history lesson

  • Scarlet fever and other Little House stories

    We’re battening down the hatches here in Rhode Island: there’s a blizzard on the way! Josh and I both have a snow day (it never gets old), and we’re planning on waiting out the storm with movies, books, and cinnamon… Continue reading

  • Old-fashioned remedies for everyday illnesses

    hyssop For the past week I’ve been battling a stubborn cold, drinking gallons of tea and piling up the tissues like Typhoid Mary.* Apparently it’s impossible to avoid being sick when you work with middle school children, and all the… Continue reading

  • The "First" Thanksgiving (III)

    Last week we looked at some of the myths surrounding the original Thanksgiving. We’ve explored how the Pilgrims were not, in fact, Pilgrims, and how the First Thanksgiving wasn’t the homey, pastoral scene we’re taught in school. Today we’ll look at… Continue reading

  • The "First" Thanksgiving (II)

    This week and next, I’m exploring some of the myths about the First Thanksgiving. We’ve discussed how the Pilgrims were not, in fact, Pilgrims (they had much fancier terms for themselves back in 1621). We’ve looked at a bizarre recipe… Continue reading

  • The "First" Thanksgiving (I)

    With Thanksgiving little more than a week away, I’ve had cooking on the brain. No wonder–it’s the only national holiday entirely devoted to food (plus, well, giving thanks). Is there anything more wonderful? I decided to honor the holiday by… Continue reading

  • History 101: Downton Abbey

    While Downton Abbey is purely fiction (in all its soap operatic glory), it’s based largely on fact. Julian Fellowes, the creator of the show, is known for writing well-researched films set in earlier days of the British Empire (like Gosford Park,… Continue reading

  • This meal brought to you by Christopher Columbus

    Ah, Columbus Day. I’m not sure there’s any other secular holiday more filled with angst and mixed feelings than this one. When I was little, we learned the basics of Columbus Day. We sang that catchy song, the one that… Continue reading

  • To make ice cream

    It’s been a busy summer, one full of transitions: family milestones, a move ten minutes down the road, exotic travel, a new school. This week I’ve been focusing on that last one, a new school, as we get ready for… 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