On the Table - the curious home of Gary Allen, Food Writer & Dillettante

It's nearly June, that glorious time of year when new brides are busy in their gardens, picking baby greens, watering the young tomato and pepper plants, turning early berries in the season's first homemade ice cream, and …oops, we seem to drifted off in an unexpected, yet strangely familiar direction.

Nonetheless, we've managed to recover in time to get this latest issue out, slightly ahead of schedule.

Subscribers to our updates newsletter receive only these updates from our blog, Just Served, in their e-mailboxes. The rest of our little non-update screeds still go into the blog, but they no longer intrude themselves in our subscribers' mailboxes. Last month, we posted "Capsaicin as Religious Experience" -- how one might experience the Tao through torture of one's tongue and "Dandelions," the bane of lawns, but joy of foragers.

Leitesculinaria is still in the process of reposting, sometimes with shiny new updates and edits, some of my older articles. A few of our newly-expanded pieces are in the queue and should be showing up soon. The entire list of our currently-posted LeitesCulinaria articles is available here.

True gluttons for punishment should visit A Quiet Little Table in the Corner, a page that provides an ever-changing master index of any other web places that carry our stuff. The Quiet Little Table is hosted by Marty Martindale's Food Site of the Day, and you should check out some of the goodies she's got posted while you're there.

It's grilling season, and we're including a link to A Hamburger Today because it's a wonderfully obsessive discourse on what makes a perfect burger, followed by a long list of equally-obsessive comments -- almost of all which should lead to some truly juicy cook-outs.

Here are a few excerpts, only tangentially-related to June, the month of weddings, from -- or soon to be added to -- On the Table's culinary quote pages:

"A bachelor's life is a fine breakfast, a flat lunch, and a miserable dinner." Francis Bacon

"After about 20 years of marriage, I'm finally starting to scratch the surface of what women want. And I think the answer lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate." Mel Gibson

"What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband? About 30 pounds." Cindy Garner

PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs -- or know of wonderful sites we've missed -- please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those of you who have suggested sites -- thanks, and keep them coming!

PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings, go here.

PPPS: If you've received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don't wish to receive future issues, you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We're happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list -- but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we'll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again. You can unsubscribe here.


Cilantro Haters, It's Not Your Fault
(Harold McGee's New York Times article on the science behind cilantro aversion)

Eater
(a hipper, funnier, Newsweek- or People-like online magazine for foodies)

Experimental Food Society, The
(group of artists who use food as their medium: "jelly mongers, cake sculptors, sugarcraft artists, mobile chocolate adventurers and one-of-a-kind dining conceptualists")

Fankhauser's Cheese Page
(the science behind, and recipes for, cheese-making -- plus a few non-cheese items)

"Food Health Claims Need Scientific Tests, Report Says"
(Molly Peterson's Bloomberg article on the move to have FDA police food marketers' health claims)

"In Former East Germany, a Search for Lost Foods"
(Lauren Shockey's article, in The Atlantic, on her attempt to relive a bit of food nostalgia… and what food nostalgia actually is)

Italian Sweets: History
(an overview that traces traditional treats all the way back to Ancient Rome)

Mark Bittman
(this slog -- a hybrid of blog and salon -- features articles by some of the best food writers around)

Nick Stellino Recipes
(lots of recipes from the cookbook author and chef of PBS' Cooking with Friends)

"Pain, Patisserie et Religion en Europe Pre- et Protohistorique"
(archaeological study of the origins of European baking, in the journal Civilisations; in French)

"Pasteurization Without Representation"
(Corby Kummer's article, in The Atlantic, on the battles over raw milk in New England)

Rootscuisine
("...promoting the foodways of people of African descent around the globe")

This is Why You're Fat
(funny-scary collection of photos -- example: sushi, made with Peeps)

Tree Fruit Research & Extension Center (TFREC)
(the latest info on "orchard culture, pest control, fruit harvesting and handling, fruit maturity, storage, grading and packaging," from Washington State University's College of Agriculture and Home Economics)

UNT Digital Library
(an archive, in the University of North Texas, of government publications that are no longer in print; a recent search for "food" found 619)


Association of Food Journalists (AFJ)


All We Can Eat

Eating is Art

Fatback and Foie Gras

La Vida Locavore

Lorna Sass at Large

Malaysian Cuisine, The

No Recipes

Pleasant Eats

Politics of the Plate

Sneeze! Pepper for the Beast

Three Many Cooks


Except, of course, for the usual legal mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:

Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose -- ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs:

Our books, The Resource Guide for Food Writers, The Herbalist in the Kitchen, The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries, and Human Cuisine can be ordered through the Libro-Emporium.

Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...

...for the moment, anyway.