The Royal Wedding

Somehow I started reading about Royal Wedding food themes. The L.A. Times Daily Dish blog reports that 10,000 canapes will be served, and offers recipes in case you want to have a party to celebrate the wedding. Their recipes are amazing -- flavors from many, many cultures. Probably better than the real thing. Making all 22 of them would require a nearly regal kitchen brigade, I bet, though a few of them could make a nice party.

CNN has a general report on wedding events and trends, such as the Dunkin Donuts limited-edition Royal Wedding donut available only from April 24-29. Also a description of the "groom's cake" to be served alongside the couple's official wedding cake. This will be made from McVittie's Rich Tea biscuits. And for a complete discussion and history of Rich Tea biscuits -- "invented in the 17th century for the upper classes as light snack between meals and impregnating the scullery maids" -- see this at the Guardian.

What a coincidence: I have been eating Rich Tea biscuits (though the wrong brand) for a couple of weeks -- I bought them at a grocery store when we were in Ireland. In fact, in Northern Ireland, so they really came from the English realm! I can report that they are not as sweet as American cookies -- in fact, a little tasteless compared to say, Girl Scout cookies. But there you are. The Royal Groom's Cake will contain 1700 of them, as attested by this photo, supposedly:


The best Royal Wedding Kitchen Item is a Royal Wedding Refrigerator (it's a joke from here: What’s not to like?):

E-Yah, the Hungry Spirit

Today at the Detroit Institute of Arts we encountered E-yah, the spirit of gluttony. E-yah, an insatiably hungry spirit, appears as a tiny head on enormous wooden bowls like the two in the photos we took. These bowls were filled to the brim with food and offered up at feasts held by "an elite group of spiritual leaders of the Yankton Sioux nation in South Dakota." Ability to eat enormous quantities of food indicated a sign of spiritual power, according to the documentation (which you can see by clicking on the image).

I searched for more legends of this god and found a tale about a man on a journey who returned "looking like a specter. ... The poor fellow, delirious with hunger, fancied himself engaged in mortal combat with Eyah, the god of famine, who has a mouth extending from ear to ear. Wherever he goes there is famine, for he swallows all that he sees, even whole nations! The legend has it that Eyah fears nothing but the jingling of metal." From Old Indian Days by Charles Alexander Eastman.

A god of gluttony or famine who presides over feasts and swallows whole nations? Fascinating. Obviously the product of a very different set of experiences than that of us modern feast-or-diet humans.

New Recipe for Frittata

For 2 to 4 servings, depending on what else you are eating:

3 or 4 eggs
1 or 2 egg whites
1 to 2 cups chopped cooked broccoli
2 roasted peppers from a jar, cut in dice
Salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika or other paprika
1 Tb. butter
4 to 6 slices ham (one oz. slices), cut up
3 to 4 oz shredded cheese (like KerryGold Irish cheese or cheddar)

Beat eggs with salt & paprika; add broccoli and peppers. Melt butter in large oven-proof frying pan and add ham; cook briefly on high. Add egg mixture, turn heat to low, cover, and cook 5 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler.

After the eggs are cooked but not entirely set, sprinkle with the cheese (which can be mixed with another 1/4 tsp. of paprika). Place under broiler as illustrated above, and cook until cheese is brown and bubbly. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn -- it takes around 5 minutes.

Allow the fritatta to set for a few minutes, cut in quarters, and serve:

A Beautiful Plate

Evelyn made me this beautiful ceramic plate, which I am using for the first time. The salad is apples, fennel, walnuts, and lemon vinaigrette, inspired by an item on the menu where we ate tapas. (We didn't order this one, I was inspired by the description only.)

Another view of the plate, this time with cheese-filled (though leaking) meatballs:

Across from the National Portrait Gallery and American art museum is Ella's Wood-Fired Pizza. Its website claims to have the best wood-fired pizza in DC. It was good but I've never been to the competition.

After seeing the portraits of many famous Americans -- especially the newest ones, including those of film stars and directors, music stars, designers, current writers, artists and many others, we went to lunch at Ella's. Then back for the famous portraits of George Washington, Lincoln, many other presidents, Chuck Close's portrait of Bill Clinton, portraits of famous civil rights leaders, and many more. I especially liked Ben Shan's portrait of martyrs Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney.

The museum was exhilarating!

Finally, a special collection of wire portraits by Calder, whose ability to visualize and sketch in 3-D lines is amazing. He drew many art-world figures, including Ben Shan.

Here's an example of Calder's work: a 2D and 3D portrait (1929) of an art historian named Hans Curlis who made a film about Calder:

Tapas

Happy Pi Day

Elaine and I baked a pie for Pi Day (3-14).

Delta Cookies -- Hard to find on Delta flights

We flew to Ireland and back on Delta, with stopovers at Kennedy Airport. All 4 flights were on time or early, and the service was impeccable -- except for one thing. Only on one flight were there any of the famous Delta cookies from Biscoff, and that time I found only one single 2-cookie pack in the flight attendant's basket of pretzels and peanuts. Too bad: I really like Delta cookies.

So when I got home, I ordered several packages (the minimum order) from amazon.com, and I'm really enjoying them. I do admit that LU Le Bastogne cinnamon-sugar cookies are very similar; in fact, perhaps better than Biscoff. And my local grocer has them in stock most of the time. Still, it's fun to get Biscoff cookies like Delta would serve if they ever had any.

Arny and Tracy's Kitchen in Galway

The house that Arny and Tracy are renting for this year in Galway has a beautiful kitchen, which gets the slanting late-afternoon winter sun. (The latitude is 53 north, so it really slants!) I helped cook one dinner there for the four of us and four guests. I used a dish towel for an apron, but all other needed objects were available. Tracy worked out a very nice spice shelf and populated it with lots of spice, as shown.

While I'm talking about the house, here's a photo of the front.



The front of the house is nearly identical to the houses of the neighbors; the gardens are all different, however. Here's the back garden in the very slanty light of a morning. The wall at the back faces a rather busy street, but it requires a mile of driving to get there unless you want to try climbing over. The neighborhood is amazingly protected!





We came back yesterday, but I'll be posting several more times to cover our very busy trip. So far, posts on my other blogs are:

• Irish Politics
• Misty Ireland
• Irish Castles
• Irish Walls
• Ireland
• Jewish Ireland

Monk's Pub, Ballyvaughn Ireland

More seafood from Galway Bay: today, crab claws and mussels. And another fire, this time a log fire rather than a peat fire. We weren't as cold: the day was remarkably warm and perfectly sunny for wandering around The Burren.

Coole Oysters

Moran's Oyster Cottage was a splendid place to eat lunch after a walk in Coole Park. Lady Gregory, owner of Coole 100 years ago, was often host to William Butler Yeats and his circle, and he wrote a book of poems called "The Wild Swans at Coole." (More about Coole elsewhere, later).



The peat fire was warm, and the oysters so fresh that the Moran family member who opened ours showed us a little sea worm still alive inside one. (I shuddered. A lot.) Other family members have won national and international competitions to see who can open 30 oysters the fastest without damaging them.





They were DELICIOUS!

After lunch, we watched the swans on the water in front of the restaurant. Yeats saw nine and fifty on Coole Lake, where we saw none at all, so they must have come down here for the day.

B&B Breakfast Time in Ireland

A full Irish breakfast is mostly meat. In the tiny fishing village of Killybegs we were offered a choice of potato waffles with tomato and poached egg instead of the Full Irish. Very nice! In Dublin this morning I had the full Irish breakfast but didn't eat it all. The blood pudding was really too strange for my taste. What really impressed me though was the silver on the sideboard.



For the really good parts of the trip, including a visit to the Giant's Causeway and several fantastic Dublin museums, I'll be posting on my other blog.

Galway Ireland, Markets

Yesterday we visited the market in a very small town, Moycullen, a few miles from Galway where Arny and Tracy live. Irish potatoes, turnips, carrots, farmhouse cheese, honey, and a few other items are available now, though it's pretty bleak weather for farming. These are not farmers markets -- most of the fruit, vegetables, and other products are imported and are clearly so labeled.



The crepe maker used a big round griddle and a roller to make thin French-style crepes filled with a variety of choices including nutella.



Real Irish turnips.

The following photos are of the Galway market where we shopped this morning. Same sort of thing: many resellers of local and international foods, clothing, pottery, and many market goods.





In the foreground, a donut seller. Second stall: a bagel seller whose bagels Tracy loves -- you can just make out Tracy buying bagels. I reminded her that her mother once said "they shouldn't have fruit," but she did buy some with raisins. We enjoyed them for lunch.

The fish stall included a wide variety of fish and lots of local oysters that mainly come from a bit south of here, a town we passed on our way from Shannon Airport yesterday.



Next: carrots and parsnips with bits of the Old Sod clinging to them.

Ireland

Here's something we haven't seen in a while: a hot airline meal from a still-functioning airplane kitchen. Just the same as the meals in the past when you saw them on every flight. Strange puree (potato? applesauce? a mixture?) and orangish gravy over a small slice of rubbery chicken breast, off-green beans (canned?), salad, small cello-covered brownie, cheese, crackers. But Delta did include it in the price of the ticket. Since they woke me up to give it to me, I ate some of it. Then we were wakened again by a woman whose mother couldn't wake up -- we heard increasingly urgent and loud calls, "Mom, Mom, Help, Help." No doctor responded to the subsequent call, but the stewardess nobly gave the woman oxygen and got her to wake up and the drama was over. Then we were wakened an hour later for breakfast and landing at Shannon airport. Not much sleep.

Ireland looks beautiful and green, with strange slanting winter sunlight. We walked along Galway Bay in a very stiff wind. I hope to post much more beautiful photos than this!

The Empty Tureen

"Murder by Death" is a fantastic spoof of detective fiction, especially the detective movie and the country house genre. We watched it last night through the brand-new amazon.com streaming video offering. (See "Amazon adds streaming video to Prime subscriptions in a bid to rival Netflix, Hulu" for details on the new service.)

In "Murder by Death" Peter Sellers sends up Charlie Chan (made me laugh out loud over and over). Elsa Lanchester parodies Miss Marple. Peter Falk plays an amalgam of Humphry Bogart roles, especially Sam Spade, making you realize where Colombo got some of his mannerisms. David Niven and Maggie Smith play the Charlstons, Dick and Dora, who have a dog just like Asta in "The Thin Man." Truman Capote is the madman who invites them all to his strange mansion, reached via a bridge that's falling down, etc. I loved every minute.

Now what do you do to parody the constant use of food in murder mysteries? Well, the blind butler, played by Alec Guinness, hires a new maid, who is deaf and dumb. No communication. No dinner. She sits idly in the kitchen while he gives her instructions that she doesn't hear. He brings in an empty tureen and pantomimes serving soup. Perfect!

Great movie. Great idea from amazon.com.

I still don't want to read them

A few days ago I read an article by B. R. Myers in the current Atlantic, and commented that I wouldn't want to read several of the authors whose work he cited (Food Books I'm Not Going to Read). Now another Atlantic writer, Nicolette Hahn Niman, a proponent of the food movement, has written an answer: Defending 'Foodies': A Rancher Takes a Bite out of B. R. Myers. She's quite upset about the broad-brush condemnation of "foodies" as self-indulgent, cruel, and out-of-touch. I have no doubt that there is a larger food-reform movement that supports more responsible agriculture and more healthful food choices. But I think she missed the point that there's a fringe of writers whose position has become so extreme. (And if I remember correctly some of her writing in the Atlantic is sometimes a bit extreme itself, as writing goes.)

I take her point as stated here:

"Myers utterly fails to establish any connection between the statements and behaviors he cites and the broad food movement sweeping this country. In fact, there isn't one. None of us who care about food system reform and healthful, ethical eating would defend such excesses, and we certainly are not inspired by them. Fundamental to today's American food movement is holistic thinking and respect—knowing where your food comes from, understanding its history before reaching your plate, and savoring it with family and friends."

Of course Myers' examples of extreme self-indulgence and elitism don't reflect on everyone who proposes changes to the overall picture of American food production, delivery, and consumption. But I think her defense of foodies is just as extreme as Myers' attack, and just as misplaced. For example she cites a writer who says: "growing one's own food is not drudgery at all." Gosh, what a put-down of farmers. Maybe if what you grow is one incredibly productive little cherry tomato plant... never mind.

And I'm still not going to read those new books -- I think Myers has a good point there.

Good Luck, David

Len's student has completed his thesis, and he defended it today. As we've done for every student who finished his degree, we had a congratulatory party with a cake to celebrate David's next endeavor: a job at Google. He will start there after the end of the semester. As you can see, I'm not the world's slickest cake decorator, but I tried to pick up on the Google theme colors.

Food Books I'm Not Going to Read

The Atlantic has a review of several recently-published foodie books: The Moral Crusade Against Foodies: Gluttony dressed up as foodie-ism is still gluttony by B. R. Myers. The author is very turned off by the foodies and their poses, as the article's title suggests.

A few of the many foodie-writer crimes attested:

• First: "these people really do live to eat" -- and often to overeat, writes Myers.
• Despite lip service to the contrary, they are often cruel to animals, and go as far as to participate enthusiastically in cruel slaughter of animals they are about to eat. One example: "Steingarten tells of watching four people hold down a struggling, groaning pig for a full 20 minutes as it bled to death for his dinner."
• Foodies don't respect food traditions of others, especially when the traditions involve avoidance of specific foods: "Most of us consider it a virtue to maintain our principles in the face of social pressure, but in the involuted world of gourmet morals, constancy is rudeness. One must never spoil a dinner party for mere religious or ethical reasons."
• Moral or ethical consistency is lacking, despite professions of same. An "affectation of piety does not keep foodies from vaunting their penchant for obscenely priced meals, for gorging themselves, even for dining on endangered animals—but only rarely is public attention drawn to the contradiction." They nevertheless claim moral superiority to those who merely eat to live: "the guilty smirkiness that once marked [their] default style has been losing ever more ground to pomposity and sermonizing."

There's lots more. I accept the conclusion that foodie writers are a sorry lot. I'm not a big fan of most of these writers anyway -- though I think the author is too hard on Michael Pollan and maybe Alice Waters. I think that the interesting writing about food these days is in blogs and in fiction. I've tried some of the reviewed writers' earlier books or articles (Steingarten, Severson, Bourdain), and for the most part had already lost interest in what they have to say. Now I feel really free to skip them.

Sunday Afternoon Tea

My book club's meeting this afternoon was a semi-planned meal. Nine of the ten of us brought food and drink -- I was the odd one and brought the plates, napkins, etc. The combination of sandwiches, hummus, deviled eggs, vegetables, fruit, and sweets was wonderful. We also created our book list and meeting schedule for the next year. I'm looking forward to reading The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, Just Kids by Patti Smith, Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Shiff, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, and eight more.

Happy Birthday Alice!

From the Harry Potter cookbook: the cake Hagrid made Harry when he was eleven. Converted to a cake for Alice the Harry Potter fan: