“Pumpkin” is an American Indian word. You hear that a lot during the holidays. But it isn’t. It’s Greek. Did the ancient Greeks have pumpkins? No, pumpkins as we know them are a New World crop. However the Greeks they had melons and gourds, which is what the original root word, pepon, refers to. The Old French version of the same word is pompon, which sounds a bit more like the word we know.
READ ONThe Food Network is currently holding casting calls for the second season of the show. I’ve never seen it but I’ve heard it’s fun. Prospective applicants — go here!
READ ONI’ve had a few different requests for pumpkin-based bakery this past month, pumpkin pie and pumpkin tea bread foremost among them. My thought: why not do them both…and who knows what else? I’m ready for a little seasonal baking!
READ ONReader Barrett, a self-proclaimed true crime fanatic, asks why the Germans didn’t see right through Operation Mincemeat, since:
There are more than a few “tells” that would have betrayed the fact that Martin wasn’t a drowning victim. Even with the technology of the time it would have been obvious: no water in the lungs, etc.. How could the Germans have been so easily fooled?
Ah yes, a very interesting question. The problem for the Axis was simply the game of intelligence and counter-intelligence. Certainly they could have arranged to steal the body and do their own examination. However such a blatant move would have blown their whole operation. Assuming the intelligence Martin was carrying was reliable (and of course it wasn’t), stealing the body would have made it clear to the British that the Germans were on to them.
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There’s a lot of joy in a mince pie — especially if the mincemeat filling contains real meat. Sure, the anti-mince pie crusaders of a hundred years ago claimed they caused insanity. But you’re not going to let a little thing like a psychotic break get between you and a handsome snack, are you? I thought not.
For four of these bad boys you’ll need 1 recipe of pie dough, plus 4-5 cups of mincemeat. Start by preheating your oven to 350. Apply about half your dough to a lightly floured surface.
READ ONMost Americans today have scarcely heard of mince pie. Those who have consider mince pie to be a British thing. Quite an irony when you consider that mince pie was once the quintessential American pie. Far, FAR more popular than apple or cherry, 19th Century Americans ate mince pies all through the year for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
So if mince pies were so darn popular…what happened? The answer is somewhat unclear. However it seems to be the case that in the early 20th Century mince pies came under a sort of popular attack, not unlike what we’ve been seeing with fruitcakes the last couple of decades. Starting in the 20’s or so, they became a sort of national joke. More earnest critics of mince pies claimed they were responsible for everything from indigestion and nightmares to psychosis and death.
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Not many people make real mincemeat anymore. I think it’s high time we turned that trend around! Meat gives mincemeat a superior texture and flavor, not to mention a satisfying historical frisson that really completes the experience. Start by cooking your ground beef.
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If you enjoy mincemeat and/or British puddings, you’ve no doubt seen suet on an ingredient list. An easy-melting, mild-tasting fat taken from the kidney region of a steer, suet is akin to leaf lard on a pig. Brits of yester-year employed it as an inexpensive fat for enriching sweet baking.
It’s actually still used quite a bit, especially during the holidays, which is why you can still find commercially-shredded and packaged suet in the British Isles. Here in States the only kind of suet we can get comes straight from the steer, so we have to do the shredding ourselves.
READ ONA regular reader (who’s calling himself “Vlad” this weekend) writes:
On behalf of the life impaired community, I wish to thank you for so eloquently highlighting an important point: that people without a pulse can still make a positive contribution to society. Those of us who are currently dealing with what is widely considered to be life’s ultimate disability thank you.
My pleasure, er…Vlad. Don’t forget I come from Chicago, a city famous for championing the rights of the deceased. Dead people have been voting there for decades.
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