Where’s the Pumpkin? Pumpkin Spice and the Art of Selling a Feeling
Pumpkin spice was always pumpkin pie spice. How a dropped word, a pumpkin-free latte and a lot of scarcity sold us a feeling, plus my own homemade syrup.
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Ellis Island: What Came Through the Gate
In January of 2008 I gave myself a week in New York City for my fortieth birthday. Not for work; purely as a tourist, purely as a present to myself. One cold, bright morning, fortified by a bagel from Katz’s, I took the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island with a…
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What Cinco de Mayo Actually Is (and Why I Still Make Enchiladas)
I did not grow up observing Cinco de Mayo. Nobody in my Texas family did. It wasn’t a holiday in the way Christmas or Thanksgiving or even the Fourth of July was a holiday; it was a date on the calendar that occasionally meant something at school and otherwise didn’t. In college it became an…
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Black History Month: Essential Reading, Viewing, and Voices
This month on the blog, we’re honoring Black History Month by talking about African American foodways and the history of Southern food. If you want to learn more – and you should – here’s where to start. Essential Reading and Viewing Books: Television/Streaming: Writers and Food Historians to Follow: This is not an exhaustive list….
