Author: Lee Svitak Dean
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‘Old Spice’: The oldest cake in the United States?
MINNEAPOLIS • We could call this mummified wonder “Old Spice” — at 100 years of age, the cake qualifies. And there’s definitely a hint of spice emanating from its layers. The surprise — after the age — may be that it’s a spice cake, not a fruit cake. At least that’s what Pierre Girard, of…
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What a long strange trip it’s been as notions about food change over four decades
Earth Day’s 40th anniversary last month got me thinking about all the wacky notions advocated by the long-haired, tie-dyed, wire-rimmed youthful hipsters of the early 1970s. (Yes, I was among them.)You know, those wild anarchists who read the “Whole Earth Catalog” and may as well have been called “nattering nabobs of negativism,” to recycle a…
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Planet Taco: A little bite of food history
You can find tacos in outer Mongolia, Amsterdam, Addis Ababa and Australia — even in outer space (the latter thanks to NASA). They have, in fact, become as ever present as the hamburger.And that’s the rub. They no longer seem Mexican, but American, says Jeffrey Pilcher, a University of Minnesota history professor.Indeed, the taco revolution…
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Celebrate with novel drinks New Year’s Eve
It may not matter that we sip on wine or beer at home the rest of the year. Come New Year’s Eve, everyone seems to break out the celebratory drinks, whether or not they are hosting a party: The sparkling wines that haven’t been sipped since the last anniversary, the aperitifs and liqueurs forgotten in…
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Middle Eastern flavors give spicy tang to adaptable summer party menu
MINNEAPOLIS • As I discovered on a trip to Istanbul, the flavors of Turkey are made for summer.Hot and hungry, I wandered through the city’s Grand Bazaar, where vendors vied for attention with promises of good deals on their carpets, silver and spices. In an out-of-the-way corner, a little cafe promised relief in the form…