TV chefs are the new rock starts of our pop culture. They are idolized, adored, emulated and seemingly have the inspirational powers to convert culinary agnostics into devoted cooks.
Mothers throughout centuries have been treasured, honored and, yes, roasted.
These days, intrepid amateur farmers enjoy everything from freshly laid eggs from their backyard coops and freshly picked herbs, fruits and veggies from their eclectic water-conserving landscapes to homemade dairy products and vino. Now you can become a do-it-yourselfer in the kitchen and garden this spring, too, with these kits.
Marvelous mushrooms — 40,000 species in all — were once feared by the ancients as a poisonous foe. Many Roman emperors allegedly were victims of death by mushrooms, including Tiberius and Claudius, along with Pope Clement VII, Alexander I of Russia and Abe Lincoln’s mom, Nancy Hanks, who succumbed after drinking tainted milk from the family dairy cow who ruminated toxic mushrooms.
The office of Solana Beach’s Pamplemousse Grille is stacked floor to ceiling with hundreds of cases of wine to fill the restaurant’s extensive list of more than 2,100 bottles — likely the biggest wine selection in the city.
One hundred years ago on a chilly evening of April 14, 721 third-class passengers were having a jolly High Tea on the F Deck in their spartan saloon in “steerage”; 285 wayfarers were enjoying a hearty-yet-elegant meal in the second-class saloon; and 337 first-class passengers (including business magnate John Jacob Astor IV and socialite/philanthropist Molly Brown) all bedecked in extravagant bling, beaded evening gowns and crisp white tuxes as cool as the icy waters of the North Atlantic, were luxuriating in the first-class dining room on the R.M.S. Titanic for a 10-course gustatory orgy.
Food is the cornerstone of seasonal celebrations expressed in its preparation, rituals and communal consumption enjoyed among family and beloved friends.
Spring fever seems to trigger light-hearted celebrations and other acts of tomfoolery. Many cultures around the world launch the season with shenanigans, starting with the Romans who created a festival they belovedly named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis.
Look about you! Tender green sprouts, baby shoots and fresh vines are playing peek-a-boo through the new, warm soil.
For all you hibernophiles out there – Irish lovers of whom we have 40 million in this country — join in the fun.
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