Recipes, history and other things
Source: Summer Cookery by Aunt Kate, presented by the People’s Journal (1938) I bought this little book a couple of weeks ago on a trip to Aberdour. It came from one of the strangest vintage shops I’ve ever been in and mostly I bought it because it was by ‘Aunt Kate’, also it cost 50p.... Continue Reading →
Source: The Professed Cook; or, The Modern Art of Cookery, Pastry, and Confectionary, made Plain and Easy by B. Clermont (1776) Another work-related recipe… Wafers were eaten as far back at the late Medieval period at the end of a meal and were thought to settle the stomach. Into the eighteenth century, they became part... Continue Reading →
Source: The Complete Confectioner; or, the Whole Art of Confectionary Made Easy by Frederick Nutt (1819) I actually made this a few weeks ago, but I’m only getting around to writing it up now...One of the things I want to do at work this year is make some period-appropriate food in the historic house. Unfortunately,... Continue Reading →
Source: Home Made Wines, Syrups and Cordials, edited by F. W. Beech (1956) I managed to reclaim my wine-making kit from my parents’ house last weekend, having not had it for over a year. This obviously means that I’m keen to bring on the wine-making. The rather battered paperback that this recipe comes from belonged to... Continue Reading →
Source: Swaziland’s Favourite Recipes (1967) This recipe book came to me from the charity shops of Stockbridge via a rather nice man, and it really is a gem. There is quite a lot out there in terms of research about the impact of imported recipes and foodstuffs on the eating habits of the British public, but... Continue Reading →
Source: Christiana Awdry’s Household Book, edited by Margaret Jensen (1995) Although this little book was published in 1995, it comprises of extracts from a privately-owned household book from the eighteenth century, containing both recipes and various cures for ailments. Interestingly, it is written in four different hands, suggesting it was passed down between family members... Continue Reading →
Source: The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse (1774) Available free through Google Books here It’s been a really long time since I last posted and for that I’m sorry – life has been a bit all over the place this year, but things have settled down in the last couple... Continue Reading →
Here’s the fourth and final installment about fancy dress (catch up with Part III here) - in this one we’ll be focussing on the way in which fancy dress was used to subvert the societal norms of the early twentieth century. During the 1920s and 1930s fancy dress became associated with some pretty raucous parties... Continue Reading →
We finished the last episode of the history of fancy dress with prudish-nineteenth century morality putting an end to the rather debauched pleasure gardens. Then, of course, came The Victorians and boy, did they like dressing up, just in a rather more sanitised way. In accord with the new mood of decorum, fancy balls became... Continue Reading →
This week in fancy dress with Kate we’re going to talk about pleasure gardens, which is nearly as sordid as it sounds, but first the original burning man (or in this instance, men). So. Where did we leave off? That’s right, the Venetian Carnival (you can read about it in Part I, if you haven’t... Continue Reading →
Cabbages and Kings. And Kate 