~ This is the seventh in a series of posts about Presidential Food
Important things can happen in a tavern.
Random, fun, history-making, world-changing important things.
Like resting from a long day of travel and savoring a good meal with friends, dancing the night away in the ballroom, or attending a musical or theatrical performance. While you’re there, why not meet with other like-minded people to plan a revolution?
My great-niece, Melia, apple picking in Oregon.
Thanks to you, I just polished off a piece of apple pie.
I wanted to write about apples today, and I needed a boost to get into the right mindset. Just trying to keep it real :)!
I love apples so much that my very first theme on this blog was Apple Month (October 2007). I shared poems, recipes, and various facts, trivia and folklore. Apples, which date back to prehistoric times, are the perfect fruit — extremely versatile, and the most varied on earth (2500 varieties in the U.S. alone). They were first cultivated in Egypt, and became a favorite of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Thank you, early American settlers, for bringing apple seeds with you from Europe! Records from the Massachusetts Bay Colony indicate apples were grown in New England as early as 1630. Missionaries, traders, and Native Americans then carried seeds westward, and of course, John Chapman was responsible for extensive plantings of trees in the Midwest.
These Granny Smiths sacrificed themselves for my pie.
Though apples aren’t overflowing with vitamins and minerals like some other fruits, they do shine when it comes to Vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants, and fiber. They boost lung function and keep blood sugar stable. And did you know that apple juice was one of the earliest prescribed antidepressants?
*Sips some apple cider*
Right about now, I’m craving a few apple picture books. These are sweet, juicy, crunchy, life-affirming, beautiful, and inspiring. Share them with your kids, and enjoy them in one long peel.
Via Jen Robinson’s Book Page, I learned about the "Buy Books for the Holidays" campaign, organized by My Friend Amy (organizer of Book Blogger Appreciation Week).
I didn’t hesitate one minute to commit to this initiative. Bloggers are encouraged to buy books for holiday gifts this season, whenever and wherever possible. It makes perfect sense in these tough times. No doubt you’ve read this post at Editorial Ass, which explains the challenging situation threatening the book publishing industry. Dark, worrisome times. A crisis! Well, here is something we can do to help.
Some of the titles I’ll be giving this year.
Amy has set up a special Buy Books for the Holidays Blog, which is "a collaborative blog that will showcase books, serve as a central point where we can all report our progress, give bloggers a chance to showcase reviews by genre, help people find the perfect book for that difficult or challenging person on your list, announce internet or bookstore specials, and raise awareness of literacy charities to promote a culture of reading in the future."
More of my gift titles.
Sounds good? Sign up here, and go here to find out how to add the campaign button to your blog. Please spread the word!! Now is the time for anyone and everyone who loves books and realizes their inestimable worth to band together.
**For those looking for children’s book suggestions, check out the Cybils 2008 Nominations Lists. It’s a gold mine of great titles!
P.S. Did you hear about Grace Lin’s special bookplates promotion?
She will send these to you free of charge, if you specify the name of the recipient, and what title you’re giving them (she draws something different for each of her books)! It’s a limited design, only available for this promotion, which runs now through
December 7, 2008. Full details about how to email her here.
~ This is the sixth in a series of posts about Presidential Food
“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.” ~ Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (lawyer, author, epicure)
Right about now, all five White House chefs are probably wondering what’s going to be on the menu for the next four years.
Will they have to brush up on their Chicago pizza skills? Import bags of poi from Hawai’i? Or will they be asked to serve their culinary creations on green plates?
Regular readers of this blog (all three of you) know that I’m a strong believer in the old adage, “you are what you eat.” When it comes to food in the White House, each First Family has brought something distinct to the table — not only with regard to what is served, but how it’s served. There is nothing more revealing of personality than one’s style of entertaining.
~ This is the fifth in a series of posts about Presidential Food.
No President outshines Thomas Jefferson when it comes to
food and wine — the appreciation, consumption, and cultivation of it were for him lifelong passions.
An enlightened epicure, his table included Southern staples such as Virginia ham, black-eyed peas, corn, venison, sweet potatoes, and turnip greens, alongside the many French dishes he first tasted in Paris while serving as foreign minister for four years. He loved entertaining, and impressed his guests with “sinful feasts,” featuring as many as a dozen desserts, including blanc mange, meringues, and macaroons.
He was a connoisseur of fine wines, and considered it, along with olive oil, to be a necessity of life. Four to six wines (imported by the barrel from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal) were served at his dinners. He was attentive and particular when it came to food preparation, and insisted on serving seasonal produce at its peak. Of course he grew everything on his estate, practicing a very scientific approach to horticulture.
Jama's Alphabet Soup 
