Soda Bread

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Soda Bread

Baking Soda Bread is a shortcut to eating fresh baked bread when you’re short on time. You’ll be spreading butter on a warm bread slice in about an hour and a half! This Soda Bread recipe, from the 1861 Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, is a favourite of mine because it produces a more moist and less dense soda bread than most recipes that I’ve tried. Soda bread doesn’t have the longevity of risen breads, so it will be toast (literally) sooner than later.

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Pumpkin Soup

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Pumpkin Soup

This Pumpkin Soup recipe comes from The Canadian Housewife's Manual of Cookery, which was compiled & published in my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario in 1861. It is hearty & flavourful, and I think the reason for this can be found in a one-word answer: butter. Expect a creamy robust soup with small chunks of pumpkin (or squash, if you can't find pumpkin). This soup is so rich that it might make a better side dish rather than the main component of your meal, but if you do try this recipe out, I highly recommend the historic recipe's suggestion of adding croutons made of fried bread to your bowl!

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French Beans as a Salad

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French Beans as a Salad

This tasty green bean salad is found in John Smith's The Principles and Practices of Vegetarian Cookery, published in 1860 in London. The Salad Sauce that accompanies the green bean salad is made of hard boiled egg yolks, oil, vinegar, mustard and herbs, and would taste amazing on salads of all varieties. Steve said that he didn't hate green beans when eating this salad, which is a glowing review of the Salad Sauce!

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Cayenne Cheeses

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Cayenne Cheeses

When I decided to start my own food history blog, I knew right away that my first blog post would be about Cayenne Cheeses. Why? Cayenne Cheeses were the first historic food that I fell in love with when I started working as a Historical Interpreter, and I'm not alone. If my coworkers don't have dietary restrictions against dairy and wheat, it's a pretty safe bet that they're also mad about Cayenne Cheeses.

 

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