Lisa Bramen

Lisa Bramen

 

Lisa Bramen was a frequent contributor to Smithsonian.com's Food and Think blog. She is based in northern New York and is also an associate editor at Adirondack Life magazine.

Leaf plates

Turning Fallen Leaves into Dinner Plates

The paper plate was invented in 1904, and Americans now throw away an estimated trillion disposable plates and utensils per year

What does one do with star anise?

What the Heck Do I Do with Star Anise?

The pod from an evergreen seed is one of the signature flavors in Chinese five-spice blends and Vietnamese pho

A food distribution line at the Occupy Wall Street protests in Manhattan

The Long Marriage of Vegetarianism and Social Activism

As early as 1850, vegetables were identified with virtue and meat was considered "the keystone to a wide-spread arch of superfluous wants"

Why decant wines?

Is Decanting Wine Worth Doing?

Does the practice really improve the taste or is it just a wine snob's affectation?

Brown rice

Five Nobel Laureates Who Made Food History

These five Nobelists have made food safer or more available, or increased our knowledge of it

Colonel Sanders, a great Halloween costume idea

Stuck for a Halloween Costume Idea? Think Food

Paula Deen, Colonel Sanders, the Swedish Chef—the food world is rife with costume potential

As long as you're careful not to spill, the computer can get you a great culinary education.

An Online Food Education

Sharpen your cooking skills, get a culinary degree, learn to write about food or feed your inner geek with these courses

Farming and new media are not mutually exclusive.

The Farmer and the Dell—or the iPhone

New technology is taking the farmer-consumer relationship to another level

A slice of buttermilk pie

Five Ways to Eat Buttermilk

Few people drink the sour-tasting dairy drink, but, oh, the things it can do in tandem with other ingredients

The origin of the Michigan hot dog is murky

The Annals of Geographically Confused Foods: Michigan Hot Dogs from New York

The legend of the michigan is as murky as the water in a hot-dog vendor's cart at the end of the day

Chiles en nogada, the patriotically colored dish

Eating the Colors of the Flag for Mexican Independence Day

The patriotically colored chile, walnut sauce and pomegranate seed dish was invented by nuns in Puebla to honor a visiting general

Chicken and waffles from Roscoe's

Eating Breakfast for Dinner

There are all kinds of breakfast foods and some translate to dinner more easily than others

You don't have to eat it if you don't want to.

Inviting Writing: Food and Independence

Deciding what, how or where we eat is one of the earliest ways we assert our individuality. Do you have a story to share?

Maple syrup

Maple Grands-pères for Grandparents Day

These soft dumplings cooked in maple syrup must have made for good comfort food after a day of hard labor. But why are they named for grandfathers?

A cinnamon apple muffin

More Official State Foods

Texas has more than a half-dozen, including a state snack (tortilla chips and salsa)

Whoopie Pies

The Whoop-De-Do Over Whoopie Pies

The cakey chocolate cookie-and-frosting sandwich is now the official treat of Maine, as of an April act of the state legislature

The Hurricane cocktail, a New Orleans specialty

Hurricanes: Drinking Up a Storm and Other Disastrous Cocktails

The final product, a hopefully delicious one at that

The Sweet and Sour of Pickling

There is a reason, I discovered, that households of yore required at least one full-time homemaker to keep things running smoothly

Dried chili pepper wreath

Benevolent Maize and Ogre-Fart Chilis: Food Origin Myths

According to the Peruvian Yanesha people, plants originally had human forms that went through either "sublime" or "grotesque" transformations

What to do with the corn from your local market?

Five Ways to Eat Fresh Corn

Eating it only buttered and salted would be like limiting Ben Franklin to a single pursuit of inquiry. Why squelch such potential greatness?

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