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Echoes of War: Food, Family, and the Legacy of WWII. Part 1: Soldier’s Sustenance: The WWII Experiences and Food Memories of Ralph D. Skadsen
Over the last several years my good friend Ben and I have repeatedly been brought back to conversations around our grandparents, WWII, the Holocaust, and food. While at first, food might seem out…
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All mischief comes after All Hallow; the Origins of Halloween, Samhain, and an Irish Feast
How fit our well-rank’d Feasts do follow/ All mischief comes after All Hallow -Richard Crashaw For this post, we made Shepards Pie a la Alton Brown, a dish commonly attributed to the United…
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The Archaeology of Great Zimbabwe and the History of Fufu
Ever since I saw a cooking show where someone made and ate fufu I have wanted to try it. Fufu is boiled and mashed starchy tubers and plantains then processed by pounding the…
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Macaroni *Doodle* Pie, insights into the History of Mac and Cheese
There is a lot of mythology around pasta. Macaroni was invented in Rome, pasta in Naples. Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy. Thomas Jefferson brought Mac and Cheese to America. Like most topics…
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Christkindle Markets Part 2: Lebkuchen-the gingerless gingerbread
Okay, on to part two-gingerbread! If you haven’t read part 1 yet, check it out. Traveling through the markets one of the most ubiquitous foods is lebkuchen, also known as German gingerbread. These…
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Christkindle Markets Part 1: History and Ties to the Nazi Party
This first post ended up kind of long, so I decided to make it two. This post focuses on the history of the markets. The next post delves into ginger! This past winter…
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Flaming cheese & copper all around the world
If an appetizer of fried cheese sounds good to you then you should definitely check out Saganaki. This Greek dish, named for the small two-handled pan it is cooked in (called sagani in…
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Khachapuri (Georgian Curdled Cheese Bread) and Roman Frescoes
The New York Times recently came out with an article on a mural (actually, would have been a fresco) from Pompeii showing a proto-pizza. If our identification of the imagery is correct, then…
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Bánh Xèo and a Dive into Ethnocentrism and Chopsticks
I was recently introduced to bánh xèo (pronounced bun say-ow)-Vietnamese crispy, umami crepes. To say I am obsessed is an understatement. It is like a better, crispier version of the French crepe (no offense…
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Spain: Mona de Pascua, Paella, and the Moors
There are two different topics in this post: (1) Mona de Pascua and (2) Paella and the Moors. They both stem from my recent trip to Spain. Enjoy! Mona de Pascua As Easter…
