A couple of weeks ago I set out to redefine the dynamics of our household cooking routine. I created a chart on our whiteboard and explained to everyone that they would need to claim one or two days to cook. The results so far are mixed.
Continue reading Meal Making Experiment: an UpdateTag Archives: dinner
Eggplant!
- Origin
- Modern Cultivation
- Impact
- Nutritional Profile
- Dietary Concerns
- How to Eat it
- Recipe: Stuffed Eggplant
Origin
This was a little easier to parse out than the broccoli origin story. Turns out, wild type aubergine originated on the eastern parts of Africa1 (notably, from Kenya to South Africa) and spreading outward towards the west. In a single event, however it made its way to India and East Asia where the cultivated strains predominately begin. This certainly explains why there are so many amazing dishes featuring eggplant/aubergine at Ethiopian restaurants, as well as Indian and Chinese restaurants.
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Broccoli!
- Origin
- Modern Cultivation
- Impact
- Nutritional Profile
- Dietary Concerns
- How to Eat it
- Recipe: Roasted Broccoli
Origin
Broccoli is a member of the cole crops (also known as cruciferous vegetables), all of which are derived from a singular species known as Brassica oleracea L.. This includes kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and cabbage and each of these foods share a genome with the wild type, Brassica. As with so many things, it’s difficult to prove exact origin of species, especially when it involves human cultivation and migration; however, most studies indicate Europe, broadly, as the birthplace of these Brassica plants. Very little evidence indicates Asia as a potential origin and within Europe there is a slight divide between the UK and Greece, but there is stronger evidence for the rocky shores of England. There is a fascinating paper that uses linguistic terms for “broccoli” in various ancient cultures to help identify the origin that some of you might be interested in reading. In the end, broccoli is just one form, or cultivar, of a group of plants that has been selected for it’s specific geno-/phenotype that gives us what we, today, call broccoli.
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A Look Back on 2020: The Feast
It started with a scone. Lemon blueberry scones, to be exact. I’m not sure why…I think I was just hungry for them. So, I found a recipe on Pinterest and made my own sweet lemon butter to accompany the scones, and left a few by my friend’s door. Who doesn’t love waking up to fresh, warm scones and fancy ass butter?
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