Category: THANKSGIVING
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SWEET POTATO
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Sweet Potato Lisa Karen Miller There are a few theories as to how the yam and the sweet potato became conflated in the collective consciousness. One that makes sense is that West Africans adopted the sweet potato into their cuisine after they were brought to…
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SWEET PEA
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Sweet Pea Lisa Karen Miller One day the King of England was enjoying a solitary picnic. Forgetting his manners, he flung some chicken bones into the forest. An enraged pixie jumped out and started berating him for his rudeness – the bones had landed on…
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SAGE
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Sage Lisa Karen Miller “If the sagebush thrives and grows, The master’s not master, and he knows!” Men who believed this adage would ruthlessly uproot the sage in their wives’ kitchen gardens, so as not to be ridiculed by the more alpha males in the…
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PRAYER PLANT
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Prayer Plant Lisa Karen Miller Prayer plant is so called because it lifts its leaves each evening, like hands joined in prayer, or lifted in praise. This is known as nyctinasty, and happens in response to changes in sunlight. It reminds us to be grateful…
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PECAN
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Pecan Lisa Karen Miller Gustav Duerler was an entrepreneur in search of a product. Hitting upon the idea of pecan candy, which Texans adored, he started his business in San Antonio in the late 1800s. Commercial pecan growers were in short supply, but millions of wild…
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ONION
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Onion Lisa Karen Miller As we approach Thanksgiving, let us be grateful for the humble onion. The planting of onions is closely linked with the Christian calendar. In Shropshire, Ash Wednesday was the proper day for sowing. Some said St. Gregory’s day (March 12th)…
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HYDRANGEA
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Hydrangea Lisa Karen Miller A Japanese emperor fell in love with a girl, but as so often happens with powerful men, he neglected her for business and duty. To show his regret, he gave blue hydrangeas to her family, so they have come to be…
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CRANBERRY
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Cranberry Lisa Karen Miller American homemakers in the fall of 1944 faced a dilemma: What could they serve instead of cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving? There was a severe shortage of the bog fruit that year. For once, it wasn’t the fault of World War…
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CELERY
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Celery Lisa Karen Miller I was surprised to learn that a drink called Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda, made with celery, was once popular on the East Coast. It is still being produced. Diligent foodies can find it in some old-style delis and bodegas in…
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BEAN
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Bean Lisa Karen Miller Young Jack was a callow youth. He didn’t want to work and he never helped his mother. When at last they were reduced to selling the cow, he couldn’t even accomplish that simple task. Taken in by a smiling stranger, he…
Folklore of Plants 