This isn’t so much a recipe or genealogy post, rather a “let’s get this 2022 party started” post. When Amy Johnson Crow launch her 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge in 2014, I jumped at the chance to share my family research with, well, a small audience. That was about three months after I…
Similar to our American hamburgers, German frikadellen are flat and pan fried. They are also a close cousin to our meatloaf because they have a variety of herbs and spices and use milk, eggs, and breadcrumbs as a binder. Ingredients Use Up Leftovers Traditional frikadellen use up leftover meat, traditionally veal or lamb, but beef…
More than a million Germans arrived in the United States between 1845 and 1855 [1]US History, Irish and German Immigration, and many more came after that. They were fleeing political strife and economic hardship. Even so, many had enough money to travel to the Midwest in search of farmland. That’s exactly what my family did,…
My grandparents married in March of 1940. In December the following year, when the USA entered into WWII, they had a 10-week old baby. WWII food rations began in the USA just over a month later. My grandma spent the first several years as a young mother trying to navigate the many restrictions placed on…
In December of 2019, I set out to highlight some of the more interesting First Ladies of the USA and their roles as official White House hostess. The women who run the social aspects of our Nation’s capitol fascinate me. Seeing how traditions evolved over time through these articles lays bare some interesting stories of…
Do you know what Hygeia salad dressing is? Neither did I until I saw it referenced in several salad recipes in a 1910 cookbook and went on a hunt to discover its ingredients. Eugene and Mollie Griswold Christian In 1910, Eugene and Mollie Griswold Christian published “250 Meatless Menus and Recipes”, one of several healthy…
I grew up eating this cucumber salad with creamy dill dressing never knowing that it has a strong connection to my German heritage.
I have always enjoyed participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. This year, I’m putting a food heritage spin on the 2020 themes and writing monthly instead of weekly. Week 3 of this year’s 52 Ancestors challenge is “Long Line”. This, like many of the weekly themes, can be interpreted in…
Have you ever wondered what we ate 100 years ago? These loaded twice baked potatoes are topped with a gooey cheese sauce remade from a frugal 1920 recipe.
Many years ago, I ran across the Antique American Cookbooks collection printed by Oxmoor House in 1984 when I discovered one of the eight volumes in a resale shop. Since then, I grab one up every chance I get – they aren’t easy to find. One of my favorites is Mme. Begué and Her recipes:…
When I cook my Grandma’s red cabbage recipe, it always brings memories flooding back of times long forgotten. We didn’t eat it a lot – it wasn’t a favorite, in all honesty. As an adult, however, it is one of my go-to recipes when comfort food calls. It is also a recipe that reminds me…
This post is inspired by the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by Amy Johnson Crow. The 2019 Week 1 challenge is “firsts”. There are a lot of “firsts” in genealogy … the first moment you fall in love with family history … the first time you break through a brick wall … the first unsolved mystery you uncover … then solve! There is…
This post is inspired by the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by Amy Johnson Crow. The week 4 challenge is “Invite to Dinner”. Food has always been a central part of my life. From holidays to family celebrations to culinary travel adventures, food is part of my identity. When I was growing up, dinnertime was a…
I have been off work for a couple weeks recovering from carpal tunnel surgery, and have had more time than usual to watch my favorite morning TV shows. This week in particular, I noticed more food TV personalities sharing memories of the food they ate during their childhood. The Chew aired an entire show about…
I love this article and video about puffed eggs from Colonial Williamsburg’s historic food blog. I’ve eaten eggs many ways for many meals, but I haven’t seen eggs made this way before! Eggs weren’t just for breakfast in the 18th century. In fact, they were often a side dish to a meal, and not just…
This group of interesting coffee recipes was published in the November 15, 1915 edition of the Daily Public Ledger in Maysville, Kentucky. We think of coffee as being that hot or iced drink that gives us the necessary kick in the morning to get moving … or, maybe that kick to get through the mid-afternoon…
I’ve recently started rifling through my recipe clippings from my mom, grandma, and JD’s grandma. I have recipe boxes … and Christmas shirt boxes full of them! Some are “back of the box” or brand name recipes while others are simply recipe clippings from newspapers and old magazines. I’m trying to archive the ones I…
Can you imagine eating Graham mush for breakfast? While heritage cookbooks are a great way to understand our food history, newspapers offer both the “what we ate” along with the “how we lived” aspects of life during days gone past. This example of a 19th century menu is from The Tennessean newspaper, Tuesday, September 24,…
Illinois Senator Samuel Casey is my husband’s 1st cousin 5x removed … and he liked catfish. Senator Samuel Casey Samuel King Casey was born on June 27, 1817 in Smith County (now White County), Tennessee to Zadok Casey and Rachel King. Later that same year, the Casey family moved to what is now Jefferson County in…
I recently discovered a cookbook titled “Fifteen Cent Dinners for Families of Six“, an 1877 version of a budget friendly cookbook for immigrants living in New York City. Originally published by Juliet Corson, this cookbook is now part of the American Antiquarian Society’s cookbook collection. Corson, the founder of the New York Cooking School, published…
My mom frequently talks about rum pots that the old German women made in the summer months when she was growing up. The traditional German Rumtopf (rum pot) is a concoction of fruit – berries work great – soaked in sugar and rum. The fruit is then used to top ice cream or cakes and…
I initially had trouble deciding about whom to write given the week 9 52 ancestors theme, Close to Home. I live in the same area where my ancestors on all sides have lived for as many as 200 years … so everyone is close to home. Then it hit me. I was moving some books…
Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small gave us a new 52 Ancestors challenge for 2015. Each week, we have a different theme about which to write. It’s quite the challenge, but I love meeting it and reading how everyone interprets each week. Week four is “closest to your birthday.” Discovering an ancestor who has a…
Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small gave us a new 52 Ancestors challenge for 2015. Each week, we have a different theme about which to write. It’s quite the challenge, but I love meeting it and reading how everyone interprets each week. The theme for 52 Ancestors for week 3 is “strong women”. It’s…