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" If any one element of French cooking can be called important, basic and essential, that element is soup." --Louis Diat, chef for the Ritz-Carlton After a mostly mild summer, with just a few hot days here and there, we're having our first real heat wave in my neck of the woods. Naturally, that presents a challenge when it comes to mealtimes, since one cannot subsist on ice cream--alas!--and an endless array of salads and cold sandwiches can pall faster than you'd think!  Fortunately, I discovered a solution nearly a year ago, during a similar hot spell:  vichyssoise, a cold soup that is simple, delicious, and doesn't require tons of exotic ingredients. There are countless variations on it, but in the end, the basics come down to stock (or broth), potatoes, leeks, and milk or cream. What I didn't know when I started researching the recipe was that vichyssoise has an interesting history. Despite the name, it originated not in France, ...

Happy Summer! Don't you love the sunshine and flowers? Warm, carefree days put me in a good mood. It's time for picnics and days at the beach or wiling away your time on a river or lake. If winter is the season to hunker down and work hard, summer is time to relax and for me time to experiment. This summer's grand experiment has been cooking and eating like a Viking. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Gina Conkle, writer of Viking and Georgian romance. I believe to know the soul of a people, look at their creative efforts in art and music. If you want to know the substance of their story, look at their food. Food tells us what people valued, how they connected with the land, it reveals social structures, rhythms of daily life, and yes, even romance. We mix food and romance together: the classic "dinner and a movie" date,  pairing aphrodisiacs champagne and strawberries, and the romantic picnic basket. If I remove the obvious chocolate, wha...

Do you remember what you did on this day, March 10th, last year? Or 5 years ago? Maybe 10 years ago? I love looking back in time. Days have a way of slipping one into the other. It's good to hit the pause button and think about the past. Several times a week I send "This day in #history (insert year)..." tweets. They keep things interesting, adding new facets to my perspective.  So here's a countdown on 6 March 10th takes in history (going from recent history to the old, moldy stuff I like). Be warned: I get snarky. #6 March 10, 1998 Eric Clapton releases   Pilgrim , his  first album of regular studio material since 1989. My Father's Eyes (I LOVE this song!) is on the album.  You're welcome. #5 March 10, 1971 the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The debate began in WWII but the discussion heated up around the Vietnam War. Congress passed the amendment in March and President Nixon signed...

Since my Viking Warriors series is contemporary paranormal, I spend more time reading about Norse mythology than history. Although when you study Vikings, the two are very much linked. And it was because of the enthusiasm of one of my history teachers that I first became so interested in my Norse forefather explorers and their gods and goddesses.   Skåne Coat of Arms I grew up in the very southern part of Sweden and history lessons were a little problematic for my school teachers. If they went by the standard curriculum, we’d be studying all the kings of Sweden and the various wars they fought. However, the southernmost tip of Sweden was actually Danish until 1658 when it changed hands according to the Treaty of Roskilde. The people where a bit reluctant to change nationality and organized an uprising against the Swedish militia. It wasn’t until 1720 that things settled down and Skåne province (Scania) finally flew the blue and yellow flag. The one thing my history tea...

I've shared my Viking-nerd side in previous posts. If you'll indulge me, I'd like to share a little more in this post and the next. Vikings had their own brand of democracy: one voice, one vote through their annual Thingvellir meeting (also called   Thing or   Althing ).  Independence and rule of law are their hallmarks. But in all Vikingdom, volcanic Iceland bred a fierce style of self-governance. The near-arctic Vikings lived by their own set of rules on remote Iceland.  They never had a king in residence, rather a "Law Giver" or "Law Speaker" led the island who answered to a distant king.* Iceland's democratic spirit was tested in what I call "The Great Vote of 1000."  Discord brewed between two factions --- Christians versus pagans. The surprise? The two groups had lived peacefully most of the time. From early settlement, leaders divided Iceland into four main sections. One person oversaw his or her...

A section of the famous Bayeux Tapestry. October 14th marks the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.  History lists battle after battle, so what's the big deal?  William the Conqueror changed the face of Europe on that fateful day, moving England...the world into a new era.  How  did  William get there? Here's Five Fast Facts: 1. Son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy and Herleva (aka Arlette), William didn't let his illegitimate birth stop him from claiming his birthright. Robert I declared William heir to the Dukedom, a mantle William took after his father's death in 1035. 2. In 1051, William visited Edward the Confessor (then King of England). Childless Edward supposedly named William his heir. A deathbed change-of-heart caused Edward to name Harold Godwinson, son of an Anglo-Saxon nobleman, England's new heir. 3. October 1066, William showed up in Sussex with 7000 men. Edward showed up with 6000. Most agree the battle was fought all day a...

Are you a fan of history? Or do you pass it off as dates and dry-as-dust monarchs? History moves in technicolor frames for me. Sometimes she's elusive pictures. Sometimes she's cold, harsh facts. But, like a femme fatale full of drama, she's never dull. One story I vividly recall comes from grade school. My teacher handed out a mimeographed worksheet on Erik the Red, the Viking known for his violent temper and settlement of Greenland. We read about his life, toned down for a ten year old's consumption. Then we read about his son, Leif Ericsson, famed for venturing south to undiscovered "Vinland" in AD 1000. Yet, not one Viking woman was named as part of that adventure. Is that because "it's a man's world?" Could be. Some well-respected historians adamantly denied a certain Viking woman named Gudrid traveled with Leif Ericsson to parts unknown. They claimed her an exaggeration of the Sagas. End of story. Looking back, ...