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

As we write this, August is coming to an end and -- while we're not yet tired of fresh corn and tomatoes -- glowing peaches are the darlings of the moment. Peach Gelato. Habanero Peach Preserves. Peach Chutney. We've made them all, and Grilled Peaches can't be far away. At the same time, we know we're on the threshold of September and fall produce and flavors -- perhaps those grilled peaches should have some cinnamon to foreshadow the seasonal change? Maybe some more peach preserves, this time with crystallized ginger?

Regular subscribers to our updates newsletter receive these updates from our blog, Just Served, directly -- but there is much more at the blog that isn’t sent automatically. We understand that many (OK, most) folks have better things to do with their time than wade through countless unwanted e-missives, so we don't add ours to that pile. One of these uncalled-for tales, "On Eating Raccoon," appeared last month. It's not likely to make Raccoon Ragu a culinary fad. "Criminal, Really Criminal" does not really concern food writers, but does address the writing skills of some of our colleagues. However... should you feel an inexplicable craving for exactly the sort of self-indulgent claptrap we periodically post, you can satisfy that urge at Just Served . If you don't want to wait for this newsletter to hear about such postings, you can follow us on Facebook, or Twitter

"A Quiet Little Table in the Corner" is an annotated ("annotated" being used, naturally, in its least academic sense) directory of our writings -- mostly on other people's sites.

Leitesculinaria is still in the process of reposting, sometimes -- with shiny new updates and edits -- some of our older articles. The entire list of our currently-posted LeitesCulinaria articles is available here, along with several other articles on food history & science.

Finally, just in case you thought we haven't paid quite enough attention to a certain fruit, here're some peachy musings -- on, or soon to be added to, On the Table's culinary quote pages.

"One does a whole painting for one peach and people think just the opposite -- that particular peach is but a detail." Pablo Picasso

"The ripest peach is highest on the tree." James Whitcomb Riley

"Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." Mark Twain

And something to listen to, if you're so inclined: "Peaches en regalia" (Frank Zappa, from Hot Rats)




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.



Aesthetes and Eaters
(special issue of Invisible Culture on food in, and as, art)

Astor Center
(a place for food and wine lectures, demonstrations and conferences; "...a new approach to education, a new way of exchanging ideas, a new forum for discussing that which brings us together around the table")

Elizabethan Homebrewing
(typically well-researched and documented account from the Society for Creative Anachronism)

Food Republic
(e-zine that "...explores the new culture of food through stories, interviews, global conversations, and experiences")

Food in Tudor England
(just one of many topics in this site devoted to Tudor History)

Food in Tudor Times
(part of a collection of British curricular support documents)

Fooles and Fricassees: Food in Shakespeare's England
(article accompanying an exhibit held, in 1999, at the Folger Shakespeare Library)

Gazzetta Gastronomica
(online magazine of Italian cooking; in Italian)

Jacobean Food
(spit food, pies and chewitts, wafers, ices, and cordials from the time of James I)

Poison Party
(Anastacia Marx de Salcedo's article, in Slate, on why spoiled food doesn't necessarily cause food poisoning, and that the foods that do, don't necessarily taste dangerous)

Pyramid and Protein
(how, and what, did Egyptian royalty feed all those pyramid builders?)

Specialty Produce Daily, The
(a compendium of what's new and noteworthy in the food blog world)

What We Eat in America
(nutritional database, covering foods and supplements, from the USDA)



100 Top Restaurant Review Sites For Restaurateurs

cdkitchen.com

Chowhound


Cookbooks Online

Cyber-Kitchen Recipe Archives

Food & Drink

Foodieview

Frogmore Stew and Other Lowcountry Recipes

Sausage Recipes

Wine Taster's Glossary, A



Blog posts about blogging -- and writing, design, photography, promotion, and ethics -- can help us become better, and possibly more successful, writers (i.e., having more people read our stuff). Here're some recent favorites:

Coin of the Food Realm

Digital Food Photography

Star Wars and Photography

Whither the Cookbook?



Culinary Librarian, The

Delicious Prose

Feiring Line, The

it!: Food Meditation

Matt Bites

Plain But Wholesome: Adventures in Mormon Pioneer Food

Recent College Grad's Guide to Wine, The

She Simmers



Except, of course, for the usual legalistic 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.