The sacrificial feast? A nice little sideline for the priests?
To what extent do you think that whole sacrifice thing was just nice little sideline for keeping the priests well fed? And, by extension, their flock, once the priests had had their fill. That’s what Jeremy asks. Don’t psychologists say that their three great unanswered questions are sleep, laughter, and religion?  Far be it from me to go where psychologists dare not tread.  And I have no more than a folk theory of the psychology of sacrifice. I would say, though, that there is no way to understand cuisines in the ancient world (say fr

Tasting of Guanajuato cheese tonight
For all those readers who are far, far away from Guanajuato, take this as one more indication of the huge ferment in local food businesses of high quality in this part of the world. For those in Guanajuato, please pass the message along (I only received it yesterday). Friday 26th November en el Rincon del Beso, right hand side going up Alhondiga more or less opposite Hotel Abadia. 7-9pm Quesos Oly, an operation in Apaseo el Grande in the eastern part of the state, now makes a variety of cheeses from the thousand (1) goats they have in milk, all inspected for disease..  Very high quality operation with the goats carefully fed to give milk of equal quality year ro

American-Mexican Thanksgiving
Across the street for dinner with a group of American and Mexican friends.  This lovely eclectic menu owes a good bit to Mexican Christmas and New Year’s dinners. ENTRADAS: Sopes de Nopal con Champignon al Ajillo (Masa boats with nopales and chilied mushrooms) Tamalitos Tradicionales Verde y Rojo (Little red and green tamales) INTERMEDIOS: ENSALADA: De lechugas mixtas: Aderezo de Lenteja y Julianas de Tres Chiles (Pasilla, Guajillo y Ancho) (Mixed lettuce salad with a dressing of lentils and julienned red chiles) Ensalada Dulce de Frutas “Than

Singing while you pound (or grind)
Continuing with my round up of comments, not in any particular order. Cindy Bertelsen talks about African women singing while they pound.  I bet it helps the rhythm. I would love to hear it. From the start, I asked Mexican women about chatting while they grind.  Was grinding together a bonding experience? A moment for women to share? Ask a silly question.  They were polite enough not to give me a silly answer.  They just looked at me as if I was out of my mind. Once I tried it, it was glaringly obvious that a grinder was bound to be lonely and isolated.  No breath for chat, no breath to sing. Which is why, dear Ruth Alegria, you and I continue to

English influence on Greek food
So pleased to have Sam Sotiropoulos join the debate about whether Greek food owes anything to the British. Be sure to check his comments about how kumquats and probably potatoes came to Greece thanks to the British. I await posts about some dishes (other than pudding) that came with or without these foodstuffs.  And candied kumquats, I can’t wait. And be sure to check out his blog Greek Food Recipes and Reflections while you are at it.