Food History

Scones!

Scones!

Scones! The biscuit-like quick breads originated in Scotland in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, they were a fixture on the English afternoon tea table. More recently, they were popularized by Queen Elizabeth II who reportedly adored them topped with bespoke strawberry jam from…

Hit ‘Em Straight: Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

Hit ‘Em Straight: Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

I’m not a sports person. Football. Yawn.  Baseball. Yawn.  And on and on. Oh sure, when I was in high school I had a brief flirtation with baseball and the Dodgers. Mostly,  though, my baseball interest was because I thought I was in love with…

No. Henry David Thoreau Didn’t Invent Raisin Bread

No. Henry David Thoreau Didn’t Invent Raisin Bread

Raisin Bread, you ask? Who invented Raisin Bread? Lest we look too deeply, the answer would seem to be Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau’s biographer, Walter Harding, credited him with the recipe, after all. But…alas… Harding later retracted  that colorful claim when he learned that the…

It’s a Beaut! Spicy Caramelized Cabbage

It’s a Beaut! Spicy Caramelized Cabbage

Look at those beautiful curves and the saucy way the leaves curl. And that ombre color palette…  Wow! There’s no way around it; this is the Marilyn Monroe of cabbages.  (Or the Kim Kardashian. You pick.) In addition to its radiant beauty, we also are…

A Birthday? Be Sure to Invite the Goddess of the Moon

A Birthday? Be Sure to Invite the Goddess of the Moon

“And I rose In rainy autumn And walked abroad in a shower of all my days…” ― Dylan Thomas Birthdays. How in the world do you celebrate important days during a pandemic? With a cake! However it happens–store-bought or homemade, left on the front porch…

Cheddar Scones: From Meh to Marvelous

Cheddar Scones: From Meh to Marvelous

I guess I have always lived in a scone desert. I never tasted one until I was an adult. Always seemed meh to me. Then, this scone came along. Wow. My late-in-life discovery of scones made me wonder about the origins of scones. It turns…

Beyonce and Cream Cheese Banana Bread

Beyonce and Cream Cheese Banana Bread

We are enjoying the first glorious days of spring here in Southern California. Plants are budding and the sweet little birds are singing their sweet little songs. I have a Black Phoebe in my backyard who is entertaining me and Juliet with  swoops and other…

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Keller: Elevating Macaroni and Cheese to an Art Form

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Keller: Elevating Macaroni and Cheese to an Art Form

John F. Kennedy famously remarked that a White House dinner he held for Nobel Prize winners was “the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” Ah,…