Stirring the Pot: The Pantry
Pantries have a way of gathering odd ingredients–canned soups that you bought because they were on sale, half empty boxes of noodles, those little cans of mandarin oranges, a bag of Jaggery you bought...
View ArticleStirring the Pot: Flexing Your Diet
There are good reasons to cut meat out of your diet. It’s healthier, of course. It will probably save you money and you may even lose weight. And even if you don’t think it of it as a moral choice in...
View ArticleStirring the Pot: Spice: The Final Frontier
At the moment I’m reading a book called “Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination” by Professor Paul Freedman. As you probably remember from your school days, the procuring of spices was...
View ArticleSpice, The Final Frontier: Name That Hue
What spice was first used as a natural dye over 4000 years ago, and even today is used to enhance the hue of many processed products from beverages, popcorn, and cereals, to ice cream, yogurt, cake,...
View ArticleSpice:The Final Frontier, What Spice Did Roman Gladiators Rub On Their Skin...
Gladiators rubbed the fronds on their skin seeking to benefit from its calming effect and it’s ability to prevent excessive sweating due to nervousness. (Maybe that’s where the expression “never...
View ArticleSpice – The Final Frontier: What Spice Is One of the World’s Oldest...
If you answered the humble mustard seed you are correct. The earliest reference is from India in the fifth century BCE in a story Buddha told of a mother grieving for her dead son. The woman...
View ArticleSpice: The Final Frontier
It is said that because he expected it to assure him a long life, Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, added this spice to every meal he ate. What is it? If you said ginger you are correct! Ancient...
View ArticleSpice: The Final Frontier(Listen to the Audio)
During the Napoleonic war of 1812, what spice did Russian soldiers put in their boots to keep their feet warm and help eliminate foot odor? If you said allspice, you are correct! Allspice, which is...
View ArticleSpice, The Final Frontier: What Spice, Historically Associated with Weddings...
If you answered rosemary, you are correct! Rosemary has a very old reputation for improving memory. In ancient Greece, students would braid sprigs of rosemary into their hair to refresh their...
View ArticleSpice, The Final Frontier: What Spice, Barely Mentioned in American Cookbooks...
If you said oregano you are correct! While Italian and Greek immigrants had always been using oregano in their cooking, it was the pizza craze that created the huge increase in demand for oregano....
View ArticleSpice: The Final Frontier
According to legend, this spice was collected from an unknown land by giant birds who used it to construct their nests on sheer cliffs. What spice is it? If you said cinnamon, you are correct! In...
View ArticleSpice: The Final Frontier
What spice is used to flavor a soft drink popular in many former Republics of the Soviet Union? If you said tarragon, you are correct! The drink, called Tarhun, was invented in the 1887 by a Georgian...
View ArticleSpice, the Final Frontier(Listen to the Audio)
What herb played such an important role in ancient Roman life that in addition to making a ceremonial sacrifice of food and wine, gatherers were required to be freshly bathed, adorned with clean...
View ArticleSpice: The Final Frontier…The Spice is Poisonous to Pigeons
The scent of this spice attracts many types of animals including cats, bears, dogs, mice, and even fish – but is poisonous to pigeons. What is it? If you said anise, you are correct! Originally a...
View ArticleSpice, The Final Frontier(Listen to the Audio)
In the year 1358, the bustling market city of Nuremberg, Germany enacted a law solely to govern the inspection and quality of one particular spice. Offenders were executed in various horrific ways...
View ArticleSpice: The Final Frontier: Caraway
What spice was once thought not only to prevent a thief from removing any item which contained it, but also
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Spice: The Final Frontier
It is said that because he expected it to assure him a long life, Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, added this spice to every meal he ate. What is it? If you said ginger you are correct! Ancient...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spice: The Final Frontier(Listen to the Audio)
During the Napoleonic war of 1812, what spice did Russian soldiers put in their boots to keep their feet warm and help eliminate foot odor? If you said allspice, you are correct! Allspice, which is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spice, The Final Frontier: What Spice, Historically Associated with Weddings...
If you answered rosemary, you are correct! Rosemary has a very old reputation for improving memory. In ancient Greece, students would braid sprigs of rosemary into their hair to refresh their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spice, The Final Frontier: What Spice, Barely Mentioned in American Cookbooks...
If you said oregano you are correct! While Italian and Greek immigrants had always been using oregano in their cooking, it was the pizza craze that created the huge increase in demand for oregano....
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