Whaddya Think, Doctor Fink?

  Meat, eggs, fried potatoes, sausage, hot biscuits, butter, jam, and coffee. Up until the mid-1800s that was a “healthy” breakfast. No one worried about upset tummies or cholesterol. Enter James Caleb Jackson. He was a reformer, abolitionist, and doctor who had strong beliefs on how to maintain good health. As a vegan, Jackson advocated simple food, clean air and water, sunshine, solid sleep, exercise, and hydropathy.   Compliments of J.C. Buttre, Wikimedia Commons   In 1858 Jackson bought a

*Indiana turkeys, Peanut Butter & Jelly, were chosen because of their “temperament, appearance, and I suspect their vaccination status,” President Biden joked in 2021 during the pandemic. “Instead of getting basted, they’re getting boosted.”  *Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird. He lost out to the bald eagle. *Turkey eggs are tan with brown specks and larger than chicken eggs. *A baby turkey is called a poult and is tan and brown. *The Presidential Flock is well

Compliments of Wikimedia Commons From commanders-in-chief to broad-breasted turkeys, it’s the annual duty of every U.S. President. As President Obama said in 2010, “I am sworn to uphold, as the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth . . . the awesome responsibility of granting a Presidential pardon to a pair of turkeys.” A pardon is an official act of forgiveness. Whether it’s for a lawbreaker who wants to avoid jail or a turkey who wants to avoid the

*Many believe that Hershey Kisses got their name from the machine that makes a “smooching” sound when it produces the tear-shaped chocolate. *Kiss was a generic turn-of-the-century term for a bite-sized piece of candy. *Kissables or candy-coated kisses were introduced in 2005 to compete with M&Ms. They failed. In 2009 they were pulled off the market. *Peanut blossoms are kisses baked into peanut dough. They were a finalist in the 1957 Pillsbury Bakeoff. They’re still popular today.     *One

Was it luck, a twist of fate, or coincidence? You decide. Milton Hershey, chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist, was a wealthy man. Born on a Pennsylvania farm in 1857, Hershey grew up loving sweets. In 1894 he started The Hershey Chocolate Company as a subsidiary of The Lancaster Caramel Company. Six years later in 1900, Milton predicted that the future was in chocolate and sold the caramel company. He introduced Hershey’s milk chocolate with the goal, according to the company’s website,

*Roots are the energy-storage part of the plant. *Sweet cassava has low levels of cyanide that’s removed in cooking. Most of the poison is in the outer bark-like peel which is easily removed. *Happy International Carrot Day is celebrated every year on April 4. *WebMD reports that root vegetables are “dense in essential nutrients and come with a number of health benefits.” *In 19th century Victorian England, women used beet juice to give their hair a red glow. *In Bram

  Root vegetables are food for the soul. Mike McShane wrote in Eate Collective, “there’s a strange primal comfort in a root vegetable.” They “anchor” plants into the ground, provide water and nutrients when the weather isn’t cooperating, and they have been part of our diet for as long as humans have been around. People could always count on them. Let’s start at the beginning. Travel back hundreds of thousands of years. Maybe you lived in a cave or in

From the 1700s to today, cupcakes have been a delicious part of our lives. Eat your favorite cupcake while you check out the facts below! *The full title of Amelia Simmons’ book (the first U.S. cookbook written by an American, that included a recipe for cupcakes) was American Cooke or the Art of Dressing Viands, Fish, Poultry and Vegetables, and the Best Modes of Making Pastes, Puffs, Pies, Tarts, Puddings, Custards, and Preserves, and all kinds of CAKES from the

  Some call them fairy cakes (UK). Others munch on patty cakes (Australia). Most of us know them as yummy cupcakes. Those delicious, tiny cakes have a history almost as colorful as the snack. You only have to go back a few centuries. Amelia Simmons, in 1796, called herself an “American Orphan.” Food historians believe that she worked in domestic service – probably in the kitchen. At the time, women did not have the formal education that men received. The

  Some foods are new and trendy. Others reach back in time, embedded in ancient history. Like waffles. They’ve been around long before 1955 when the first Waffle House Restaurant opened. More than enough time for different versions around the world. Maybe that’s why the Pilgrims brought the recipe to America when they sailed on the Mayflower (1620)? Waffles were “invented” thousands of years ago by early humans. They made a mixture of flour and water and cooked it on