Category: food
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How Did the Regency Upper Class Stay So Thin?
After all, we’ve seen those 3-tiered tea trays layered with cakes and sweets…
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Fireworks and Food for Jane Austen
It is a national holiday here in the U.S.A., and there will ben many cookouts and fireworks. Most states have laws about buying or using fireworks, but in the three states I have now lived in: Texas, California, and West Virginia, these laws are all merrily ignored. Do you live in a law-abiding state? I’m…
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Summertime . . . and the sippin’ is easy!
Somebody in one of my groups the other day was complaining that it’s hard to get a non-alcoholic drink at a summertime gathering. And as I thought about it, she’s right. She mentioned powdered lemonade or powdered iced tea in a Tupperware pitcher with no ice. This little article is by way of enlightened self-interest…
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Nature’s Pharmacy
Hi everyone. I find it interesting that in our modern day and age, with all the medical improvements, the incredible accomplishments that have improved our lives, yet there are still some treatments that span the centuries. These treatments can be less drastic on our bodies than all the chemicals and such in our modern times.…
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The Garden Most Valuable
With a grandmother who loved her gardens and would spend a dozen or more hours each week tending them and growing up weeding my mother’s kitchen garden, I love the fresh herbs and vegetables in a farmers market. When I read about fresh herbs and produce in Regency novels, I smile, wondering about they may…
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When Chocolate WAS a Breakfast Treat
There is not a day that I do not wake with the anticipation of my first sip of coffee. The fourth cup, for me, is as delicious as the first, be it at noon or eight in the evening, just before I go to bed. I think of this very pleasure when I read a…
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In Honor of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is coming up quickly, and Americans will buy at least 58 millions pounds of candy for the holiday. That’s a LOT of candy! Think of the sugar! Think of the cavities! In modern days we consume more sugar than people used to in the past, but people in other ages ate candy too.…
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A Trifling Little Dessert
To quote Mrs. Bennet, people don’t die of trifling little colds. Serve this to your holiday guests and they may well expire from delight. We’re going to get serious and have a little fun with the English trifle, an antique dessert of fruit, custard, cake, and booze. Lots of booze. People have been enjoying trifles…
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Jane Austen and Thanksgiving
As an American who lives in Ireland, I miss Thanksgiving. It’s not a national holiday here, so the day after Halloween, the scary ghosts and witches are replaced by all things Christmas. I do love Christmas, but I long for the interlude of gratitude that Thanksgiving represents. It can be tricky for expats who want…
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You Say a White Soup Served…Cold?
I am certain many dishes, much like revenge, are best-served cold. I can readily think of two: fruit salad and cucumber sandwiches. I cannot, however, force my brain into thinking that soup is best served cold. A mug of homemade soup or stew on a cold winter’s day is a favorite choice. Therefore, I wince…