For some forgotten reason, I recently watched the 1966 Western El Dorado. It’s one of the better Westerns I have seen, with more humor and a lot less racism than the typical Western (though there’s a short cringe-worthy stereotyping of a Chinese person near the end). The film has a top-notch cast and crew: the […]
When Fenugreek Leads to a False Diagnosis
It’s a busy night in the maternity ward, babies being delivered left and right. While changing the diaper of a newborn, one of the nurses smells maple syrup, an unusual occurrence. And after a few seconds of memory searching, mental alarm bells go off: “It must be Maple Syrup Urine Disease! This is a big […]
Fenugreek’s Flavors
(Updated 10/26/16: new maple leaf image) Now and then, fresh fenugreek leaves appear at the farmers markets that I frequent (usually at the Vang Farms stand at Berkeley’s Saturday market). When this happens, I buy a bunch and then get some potatoes from another stand to make my version of a recipe in Julie Sahni’s […]
Two Short Book Reviews: World History by Beverages and Spices
(Updated, 11/27/16: fixed broken links) After the jump, short reviews of A History of the World in Six Glasses, by Tom Standage and Jack Turner’s Spice: The History of a Temptation.
Curry Leaves
(Updated 10/2/2016: fixed broken links) The above photo of a Murraya koenigii (curry leaf) tree (taken at the Singapore Botanic Gardens) is certainly not the most exciting or artful of my photos, but it is an interesting plant. The curry leaf tree is not the source of curry powder, and not even the source of […]