Things that caught my eye
Even at its outset, tipping engendered feelings of anxiety and resentment. In the mid-1800s, after leaving the Bell Inn of Gloucester, the Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle complained: “The dirty scrub of a waiter grumbled about his allowance, which I reckoned liberal. I added sixpence to it, and [he] produced a bow which I was near rewarding with a kick.” More about tipping here, in a review of Kerry Seagrave’s history of the custom.
Interesting looking new book on the decline of honey bees in North America.
And fall out for the world grain market thanks to the credit crunch.
And some evocative photos of tortilla making in Mexico City from the blog Saborearte entusiasm. One amazing tortilla press and several great women.
Miga, Querida, Can you offer some practical advice about making tortillas at home? I know, there’s no reason where there are experts everywhere, but here in the US I am always disappointed with masa harina, and the fresh masa is never exactly that, and I have decided I need to buy corn, and cal, and a proper metate. Yes, I know the hours, that’s the whole point. Any advice would be most welsome. Yours, Ken