Ah, our friends at the Times finally got around to reviewing the Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop. Of course we aired Fuchsia's General Tso's Chicken cooking video along with her terrific running commentary back in February. Also previously: Interview: Fuchsia Dunlop, General Tso, and Me, Recipe: Fuchsia Dunlop's General Tso's Chicken, The Histories of General Tso's Chicken...
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Carl T. Griffith gave his 1847 Oregon Trail sourdough starter away for free to anyone who asked or sent a self-addressed stamped envelope; he passed away in 2000 but his friends are keeping the tradition (and the sourdough starter) alive. If for some reason you'd like your sourdough starter younger or slightly more international, this site will sell you cultures from twelve different countries from Finland ("The wonderful and distinctive flavor and aroma it imparts are truly "indescribable".) to Egypt ("The bakery where this sourdough was found dated straight back to antiquity and was literally in the shadow of the pyramids. This culture could be the progeny of the one that made man's first bread and is similar to the...
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Yesterday marked the start of the Lenten Season, during which Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays to honor the Passion of Christ. Seafood is exempted and so in many communities with large Catholic populations, parish fish frys on Lenten Fridays have become a tradition. Nicki Britton of the Houston Chronicle visited parish fish frys in the area and talked to the people that run them: "The fries "build relationships,'' she says. "Many of the (volunteers) are retired. They may not have an organized plan for every day. But they know that every Friday for six weeks, they will be coming together and sharing an experience.'' The recipes for fried fish, coleslaw and potato salad come in two scales each:...
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Hunan Resources: "But even if General Tso’s chicken is an invented tradition, it has to be seen as a part of the story of Hunanese cuisine. After all, it embodies a narrative of the old Chinese apprentice system and the golden age of Hunanese cookery, the tragedy of civil war and exile, the struggle of the Chinese diaspora to adapt to American society and in the end the opening up of China and the re-establishment of links between Taiwan and the mainland." Fuchsia Dunlop's NYT essay on the history of General Tso's is super interesting whether or not you like the dish; if reading it gives you deja vu, maybe you read Michael Browning's Who Was General Tso And Why...
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From Steven Shapin's Vegetable Love, in last week's New Yorker: "The history of vegetarian (and anti-vegetarian) thought neither adds up nor goes anywhere, except in the sense that it goes everywhere that people disposed to reflection have explored when asking what it means to be human and to be good. It’s a history of human morality, but it’s no less a history of human ingenuity in moral argumentation." Great long piece exploring Tristram Stuart's new book The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times, which looks like a solid, thoughtful read for vegetarians and dedicated carnivores alike....
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