Laos. Around the year 2000. Fetal pig on plate. I had seen the pigs being grilled by a street vendor so I bought a few for dinner. The French couple with whom we shared a table were taken aback. I recall talking to them about the fact they ate pork sausage, they ate pork roasts, … Continue reading Fetal Pig on a Plate
Medieval-style Pottage
I was watching a YouTube video about Medieval cooking by Lucy Worsley. She works at Hampton Court and produces a wide range of videos for BBC. In the Medieval food video, she says that the average Medieval household always had a soup going — a “pottage.” Amongst other things, the postage was made with scraps. … Continue reading Medieval-style Pottage
Radish Creatures
Lithuania! 1989! Aren’t they so cute! Radish creatures. This inspired market seller livened up her produce stand with carved radishes. Nobody else did it, so it seemed it was a Lithuanian market tradition.
Lowland Samburu Houses
This is one of the women who have helped me with my research project into the smoke cured fermented milk of the Samburu. This is taken within the woman’s house, a stick structure a few meters in diameter with a roof too low to enable one to stand up. There is one door, often narrow … Continue reading Lowland Samburu Houses
Ship’s Biscuit Recipes and Instructions
Jeff Pavlik, Guest Speaker Bread History Seminar #18 January 21, 2021 9am Pacific: 6pm Belgium: 9:30pm Bangalore These are various ways to replicate the basic ship’s biscuit of the eighteenth century using readily available ingredients. The final amount of dough made using these recipes will equal a ration of one pound of biscuits after they … Continue reading Ship’s Biscuit Recipes and Instructions
Dandelions from Seed!
Dandelions from seed! Yes, just pick one of those puff balls, and plant them, seed by seed in a seed bed, or in whatever seed starter system you use. I like these coconut pots because it makes it possible to plant the seedling in the pot, eliminating stress. But, that is a detail. The important … Continue reading Dandelions from Seed!
Espalier Fence
At its height, the 25-acre walled kitchen garden associated with the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France was one of the world’s largest kitchen gardens. The garden footprint is still intact, with a significant portion of it still being worked. Note the brilliant idea of planting espalier fruit trees to mark the edges of areas … Continue reading Espalier Fence
The Potager du Roi
The Potager du Roi, the kitchen garden dating to the 1660s that sits just outside the formal garden at Versailles, France, includes many fabulous espalier fruit trees. I like the form of the oblique cordons. A form one sees in books, but not in real life. I love the sense of energy that is projected … Continue reading The Potager du Roi
Using a Bread Stamp from Uzbekistan
I made this cracker with an Uzbek bread stamp. Etsy is where I buy stamps of this kind. They are used to keep flat breads from fully rising. If you don’t prick flatbreads prior to baking, then they will puff up into a ball — desirable in chapati and pita — not desirable for other … Continue reading Using a Bread Stamp from Uzbekistan
Yunnan, 1998.
I traveled to Yunnan, China three times to join my mycologist friend, David Arora. Some of you may know his books: Mushrooms Demystified, and All the Rain Promises and More. The latter volume includes my first published pieces! Two small paragraphs on mushroom collecting. Here, you see David photographing one of the women we had … Continue reading Yunnan, 1998.
