ELEMENTS: Serving Rainbow Pancakes

Rainbows are everywhere, especially if you put them there...

More people are opting for a small wedding these days...or at least considering the possibility of having one.  But what could be more beautiful than serving these colourful rainbow pancakes at your wedding weekend breakfast or brunch?  

via A Non-Denominational Ceremony's TUMBLR.

Disclaimer:  i am aware of the potential harm various food colourings and dyes may cause...and you should be, too.  Check your ingredients and do your research!  There are lots of 'natural' colouring options out there.

BTW did you know there was a fuss was made in 2010 involving a segment of Christians, their use (misuse?  disuse?) of rainbow baked goods and connection (or lack thereof) to LGBT pride?   Also, here is a source for non-toxic, natural food colouring, plus a recipe for the stack pictured above.

Oh, and check the lovely rainbow wedding dress, pictured at right!

TRADITION: College Football's Rose Bowl and Prime Rib = the Beef Bowl?!

American society has so few ties to custom and ritual in this day and age.  That's why it's so interesting to see how sports and athleticism is the one area where tradition is not only expected, but it is also honoured and perpetuated.

An article from the Los Angeles Times wrote about the Beef Bowl, a five decades-long tradition of serving prime rib dinners in a fine dining setting to players of both teams competing in the Rose Bowl (on separate days, of course!). The two teams are invited in to a Los Angeles establishment to communally feast on a prime rib dinner with Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, salad etc.  Inevitably, the event turns into a eating competition each year.  (Here's a tip for you wagerers: supposedly, the team with the most amount of meat consumed is statistically significantly shown to become the winner of the Rose Bowl game...)

Photo by Todd Wawrychuk of ESPN.com

[PLEASE NOTE:  For the record, i have been a vegetarian for over 20 years, and do not personally approve of such overt displays of excess when it comes to something like food and hunger...but i DO enjoy tradition and so i wanted to share this story with you!]

REVIEW: A book about Southern hospitality and funerals

Here is how Pat Williams of the Conroe Courier in Montgomery County, Texas begins her review of BEING DEAD IS NO EXCUSE: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral by Gayden Metcalf & Charlotte Hays:

"The first rule of funeral behavior for the women of the South, especially those near the Mississippi Delta, is that everyone must look good – both the dead and the survivors. The second rule deals with the amounts and types of food brought to the home following the service."

The remainder sounds like the book is an interesting read, filled with discussion, humour and history about the foods (and drinks!) and traditions of funeral-hosting in the South.