The Between the Sheets Cocktail was born during Prohibition in the 1920’s. A speakeasy was the only place to get a decent drink, and no respectable Flapper would be seen without her flask neatly tied to her leg. Most cocktails only masked the taste of inferior booze, so fruit juices became the standard mixers for just this purpose.
Ingredients:
1 oz brandy
1/2 oz light rum
3/4 oz orange liquor
1 oz. guava juice
1 oz. mango juice
1 oz. passion fruit
1/2 oz. lemon juice
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Beet Root
Beet Root is one of our favorite scents to wear. On the skin it gives the wearer a sense of the dirt it just came from, and the beautiful rouge-sweet juice within.
Red beets as we now know them probably didn't develop until the 17th century--but they have been eaten as wild, slender-rooted plant species with edible leaves over a broad sweep of land, from Britain to Indian, since prehistoric times. Early Russian homeopaths claimed it could cure tuberculosis, scurvy, and toothache--while Russian peasants believed it worked as an insecticide. During "babye leto" (Indian summer), they would bury beets imbedded with mosquitoes and flies in a ceremony meant to relieve them of insect bites. Ironically, Russian beauties--both peasants and ladies in high society--used the beet as rouge for their cheeks...to keep away mosquitoes and attract the opposite sex.
Red beets as we now know them probably didn't develop until the 17th century--but they have been eaten as wild, slender-rooted plant species with edible leaves over a broad sweep of land, from Britain to Indian, since prehistoric times. Early Russian homeopaths claimed it could cure tuberculosis, scurvy, and toothache--while Russian peasants believed it worked as an insecticide. During "babye leto" (Indian summer), they would bury beets imbedded with mosquitoes and flies in a ceremony meant to relieve them of insect bites. Ironically, Russian beauties--both peasants and ladies in high society--used the beet as rouge for their cheeks...to keep away mosquitoes and attract the opposite sex.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A Brief History of Basil
It's not commonly known that basil originated in India. It was brought to the Mediterranean via the spice routes in ancient times. Basil spread to other parts of Asia, and became popular in the use of curries in Thailand, and in Italian cuisine.
In Romania, basil took a more romantic turn; when a man accepts a sprig of basil from a woman, he is officially engaged. The Greek word for basil means royal or kingly. It was believed that only the king himself should harvest this herb, and only with the use of a golden sickle. No matter what the country the consensus is that basil is Royalty amongst the herb family.
In Romania, basil took a more romantic turn; when a man accepts a sprig of basil from a woman, he is officially engaged. The Greek word for basil means royal or kingly. It was believed that only the king himself should harvest this herb, and only with the use of a golden sickle. No matter what the country the consensus is that basil is Royalty amongst the herb family.
BANANA FLAMBE!!! OH YEAH!!!!
6 firm bananas
1 c. orange juice
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. rum
Peel bananas and slice in half lengthwise. Arrange in layers in buttered baking dish. Sprinkle each layer with orange juice and brown sugar. Dot with butter. Bake in 400 degree oven until fruit is softened, not too soft, about 15 minutes. Warm rum. Place bananas in chafing dish, bring to table and add heated rum. Ignite and serve when flames die down. Serve over vanilla ice cream.
1 c. orange juice
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. rum
Peel bananas and slice in half lengthwise. Arrange in layers in buttered baking dish. Sprinkle each layer with orange juice and brown sugar. Dot with butter. Bake in 400 degree oven until fruit is softened, not too soft, about 15 minutes. Warm rum. Place bananas in chafing dish, bring to table and add heated rum. Ignite and serve when flames die down. Serve over vanilla ice cream.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Bamboo
Bamboo regenerates itself eternally. The life span of a single bamboo is not very long-about 20 years-but the grove stands forever. The fully mature bamboo sends most of the organic nutrients prepared by its leaves down through paths in the vascular bundles, which run vertically down the culms, to its rhizomes, which form the vast, complicated underground network that creates its progeny. New bamboo shoots are produced every year from these rhizomes, ensuring the survival of the bamboo grove.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Mmmmm....Apple Pie
“As American as Apple Pie!” How many times has that phrase been uttered over the years? But is it true? Well, yes and no. Not to upset the Founding Fathers, but Apple Pie, like most American customs and traditions, is European in origin. Indeed, pies were especially popular during the reign of Elizabeth I.
No one knows who ate the first slice, but pie in one form or another has existed since the ancient Egyptians made the first pastry-like crusts. The early Romans, who probably learned about it from the Greeks, probably made the first pies we would recognize as pies. The Roman, Cato the Censor, published the first written recipe: a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. The Romans then spread the word around Europe, including England.
Evan Jones, in American Food the Gastronomic Story, writes: Some social chroniclers seem convinced that fruit pies as Americans now view them originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch. Potters in the southeastern counties of that state were making pie plates in the early 18th century and cooks began to envelop in crispy crusts every fruit that grew I the region. “It may be,” Fredrick Klee asserts, “that during the revolution men from other colonies came to know this dish in Pennsylvania and carried this knowledge back home to establish pie as the great American dessert.”
Thus, Apple Pie, while not originally American, was “assimilated” and transformed into a distinctly American experience. If the food loving Pennsylvania Dutch didn’t invent pie, they certainly perfected it.
No one knows who ate the first slice, but pie in one form or another has existed since the ancient Egyptians made the first pastry-like crusts. The early Romans, who probably learned about it from the Greeks, probably made the first pies we would recognize as pies. The Roman, Cato the Censor, published the first written recipe: a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. The Romans then spread the word around Europe, including England.
Evan Jones, in American Food the Gastronomic Story, writes: Some social chroniclers seem convinced that fruit pies as Americans now view them originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch. Potters in the southeastern counties of that state were making pie plates in the early 18th century and cooks began to envelop in crispy crusts every fruit that grew I the region. “It may be,” Fredrick Klee asserts, “that during the revolution men from other colonies came to know this dish in Pennsylvania and carried this knowledge back home to establish pie as the great American dessert.”
Thus, Apple Pie, while not originally American, was “assimilated” and transformed into a distinctly American experience. If the food loving Pennsylvania Dutch didn’t invent pie, they certainly perfected it.
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