Blueberry, corn, cranberry, or oatmeal raisin, just to name a few. We fill our much-loved, portable breakfast indulgences with sweet fruits, grains and creams. Often times making them healthy, often times not. Yet, our satisfying breakfast delicacies possess an origin and a past… The word muffin comes from the French word moufflet which is often…
Tag: history
The British Afternoon Tea; Where Did it All Begin & What is Served?
There is no more quintessential British ritual than the ceremony and serving of Afternoon tea. It is believed that credit for the custom goes to Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford in the early 19th century. The usual habit of serving dinner between 8 and 9 pm left the Duchess hungry and with a ‘sinking…
Scones; Fit for Royalty & Not Just a Plain Old Biscuit
Ahhhh, Lovely Scones! Biscuits, as we American’s know them, but sweet and light with a crisp exterior and soft, flaky interior—quite enjoyable. These buttery, mouth-watering delicacies can be eaten alone or, more traditionally, served with tea, jam and clotted cream, just as the British. Scones have gone through centuries of ovens, the first declaration in…
The Historical Cupcake—aka Fairy Cake…Get the Skinny!
The term “cupcake” was first revealed in 1828 in Eliza Leslie’s Receipts cookbook. In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name “cup cake” or “cupcake”. In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name…
Cool Lunchbox Lunches Aren’t Just for Kiddies!
As many of us remember from our childhood days, one of the best parts of our day was opening our lunchbox and diving into the array of goodies mom and or dad had packed for us that morning; Fast forward to current day and busy parents struggling to invent nutritious and delicious daily lunches for…
What Did You Put in Your Lunch Box? We’re About to Explore Many New Options!
Historic lunchboxes from the 1880s. In the center photo you can see a tobacco box recycled as a lunch box. Around the 1880s, school children, who wanted to try to be like their daddies, fashioned similar boxes out of empty cookie or tobacco tins. According to the timeline, the first commercial lunch boxes, similar to the…
What Does Easter Represent To You?
Massive Chocolate eggs, filled with treasures and sweet secrets… Source: washingtonian.com “Torta Pasqualina” Source: trendalert.it Torta Pasqualina was originally produced as an Easter pie around 1400 in Genova, Italy. The name itself comes from “Pasqua”, the Italian word for Easter. Traditionally, the pie was prepared using 33 thin layers of phyllo dough–in honor of Jesus’ age when he was…
Vino: A Poet, a god and a Few Ancient Mixers
The great Roman poet Horace once wrote, “No poem was ever written by a drinker of water.” Possibly, Horace was a tremendous admirer of Bacchus, the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine. And possibly the most intriguing, the god of ritual madness and ecstasy. Bacchus was one of the primary gods worshipped in…
Vino! Some Ancient Medicinal Mysteries
Today, I’d like to cover some ancient beliefs in regard to wine’s therapeutic uses. This “nectar of the gods” hasn’t won the hearts of many and transcended the years for its mere taste alone. We’ll move on to the origin of its making one day soon, but “why” it was used seems more intriguing to…
Oooey Gooey “Cheese” Your Stairway to Heaven? Or Shall We Continue Following Zeppelin? Here’s a Wedge of Ancient Info
Ahhhhh, Cheese!! We pile it high on our favorite sandwiches. Mound it on our beloved pizzas. Stack it in and among egg dishes. But where did it come from? Here’s a brief history…Part 1 There are many Egyptian documents that swear to the presence of cheese. Specifically in Thebes, where the tomb of Ipy is…
Once Upon a Spice 