Rachel Laudan

Inspired by this oil painting that shows a woman grinding pineapple to make juicel, I thought it was time to have a go myself. Now, you might say, who in their right minds would get down on their knees to grind a pineapple. Well, it’s all part of a big project to get a better [...]

Now here’s a question. How did Mexicans make agua fresca before every household had its blender?  Some fruits–the citrus–are easy to juice.  But that’s not true of other agua fresca bases such as barley, rice, or pineapple. Well, here’s the answer. This 1860 oil by a wonderful Mexican painter, José Agustín Arrieta, shows horchata vendors. [...]

I’ve had some wonderful comments on my earlier post, Your Friend the Kitchen, Really? And I’ve been mulling over some books I’ve been reading about food security, global food supplies, etc. One thing that always really bugs me about these books, many of which are quite excellent and which I’ll be commenting on shortly, is [...]