentioned to my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Does Your Spoon Say About You?
We may sometimes hesitate about which fork to use, but most of us don’t worry about our choice of spoon. That wasn’t always the case, however. In 1649, using the wrong spoon could get you killed, if...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Toothless Weapon Changed our Teeth
Does it bother you that the person sitting next to you at the dinner table has a knife? Probably not. After all, you have one too. But more than that, the knife within easy grasp of you neighbor is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Consider the Fork
It would have been very easy to set the table in the early 1600s. Guests wore their own knives to the table, and forks were only used as cooking tools in the kitchen, so they would not be laid out on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scary tails for Halloween
Halloween decorations often include rats – all fake, fortunately. While I love the “Dead Mouse Theater” commercials, I don’t think I’d want to see Dead Rat Theater, at least not up close. Those long...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How the Founding Fathers Got Drunk Part III: Apples
Today we usually think of apple cider as a wholesome children’s drink, but for most of the past thousand years, cider often contained as much alcohol as beer. Thanks to wild yeast present in the air,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Potato, Patata–and Stay Away from Green Ones
I can believe that some people say “to-mah-to” but I always thought that when Ira Gershwin wrote “You like potato, and I like potahto,” in the classic tune “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” he was just...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Take a Free Day Trip to Hawaii and See Chocolate Grow
Chocolate has been on my mind a lot lately. We see great big heart shaped boxes of the stuff starting the day after Christmas. And I always try to eat as much as I can before the start of Lent, when I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Your dinner could be worse: the garish taste of garum
Imagine you’re in a Roman fast-food restaurant. (And yes, they had lots of fast food restaurants in Rome, although I’m not sure any of the arches out front were bright yellow) Instead of ketchup or soy...
View ArticleAmmonia Coke
At first, I thought I heard wrong. I could have sworn the state park employee behind the counter told a co-worker that she needed an “Ammonia Coke.” Being nosy, I had to ask. And I heard right. She...
View Article
