food history

  • Illness, Archaeology, and the Garden: an update

    Query: Is it an homage to the 18th century humeral notions of medicine (puke, purge, and scare the hell out of the illness) that liquid medicines are still being formulated to taste like rotten fruit mixed with pigeon shit and…

  • Munch, Dig, Laugh: 2nd Wednesday’s with Leni

    The final gathering of my 2nd Wednesday monthly open house will be in October on the 13th and I have decided to give it a theme – see the title above. : )  All summer I have been delighted to…

  • The Value of Self-reliance vs the Ideology of Self-sufficiency

    None of us are self sufficient.  We all need somebody! Despite the often nostalgic retro-interpretations (our idealization of Little House on the Prairie comes to mind!) Americans weren’t self sufficient in the Colonial past, the Revolutionary Era nor the long…

  • Winter Squash Soup

    Leni’s Squash, Yam and Roasted Sweet Pepper Soup Butternut or other Winter squash Red Jewel Yams Curry Powder (optional – a very small amount – it’s just an accent) Sweet Peppers – yellow and red Onion Butter Half & Half…

  • The continuing conversation about the ‘food desert’

    Further thoughts re the generous and thoughtful responses to my ‘food desert’ post. I do very much understand that individuals have little/no control over headers, headlines, or photos used in media. As a performer for many years I became used…