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Author: Abby Murphy
I'm a writer and a history teacher, and I blog about (no surprise here) history, books, and writing.
Devil’s cake no. 1
Yesterday I celebrated my birthday! I turned 27, just a few weeks after this blog turned 2. In between melting in the 90-degree heat and dashing through torrential rainstorms (yes, it was an eventful day, weather-wise), I enjoyed a pastry from my favorite bakery, assembled a Settlement birthday cake, and tried out a new restaurant with… Continue reading Devil’s cake no. 1
Brewing and distilling the old-fashioned way
Turns out cooking from historical recipes isn't the only way to play with food and history. There's a new trend brewing in the alcoholic beverage world (sorry, couldn't resist).Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewing Company, maker of some of the best craft beers around (not like I'm biased), is now working with archaeologists from the University of… Continue reading Brewing and distilling the old-fashioned way
The best-laid plans of gardeners
It's been some time since we've visited the container garden. Let's take a stroll, shall we?Here's the basic layout: broad beans (the happy tall stalks in the corner); sugar snap peas climbing those bamboo trellises; one strawberry plant; onions flanking tomatoes and peppers; garlic and carrot shoots; lettuce; hyssop; an attempt at a Three Sisters… Continue reading The best-laid plans of gardeners
Two years
Dear blog,Today you are older and hopefully wiser. (I'm not sure I am.) We've done quite a bit this past year...cooked from recipes from 1967, 1903, and the 1st century ADvisited Downton Abbey through Victorian and Edwardian recipesanalyzed nutrition, 1900-stylefallen in love with making ice creamcanned tomatoesgotten nostalgic with old family photosharvested from my kitchen… Continue reading Two years
Afternoon Adventure: Longwood Gardens
A month ago my family met up in Philadelphia to celebrate my sister's graduation. We had some free time before the festivities began, so we drove about an hour outside of the city to the Brandywine Valley, former home of painter Andrew Wyeth and current location of some absolutely beautiful estates and gardens.We spent the… Continue reading Afternoon Adventure: Longwood Gardens
Dining at Downton: Gilded crust (pain perdu)
When I took French in middle school and high school, I particularly loved the words that had both literal and figurative meanings. "Petit chou," you might call your sweetheart, meaning..."little cabbage." "Pomme de terre" was on the list of grocery store vocabulary as the humble potato, but literally it meant "apple of the earth." For… Continue reading Dining at Downton: Gilded crust (pain perdu)
How to render suet for cooking
Back when I first started this blog, I learned a few things right away about historical cooking. First, some old recipes are very similar to their modern counterparts (like pie). Second, animal fat is wonderful. From salt pork to lard, it's all delicious.Lard may have fallen out of favor with the onset of fat-free food,… Continue reading How to render suet for cooking
Why I love historical recipes
I've been chronicling my adventures in historical cooking for almost two years now (!), but it wasn't until recently that I began to wonder why. I love history, isn't that enough? Well, yeah, but what's the bigger picture? Why does it matter to cook from old recipes?Here are a few of the answers I've come… Continue reading Why I love historical recipes
Boiled ham (or, a foray into Eastern Europe)
Sometimes I think way too hard about how to use up leftovers. The potential for waste bothers me. If we have half a head of red cabbage sitting in the crisper because Josh realized he really, really hates cabbage after a disastrous night of fish tacos, I have this deep-seated urge to use it up.… Continue reading Boiled ham (or, a foray into Eastern Europe)
Abby Murphy 