If there was ever a drink that seems guaranteed to improve the mood, its chai. Specifically masala chai, with masala being a general Hindu term for spice mix, and chai the term for tea. If you ask for chai tea, you’re just being redundant. (This sort of expression is called pleonasm, where one of...
I had to share this list of award winning cookbooks from around the world. I’d never seen such a broad collection of resources. All of them were entered into the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards this past year, and they represent their country in the “Best of the World” category. If you’ve gotten your hands...
Last week, we spent the weekend exploring parts of Sonoma County, that we had left undiscovered, not by any deliberate design, but a somewhat happy consequence that we just had not made it there just yet. My husband found us a wonderful bed and breakfast just outside of Santa Rosa that proved to be...
Curry has me in its heady grip, and as I was curious to see its permutations as it made its way around the world. I touched on some of the varieties that could be found in India, how the English stamped their influence on curries by adding a few of their own, such as Balti,...
See for yourself… April Fools’ Day, or All Fool’s Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1 with practical jokes played family members, colleagues, and neighbors. The origin of April Fools’ Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar, as opposed to adopting...
As I touched on in a previous post, salt is commonly obtained in one of two ways, from the sea or mined, and those methods go back millennia. Rock salt occurs in vast beds of sedimentary minerals, the last reminder of dried up lakes and seas. In the United States and Canada extensive underground...
I was asked to participate as a judge for this year’s “Tasty Awards” and I thought what a fun way to peek behind the curtain and check out what all the fuss was about with the celebrity chefs. Being a food lover means I indulge in watching Food TV, read any and all food...
I love to travel and frequently collect cookbooks from my destinations. However, sometimes I get into trouble when a recipe calls for ingredients and I have no idea of the American equivalent. Sugar is one ingredient that I’ve had this problem with frequently, so I decided to investigate the differences. I suspect part of...
The custom of eating pork on New Year’s is based on the notion that pigs symbolize progress or prosperity for many cultures – not a connection that may immediately come to mind. The animal pushes forward, rooting in the ground before moving, symbolizing progress. In Italy, the fatty meat also symbolizes the fattening of...
I recently swapped a few emails with FoodGal about haggis before my trip to Ireland and the exchange reminded me of my time in London when I enjoyed sampling the different flavors of potato chips (or crisps as they call theme) with my lunch time sandwich – I tried to never repeat a flavor....
