Food city area

Happy Cupcake Day

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9mr6sOjzXzwdrHMC_CnVwTfPUpuLB5DkJVRrvMZcb3ihuZOqYLK29zF5g7s6Um9W02MpElDxA6sdznDcEB8ICu_Xj4rbPO8wXriTbir_P3QX33Z2_L2ph0k-zP0MtrU3nKEguJJ1-Qxo/s1600/Pooh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9mr6sOjzXzwdrHMC_CnVwTfPUpuLB5DkJVRrvMZcb3ihuZOqYLK29zF5g7s6Um9W02MpElDxA6sdznDcEB8ICu_Xj4rbPO8wXriTbir_P3QX33Z2_L2ph0k-zP0MtrU3nKEguJJ1-Qxo/s320/Pooh.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louise's Cupcakes Made for Cupcake Day</td></tr></tbody></table>I've read about several cupcake celebrations today for National Cupcake Day. Some pundits or food celebrators celebrate alternate Cupcake Days in October, August, or February, but my go-to food blogger <a href="http://monthsofediblecelebrations.blogspot.com/2013/12/quick-fixes-with-mixes-cupcakes-and.html">Louise is celebrating cupcakes today</a>, and uncharacteristically  she's even been baking cupcakes (she usually sticks to historical topics).<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcK5SzcZ1T0Fy_UPG7T0Rd8rttCoE9WF618JJumWwaIajgC6rwYfsHwpXIgrbVifpMiVGtQVpHU-ErksA892G3BOdCNOlhFkKOChQtTJ-3luzY-DpOmS9zy722HJ9AQA3gMlBzV-6OgjT/s1600/cupcake5017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcK5SzcZ1T0Fy_UPG7T0Rd8rttCoE9WF618JJumWwaIajgC6rwYfsHwpXIgrbVifpMiVGtQVpHU-ErksA892G3BOdCNOlhFkKOChQtTJ-3luzY-DpOmS9zy722HJ9AQA3gMlBzV-6OgjT/s320/cupcake5017.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cupcake wine box in my laundry room</td></tr></tbody></table><br />One cupcake celebration that I read about is really appealing -- <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cupcaker-vineyards-hits-nyc-to-celebrate-national-cupcake-day-2013-12-05">a tour of New York by Cupcake Cellars</a>, makers of Cupcake wines. Most of the time, I'd rather have a glass of wine than a cupcake anyway. I'm glad they are celebrating. I checked our cellar but we seem to have drunk all our Cupcake wines. All I could find was a Cupcake Cellars box that I'm using to store surplus clothing hangars for future laundry needs. Such is life. Well, it's early afternoon, maybe by dinner we'll buy a bottle of Cupcake.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxbIPH6J7s7BNLtDXHhN235nNEuWzNp9g6o8uX40sQlL0kkfF1zLxscqJitEavBYoa41mnXZQBfgD51rVPRuPK5NeqBlZ_7F-Tm-vnrccrcNEfXqiEeD1OyfBHw-Ujhw-LKOtVSPff-lq/s1600/salmon+cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxbIPH6J7s7BNLtDXHhN235nNEuWzNp9g6o8uX40sQlL0kkfF1zLxscqJitEavBYoa41mnXZQBfgD51rVPRuPK5NeqBlZ_7F-Tm-vnrccrcNEfXqiEeD1OyfBHw-Ujhw-LKOtVSPff-lq/s320/salmon+cupcake.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HuffPost's weirdest cupcake<br />with smoked salmon and asparagus</td></tr></tbody></table>For Cupcake Day, in keeping with their staying on top of any fad including the cupcake fad, the <i>Huffington Post</i> offered a tour of bizarre cupcake creations. Their article, "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/13/cupcake-day-crazy-cupcakes-photos_n_4435191.html">15 Cupcakes That Need To Calm Down Immediately</a>," says: "Cupcakes are classics. If you hate cupcakes, you probably hate The Beatles AND The Rolling Stones. We are not those people."<br /><br />Then they show a number of cupcakes that I would say are off the deep end; for example, three kinds of meatloaf cupcakes.<br /><br />I only hate cupcakes when they have too much icky frosting; that is, frosting made with Crisco, not real butter. A lot of cupcakes are really too sweet and often they sacrifice taste to cuteness. Usually they aren't my first choice of a snack: I don't actually hate them, just don't particularly like them.<br /><br />In short, the cupcake fad that started a few years ago left me pretty cold. Let it be said that I love the Beatles AND the Rolling Stones. I don't know which people that makes me.

Happy Cupcake Day

Louise's Cupcakes Made for Cupcake Day I've read about several cupcake celebrations today for National Cupcake Day. Some pundits or ...

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10.08

Great Events of Fifty Years Ago

As 2013 draws to a close, I'm thinking about various anniversaries that have taken place during the past nearly 12 months.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulqdLPGHo7ts3COvKtu-Yvs87km4b3A5g2efszBRATE5OlJaKLTYVutXJUypIxtMlKymQ0U9dgB4OLyMl7l6oU5bZPGPBHTZQdxf7wIp9tdwhUkjWPDvpoAmctoA7hmqWk2xT5z5-ZVb_/s1600/sit-in-1963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulqdLPGHo7ts3COvKtu-Yvs87km4b3A5g2efszBRATE5OlJaKLTYVutXJUypIxtMlKymQ0U9dgB4OLyMl7l6oU5bZPGPBHTZQdxf7wIp9tdwhUkjWPDvpoAmctoA7hmqWk2xT5z5-ZVb_/s400/sit-in-1963.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SNCC Sit-in, <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Atlanta, Georgia, ca. 1963</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table>The year 1963 saw a major effort in favor of civil rights for Americans of all races. In the spring of 1963, the sit-in above took place at a Tottle-House diner. While twenty-first century diners, with their exaggerated menus and retro juke boxes, evoke nostalgia in their younger patrons and may seem to embody the good things of a bygone era, not everything about them was really wonderful. The 1960 sit-in at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro NC is perhaps more famous than that of 1963. There were many others: Nashville, Arlington VA, and more.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCixAlyPI38gxmKJG0O7yFMhAZ4dlY_LBiEfUVd3gGPJNnJHBPOym315PiM0Yp9eBM7tq-9pHERNL0xe5Ac4R6nOXbnSYA5n6DB7LFvL5m8iR1RFXZDdVk6pD8MQiPtx6n6okJdP0xdF3N/s1600/mlk1963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCixAlyPI38gxmKJG0O7yFMhAZ4dlY_LBiEfUVd3gGPJNnJHBPOym315PiM0Yp9eBM7tq-9pHERNL0xe5Ac4R6nOXbnSYA5n6DB7LFvL5m8iR1RFXZDdVk6pD8MQiPtx6n6okJdP0xdF3N/s400/mlk1963.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin Luther King, Washington DC, August 28, 1963<br />At the March on Washington, he gave the famous speech "I have a dream."</td></tr></tbody></table><div>During 1963, the civil rights movement was widespread and very active, notably the March on Washington. Sadly, the year also saw violence against peaceful demonstrators, as well as extreme attacks on black people, especially the murder of Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963 and the vicious church bombing in Birmingham on September 15, 1963.<br /><br />Needless to say, the most significant and lastingly important event of 1963 was the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22. Last month's commemoratives of the event were numerous and moving, so I need not say more. And in 1964, Lyndon Johnson managed to have major civil rights legislation passed, satisfying many of the goals of the movement, though certainly not changing everything that was wrong. We still have far to go in fairness and equality for all, even 50 years onward.<br /><br />One book about the civil rights struggle published in 1963 was <i>An Education in Georgia</i> by Calvin Trillin and <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/12/rain-in-soweto-mandela-and-his-neighbors.html">Charlayne Hunter-Gault.</a> I believe it was the first book Calvin Trillin wrote. Since he later became one of the most wonderful food writers I know, I think it's appropriate to mention it here. I've never read it, but I have read Hunter-Gault's autobiography, <i>In My Place</i>, which includes a fascinating account of her struggle as a very young woman to be one of the first blacks to study at the University of Georgia, another big step in the struggle for civil rights. <br /><br />But now for a completely trivial food fact from 1963: according to the <a href="http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcakes.html#blackforest">Food Timeline</a>, this was the big year for the introduction into American cuisine of the Black Forest Cake. While based on a German original, the Black Forest Cake was newly popular in many upscale restaurants and the subject of American recipe versions.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9CQAhpQqu4G_4PUON753PQH2kMX-973ctgyp5yS7nzZ7RlU2bIXK4dHtGc992nvG84mea97jobd5LJLU6inMYioV3mpW-R-0ue79dM4zVuzVVxcSlquDlMS5iKS6B3GylRTRFl06U5o6/s1600/BlackForestCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9CQAhpQqu4G_4PUON753PQH2kMX-973ctgyp5yS7nzZ7RlU2bIXK4dHtGc992nvG84mea97jobd5LJLU6inMYioV3mpW-R-0ue79dM4zVuzVVxcSlquDlMS5iKS6B3GylRTRFl06U5o6/s320/BlackForestCake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random current image of a Black Forest Cake <a href="http://thecakemistress.com/blog/freerecipes/cakes/black-forest/">from this blog</a></td></tr></tbody></table>"While the ingredients and general method of Black Forest Cake can be traced through hundreds of years, food historians generally agree this recipe belongs to the 20th century," states the Food Timeline. "We find no evidence of anything close to Black Forest Cake, as we know it today, in our small collection of 19th-20th century German-American cooking texts. The earliest recipes we find are dated 1960s." This source particularly cites a recipe from <i>The German Cookbook</i> by Mimi Sheraton, published in 1963 -- I couldn't find any images that claimed to use her recipe, though.<br /><br />Two other trends of 1963: Beatlemania, or enormous love of the Beatles was just beginning. And a wave of enthusiasm for Mona Lisa was inspired by her visit early in 1963 to the National Gallery in Washington, DC, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, thanks to the diplomacy of Jacqueline Kennedy.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSr237WCqtmYpy3fy50nvRT4fcQu5VazC3FfI4CiSDQpohe-xH5QA1I_-FVQUBlNV-LUQ5U-I4Mnrl7n_vFS-zANc3OiYEAEg6Yd-joFYGXLiC7XSSqJmojTJ-_ir6F-zvjUvcF3W3M3q4/s1600-h/mona.in.us.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254234642968041218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSr237WCqtmYpy3fy50nvRT4fcQu5VazC3FfI4CiSDQpohe-xH5QA1I_-FVQUBlNV-LUQ5U-I4Mnrl7n_vFS-zANc3OiYEAEg6Yd-joFYGXLiC7XSSqJmojTJ-_ir6F-zvjUvcF3W3M3q4/s400/mona.in.us.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mona Lisa visits the US: the painting is now too fragile to travel,<br />so this was probably her last trip out of Paris.</td></tr></tbody></table>Note: I've added a duplicate of this post to my other blog, maetravels.blogspot.com .

Great Events of Fifty Years Ago

As 2013 draws to a close, I'm thinking about various anniversaries that have taken place during the past nearly 12 months. SNCC Sit-in, ...

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04.30

Great Events of 1913

It's almost the end of 2013. Time for an illustrated but not totally reverent retrospective of events of 1913, events whose 100th anniversary was in the past year. Especially, I want to celebrate one anniversary that takes place today.<br /><br />First let's commemorate the most significant food anniversary that took place around a month ago:<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruWnNI6UCXoc84tm2YDiRpw6anb_hlSwK7ga6lt7CWlvziRjSMjZ3desoa6jq2u_qQTSw_6BXgqxGjSdxKTD8kReTgzBXvvVfHPWvy0pQy7fZy_6P0dnjt-gMyrS-sv4GOk9i_tHtbUbF/s1600/mallomars5006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruWnNI6UCXoc84tm2YDiRpw6anb_hlSwK7ga6lt7CWlvziRjSMjZ3desoa6jq2u_qQTSw_6BXgqxGjSdxKTD8kReTgzBXvvVfHPWvy0pQy7fZy_6P0dnjt-gMyrS-sv4GOk9i_tHtbUbF/s320/mallomars5006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;">Mallomars were introduced November 13, 1913.</div><div style="text-align: center;">But is this as significant as the year 1912, when Oreos were introduced?</div></td></tr></tbody></table>A BIG event took place <b>100 years ago today</b>:<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKcyVUCynHzkOqymRvwH-EUmt2vogBdGru1ulTfOC4FvZ9rhgv8cZXivac7HPfHQ6_cWYCdfcqfxJZNQysNGSWidJ35NkBoI15LH5_OzBou3KSK44c9zu3xG6ka5r8qmYhHlHtC3ZDDdY/s1600-h/theft3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176858804543504226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKcyVUCynHzkOqymRvwH-EUmt2vogBdGru1ulTfOC4FvZ9rhgv8cZXivac7HPfHQ6_cWYCdfcqfxJZNQysNGSWidJ35NkBoI15LH5_OzBou3KSK44c9zu3xG6ka5r8qmYhHlHtC3ZDDdY/s400/theft3.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">After the theft of Mona Lisa from the Louvre, August 21, 1911, <br />commemorated in these antique postcards in my collection,<br /><b>she was returned on December 11, 1913.</b></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkaocJJpQU2WANHz47Rca3vfn3e3-JYMlxlaiZjlmk60rhWhp7xAGdUpsBei7588FBDLNsfGNBSAinUB3eHG4cH2jhOWA1AcHmpMQkhZxOnZsCnWKrgQswGvNNkfIePSaYIhCnXl0VqvA8/s1600-h/theft2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176859350004350834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkaocJJpQU2WANHz47Rca3vfn3e3-JYMlxlaiZjlmk60rhWhp7xAGdUpsBei7588FBDLNsfGNBSAinUB3eHG4cH2jhOWA1AcHmpMQkhZxOnZsCnWKrgQswGvNNkfIePSaYIhCnXl0VqvA8/s400/theft2.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The thief, as depicted on one of my postcards.</td></tr></tbody></table>Other centenaries:<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqX7YVAmHIFCJHwrxHvRV-EfeXe7qPnOURiux5sMZF5a2cUWVrFWzbY0rAIoU8VB-SkapNIzqf237YoBV1doUZEHoeVOviHR7MzgW0Bnk5hltd8FZkag9qSJwj6XG55Ppy1oenCraMpxi/s1600-h/Nancy_DuchampbyBrainard.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262627570447373570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqX7YVAmHIFCJHwrxHvRV-EfeXe7qPnOURiux5sMZF5a2cUWVrFWzbY0rAIoU8VB-SkapNIzqf237YoBV1doUZEHoeVOviHR7MzgW0Bnk5hltd8FZkag9qSJwj6XG55Ppy1oenCraMpxi/s400/Nancy_DuchampbyBrainard.gif" style="float: left; height: 396px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 236px;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">New York, February 17 - March 15, 1913</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Infamous Armory Show presents Duchamp’s </span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Nude Descending a Staircase"</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://maetravels.blogspot.com/2008/10/another-parodist.html">(here shown for a change with Nancy's head)</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOhdtQOmlF_-0x9yvXOT2bjQ-0o2hry8smB4aOKkGEzCA6J6HOd6AjvS-bR6W1e-wh_Lmg44icZYtkZqHReFOVWUkxGmUV10SA5ZejOX-WNHrzfAGAndRe-tEWGA5kvQv1i4V2SQfUalT/s1600/sacre-du-printemps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIOhdtQOmlF_-0x9yvXOT2bjQ-0o2hry8smB4aOKkGEzCA6J6HOd6AjvS-bR6W1e-wh_Lmg44icZYtkZqHReFOVWUkxGmUV10SA5ZejOX-WNHrzfAGAndRe-tEWGA5kvQv1i4V2SQfUalT/s320/sacre-du-printemps.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Paris, May 29, 1913 -- Premiere of Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps."</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPef_ThP6aw8ZkWn4OqUi2UTRlvDlpqDhtJD7a4HPRpL9tSVT6R0eVpvB1udLxliWhAbrztmgHWy3PAsoMZJ63Kv3YUYQ1t8myjDSHbPZjqKd4MTTQ8B4L8Tvzs0cPoitX0b6i62nTCW5/s1600/proust1stEdition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPef_ThP6aw8ZkWn4OqUi2UTRlvDlpqDhtJD7a4HPRpL9tSVT6R0eVpvB1udLxliWhAbrztmgHWy3PAsoMZJ63Kv3YUYQ1t8myjDSHbPZjqKd4MTTQ8B4L8Tvzs0cPoitX0b6i62nTCW5/s400/proust1stEdition.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;">Paris, November 14, 1913 --<br />Publication of first volume of Proust's </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: start;">Remembrance of Things Past.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />AND one poem: <br /><i>"Romantic Ireland's dead and gone,</i><br /><i>"It's with O'Leary in the grave."</i> -- W.B.Yeats, "September, 1913"

Great Events of 1913

It's almost the end of 2013. Time for an illustrated but not totally reverent retrospective of events of 1913, events whose 100th annive...

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03.30

The Garden of Beasts

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25jTmbRH86Rb0Y9fWQJFAA4_OzeIoQVFn1_TBDMtBAZT5WAODUrpLK2ffzDwe-0dJ51u93s2M5Cs3Pusx8lrOkktDeuRPSQr10onFcUpW6d8TbzP20vrIxs6MDHtZvhmlu1N33N_6ryZA/s1600/bookclub+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25jTmbRH86Rb0Y9fWQJFAA4_OzeIoQVFn1_TBDMtBAZT5WAODUrpLK2ffzDwe-0dJ51u93s2M5Cs3Pusx8lrOkktDeuRPSQr10onFcUpW6d8TbzP20vrIxs6MDHtZvhmlu1N33N_6ryZA/s400/bookclub+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elaine's Table: Stollen, Lebkuchen, German Cheese, etc.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9zOo3CaKt-37oBupdm-TXjfRaOM7HPGM69LxNe0Un9aXDykuNekXHnFtf4j66Y-vN7LSaK6DJNZIroji82CvL6-Ef6sqb4kvhpyTr2e1WcmMloNKnpt4eD4ecvwjY2hG85PBp_ZDryKW/s1600/bookclub+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9zOo3CaKt-37oBupdm-TXjfRaOM7HPGM69LxNe0Un9aXDykuNekXHnFtf4j66Y-vN7LSaK6DJNZIroji82CvL6-Ef6sqb4kvhpyTr2e1WcmMloNKnpt4eD4ecvwjY2hG85PBp_ZDryKW/s400/bookclub+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Center: Kichel, a very light traditional Jewish cookie</td></tr></tbody></table>Last night my book club discussed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-terror-Hitlers-Berlin-ebook/dp/B004HFRJM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386350934&sr=8-1&keywords=Erik+Larson" style="color: #996633;">In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="med reg" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">by Erik Larson </span>, a story of 1933-1934 Berlin and the rise of Hitler and the early impact on Berlin and its inhabitants. Therefore our hostess, my friend Elaine, served a combination of German and Jewish foods, as shown above. As usual, we had a very free-ranging discussion about the book and ideas that came up in connection with the book, such as the role of Churchill in recognizing the reality of Hitler's rise, and the conditions in America at the time. Below are some of the themes that we discussed and things I've thought about the book.<br /><br />William E. Dodd, America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany is the center of <i>In the Garden of Beasts</i>, along with his family. The book also describes in some detail the antics of his daughter who inappropriately was having affairs with both Nazis and with a Soviet agent. Larson's choice of Dodd as a focus allows Larson to describe early Nazi success from the point of view of a historic individual who didn't know how things would turn out. Dodd's and his daughter's central roles make the book read like a novel, though it's completely based on historical research.<br /><br />Before Roosevelt appointed him as ambassador, Dodd was a professor at the University of Chicago, trying to finish his life's work: a book on the Old South. He wasn't political and he wasn't connected to the elite circles of high-society, wealthy, ivy-league, anti-semitic white men who ran the State Department. His conflicts and problems with them and with his similarly-connected subordinates in Berlin are one of the interesting topics of the book. Particularly, as he had no fortune, he was determined to live and entertain on his salary -- in total contrast to the usual ambassador types.<br /><br />As a more open-minded and academic thinker than the standard State Department officials, one area of conflict was Dodd's clear-headed ability to see just what the Nazis were up to: how they were enforcing their wish that ordinary Germans to go along with their program. At one point, for example, we get sudden insight into how far things have gone: Dodd sees a swastika embossed on a cough drop that one of the Nazi contacts offers him. I had a lot of sympathy for Dodd as he found it harder and harder to exert normal diplomatic relations with Hitler's officials, whose actions were increasingly heinous. Dodd began to refuse to attend Nazi rallies and other events that were so hysterical in the way they worked up crowd mentality and attacked Jews -- leading to more criticism and back-biting in Washington.<br /><div><br /></div>After finishing Larson's book, I started rereading a novel about wartime Berlin that book club read last summer: <i>City of Women</i> by David Gillham.  The two books, set at different times in Nazi history, seem to work together in my mind to give a picture of how the Germans were corrupted and bullied into compliance with Nazi thought. The impoverishment of the ordinary Germans, who were on very tight rations and found almost nothing in the shops, and the outright denial of food to the hidden Jews in Gillham's book provides a food theme, or rather a starvation theme.<br /><br />Both Berlin books are painful to read -- Larson says (in the afterword and in some interviews we discussed last night) that he found the research for the book terribly depressing and horrifying. Larson's earlier book was <i>Devil in the White City</i> about the Chicago World's Fair, a previous book club selection <a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2009/07/devil-in-white-city.html">which I wrote about here.</a> Although in it Larson describes the horrible actions of a serial killer who was preying on women who came to the fair, Larson said he didn't find that anywhere near as difficult as learning about Hitler, for whom he developed an overwhelming hatred. I also found the World's Fair a much lighter topic than Hitler and prefer the earlier book.

The Garden of Beasts

Elaine's Table: Stollen, Lebkuchen, German Cheese, etc. Center: Kichel, a very light traditional Jewish cookie Last night my book club d...

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10.11

Wordless Wednesday: Model Train Markets at Phipps Conservatory

Wordless Wednesday: Model Train Markets at Phipps Conservatory

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04.30

Thanksgiving Dinner 2013

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdkqF8sxEhqoCdFQUUGR_F8FulhuMFdYrkgEdelh-3Og5AYjC7R6NQ84eCWsge4u6yY0x3RSE7Cjr0hXFcZJVkzSbMI0AN_lADa_GXjl-G1uU8wZhclLYcF_yAIC3j2Q3wcHEwy3YkSgD7/s1600/cooks0057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdkqF8sxEhqoCdFQUUGR_F8FulhuMFdYrkgEdelh-3Og5AYjC7R6NQ84eCWsge4u6yY0x3RSE7Cjr0hXFcZJVkzSbMI0AN_lADa_GXjl-G1uU8wZhclLYcF_yAIC3j2Q3wcHEwy3YkSgD7/s400/cooks0057.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First thing in the morning:<br />aprons combine Hanukkah and Thanksgiving!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguXaiGsHJ1qvijDiMJh3ejGGaXh5pYuaAphYRDcuFbcNwKgtpnAghcQgZKvG0kODpLYuxS1MIdehtbsauqmHVfdZp-C2O5PQKXfYJXapr3tLw-4p9tak1wPKSV82Hkqp1Uop8St4lbg8M/s1600/cooks8072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguXaiGsHJ1qvijDiMJh3ejGGaXh5pYuaAphYRDcuFbcNwKgtpnAghcQgZKvG0kODpLYuxS1MIdehtbsauqmHVfdZp-C2O5PQKXfYJXapr3tLw-4p9tak1wPKSV82Hkqp1Uop8St4lbg8M/s400/cooks8072.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I never use mixes except for corn pudding!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRbBSV19TqkqYjDFSfAuaRjecEVmxADFoGeWCIZK4BIecMXdUzhszFPQwZgVpTabrnLP9Om4GMzc6GRISmu829LECoRlMqJ_syAPkKWRcI8WI8GEzs5nxVb4CcqmK3oN2-qaANLY_vzFg/s1600/games0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRbBSV19TqkqYjDFSfAuaRjecEVmxADFoGeWCIZK4BIecMXdUzhszFPQwZgVpTabrnLP9Om4GMzc6GRISmu829LECoRlMqJ_syAPkKWRcI8WI8GEzs5nxVb4CcqmK3oN2-qaANLY_vzFg/s400/games0079.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delia and Alice</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRqRthT8sFH9qljeC58fWEkJ3W7_am8KWrsNtQv_QdPLv_ohbpv4-76UZf-XIncjRQt5S7Qqed1rKWLSDJE-P1auj-oKC6gwtMhvHDiiIFvJDfFGlRih3lSFZ7PC1LVlgw_4yZlksS_NA/s1600/candles8079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcRqRthT8sFH9qljeC58fWEkJ3W7_am8KWrsNtQv_QdPLv_ohbpv4-76UZf-XIncjRQt5S7Qqed1rKWLSDJE-P1auj-oKC6gwtMhvHDiiIFvJDfFGlRih3lSFZ7PC1LVlgw_4yZlksS_NA/s400/candles8079.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Candles, turkey, latkes, brussels sprouts and around 10 other dishes...</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1F7uPprFuw2ooCbLQOpz6xQB6ecGHQ-cwoP8RmRnJYJN2XqukcOsX6czYBrKsSS-MppSbVVsDyQTv5GYsoovh_X6CwnHbRxkPJWcwX8-qFjBj5Gz7dO-sSppuKpvLUzc5fR-7hISV-GGM/s1600/table0090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1F7uPprFuw2ooCbLQOpz6xQB6ecGHQ-cwoP8RmRnJYJN2XqukcOsX6czYBrKsSS-MppSbVVsDyQTv5GYsoovh_X6CwnHbRxkPJWcwX8-qFjBj5Gz7dO-sSppuKpvLUzc5fR-7hISV-GGM/s400/table0090.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqi69lhYenduKRG1NmNmU-tHJGKwq28HAdrlfTjBfuBVBOfVQJBXfwDHxEZ-smhDhyphenhyphenasTlIzllflEPuv0fiW7WgPjYjxzacKmt-5e8O5V639d4NFXhL1aRx48wX2M3HAfBonBDz3ocRfTi/s1600/turk0062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqi69lhYenduKRG1NmNmU-tHJGKwq28HAdrlfTjBfuBVBOfVQJBXfwDHxEZ-smhDhyphenhyphenasTlIzllflEPuv0fiW7WgPjYjxzacKmt-5e8O5V639d4NFXhL1aRx48wX2M3HAfBonBDz3ocRfTi/s400/turk0062.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Table decorations and butter</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl62jOQU3j83o8aHSjUpAEDeRo2YJbG0uTmJNgoqIjjbeYasR6hN_ie7wHebhdYCJzMMAwfBP85Pngy81xNClH4svVdbExxlNh1GvPmhbNnHPM0K7uqzkqb87r-gQ4SwiuQ-kU_ZVWqgr/s1600/table0096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl62jOQU3j83o8aHSjUpAEDeRo2YJbG0uTmJNgoqIjjbeYasR6hN_ie7wHebhdYCJzMMAwfBP85Pngy81xNClH4svVdbExxlNh1GvPmhbNnHPM0K7uqzkqb87r-gQ4SwiuQ-kU_ZVWqgr/s400/table0096.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice, Illana, Miriam, Delia</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76jtW0YM6CCsadUmGPjp4kWrHuv_MmG4Dua1h6aG6tDXLOx_bLx7up8HIC6tWVfXSPw8VWMYrH0I9Ku9rBrR62DRitbms0BV1cNQjFQkHcGU0hvpPj86One2Tc3H6KVkg1KMPXE6nFiLY/s1600/table0101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76jtW0YM6CCsadUmGPjp4kWrHuv_MmG4Dua1h6aG6tDXLOx_bLx7up8HIC6tWVfXSPw8VWMYrH0I9Ku9rBrR62DRitbms0BV1cNQjFQkHcGU0hvpPj86One2Tc3H6KVkg1KMPXE6nFiLY/s400/table0101.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pie</td></tr></tbody></table><br />