Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Gherkins & Tomatoes
A Writer's Musings on Nature and Culture, Since 2008
Jonathan Swift once quipped, "It was a brave man who first ate an oyster." And an even braver one who pried open the shell without special gloves and knives. Actually, it's more likely that our hero (or heroine) used a rock to smash into the mollusk. Oysters kept people alive in the early days of colonial North America,…
Continue reading ➞ Day 2: Oysters – Celebrate American Food History
Mushrooms abound in the markets of France in October and early November. And since I found stalls bursting with all sorts of mushrooms, I began to wonder if there were any "street cries" or market songs or whatever you might wish to call them peculiar to mushrooms. Associated with various métiers (or trades) dating back…
Continue reading ➞ Cris de Paris: The Street Criers of Paris in Bygone Days
Alas, we've just missed La fête de l’huître, a popular festival that takes place at Riec-sur-Belon, Brittany at the end of July. Maybe next time ... For more about oysters, see "Oysters Tales and Pearls of Wisdom."
