The Iceman Cometh for Breakfast… A Bit of History: The popular play, The Iceman Cometh, debuted on Broadway in 1946. Even though this play was published long ago, the Iceman I am referring to is much older! Scientists discovered remains belonging to Otzi (3100-3400 BC), known as the Iceman, in the Alps between Austria and…
Sweet Water & Hot Honey… A Bit of History: My latest culinary venture for Hot Honey Sage Vinaigrette revolves around Asian pears, specifically the Hosui Japanese variety. With a shape resembling an apple and a russet brown exterior skin, Hosui pears are exceptionally juicy. In Japanese, their name means sweet water. Asian pears, cultivated for…
A Bit of Simon & Garfunkel… About the Recipe: Parsley Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette While crafting this recipe, I could not stop thinking of the Simon & Garfunkel 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Popular in folk music in the 1960s and with my parents, who I think owned every record! While this tangy, wonderful…
The Mad Apple… A Bit of History: Sometimes I feel like a mad scientist in the kitchen. Mixing seemingly random ingredients, running the blender until it smokes, dropping things in the oven and then pondering where the burning smell is emanating from. While conducting a bit of research for my version of Grilled Eggplant Dip,…
Inverted Bruschetta… A Bit of History: Once again, an ancient fruit stars in my recipe for Smoked Fig Jam Bruschetta. Scientists and historians discovered evidence of fig cultivation dating back over 11,000 years ago in Jericho on the West Bank. Figs are really a fascinating fruit with a long and significant history! Since figs predated the domestication and cultivation…
For Courtney… A Wonderful Neighbor… About the Recipe: Rosemary Thyme Fig Jam A few weeks ago my very kind friend who also happens to be my neighbor invited me to pick some delightful figs from her backyard tree. I was so excited as the timing was perfect! Rob was making pizza/flatbread dough and I had…
A Fruit Fit for a King… A Bit of History: Olive trees symbolize endurance, eternity, and peace. However, you won’t need an endurance effort to craft this easy, 5-minute Sun-Dried Tomato Olive Tapenade. Olives have an incredible ability to adapt to a multitude of environments; including temperature fluctuations, soil changes, and salt water. In fact,…
The Foreigner… A Bit of History: I believe almost all of us could identify a scallion or a green onion, but did you know they are also known as spring onions, sibies, or a Welsh onion? Given these names, one might think that scallions are a native species in Wales. However, the term Welsh onion,…
Peach Pie Paradox… About the Recipe: Peach Chipotle BBQ Sauce We are always angling for Rob to make homemade pizza dough for dinner. Every weekend, the kids ask for Daddy’s pizzas. We have the execution of pizza night down to a science at my house. I concoct the ideas and prepare all of the toppings,…
Oodles of Oublies… A Bit of History: Historians believe that waffles likely originated in ancient Greece. Early waffles, named obelios and shaped like flat cakes, were cooked between two heated metal plates. This tradition and recipe slowly made its way to Europe. People in the 9th century developed iron plates with extended handles, known as…