Vegetables in the Middle Ages - and corned beef and pastrami

So I open up my email and there's this terrific article from Medievalists.net so feel free tocheck out cooking in the Middle AGes. Not that I'm obsessed with food or anything since I've come back from Chicago, having stuffed my face with steak, pastrami, corned beef, gyros - Greektown for the latter, Manny's and 11th Street Dinner for corned beef and pastrami and I HIGHLY recommend Benny's Chop House for steak with impeccable service and probably the best Caesar salad I've ever had in my life - that's why vegetables are somewhat on my mind (along with other Good Eats). Vegetables in the Middle Ages Image Vegetables: A Biography, by Evelyne Bloch-Dano, offer the stories of eleven different vegetables - artichokes, beans, chard, cabbage, cardoons, carrots, chili peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, peas, pumpkins, and tomatoes - offering tidbits from science and agriculture to history, culture, and, of course, cooking. Here are a few excerpts from the book that detail their history during the Middle Ages. Read More

Apulia and its food

Boy, I just ran across some fabulous photographs of food in Apulia - so readers - feast your eyes on it - check it out!  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Puglia+Italy+Food&Form=IQFRDR


I have heard this region of Italy is incredible for white, sandy beaches, incredible food and no tourists.  If that isn't a recipe for travel, I don't know what is!

Puglia anyone? Roman, Byzantine, Norman history up to Gallipoli

Apulia, or Puglia as the Italians call it, has something for everyone.  If you're a historian, like I am, or just a plain history buff, Apulia has it all.  From Roman to 20th century.  Not to mention, fabulous food, seafood, pasta, fresh everything.  The region is known for its wine and its olive oil and it's beautiful besides.  Check this article out from USA Today


http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-04-24-puglia-italy_N.htm

La Cucina Italiana - food is history and culture - and books!

So this morning I'm reading Walking in Sicily by Gillian Price.  Being a historian of Sicily, albeit in the 13th century, I'm still interested in all things Sicilian.  She talked about gelato and then one of my favorite Sicilian drinks - granite.   She gives some history along the way, includes lots of maps (a must in my opinion!) and talks about one of my favorite food-culture-history books about Sicily - Mary Simeti's On Persephone's Island.


So I'm inviting readers of this blog to talk about their favorite books on the food, history, culture of not only Sicily but Italy - who wrote your favorite books and why are they your favorites?


By the way, a good friend of mine and professor is going to visit Puglia in a few weeks.  Doing some Norman history and possibly even going to Mt. Gargano - lucky dog!

A Mediterranean diet - 13th century tavern food and munchies - did they get their veggies and greens?

Many people have this vision of a big, Henry VIII-type person gnawing on some roasted animal leg and flinging it behind him.  And that's their idea of medieval food.  Actually, he's almost 300 years later and if you want to think medieval Sicily - think something very familiar - Mediterranean! 

Murder at the Leopard talks about a lot of the food Ysabella and Larissa prepare - but the characters are always snacking on - guess what - olives, cheese, bread, fruit.  But also salads were very popular, with all the usual veggies - radishes, cukes, melons and squash, fruits of all kinds, lemons, oranges and lines, lettuces, onions, garlic, apricots, almonds, pomegranates figs, pears, apples and prunes.  Grapes of course both for themselves and for wine!  Nuts, legumes - the list is endless.