Author: Jennifer Rose

A Dispatch from ATG: Discovering Mark Twain’s Hawaii

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Mark Twain's Letters From HawaiiWe’re wrapping up “All Things Hawaiian”! Check out our reflection on our travels in O’ahu, some interesting facts about Hawai’i, what “The Aloha Spirit” really means, why Kona coffee is so popular, what makes the Plumeria flower so special and the history behind legendary Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – St. Augustine (354-430)

St. Augustine might have reconsidered these words if he could have read some of the world’s most beautiful, informative and humorous travel writings that exist today, by authors ranging from Patrick Leigh Fermor, Bruce Chatwin, Alain De Botton, Bill Bryson and Bruce Feiler to M.F.K. Fisher, Peter Mayle, Frances Mayes, Elizabeth Gilbert and many others.

While nothing can quite replace the sensory experience of travel, “good”, substantive travel writing can easily transport one into another realm, allowing one to experience and become familiar with another land – as was the case for many Americans who read Mark Twain’s “Letters from Hawaii”, written during his travels for the Sacramento Union newspaper in 1866. Read more

Serving Up The Old With The New

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Strawberry Chiffon Pie RecipeThis Easter season, we reflect on why traditions are important, feature ATG’s pick of some of the most famous Easter traditions and serve up some “old” and new Spring recipes, below (including Strawberry Chiffon Pie, Avocado and Crab Salad, and Lemon-Scented Risotto with Seared Scallops):

Cast off winter’s heavy garb with a slice of Strawberry Chiffon Pie. Light and airy and sweet as a breath of Spring air, it is a “traditional” dish from the ancient days of Betty Crocker – America’s fictional home cook, created for a promotional gimmick by Gold Medal Flour in 1921 to personalize responses to consumer inquiries. Betty Crocker became a cultural icon and part of American families’ food “traditions” for more than 90 years! Read more

Dreaming of Some Place Green (…and it’s not Ireland)

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The Greenbrier ResortWhile it may officially be “spring”, not a lot of green has necessarily “sprung” around New England quite yet – which is probably why I’ve been dreaming lately of The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, located in the “wild and wonderful” state of West Virginia.

As a proud barefoot West Virginian hillbilly – who moved to New England over thirty years ago and spends three quarters of the year wearing winter boots – I long to be, as John Denver sings, taken home “to the place I belong” in the hills of West Virginia, especially during this time of year where there truly is a full-fledged, hope-filled daffodil spring. Read more

It’s Maple Syrup Season – And We’re Sticking To It!

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Pancake recipeYou may associate the warm, delicious and comforting breakfast food “pancakes” – otherwise known as “Johnnnycakes”, “flapjacks” and “griddle cakes” – as a distinctly American dish, but their origin extends back to the beginning of man with two simple ingredients made useful by natural elements.

“Water and a fistful of pounded grain poured upon a hot rock in the sun must have been the world’s first pancake, the very first bread”, writes Dorian Leigh Parker in the introduction to her book, Pancakes: From Flapjacks to Crepes. Read more

Some Mother’s Son: The 1981 Belfast Prison Hunger Strike

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Some Mother's Son Movie ReviewIn celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish” for the next couple weeks. Below we review the Irish movie “Some Mother’s Son.” Stay tuned for more! 

It was with a faint memory of the 1981 hunger strikes in Northern Ireland that I recently watched Some Mother’s Son* (1996) – a movie based on the true story of the young IRA (Irish Republican Army) martyrs who began a hunger strike while being held in a British prison in Belfast for their involvement in IRA terrorist activities.

Refusing to be treated as criminals by wearing their assigned prisoner uniforms, the IRA members began their hunger strike in an attempt to be recognized by the British government as “political prisoners of war.”  Ten of the twenty-one men jailed ended up dying as martyrs for their cause, including Bobby Sands, their leader who was elected to parliament while in prison and whose funeral was attended by over 100,000 people. Read more

Vermont Cheddar Soup With Irish Scones

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Vermont Cheddar Soup Recipe

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day 2015, ATG is exploring “All Things Irish” for the next couple weeks. Below are a couple recipes for a delicious Irish meal with some beautiful Irish music to cook to!

Cook and bake the following dishes to the tune of The Clancy Brother’s “The Patriot Game”, a beautiful Irish song (lyrics below)! Recipes include “I Need Vegetables Salad”, Vermont Cheddar Soup, and Rory’s Irish Scones. Read more

A Taste of Russia: Russian Recipes, Russian History & Russian Cuisine

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Modern Russian Cookbook*Given Russia’s prominence in the news and the murder of Boris Nemtsov, we have a few more “All Things Russia” posts for this week! See links below.

If it hadn’t been for the Cold War, Darra Goldstein’s A Taste of Russia (1983) would likely have received a favorable review in The New York Times.

In fact, the Times had scheduled to run a piece doing just that, until, Goldstein writes, “as luck would have it, the Soviets shot down the KAL jetliner on publication day, accelerating hostile sentiments”, thereby halting publication of the review.

Published during Ronald Regan’s presidency in 1983, when the U.S. and Soviet Union were “still locked in the Cold War”, Goldstein’s book provides a plethora of historic information and recipes on Russian cuisine, featuring everything from borsch to blini. Read more

Borscht, Borsch or Borshch?

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Recipe for BorschtMystery seems to roll across the vast Russian landscape like a Siberian blanket of snow, spreading a dusting of enigma on nearly every aspect of life – including food. Or so is the case with Borshch, one of the great soups of the world that serves up its own culinary mystery in its seemingly endless varieties and different spellings.

Borscht. Borsch. Bortsch. Borstch. Borshtch. Borsh. Borshch.

But, what exactly is Borsch?

While “cultured” Americans are likely to spell it with a ‘t’ (Borscht) and describe it as “a beet soup served chilled”, with a little detective work we learned that during the long Russian winters, Borshch is served piping hot and is spelled without the ‘t’ (Borshch). Read more

“I Need Chocolate”

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History of ChocolateThe irresistible power of chocolate was clearly evident after our two-and-a half-year-old granddaughter toddled into the kitchen and in no time at all spotted the milk chocolate Lindt balls on the kitchen counter. Reaching up high on her tiptoes she matter of factly said, “I need chocolate.”

Though it has been written that more women (and obviously little girls) than men “need” chocolate, one learns in The True History of Chocolate that it was a luxury, “an elite beverage”, reserved only for kings and noblemen and their military who “needed” it the most. The Aztecs believed that chocolate had “energy-boosting properties”…and was given to their warriors to “fortify them on military campaigns.” Read more

“Pop”ing Into Warhol’s World

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Philosophy of Andy Warhol ReviewAndy Warhol, the pop artist and cultural icon, was a prophet of our time when he said, “…in the future everyone will have their fifteen minutes of fame…” regardless of their ability.

Warhol certainly experienced and explored fame in his lifetime – living it in “wildly diverse social circles that included Bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy aristocrats,”* cultivating it through the mass marketing of his art and, finally, critiquing it as found in his book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol.

A biography from the Warhol Foundation succinctly captures just how far ahead of his time he was, writing:

“…a skilled (analog) social networker, [Warhol] parlayed his fame one connection at a time, to the status of a globally recognized brand. Decades before widespread reliance on portable media devices, he documented his daily activities and interactions on his traveling audio tape recorder and beloved Minox 35 EL camera.  Predating the hyper-personal outlets now provided on-line, Warhol captured life’s every minute detail in all its messy, ordinary glamour and broadcast it through his work, to a wide and receptive audience”** Read more