KRCU's A Harte Appetite

The word brunch is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch, indicating a meal which combines elements of both. The term first appeared in print in 1895 in an article whose author proposed its virtue thusly: “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers.”

Its more than 100,000 varieties grow on every continent except Antarctica; it feeds more people than any other crop and has for thousands of years; and it can be the principal ingredient in a wide range of dishes ranging from appetizers to desserts. I'm talking about rice.

A cobbler, after all, in the words of Nicole Weston on her Baking Bites blog, is just a pie for lazy people. As she explains, it gives you the all the character of a pie but without the hassle.

“Beer is proof God loves us,” Ben Franklin supposedly said. If so, God must have a special fondness for the people of the Czech Republic. Beer is the most heavily consumed alcoholic beverage in the world, and the Czechs are doing their part to keep it that way. They rank #1 in world beer consumption.

For those of us used to modern conveniences, it's hard to imagine what life was like before the invention of the tin can.

Sweetened condensed milk is a clear exception to the notion that when something is condensed or reduced it is inferior to the original.

In Hungary they take their paprika seriously. Just as seriously as the Italians take their pasta, the Japanese take their rice or the English their tea.

Chocolate made just for drinking has a noble heritage. In fact, chocolate was being enjoyed as a beverage for centuries before anybody ever thought of actually eating it.

“England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” So said George Bernard Shaw. It's true. Not only do the British sometimes call things a different name than we do, like lorry for truck or lift for elevator, they often pronounce the same word differently as well. For example, they drop the “c” in schedule and add an extra “i” to aluminium. No wonder, then, there is confusion over how to pronounce the name Worcestershire sauce, arguably the world's favorite condiment.

Where would you find the most authentic Chicken Kiev? Probably Ukraine. The definitive Peking Duck? Certainly Beijing. The perfect Swedish Meatballs? Obviously Sweden. Or maybe Ikea. And where would you go to find the ultimate Greek yogurt? That's not so easy a question to answer.

Though watercress has been an English tradition at high tea and even in school lunches for years and years, the truth is, relatively speaking, the Brits are newcomers to the plant.

Even before people thought of putting it in food, lavender was casting its spell. It has been cultivated since the beginning of recorded time.

Whipped cream, after all, is one of the most decadent preparations of all time. For that matter, even when not whipped, cream, as an ingredient, cannot be beat.

Hula Pie is the signature dessert of an Hawaiian Restaurant chain and originated at the company's first restaurant, Kimo's in Old Lahaina Town in Maui.

You don't have to be from Africa to appreciate couscous. The late Craig Claiborne, for example, called it one of the dozen greatest dishes in the world.

The Instant Pot is fundamentally a pressure cooker, a device invented way back in 1679 by the French physicist Denis Papin.

The pomegranate, that beautiful fruit with the jewel-like red seeds, has recently exploded on the culinary scene. Which is appropo for a fruit which inspired the name a hand-tossed explosive, known as the grenade.

In Scotland, their oatmeal, or porridge, is a hallowed dish, celebrated every year at the World Porridge Making Championship in the village of Carrbridge.

Where would you find the most authentic Chicken Kiev? Probably Ukraine. The definitive Peking Duck? Certainly Beijing. The perfect Swedish Meatballs? Obviously Sweden. Or maybe Ikea. And where would you go to find the ultimate Greek yogurt? That's not so easy a question to answer.

Though watercress has been an English tradition at high tea and even in school lunches for years and years, the truth is, relatively speaking, the Brits are newcomers to the plant.

Even before people thought of putting it in food, lavender was casting its spell. It has been cultivated since the beginning of recorded time.

Whipped cream, after all, is one of the most decadent preparations of all time. For that matter, even when not whipped, cream, as an ingredient, cannot be beat.

Hula Pie is the signature dessert of an Hawaiian Restaurant chain and originated at the company's first restaurant, Kimo's in Old Lahaina Town in Maui.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, the old adage says. That's good advice, but there's an assumption underlying it that ought to be challenged. What's wrong with lemons? A life without them -- from the culinary perspective -- would be sour indeed.

Pretzels, some historians contend, may be the oldest snack food known to humankind.

Contrary to popular belief, corned beef and cabbage is not the national dish of Ireland. You won't find it on menus there except in places where there is a lot of tourist traffic. Some food historians even go so far as to question whether the dish is actually Irish at all.

Spain has given many gifts to gastronomy, like paella, manchego cheese, and the world's greatest ham. But no less noteworthy are churros, or Spanish donuts.

Of all of the iconic dishes of the Deep South none is more iconic than banana pudding.

I think it was Moliere who observed that, "Some men eat to live while other men live to eat." I know which category I fall into. I love food, glorious food.

A mug cake is a single serving of cake made by quickly stirring up batter in a mug and nuking it in the microwave. It apparently came to widespread public attention in a YouTube video back in 2009.

Red velvet cake was all the rage years ago, but its popularity has faded since the 1970s amid safety concerns about the red food coloring in use back then to tint the cake.Perhaps it's time to bring red velvet cake back.

Where would you find the most authentic Chicken Kiev? Probably Ukraine. The definitive Peking Duck? Certainly Beijing. The perfect Swedish Meatballs? Obviously Sweden. Or maybe Ikea. And where would you go to find the ultimate Greek yogurt? That's not so easy a question to answer.

Cake mixes have some real advantages over home made. For instance, they're much more forgiving. Over-beat the batter and they still bake up fine. Under-beat it and the result is nonetheless perfectly acceptable. Take a box cake out of the oven sooner than you should and all will be well.

Though watercress has been an English tradition at high tea and even in school lunches for years and years, the truth is, relatively speaking, the Brits are newcomers to the plant.

Hula Pie is the signature dessert of an Hawaiian Restaurant chain and originated at the company's first restaurant, Kimo's in Old Lahaina Town in Maui.

The mustard plant is fully deserving of accolades. For centuries its been used as a food, flavoring and folk remedy. In fact it was so important as a medicinal herb to the ancient Greeks that they credited their god of medicine for its creation.

In the culinary world one letter can make a big difference. Take, for example, the distinction between macaroon and macaron. Though identical words except for one extra letter "o," the confections they refer to couldn't be more dissimilar

Where would you find the most authentic Chicken Kiev? Probably Ukraine. The definitive Peking Duck? Certainly Beijing . The perfect Swedish Meatballs? Obviously Sweden . Or maybe Ikea. And where would you go to find the ultimate Greek yogurt? That's not so easy a question to answer.

Though watercress has been an English tradition at high tea and even in school lunches for years and years, the truth is, relatively speaking, the Brits are newcomers to the plant.

Even before people thought of putting it in food, lavender was casting its spell. It has been cultivated since the beginning of recorded time.

Whipped cream, after all, is one of the most decadent preparations of all time. For that matter, even when not whipped, cream, as an ingredient, cannot be beat.

Hula Pie is the signature dessert of an Hawaiian Restaurant chain and originated at the company's first restaurant, Kimo's in Old Lahaina Town in Maui.

You may have never heard of Nephi Grigg, but if you've ever eaten a meal at a grade school cafeteria, you've probably been served his signature culinary invention.

Still there are iconic dishes we remember fondly, and perhaps the most legendary culinary memory of school days is the unfortunately named Sloppy Joe. Everyone knows what they are, yet it's difficult to determine their origin.

The Joy of Cooking is something of the odd duck in cookbook publishing. It's a general interest book, has virtually no glossy photographs, and it was not written by a celebrity. But it has endured for decades because its authors treat readers not as pupils, but as friends.

The Romans believed cinnamon was sacred and every Roman emperor stocked cinnamon in his treasury. The Romans weren't the only ones who valued cinnamon. The ancient Egyptians used it for witchcraft and embalming.

Rose Levy Beranbaum, in her book, “The Pie and Pastry Bible,” a volume which I've read religiously, says, “There are two kinds of people: cake people and pie people.”

A 3.5 ounce serving of spinach contains more iron than the same sized hamburger patty. Not bad for a food that is 91% water.

Feta cheese -- sometimes referred to as the princess of cheeses -- is every bit as admirable as any other Greek invention, and it is surely just as ancient. It is likely as old as Greece itself.

Delmonico's was the first American restaurant to have a printed menu, the first to offer a separate wine list, the first to have tablecloths, the first to offer a private dining room and the first to provide an orchestra for background music.

No wonder the carrot is the second most popular vegetable in the world after the potato—not bad for a plant which, according to the Oxford Companion to Food, “had an unpromising origin.” It is, after all, merely a refined version of a common weed—Queen Anne's lace.