Abby Murphy

  • Kitchen garden (IV)

    It’s been pointed out to me since last week’s post that my memory is playing tricks. We didn’t sing “Summertime” in high school, we sang it in middle school…with my friends, not my sister. Maybe it’s because I’m too busy… Continue reading

  • Lemonade

    High summer in Rhode Island. The days are long and sticky and oppressive (but not as humid as Ohio, where summer can feel like you’re swimming through tar). Although the mornings are cool and breezy, they burn off quickly once… Continue reading

  • Nutrition, 1903 style (II)

    Yesterday I posted some of my fan-girl thoughts on Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food and presented a nutritional table from The “Settlement” Cook Book. Now I’d like to think about what this 1903 table has to do with our eating… Continue reading

  • Nutrition, 1903 style (I)

    Now that we’ve gotten comfortable with the sorts of recipes available in The “Settlement” Cook Book, I’d like to take a look at the book’s attitude towards food. Before this project (and before I did some serious thinking about food… Continue reading

  • Berliner Pfann kuchen

    We’re fast-forwarding here (briefly) to the 1960s. After East Germany built the Berlin Wall in 1963, dividing Berlin into two parts, President John F. Kennedy paid a visit to West Berlin to demonstrate America’s support for the divided country. During… Continue reading

  • Flaxseed tea

    There can be hidden gems in old cookbooks. Like last week’s kuchen tarts, or the Little House apple turnovers, or the Old Virginia pancakes. Come to think of it, those hidden gems all have to do with baking or flour-based deliciousness.… Continue reading

  • Mint julep

    Now that summer (with all its heat and humidity) is in full swing, my sister Lissa has been contemplating what would make the weather more bearable. There’s swimming, long afternoons in Starbucks, evenings at the air-conditioned movie theater.* There’s also… Continue reading

  • Fourth of July Kuchen tarts

    Right now I’m in Cleveland, enjoying a week with family and quiet mornings of blazing heat. While I love Providence, it’s wonderful to escape from a city (even a small one) for a time. I get to remember what it’s… Continue reading

  • Frontier House (II)

    A few days ago I gave an overview of PBS’ miniseries Frontier House, where three modern families live for five months on Montana homesteads as though it were 1883. Here are just a few things that were fascinating about the… Continue reading

  • Frontier House

    It’s 1883. You’ve arrived in a desolate part of Montana with your family and all your worldly belongings, ready to create a homestead and start your new life as a farmer. You have only the woods and the tools you… Continue reading