Recipes from the Past
Bills of Fare for January: Plain Family Dinners The astounding variety in each of these dinner menus makes the reader wonder what a fancy dinner would look like! Of note, our family enjoys apple sauce. We should eat it as a side dish. Check out the cabinet pudding recipe, similar to the one included in... Continue Reading →
Every breakfast table needs an egg stand. Check out this sketch from 1860 with a modern-day picture of a Victorian egg stand. Lovely! Hint: You can move the pictures back/forth by clicking on them.
Frog's Legs Recipe In honor of Leap Year, today is Frog's Legs Day! To celebrate, here's a recipe for fried frog's legs. Unfortunately, I don't have access to frog's legs to try this one out. In fact, the only place I've ever seen frog's legs on the menu was outside of Poverty Point, Louisiana (which... Continue Reading →
“Wife, into the garden, and set me a plot With strawberry roots, the best to be got; Such growing abroad, among thorns in the wood, Well chosen and picked, prove excellent food.” ~Old Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry Storing Strawberries. Strawberry season is nearing its merry end. And while technically we do get... Continue Reading →
Today we celebrate World Ocean Day! As many of you know, we've made our home right along the central coast of California. Every day we wake up to the sea gulls, sea lions, harbor seals, and pelicans. During certain months of the year, whales stop by on their migration routes. On most days, I wake up... Continue Reading →
Welcome May! Here's is a seasonal menu from 1808. What I like about this particular publication, is that the dishes are arranged as you would find them on the table for service. It gives the home cook a visual image of how the dishes are to be presented. Notice, for example, the flowers in the... Continue Reading →
6 Rules for Making Coffee:
Keep your Coffee fresh
Measure carefully
Use grounds only once
Boil the water
Serve at once
Scour the Coffee-pot
Framework for an Early Food Pyramid. Or My Plate, they both work. This excerpt comes from the book Practical Cooking and Serving, 1902. As you read through it, you'll notice that the author has a very scientific orientation towards cooking. We're moving into an era when cooking becomes a science to be understood and mastered.... Continue Reading →
