Rachel Laudan

Can I really have been blogging for more than three years?  In that time I have moved from the colonial town of Guanajuato in central Mexico to the huge metropolis of Mexico City.  It’s almost like moving from one country to another.  There are so many provincial customs that are muted here, particularly in old-established [...]

Maize is getting such bad press at the moment in the United States.  But it is such a wonderful grain, so flexible, so many appealing products. Arepas, as you doubtless know, are the national dish, the daily bread of Venezuela (and other parts of Latin America).  I’d had the Panamanian variety last year and was [...]

Last week Onkel Bob posted a long response to my post, Bread first or beer first? A bad question. He made several interesting points but the most important point, to which he kept returning, was “How did agriculture start at all?” or “What prompted widespread fields?” That’s an interesting question.  But in my opinion it [...]