Short Stack
The cheery noise of bubbling pancake batter was as plainly heard as the singing teakettle every morning of the year in our house. I often lifted the cover of the batter crock to look at the bubbles, which reminded me of the eyes of animals. Ulysses Prentiss HedrickAmerican botanist, horticulturalist, and writer1870—1951The Land of the […]
Boo! Beer and Babies
Good ale is meat, drink, and cloth. A Compleat Collection of English Proverbsby JOHN RAYEnglish naturalist and collector of proverbs1628—1705 Boo! Beer and Babies Musings For those parts of the world influenced by European conquest and culture, the calendar’s final three months are holiday central. From autumnal beer to Halloween to Christmas, this edition of […]
Election Cake
Election Cake of Days Gone By Three cups milk, two cups sugar, one cup yeast; stir to a batter and let stand over night; in the morning add two cups sugar, two cups butter, three eggs, half a nutmeg, one tablespoonful cinnamon, one pound raisins, a gill of brandy. Brown sugar is much better than […]
Lunch, Lattes, and a Touch of Tartrazine
When in doubt, eat your neighbor’s lunch. KEVIN HEARNEAmerican fantasy author1970—Trapped: The Iron Druid Chronicles As the school year and autumn begin in the northern hemisphere, musings keeps step with the season. This edition of musings looks at school lunches around the world and something to consider before putting those chips into your kiddo’s […]
Blowin’ Smoke—The Art of Trading Cards
Blowin’ Smoke and Brushing Up on History It’s 1885 and you’re sitting in a marketing meeting at the Richmond, Virginia, offices of Allen & Ginter. The tobacco company needs to stand out from its U.S. competitors. But those Brits!—They are the real competition for you and your fellow American tobacconists. Allen & Ginter has already […]
Winner! Winner! Sunday Dinner!
A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything than he does of his dinner. SAMUEL JOHNSONEnglish poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic,biographer,editor, lexicographer, and author1709—1784The Life of Samuel Johnson Apparently Google agrees! Musings starts this edition with a look bread and cheese news from Europe then brings us to the 2024’s Google Doodle winner […]
No Cleaner Than a Kitchen
Such is life. It is no cleaner than a kitchen; it reeks of a kitchen; and if you mean to cook your dinner, you must expect to soil your hands; the real art is in getting them clean again, and therein lies the whole morality of our epoch. HONORÉ DE BALZACFrench novelist and playwright1799—1850Father Goriot […]
Egg Art—It’s a Spring Thing!
Based on the “Every Day’s a Holiday” monthly column (March 1997) for AOL’s The electronic Gourmet Guide (eGG) by Ian Makay. It’s Not Just About Easter! Egg art is a spring thing! And it’s not just about Easter! While there’s controversy over which came first—the chicken or the egg—there’s no doubt the egg preceded […]
Saintly Throwback
Whether it’s Halloween, Samhain, Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), or All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, the time from late October to early November marks the celebration and commemoration of those who came before us and have passed on to the great beyond. As mentioned on the About page, an amazing byproduct of […]