Back in Black
I’ve been away. A long time as a wandering, mendicant scholar – or something like that. But now I’m back, and trying to get back to the blog and to the next volume of The Silk Road Gourmet. But good...
View ArticleA New Yuan Shipwreck
A shipwreck dating from the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 ACE), has recently been analyzed by a team of archaeologists from the Shandong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology in China. The...
View ArticleOlympics, 이해, and More Delicious North Korean Food
Like Christmas Truce in World War I, the recent Olympics allowed for a temporary warming of relations between north and south Korea, between people still locked in a conflict that is decades old. To...
View ArticleAn International Diplomatic Row Over Mango Mousse
The world is waiting with baited breath to see the outcome of the inter-Korean Summit this Friday. Some are predicting an announcement that will end the 1950s Korean War, others are hoping for...
View ArticleGreat Szechuan in NYC’s Theatre District
We visit New York City a lot, usually to catch a Broadway play or two, or an exhibit at one of the city’s great museums. However much we love doing this, dining in the theatre district can be...
View ArticleTurkish Cevizli ARE Mesopotamian Mersu
Sometimes, perception can be like a flash of lightning that changes the world forever. Once something is seen and understood, there is no unseeing or unknowing. A few years back, I had such a...
View ArticleSilk Road Sites in Ancient Myanmar
French archaeologists have recently uncovered some assemblages on Myanmar’s lower Kra isthmus that shed light onto maritime Silk Road trading communities beginning in 400 BCE. Given the geographic...
View ArticleWalnut: The King of Nuts
The common walnut is anything but common. As stories tell us, its recent spread in Europe – through the ancient Grecian empire – happened in the early centuries BCE, when saplings were sent as gifts...
View ArticleCatchup to Keep Twenty-Years
Over the weekend we made an interesting colonial American recipe. Its from a chapter for sea captains in Hannah Glasse’s 1770 edition of the Art of Cookery. Called Catchup to last Twenty Years, I...
View ArticleWhat to do with Leftovers – Roman Style
I love dishes that blend meat and fruit. From Kyrgyz Beef with Apples to Bhutanese Fish with Mandarin Oranges, and Iranian Fish with Sour Cherries. As some ancient Mesopotamian archaeological...
View ArticleA Taste of Pompeii
Have ever wondered what sort of wine was served in an ancient Roman banquet? You know, the kind made famous by TV dramas like I Claudius, where guests lounged for hours, picking at sumptuous...
View ArticleCod with Hannah Glasse’s 20-Year Catsup
Following up on a previous post on the Catchup to Keep 20 Years from Hannah Glasse’s 1770 edition of the Art of Cookery cookbook, is the meal we cooked a few days ago. I cracked the jars of catsup made...
View ArticleHarappan Jewelry Found in a Bronze-Age Omani Tomb
A bronze-age group tomb in the Dahwa region of Oman has yielded several pieces of silver jewelry with Harappan designs – indicating period trade between the Indus Valley people and the Umm al-Na...
View ArticleOmani Kofta with Zucchini Sauce
After last month’s post about the Harappan jewelry found in a Bronze-age tomb in Oman, I wanted to share a delicious, modern Omani recipe from my collection with you. With summer’s abundance of...
View ArticleThe Oldest Bread in the World – Was Fermented!
A team of researchers from Anadolu University were excavating a bakery at the ancient city of Çatalhöyük, uncovered an artifact that has been identified as an unbaked loaf of bread from around 6600...
View ArticleSour Cherries, Gooseberries, and Currants from 18th Century America
Over the past few months, archaeologists at George Washington’s Mount Vernon have uncovered some 35 bottles of preserved berries from the mansion’s cellar. The bottles have been buried for...
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