A Harte Appetite

Perhaps you've seen the promo on the Weather Channel in which a meteorologist presents a lesson about tornadoes. He fills a blender container with yogurt and milk and blends it on progressively higher speeds. Finally, a student in the class blurts out, "So a tornado is mother nature's way of making a smoothie!"

You may have never heard of Nephi Grigg, but if you’ve ever eaten a meal at a grade school cafeteria, you’ve probably been served his signature culinary invention.

A 3.5 ounce serving of spinach contains more iron than the same sized hamburger patty. Not bad for a food that is 91% water.

Still there are iconic dishes we remember fondly, and perhaps the most legendary culinary memory of school days is the unfortunately named Sloppy Joe. Everyone knows what they are, yet it’s difficult to determine their origin.

You don't have to be from Africa to appreciate couscous. The late Craig Claiborne, for example, called it one of the dozen greatest dishes in the world.

The mustard plant is fully deserving of accolades. For centuries its been used as a food, flavoring and folk remedy. In fact it was so important as a medicinal herb to the ancient Greeks that they credited their god of medicine for its creation.

Rose Levy Beranbaum, in her book, “The Pie and Pastry Bible,” a volume which I’ve read religiously, says, “There are two kinds of people: cake people and pie people.”

Even before Cracker Jack became inextricably linked to baseball, it hit a home run with the public when it was introduced at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago by Frederick “Fritz” Rueckheim and his brother Louis.

The Instant Pot is fundamentally a pressure cooker, a device invented way back in 1679 by the French physicist Denis Papin.

The pomegranate, that beautiful fruit with the jewel-like red seeds, has recently exploded on the culinary scene. Which is appropo for a fruit which inspired the name a hand-tossed explosive, known as the grenade.

In Scotland, their oatmeal, or porridge, is a hallowed dish, celebrated every year at the World Porridge Making Championship in the village of Carrbridge.

The French think they're superior to us when it comes to clothing, wine, and food -- not to mention romance! And, admittedly, they do have a way with each; and perhaps nowhere is French sophistication more evident -- at least in the culinary world -- when it comes to pancakes.