20th century, baking, confusing recipes, dessert, disaster, lessons learned, settlement cookbook, vacation

Himmel torte

We just returned from a week in Maine with Josh's family. A gorgeous lake house near the town of Casco served as our home base, and we spent the week swimming, kayaking, reading, and playing games. The men-folk cooked almost every meal on the grill, while the women-folk engaged in some serious salad-making and baking.… Continue reading Himmel torte

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20th century, baking, dessert, family, settlement cookbook, summer

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

activities, afternoon adventure, around the roman table, dining at downton, gardening, homesteading, maple syrup, mrs beeton's book of household management, settlement cookbook

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

baking, college, dessert, fruit, lessons learned, settlement cookbook

Short cake, with blueberry topping

Over the long weekend, my sister Lissa came to visit, and one afternoon we drove down to New Haven, CT, to visit our old college. We toured the British Art Gallery and I found time to wander around Yale's campus with my camera, snapping photos of old haunts and sun-drenched architecture.I don't know how many… Continue reading Short cake, with blueberry topping

honesty, pancakes, potatoes, settlement cookbook, vegetables

How I blog (plus potato pancakes)

I'd like to pretend all my blog posts and series spill out onto the computer fully-formed. But like most of my writing, creating blog content is a slow, careful process. There's a lot of planning, rewriting, deleting, and then some more rewriting. Sometimes it's painful. Sometimes I'd rather take pretty pictures or read other people's… Continue reading How I blog (plus potato pancakes)

candy, dessert, family, fruit, holidays, settlement cookbook, winter

Candied orange peel (with chocolate)

Thanksgiving is over. The turkey's been roasted and eaten (or perhaps you tried a duck?), the festive harvest plates have been washed and put away for another year. And now everything in America is telling us it's time for the winter holidays: the pharmacies selling mechanical Santas, the radios playing nothing but Elvis, the twinkle… Continue reading Candied orange peel (with chocolate)

fall, legumes, lessons learned, sandwiches, school, settlement cookbook

A tale of two peanut butters

This weekend the weather turned. It's been hot and muggy all week, the air dense with rain. And now the heat has burned off and it actually feels like fall. Supposedly it won't last, but after Saturday, we'll take it.Even though summer is my favorite season, there are loads of things I like about fall.… Continue reading A tale of two peanut butters