food history
Through the Seasons with The Virginia House-Wife: Asparagus
Mary Randolph, The Virginia House-Wife Asparagus Set a stew pan with plenty of water on the fire, sprinkle a handful of salt in it, let it boil and skim it; then put the asparagus prepared thus: scrape all the stalks…
Through the Seasons: Cauliflower
Mary Randolph, The Virginia House-Wife, pg 123 Cauliflower. Choose those that are close and white, and of a middle size, trim off the outside leaves, cut off the stalk flat at the bottom, let them lie in salt and water…
In Which Leni Journeys Through the Seasons with The Virginia House-wife: January
Over the next while I am going to continue to explore my fascination with the Mary Randolph’s cookbook. When we read her recipes we get a glimpse into the skills and daily cooking styles practiced by African American cooks/chefs in…
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…