Folklore Food

What if Christmas had a criminal record, a monster problem, a ghost obsession, and a long history of setting things on fire? Strange But True: The Weird History of Christmas unwraps the bizarre, funny, creepy, and completely true stories hiding behind the world’s most familiar holiday. Long before glowing trees, cheerful Santas, and neatly wrapped presents, Christmas could mean drunken street celebrations, masked visitors, frightening monsters, flaming desserts, ghost stories, strange foods, and authorities trying to shut the whole thing down. Discover why Christmas was once banned in ...

This book is a thoroughly researched primer on the 108 Upanishads, philosophical treatises that form a part of the Vedas, the revered Hindu texts. These Upanishads contain the most crystallized bits of wisdom gleaned from Hinduism. Roshen Dalal explains the concepts at the core of each Upanishad...

A sensory celebration of Appalachian culinary traditions, and a call to reclaim the lost rituals, recipes, and food folklore of the places you call home. Amanda Held Opelt’s childhood was shaped by the shared, multi-generational table that brought everyone at her Granny’s 100-acre farm to...

Christmas dinner has always been a little strange. Before the turkey, cookies, and suspiciously indestructible fruitcake arrived, people celebrated winter by roasting boars, decorating peacocks, drinking enormous bowls of punch, and occasionally storing the holiday carp in the family bathtub. Nothing says Christmas spirit quite like discovering your dinner swimming beside the soap. STRANGE BUT TRUE: THE WEIRD HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS FOOD serves up the hilarious, surprising, and sometimes completely baffling stories behind the foods people eat during the most overfed season of the year. ...

Welcome to a place of great magic—the kitchen! Magic, superstition, cooking, and food rituals have been intertwined since the beginning of humankind. Kitchen Witch is an exploration of the history and culture of food, folklore, and magic and those skilled in healing and nourishing—herbalists...

Weird Louisiana Road Trip Stories takes readers on a funny, strange, and story-packed ride through the most haunted, spicy, swampy, and wonderfully unpredictable corners of Louisiana. This is not a normal travel guide. It is a road trip through French Quarter ghost stories, above-ground cemeteries, Marie Laveau legends, pirate swamps, haunted plantations, Cajun dance halls, rural Mardi Gras chicken chasing, hot sauce history, bayou monsters, frog towns, outlaw roads, and food stops so good they can destroy a schedule and a waistband at the same time. Inside, readers will explore New Orleans...

What does it really mean to understand the Dominican Republic? It is more than knowing where the country is on a map—or recognizing its beaches, baseball stars, merengue, and bachata. To understand Dominican identity, you have to look at the stories behind the symbols, the traditions passed from one generation to the next, the foods served at home, the words people use every day, the music that fills celebrations, and the small customs that make Dominican life instantly recognizable. This Is the Dominican Republic is a clear, engaging, and accessible introduction to the history, culture, ...

Newbery and Caldecott honoree and New York Times bestselling author Grace Lin delivers a groundbreaking, lushly illustrated, and beautifully written book that explores the whimsical myths and stories behind your favorite American Chinese food. From fried dumplings to fortune cookies, here are...

Discover an island where mountain roads lead to sweeping sea views, ancient castles overlook historic towns, and vintage railways carry you through landscapes shaped by centuries of Manx history. Planning an Isle of Man trip can be challenging when ferry schedules, changing weather, seasonal attractions and transport options all affect what you can see. Explore Isle of Man makes the process easier with practical advice, carefully organised destination guides and flexible itineraries for different travel styles. Explore Douglas, Peel, Ramsey, Laxey, Castletown, Port Erin and the island’s ...

Step into the enchanting world of Samhain, a celebration steeped in ancient traditions and timeless wisdom. In "Exploring Samhain," journey through the rich tapestry of this Celtic festival as we delve into its mystical origins, delve into its spiritual significance, and explore its lasting impact on modern practices. This captivating book is a comprehensive guide that weaves together the history, folklore, and spiritual essence of Samhain, providing a profound understanding of its significance within the Wheel of the Year. Discover the rituals, ceremonies, and customs that have been passed...

Reconnect to the wisdom of the land, animals and the moon, and be inspired to find your power and freedom in this poetic memoir. Do you long to be amongst nature, in the wild, remote, untouched places, where the moon nears full, and the energy is visible and present? Do you feel as if you...

Krampus knows who’s been naughty. His sister wants to know whether they’ve eaten. High in the Austrian Alps, Greta Krampus keeps a stone kitchen, an eternal hearth, and a handwritten naughty list on a nail. When her younger brother announces that he is writing a Christmas cookbook, she does what older sisters do: supplies the recipes, corrects his nonsense, and makes sure dinner actually happens. Welcome to Krampus’s Kitchen, a Christmas cookbook with comforting food, sharp sibling humor, and room at the table for people who haven’t entirely earned it. Inside, you’ll find: Breads ...

What if the secrets of the ancient world still shaped every step you take today? Few people realize how much of modern life—our work, our families, our rituals, even our fun—was first lived on the forgotten streets of Rome, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Beneath the ruins lies a story not of kings and conquests, but of ordinary people whose lives still echo in ours. In Shadows of the Ancient World, historian Eleanor Whitcombe takes you inside the marketplaces, kitchens, homes, and festivals that defined ancient civilization. You’ll discover how bakers, farmers, scribes, mothers, and children...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

“I’ll Have the Chicken Fried Steak” debunks the enduring myth that Texas’ beloved comfort food originated in 1911 at a Lamesa, Texas café called Ethel’s Home Cooking. Actually, Austin American-Statesman reporter Larry BeSaw cooked up the tall tale in 1976. What BeSaw and two journalistic co-conspirators didn’t count on was that a well-known syndicated columnist would pilfer the story without attribution. Worse, he told it for truth. That inspired countless retellings. This book exposes this literary rustling and goes on to tell the real story behind a beloved Lone Star State ...

Bridging Indigenous wisdom and African Traditional Religions, this book is an offering, a reclamation, and revelatory invitation into the deeply rooted work of intergenerational healing. Includes a framework of 6 archetypes to help guide your ancestral healing journey: discover which gifts...

Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling Of The Mahabharata has the whole epic, which was originally known as Jaya, condensed into a tiny capsule in this book. Other than retelling the interesting parts of the Mahabharata, what makes this book a favourite among the readers is Pattanaik rendering of the...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...