Foodie Views from Brisbane to Brooklyn

A foodie blog of interest and a food column have turned up in Foodie's email, thank you. The first is called The Old Foodie, not because the writer, based in Brisbane, Queensland, is particularly ancient,  ( 58??!!)  but presumably because her specialty is a daily dollop of words on food history. Currently she's reporting on the food of WW II, UK-style. Today's entry tells about Nella Last, a British housewife who whose wartime diary, "Nella Last's War," gives readers the inside scoop on "pieces of most unpleasant beetroot" and other 1941 edible materials.

The column by Marjory Garrison is What's for Dinner? and it appears in the Brooklyn Rail, an alternative non profit publication with a lively website. 

Here's how Marjory describes her offering:  "Each column visits the kitchen, grocery lists, and eating habits of an individual or family in Brooklyn to examine the life ingredients that inform their decisions about food and nutrition. It's a kind of "politics of the plate" adventure.

The column has featured an 81-year-old Dominican woman who, with her modest social security check, feeds much of her neighborhood block; a young family new to Red Hook, a neighborhood where candy outnumbers vegetables on the shelves of local markets 2 to 1; and a couple living in Brighton Beach who remember when dinner was called "supper" and milk was as thick as the glass bottles on the doorstep. "

(Illustration from The Old Foodie site.)

Comments

[Lydia]

Kudos to Marjory Garrison, who so clearly understands that who we are, and how we choose to feed our families, is so much more important than the food itself. The sharing of food, and food tales, builds and strengthens communities. Brooklyn is lucky to have Marjory's column.

[Cynthia]

What incredible treats these two sites are. The first one is my favorite thus far, simply because I love history -- and I was touched by the story of Nella Last becoming a published writer but never knowing it. The second site is great fun, too -- connection with other lives.

Thanks so much for sharing these. There are simply lovely.