Sariann Lehrer's Blog

After our truncated day ending in Glenwood, culminating in David’s ridiculous Bigfoot burger, we tacked on the mileage we missed to the next day, resulting in a 125 miler. Riding to Goldendale was picturesque- a mostly descending road through a canyon, and a nicely graded climb to overlook the river valley. The landscape transitioned from […]

For the past year, I have been scheming with the steampunk author Gail Carriger, writer of the Parasol Protectorate series. We’ve launched a new project, Tentacle & Treacle, which is an exploration of the Victorian culinary delights that are included in Gail’s books, and, quite frankly, I am very excited! Victorian cookery is incredibly interesting […]

Recently I spent a few days in the incredible country of Iceland. I explored Reykjavik for a day- what a beautiful city! Intense wind and cold notwithstanding, my day in the city was wonderful. I tasted the local cuisine, which is obviously heavily fish based. As an island, Iceland relies upon their fishing industry in [...]

I grew up on a small horse farm in Connecticut, in an agricultural town. I loved it. The smells of small town New England – leather, silage, and manure – make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. We were lucky enough to live just a ten minute drive from my maternal grandmother, Mémère, and [...]

For those unaware, I’ve traveled across land and sea to spend a month with the lovely folks here at Helen Browning Organics, at her pub, The Royal Oak, and her organic farm, Eastbrook. Most of my time has been spent in the kitchen, where head chef Rikki McCowen has graciously put up with my ineptitudes [...]

Indian pudding is another American favorite descended from medieval British staple food. Hasty pudding, a dish dating back to at least the 16th century, is essentially wheat flour in boiling milk, similar to what we know as cream of wheat. It is cooked at a low heat till it reaches a thicker consistency, rather like [...]

I (relatively) recently had the opportunity to attend an SCA camping even with a friend who loves historical authenticity as much as I do, if not more. As part of our weekend, we planned to cook our meals from entirely period sources. A number of the dishes were from Libro de Cucina, written by an [...]

Two book signings and 5 exhausting days at San Diego Comic Con promoting A Feast of Ice and Fire later, we’ve made it back to the east coast filled with oysters, avocados, and convention center pretzels. Craving something sweet, summery, and easy to make, I headed to the kitchen. Enter summer pudding. Summer pudding is [...]

Anyone who knows me is aware of my complete lack of patriotism and love for the United States. By no means does my indifference constitute hatred, more so an inability to connect with the history of the country and “what it means to be American.” My love for apple pie notwithstanding, I also find myself [...]

Eccles cakes, a close cousin of the Banbury cake, originated in Eccles, now part of Salford, Greater Manchester, UK. Like so many geographical dishes, the exact origin or original recipe is unknown. In fact, every family and bake shop in Eccles appears to have their own secret recipe, which they are loathe to share with [...]