In the movie Julie & Julia, Paul Child says to his wife, the soon-to-be world-acclaimed chef Julia Child, “You are the butter to my bread, and the breath to my life.” What more apt way to express the depth of a love than comparing it to the sustenance of life? Continue reading
Category Archives: Culinary
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Asparagus With Curry Butter: The Ancient History of Golden, Buttery Deliciousness
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Why Do We Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving?
Why don’t we eat hot dogs on Thanksgiving? Or a seafood feast? Whether it’s roasted, smoked or fried, with cranberry sauce or smothered in gravy, turkey is synonymous with Thanksgiving in the United States and has even infiltrated various other Thanksgiving feasts around the world. Today, we’re bringing you some fun facts about why turkey is the main food for this holiday and sharing a recipe for Turkey Sobaheg, a turkey stew that has been cooked by the Wampanoag Native American tribe for centuries. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday: Celebrating Germany’s National Soup Day!
It’s National Soup Day in Germany. Time to break out your best potato, cabbage or lentil soup, cozy up to a toasty fire and warm your bones. But of course, soup isn’t just appreciated in Germany. It’s a dish enjoyed all over the world in thousands of variations. And it has been a food staple in many ancient civilizations. In honor of Germany’s holiday we’re bringing you a recipe for hearty Kartoffelsuppe (German Potato Soup) and offering a brief ancient history of soup. So sit back, grab a spoon and enjoy! Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Seaweed for Thanksgiving?
In the past we’ve discussed several ancient superfoods including quinoa, amaranth, honey and even the adzuki bean. Today, we add one more to the list—seaweed, an ancient food from the sea that packs a punch nutritionally, but is often unappreciated by the uninitiated. Not everyone loves seaweed, but maybe they should! Today’s recipe, Carrots with Arame, is an unexpected pairing that will help you bring seaweed to the Thanksgiving table. But first, let’s make sure you can explain to your guests the history behind your curious contribution to the holiday feast. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Happy National Doughnut Day
Happy National Doughnut Day! Today we celebrate those sweet wheels of deliciousness that pop up in every flavor imaginable. We’re bringing you a fall doughnut recipe that you’ll want to drop everything for and try immediately. Nothing says autumn goodness like Apple Cider Doughnuts. First, let’s find out how long we’ve been enjoying these popular pastries. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! A 200-Year-Old Recipe for Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cheesecake, even pumpkin spice Oreos! When the leaves start to change and weather starts to cool, pumpkin season is in full swing. Whether it’s carving one or cooking one, pumpkins just put you into the holiday mood. And we aren’t the only ones to appreciate this icon of autumn. The pumpkin has been serving up nutritious deliciousness for centuries. Today we’re bringing you a recipe for 200-year-old pumpkin pie. You can’t go wrong with this time-honored recipe full of ancient pumpkin goodness. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! An Ancient Roman Salad
This week we’re bringing you a recipe straight out of ancient Rome. The Columella Salad, named for its author, Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, is the perfect side dish and would fit easily on any modern menu. Yet it was created in the first century CE! Full of scrumptious, fresh ingredients, this salad is light, tasty and ancient. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Bon Appetit Wednesday, Culinary, Culture
Tagged ancient history, ancient recipes, Ancient Rome, ancient salads, AntiquityNOW, Columella, De Re Rustica, Roman salads
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Tempura Fried Maple Leaves
They’re everywhere! Autumn leaves are falling, falling, falling and collecting in great, heaping, colorful piles all over lawns, roofs, streets and sidewalks. Beautiful and vibrant for sure, but what to do with so many little pieces of autumn? Most of the time we just bag them up and throw them away, but today we’re giving you another option. Courtesy of Japan, we bring you Fried Maple Leaves! There are accounts that these leaves have been eaten for thousands of years in Japan, but since tempura only arrived in the 16th century, the truth is they’ve probably been around for a little over 500 years. We’re bringing you an updated modern version created by James Wong, a chef who wanted to try the treat, but was nowhere near Japan. His version is made with maple leaves, pumpkin and fig. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Easy, No-Bake Cookies with Quinoa, the Incas’ “Mother of all Grains”
Last week we celebrated ancient amaranth, superfood of the Aztecs. So this week we decided to explore another ancient “grain” that sustained a great civilization. Quinoa was to the Incas what amaranth was to the Aztecs: a source of strength and life. And just like amaranth, quinoa isn’t really a grain at all. It is a seed from a plant in the goosefoot family, and along with amaranth and buckwheat is often called a “pseudocereal” because it is grown for use as a grain.[1] Let’s take a trip through quinoa’s history before indulging in a delectable recipe for easy, gluten-free, dairy-free, No-Bake Quinoa Cookies. Continue reading
KIDS’ BLOG! Take a Trip Through an Ancient Roman Kitchen
What would it be like to cook and eat in an ancient Roman kitchen? Would there even be a stove or an oven? Did these ancient people have any way to keep their food cold? Did they have a sink or running water?
Archaeologists, led by Professor Jeroen Poblome, digging at a site in Turkey, have discovered a nearly 2,000 year old kitchen in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Sagalassos. Originally part of the expanded Roman Empire, this city is located in the southwestern part of today’s Turkey. Professor Marc Waelkens and his team from Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium had been digging in this site since 1990, painstakingly uncovering the hidden city. Poblome’s team has joined them, and the archaeologists were delighted this summer to uncover a kitchen dating as early as 200 CE.[1] Continue reading
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