http://mcleod.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by Blackbird Pie en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:01:04 GMT 2010-01-02T05:01:04Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977546792   “If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.” —Robert Browning   “On our earth, before writing was invented, before the printing . . . Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:04:28 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977546792 Blackbird Pie 2008-12-28T14:04:28Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977512106   One of my fondest childhood memories is sitting on the couch after school in the crook of my mother’s arm while she read me piles of wonderful children’s books. Every weekend we took . . . Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:16:27 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977512106 Blackbird Pie 2008-11-20T16:16:27Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977506216 The single problem with the buttermilk scone recipe included in my last posting is the fact that it doesn't appear possible to buy buttermilk in any amount smaller than a quart. When . . . Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:41:31 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977506216 Blackbird Pie 2008-11-14T01:41:31Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977500734 If we’re talking scones, we’re talking Great Britain. And according to some, Scotland in particular—one theory holds that scones take their name from the Stone of Destiny, also known as the . . . Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:10:05 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977500734 Blackbird Pie 2008-11-07T21:10:05Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977497515 November 4th, 2008! My first and most emphatic statement of the day is the following: As is customary at my Elementary-school polling place, this morning the PTA had set up a . . . Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:36:32 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977497515 Blackbird Pie 2008-11-04T16:36:32Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977496745 Times have changed, my friends. I am a salaried employee and so is every woman I know. Decades ago, however, this was of course not the case. In the following 1920 volume, the ever-practical Emmett Leroy . . . Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:29:29 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977496745 Blackbird Pie 2008-11-03T21:29:29Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977495141 From The Atlantic Monthly , 1895: Sun, 02 Nov 2008 01:35:27 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977495141 Blackbird Pie 2008-11-02T01:35:27Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977494079 Behold, the pear. Like a farm wife, it stands upright, sturdy, its meek shoulders belying the sensual invitation of its birthing hips.   What is it about the pear? How does it simultaneously . . . Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:53:46 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977494079 Blackbird Pie 2008-10-31T18:53:46Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977492462 Biscotti—those cookies we in the U.S. dip in coffee—were orig inally created to feed the Roman legions . Being baked twice (“ bis ” is Latin for twice, and “ coctum ” for baked, which morphed into “ . . . Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:17:48 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977492462 Blackbird Pie 2008-10-30T03:17:48Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977490386 Little did you know it, but eating granola will stop your nervous tremors. Exhibit A: (As advertised in 1901 in New York City Standard Guide ) One of my favorite and most frequent . . . Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:26:44 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977490386 Blackbird Pie 2008-10-28T00:26:44Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977488921 With a bag of past-prime fruit from the farmers’ market—pears, apples, the last plums of the season—and a guest in town for dinner, I was looking for a way to build variety into a one-dish dessert. . . . Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:09:51 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977488921 Blackbird Pie 2008-10-26T04:09:51Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977488912 The nursery rhyme on goes: Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing. . . . Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:58:55 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977488912 Blackbird Pie 2008-10-26T03:58:55Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977488910 I am most interested in two of humanity’s oldest arts. In this space, I would like to share a couple of the things that inspire me most – baking and writing. I figure I must not be the only one who . . . Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:50:09 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977488910 Blackbird Pie 2008-10-26T03:50:09Z