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Spring on the Silk Road Means: Black Locust Blossoms
Black Locust Blossoms Spring has finally come to the Central Atlantic and all the leaves have opened out into a sea of green. In our area, dairy cows graze and suckle their young in fields of...
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Miranda’s Lemon Pickle
South Indian Lemon Pickle We packed our first born off to college this past weekend. Even though we are still here with our son, the house is eerily quiet. My daughter was noisy enough to be twins,...
View ArticleEarly 20th Century Georgian Winemaking
On the subject of Georgian winemaking, I recently found these incredible old photos depicting various aspects of wine making and drinking. I found the photos on the British Library’s Endangered...
View ArticleSalted Eggs Revealed
Its been a few months since I put up my salted eggs, and over the holidays I noticed that the water they were in had turned a rusty brown from the spices used in preservation. This meant that it was...
View ArticleChili Peppers into India
I saw you green, then Turning red as you ripened. Pleasant to look at and tasty in a dish, But too hot if excess is used Savior of the poor, enhancer of good food. Fiery when bitten, this makes it...
View ArticleA Meal Fit for Kim Jong-Il
One of the difficulties in understanding history and historical works, is to imagine the world truly differently than it is today. We are so confident that our senses provide us with the, “truth,”...
View ArticleA Roman Bowl from a Mongolian Tomb
This bowl is a fine example of pinched-glass craftmanship. It is of Roman (possibly Byzantine) origin and is believed to be dated to the 5th Century ACE (based on the age of the tomb which is from the...
View ArticleNatto in Japan and Beyond
Natto, or fermented soybeans, are everywhere in Japan. There are natto burgers, natto bruschetta made with heaps of natto mixed with melted cheese or tomatoes on toasted bread, and even natto curries...
View ArticleAfghan Cardamom Cookies
Today I’m cooking for a holiday get together with friends we’re having this evening, but wanted to share a delicious recipe with you that is just perfect for this time of year. These Afghan cardamom...
View ArticleSilk Money from the Silk Road
From cowrie shells; and iron, copper and silver coins; to various kinds of paper, many different materials have been used by merchants and customers as credit or legal tender. Bolts of silk measuring...
View ArticleA 1675 Vindaloo Roast Chicken
Move over Hannah Glasse. Your published recipe for butter chicken that is widely hailed as the first English recipe for curry, has an English contender. In a 1675 anonymous manuscript full of recipes...
View ArticleSpicy Asian – Authentic Szechuan in Ithaca
Wherever I go, for work or for personal travel, I like to hit a good restaurant during my trip. If that restaurant can be a Silk Road restaurant, all the better. I had the chance this past weekend to...
View ArticleThe Silk Road at the The Corning Museum of Glass
I love glass and glassmaking. Glass is fire and imagination combined. Long have I loved watching craftsmen at historical sites blow air into a molten mass to form a useful bowl or bottle, or see the...
View ArticleSpring on the Silk Road Means: Black Locust Blossoms
Spring has finally come to the Central Atlantic and all the leaves have opened out into a sea of green. In our area, dairy cows graze and suckle their young in fields of buttercups and the first...
View ArticleMiranda’s Lemon Pickle
We packed our first born off to college this past weekend. Even though we are still here with our son, the house is eerily quiet. My daughter was noisy enough to be twins or even triplets. No more loud...
View ArticleBack 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...
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