Eating – Scripturient

Montaigne on Ice Cream

No, Michel de Montaigne did not write about ice cream. I just used his name to entice you into this musing. But given the wide variety of topics he did write about, you’d think he might have at least penned a few words on it. Had it been available in his time, that is. It would suit his style to muse on its flavours, texture, ingredients, and digestibility. Unfortunately, while Montaigne does mention food and eating several times, he really didn’t write any gastronomic essays, much … click below for more ↓

Musings on Pizza No. 2

2021-03-10 2021-03-10 Cooking / Daily life / Eating / Food & Drink / PizzaLeave a comment

Pizza was one of those things I thought about when my hot flashes from my ongoing hormone treatment awoke me in the middle of the night this past week. Several times, in fact. As I tossed and turned I thought about my pizza-making process as I recently described here and wondered. I had received some comments about it, too, which prompted my continued meditations on pizza. I’ve been making pizza that way for years with only minor changes or alterations in the steps, but I … click below for more ↓

Finding a Breakfast Cereal With No Added Sugar

2021-03-08 2021-03-08 Eating / Food & Drink / Health & Medicine4 Comments

Why is it so difficult to find a breakfast cereal without added sugar? Even your basic, unadorned bran flakes have added sugar in them! And not just a small amount. While I’m sure there are commercial brands of cereal without sugar or some alternative sweetener, I’m struggling to find many (if any) on local grocery store shelves. I’m not against sugar per se. It belongs in desserts and candy. I like some ice cream or frozen yogurt for dessert at times. And I sometimes enjoy … click below for more ↓

Musings on Making Pizza

2021-03-05 2021-03-05 Alcohol / Cooking / Eating / Food & Drink / Pizza2 Comments

I have to admit that I like pizza a lot. Well, I guess most of us do. I like cheese, and I liked cooked cheese even more, and I like vegetables, so pizza is up there as a mealtime favourite. We don’t eat it frequently, perhaps once month or less often. These days I make it myself: we don’t order it from a restaurant or pizzeria, although we’ve had it from them when we went out for dinner (back in the pre-pandemic days). Nothing against … click below for more ↓

Musing on Making Pasta No. 2

2021-01-31 2021-02-02 Cooking / Daily life / Eating / Food & Drink / Pasta / Personal Reminiscences2 Comments

In its most basic form, pasta can be made from only two ingredients: flour and water. But while true, it’s deceptively simple, and far from the tastiest or most expressive pasta you can make. (see part 1 of this essay if you missed it) Flour is delightfully complicated; there is some interesting chemistry at work within flour and it’s fun to experiment. Wheat is classified into several categories: spring and winter (by the planting season), colour (red or white), hard or soft (high or low … click below for more ↓

Pollan’s Food fallacies

2018-05-06 2018-06-24 Books & Reviews / Cooking / Culture / Eating / Food & Drink / What I'm Reading NowLeave a comment

“Don’t overlook the oily little fishes,” is rule 32 in Michael Pollan’s small book, “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual” (Penguin Books, 2009). I recently acquired a copy. I’ve read Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and have his In Defence of Food on my shelves for summer reading and have two other titles by him on my wish list. I’ve enjoyed his work so far. Maybe not so much this time around. I am skeptical about any attempt to reduce any subject to a set of … click below for more ↓