Four Pounds Flour Snapshots

WNYC: Blazing Maize - Mrs. Gannon’s Tamale Pie, 1947One...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:57:01 -0400

WNYC: Blazing Maize - Mrs. Gannon’s Tamale Pie, 1947

One more little gem from around the web: I wrote this postfor WNYC (New York Public Radio) about…

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Williamsburg Bridge

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:50:00 -0400

Williamsburg Bridge

Just liked the look of this laundry on my walk home through...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:48:26 -0400

Just liked the look of this laundry on my walk home through greenpoint.

Fruit Tree Map of Sunnyside, Queens

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:17:45 -0400

View Edible fruit in Queens in a larger map

Nom Wah storefront, Doyers St. (source)

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:00:36 -0400

Nom Wah storefront, Doyers St. (source)

erikkwakkel: Fun Medieval Doodles Here is a small selection of...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 12:00:42 -0400

Origins unknown

Origins unknown

Einsiedeln, Stiftsbibliothek, 339 (15th c)

Einsiedeln, Stiftsbiblothek, 149 (10th c)

Einsiedeln, Stiftsbibliothek, 358 (12th c)

Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, 3 (12th c)

Einsiedeln, Stiftsbibliothek, 301 (10th c)

Darmouth Incun 125 (dated 1496)

erikkwakkel:

Fun Medieval Doodles

Here is a small selection of doodles I tweeted over the past year (@erik_kwakkel). Although they are usually not exactly eye-candy, they are easy to like. I think this is because they are often very funny, but also because the activity is such a familiar one. Almost without thinking we ourselves doodle on notepads, post-it notes or in the margin of the newspaper.

While our drawings are often the result of boredom, in the Middle Ages there was often a more pragmatic rationale behind their creation. In some cases they were a response to the text, such as the Adam and Eve doodle above. Moreover, many were the fruit of correcting the nib of the pen, like the little dog’s head. They are the medieval equivalent, as it were, of our scratching on a piece of paper to get the ink flowing.

In other cases still it remains a mystery what the doodling scribe was thinking. Why draw the skeleton that seems to hold a glass, for example? Is it a warning that our enjoying the delights of this planet will ultimately come to an end? A medieval campaign against riding your horse while under influence? Whatever the meaning of this poor guy with his drink may be, and in spite of the fact we are reminded of our own mortality, sketches like this do brighten the page - and my day.

Also called Rock Doves, these domesticated birds were brought...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:00:37 -0400

Also called Rock Doves, these domesticated birds were brought over from Europe, most likely in the 1600s, to eat. (source)

Hudson Made: Salt of the EarthHome-made salt, crystallized in a...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:27:53 -0400

Hudson Made: Salt of the Earth

Home-made salt, crystallized in a baking pan.
Have you ever wondered where salt comes from? There…

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The earliest known recipe in an American cookbook for...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:00:41 -0400

The earliest known recipe in an American cookbook for kabobs.

From The Cook Not Mad, Author Unknown, 1831.

“No 298.

A Moorish method of cooking beef, as described by Captain Riley, the shipwrecked mariner.

“Mr. Willshire’s cook had by this time prepared a repast, which consisted of beef cut into square pieces, just large enough for a mouthful before it was cooked; these were then rolled in onions,cut up fine, and mixed with salt and pepper;they were in the next place put on iron skewers and laid horizontally across a
pot of burning charcoal, and turned over occasionally, until perfectly roasted:” [Query.—Does he mean that the skewers be run through the pieces of meat? we think he must, as it would be difficult to make such small pieces lie on the skewers,without falling through into the fire; especially when the meat came to be turned.] “This dish,” continues Captain Riley, “is called cubbub,and in my opinion far surpasses in flavour the so much admired beef steak; as it is eaten hot from the skewers, and is indeed an excellent mode of cooking beef.”

Etsy Kitchen Histories: The Ice PickAn ice block at the ready on...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:38:24 -0400

Etsy Kitchen Histories: The Ice Pick

An ice block at the ready on the back bar at Stoddard’s Fine Food and Ale in Boston.
In my latest…

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What it’s like to be on staff at the Lower East Side...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:00:52 -0400

What it’s like to be on staff at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum; Or, how I spend my days. I am so proud of where I work.

What is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum? If you...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:38:05 -0400

What is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum? If you haven’t ever been, you should pay them a visit—and here’s a video to entice you.

Living History: Tea and Two SlicesTea-and-two-slices. In the...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:13:42 -0400

Living History: Tea and Two Slices

Tea-and-two-slices.
In the late 1920s, George Orwell compiled his first full-length book. Although

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Today In News History: In 1919, Congress passed the 19th...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:28:55 -0400

Today In News History: In 1919, Congress passed the 19th Amendment allowing women the right to vote. (via Newseum)

“Banana Candle,” Be Bold With Bananas

Wed, 29 May 2013 12:00:43 -0400

“Banana Candle,” Be Bold With Bananas

Dinosaur explains Futursim “Futurists: i totally summed up...

Tue, 28 May 2013 11:55:47 -0400

Dinosaur explains Futursim

“Futurists: i totally summed up your art movement in one sentence. sorry???”

Etsy Kitchen Histories: What to Grill TodayThis is a Dixie...

Mon, 27 May 2013 11:54:43 -0400

Etsy Kitchen Histories: What to Grill Today

This is a Dixie Dog
My latest Etsy article is essential a rant about the historic gender bias in…

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Help me solve an RSS problem

Mon, 27 May 2013 11:28:58 -0400

This is a screenshot in Google Reader. See the link for payday loans in the middle? It’s not on my blog, and not in my rss feed. I only see it in Reader. Where is it, how do I get rid of it, and how do I stop it from happening in the future?

Events: Masters of Social Gastronomy Face the Future!Intuitive...

Sat, 25 May 2013 13:21:08 -0400

Events: Masters of Social Gastronomy Face the Future!

Intuitive Antipasto – New York Times
Banning pasta in Italy, pre-WW2 molecular gastronomy and…

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I’m delighted to discover hearth cooking techniques...

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:33 -0400

I’m delighted to discover hearth cooking techniques included in Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking .