Food for Thought
Margaret's column
in the Malibu Monthly Magazine is a treat for the imagination.
Follow along on her travels through history and cultures and her
visits to local Farmer's Markets; explore some of her out-of-the
way discoveries, and try some of her classic recipes.
Bounty of Eggplant
Like any other tradition, a region’s food traditions recount
its heritage. Take, for example, the eggplant, one of the uncontested
royals of Mediterranean cuisines. Eggplant’s illustrious history
begins in the ancient lands of Asia, where early human tribes may have
grown wild varieties long before the more “scientific” cultivation
of food crops. References to eggplant can be found in ancient
writings... >>read more>>
The Skinny on Fats
The cultivation of oil producing plants is intimately connected
with the evolution of human societies, for whom the harvesting of plant
oils provided food, medicine and fuel for lamps. Much is known about
the early peoples inhabiting the “Fertile Crescent” (the region
of the Middle East), where ideal conditions existed for the domestication
of animals and the cultivation of various crops, and whose sophisticated
culture and traditions spread throughout the Mediterranean region and beyond.
The cultivation of olive trees... >>read
more>>
Apples & Pears
It is no coincidence that the hardy apple figures prominently
in the folklore of Nordic peoples, and stories of the sensuous pear abound
in Italian legend. Along with quince, apples and pears are members
of the rose family, their blossoms resembling wild roses, and the soft
pink apple blossoms emanating the most divine fragrance. >>read
more>>
A Spread of
Festive Cheeses
The French have a saying that cheese
complements a good meal and supplements a bad one. One of the
many pleasures of traveling abroad is savoring the myriad varieties
of regional cheeses. Cheese is produced in countries
all over Europe and the Americas, with France leading as the most prolific
producer. Thanks to an ever growing import trade... >>read
more>>
Salad Days Are Here Again
When Cleopatra spoke to Julius Caesar of her “ . . . salad days,
when I was green in judgment” in Shakespeare’s Antony
and Cleopatra, she was referring to an era of youthful inexperience
and indiscretions. In a sense, the salad days of spring offer atonement
for winter’s excesses and indiscretions – an opportunity to
revel in spring’s bounty and shed winter’s pounds. >>read
more>>
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