Sesame Seed Ball and Scotch Egg: Separated at Birth?

February 2, 2014 by The Magpie

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year began on January 31, 2014. To celebrate start of the year of the horse, (don’t make the same mistake the BBC did) a friend of the Magpie shared a box of still-warm-from-the-bakery treats. While accepted graciously, said treat sat for some time while the Magpie studied it. A few web searches revealed that the item in question was a sesame seed ball or jin deui. It was the Magpie’s first taste of such a […]

Categories: culture, food, photographs • Tags: jin deui, lunar new year, scotch egg, sesame seed balls

Soup Fit For a Magpie

January 24, 2014 by The Magpie

In spite of suggestions otherwise, the Magpie likes to eat low on the food chain whenever she can, and this is a great weeknight soup that’s both quick and delicious. Served with a crusty boule and some butter, it makes a comforting winter supper. And be sure to make the full recipe, because the leftovers are even better. photo/recipe credit: Bliss

Categories: food • Tags: red lentils, soup, winter, zerotohero

The Three Musketeers on the Long Trail

January 19, 2014 by The Magpie

The Magpie recently came across this image at Global Art Junkie and became transfixed. Everything about the image made her want to know more. Who are these women? Where was this photo taken? What do they do when not hiking and looking indomitable? Some hunting and pecking turned up the original digitization found at the University of Vermont Libraries Center for Digital Initiatives. It was there that the Magpie uncovered all kinds of delectable facts. First of all, the digital […]

Categories: clippings, history, photographs • Tags: 1920s, hiking, lanternslides, New England, Vermont, women's history, zerotohero

Breakfast Around the World

January 8, 2014 by The Magpie

Magpies have a strong bill with a sharp cutting edge, which can be used for cutting flesh, digging up invertebrates, or picking fruit. Their main diet in summer is grassland invertebrates, such as beetles, flies, caterpillars, spiders, worms and leatherjackets. In winter, they eat more plant material, such as wild fruits, berries and grains, with household scraps and food scavenged from bird tables or chicken runs, petfoods etc. They will eat carrion at all times and catch small mammals and […]

Categories: culture, food • Tags: birds, breakfast, corvids, zerotohero

Feathers Are Better Than Hair

January 4, 2014 by The Magpie

This is exactly why the Magpie is happy to have self-drying feathers! Who has room for that kind of rig? photo credit: retronaut

Categories: history • Tags: appliances, beauty, zerotohero

Bowie in Legos

January 2, 2014 by The Magpie

The Magpie thinks Aaron Savage did a brilliant job recreating iconic album covers with Lego blocks! Along with Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, he also does albums from The Velvet Underground, Kiss, Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen, and others.

Categories: music, popculture • Tags: @aarrsavage, Bowie, legos, zerotohero

Calling Lovers of Good Toast — and Toasters

January 1, 2014 by The Magpie

The Magpie longs for a world where even toasters are artful. The start of a new year is a perfect time to renew the commitment to look for and appreciate beauty in unexpected places.

Categories: clippings, ephemera, food, history • Tags: 1930s, appliances, zerotohero