Historical Breakfasts – Breakfast Detective

Hard Roll Life: Breakfast at a European Budget Hotel in 1977

June 7, 2017Sheila Aceves

Erma Bombeck might seem like an unlikely hero for a thirteen year old girl, but she was one of mine at that age. I picked up a copy of If Life Is A Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing In The Pits? in 1984, and I was a devoted fan from then on. I…

The Great Lavra’s Garlic Test

June 1, 2017Sheila Aceves

Robert Curzon, the Victorian-era English explorer who rescued, (or plundered, depending on who is telling the story), the manuscripts being stored in the world’s monasteries, wrote of a test that he had to pass in order to gain entrance to the library at Great Lavra. He was required to breakfast with the abbot on a…

Breakfast in Thirteenth Century Mongolia

May 27, 2017Sheila Aceves

We have Marco Polo to thank for our knowledge of how Mongolian nomads lived during the thirteenth century. The warriors traveled with horses, which provided almost all of their sustenance. Mare’s milk was heated, and then the cream was skimmed off just before boiling. The cream was made into butter, and then the rest of…