DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   Pongal is a harvest festival-the Tamil equivalent of Thanksgiving.  In an agriculture based civilization, the harvest plays an important part.  The farmer cultivating his land depends on cattle, timely rain and the Sun.  Once a year, he expresses his gratitude to these during the harvest festival.  With the end of the est month of Margazhi (mid December to mid January) the new Tamil month of Thai heralds a series of festivals.  The first day of the month is a festival day known as "Pongal Day".  Pongal means the 'boiling over" of milk and rice during the month of Thai.     The act of boiling over of milk in the clay pot is considered to denote future prosperity for the family.  Traditionally celebrated at harvest time, it is a celebration of the prosperity associated with the harvest by thanking the rain, sun and the farm animals that have helped in the harvest.  Pongal is celebrated by the Indian...

The book that started it all      "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"  is an 1865  short story  by  Mark   Twain , his first great success as a writer, bringing him national attention. The story has also been published as  "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog"  (its original title) and  "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".  In it, the narrator retells a story he heard from a  bartender,  Simon Wheeler, at the  Angels Hotel  in  Angels Camp ,  California , about the  gambler   Jim Smiley . Twain describes him:  "If he even seen a straddle bug start to go anywheres, he would bet you how long it would take him to get to—to wherever he going to, and if you took him up, he would foller that straddle bug to Mexico but what he would find out where he was bound for and how long he was on the road." Samuel Clemons aka "Mark Twain"   ...

Seven Sins Chocolate Cake Not long ago I sampled a cake from a bakery that boasted seven forms of chocolate. "Seven Deadly Sins" they called it.  It had two types of dark chocolate frosting, milk and white chocolate pastry cream, white chocolate curls... you get the idea. All those chocolates sound interesting when used in one cake, but I thought those "seven sins" could be more...  sinful .  The gears began to turn. Since then I've been scribbling in my recipe journal and testing decadent flavor combinations; a bit of espresso here, a bit of whiskey there... Last week I finally pieced together what I consider the best of the best, and here you have it. A truly sinful  Seven Sins Chocolate Cake.  Shall we meet the players? 1,2,3 :  The trio of pastry creams all work together without being overly sweet, and they all retain their individual nuances of flavor w...

    Myths and legends are a part of virtually every culture. One of the most interesting legends of Russian culture is that of Baba Yaga. She is, however, not unique to Russia. There are similar stories about her, under other names, in Poland as well as in the Czech Republic.     The figure of Baba Yaga is most often pictured as that of an old hag on a broomstick, reminiscent of the kitchen witches we often see today. Some believe that she might have been the precursor for the ugly, old crones that most often represent witches at Halloween.     In truth, however, Baba Yaga is a complicated creature associated as much with fertility and fate as she is with death. Some believed that she also had the gift of prophecy and great wisdom. However, for reasons never understood, she seldom chose to use those skills without exacting a gruesome payment. Anyone wishing to partake of Baba Yaga's wisdom had to take on a challenge, which began wit...