Melody's Arnold Palmer

The best way to relax and cool down after a long day outdoors!

Okay, this recipe might be cheating a little bit. I mean, it's really simple, is it really worth a whole blog post? 

My answer is yes, because I love Arnold Palmers. Is there anything more refreshing than something that's a little sweet, a little caffeinated, and a little tart? No. No, there isn't. 

Besides that, they do have some interesting trivia behind them, and they're very iconically 1960's. After a long day working on improving her community park or her own garden, Melody could kick back and enjoy this mocktail with her friends and family. Maybe she even would have made it herself!

First Chefs and a Seed Cake with Jane

A temporary exhibit that really brings you a sweet taste of history!

Last post, I mentioned an exhibit at the National Archives that I had missed out on years ago. Living in DC, such worries are a thing of the past, unless of course there's a cool exhibit going on at a non DMV area museum. Take the current exhibit at the Folger Shakespeare Library: First Chefs! 

First Chefs spotlights books, documents and artifacts from the library's collection, as well as a few other local institutions that help bring to life how and what people in Britain and North America ate in the late 1500's through the 1700's. The exhibit shines the spotlight on several interesting figures in culinary history, as well as showing the public that more extravagant food often meant exploiting the labor of enslaved people, women, servants, and laborers. Read on to see highlights from the exhibit and a recipe inspired by one of the personalities featured in the gallery!

A Not Quite 1950's Cookie Swap

A good excuse to get together and trade some tasty treats!

Before we move on to discuss those other looks at international treats I had promised, there's a post I really wanted to get out before the end of January. After a long hard semester, my friends and I wanted to get together to have some kind of celebration that we made it through in one piece... but then everyone got busy with the holidays, so we ended up having it the weekend before the new semester got started. 

I've often joked with friends and coworkers and basically anyone who will listen to me talk about historic food that I not so secretly want to throw a bunch of authentic period themed parties, minus the casual or overt racism and sexism associated with the period. Since so many of my friends are fellow historians, they've been a lot more on board for entertaining the idea of an authentic Mad Men themed party, or Downton Abbey, American Girl... you get the picture. 

We didn't quite get there with the period authenticity this gathering, but I thought it might be fun to talk a little bit about the history of cookie swaps and hostess culture, while also highlighting the treats my extremely talented friends made. It's been a lot of fun to meet so many people with an interest in baking! 

Back in 2016, American Girl released a new holiday party outfit for Maryellen and a cookie set, complete with colorful apron. The catalogs make specific note that hostesses of Christmas parties would often wear colorful printed aprons, just like the one Maryellen is wearing. This immediately got me interested in what kind of party she might have been hosting, and it seems like a cookie swap would indeed be accurate to the period!

When searching newspaper databases, the term "cookie swap" first starts appearing in the 1930's or so, and hits increase as you start moving into the mid century. Food editor Clementine Paddleford for the Los Angeles Times - who I had to cite many a time in the article I wrote last semester, which I plan to talk about a little around these parts someday - commented on how this was the perfect solution to holiday gifting, as everyone could come away from the party with an attractive plate of cookies or other baked goods to take home.

Of course people have been getting together and exchanging sweets for hundreds of years, but I do think it's telling that more of these parties and the term "cookie swap" sees more use as we marched into the mid 20th century. Hostess culture was a very real thing for women of the 1950's, 60's, and even into the 70's. Parties were an opportunity to flaunt how perfect your home and family was, and were often semi formal events with real invitations mailed to guests, tasteful decorations, and everyone well dressed and groomed.

My party definitely wasn't up to the standards of an authentic 1954 cookie swap, but I did have a chance to break out the collection of Starbucks You Are Here mugs I've acquired over the past two years.

I debated trying out a new recipe to share with everyone, but at the last minute chickened out and decided to make my grandmother's (or Peg Bracken's) elevator lady spice cookies instead, along with some blueberry scones, as this was also a tea party. 

We had a really impressive and tasty spread, complete with three different kinds of scones, lemon bars, macarons, cupcakes, brownies, and several different cookies, as well as cheese biscuits! I was so excited my friend Meg decided to make these, as my grandma likes to do a version of them for Christmas and other random family gatherings, and they're super tasty. I'll definitely have to share the recipe here sometime. 

Although this wasn't a wholly authentic 1950's gathering, it was a lot of fun to get together and hang out with a bunch of like minded women without the lingering stress of an assignment we all knew we should be working on instead. There's been a lot of frustration in going back to grad school, but I've been really lucky to meet many cool people who I'll hopefully keep in touch with for a good long time. 

And hopefully we'll get to throw some more intense historically inspired parties when I've got time to make decorations!

Although I think this spread looks nice enough on its own!

An All American Tea Party at Colonial Williamsburg

Not quite the old Felicity Tea event, but close enough for me!

As you guys know – or as new readers might expect – I love Colonial Williamsburg. Living history is a really interesting, entertaining educational tool, and every time I visit, I come away learning something new and with a lot of fun memories. 

So imagine how excited I was when I heard that Williamsburg was going to be hosting an event this summer that was right up my alley: An All American Tea Party, where kids of all ages could bring a doll along with them, enjoy a tasty tea, make a craft, and enjoy a scavenger hunt with an exclusive prize at the end! Although it's not technically a Felicity themed event because it wasn't officially licensed with Mattel or American Girl themselves, it's pretty clear from the marketing who and what inspired the event.

There was just one problem: I live a good two and a half hours away from Williamsburg, and don’t have a car. 

Fortunately, I’m extremely lucky to have a good buddy who is always up for an adventure, whether it’s a trip to the mall or getting trapped on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia for three hours because our train home got delayed. Jenna and I got spots at the last seating of the tea, which was September 16. We hopped in the car with Felicity and Elizabeth in tow and set off to see if the All American Tea Party lived up to my childhood experience at the official Felicity themed events.

Jane's Jamestown Tea

Bringing you a taste of history in your teacup!

Last year I picked up a neat little treat from Mount Vernon, and then promptly never got around to writing a blog post about it until over a year later. I guess that’s just my life now. Aren’t you guys going to be glad to hear the end of my complaining about never having enough time to post as frequently as I used to? 

Eastern Shore Tea Co. is a Maryland based company that produces a variety of unique tea blends, several of which are inspired by history. I’ve seen blends drawing their inspiration from the American Revolution and even Edgar Allen Poe! I was excited to see their 1607 Herbal Tea because it’s so unusual to see anything relating to Jamestown food history, especially prepackaged stuff. Read on to find out whether or not this truly would have been something enjoyed in the first permanent English colony in North America!

It's Our Fourth Anniversary!: Queen Cakes and a Giveaway!

Kicking off Year Five with a treat!

Hard to believe it’s really been four years, hasn’t it? I know it is for me! When I first started this blog, I had no idea how long I’d keep up with it, or if anyone would even be interested in what I was doing. I was worried about getting a job after college, and really starting to wonder if getting a history degree was a big mistake. 

Four years and over two hundred posts later, I think it’s safe to say this experiment has been pretty successful! Plus, I’m halfway through getting my MA in Public History and have a job I really enjoy, so that’s pretty cool too. 

As a special way of saying thanks to all my loyal readers, I’m hosting a giveaway of something that will hopefully inspire you to take a peek into the pantry too! Read on to find out how to enter.

Emily's Cream Tea

The perfect light meal, any time of year!

I really enjoy tea, both the drink and the semi formal meal by the same name. Living in the States, it's relatively uncommon to be invited to or have an afternoon tea that comes with sandwiches and treats unless we're going out of our way to have a special occasion, but the handful of times I've had opportunity to enjoy high tea, boy, have I enjoyed it.

As it turns out, there's a simpler, more informal version of tea you can enjoy that's known as cream tea, Devonshire tea, Devon cream tea or Cornish cream tea. The tradition's history is a little murky, but it seems to have gotten its start in Devon back in the 1100's with just bread and jam, well before tea had been imported to Britain! Essentially, it's just a scone (or scones) with cream, jam and tea, and it's a nice way to tide yourself over if you've had to skip lunch or are having a late dinner... or if you're just in the mood for some tea and a tasty baked good!

Although this tradition is especially popular in Devon and Cornwall, it's not unusual to hear people talking about a Devonshire tea in the UK or other Commonwealth countries like Australia. It was kind of a dark, moody day, so I decided it seemed like a good day to give this tradition a whirl.

Tea with Valerie Tripp and Friends at Historic Huguenot Street!

A weekend roadtrip that helped me fulfill a childhood dream!

I love living where I do, but sometimes, it does feel a little bit like all the fun stuff happens too far away from me to take advantage of it. All the D23 events? Florida or California. Big time Civil War reenactments? Pennsylvania at the closest. But a couple weeks ago, Doll Diaries posted saying that Valerie Tripp was going to be visiting New Paltz, New York for a book signing and tea at Historic Huguenot Street, a historic site I'd never heard of before. As soon as I realized that hey, New Paltz is only a couple hours away, I knew I had to go. I've been wanting to meet Valerie Tripp since I was a kid! I'm really not exaggerating in saying her books are very much responsible for the person I am today. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to get out, see the sights, and check something off the bucket list.

So I roped my grandparents into going with me and Felicity on this field trip, and headed up north.

Samantha's High Tea Lemon Butter Biscuits

The best way to have a send off to our favorite high budget soap opera!

Tonight, the last episode of Downton Abbey airs on PBS, and it's a pretty bittersweet moment for me. All good things have to come to an end, it's true, and I'd rather the show end when it's still watchable than drag on and on and on until you're begging for the writers to put it out of its misery, but I'll miss watching it with my mom on Sunday and wondering what crazy antics everyone will get up to next week.

I knew I wanted to have some kind of send off for the show, and after a lot of deliberation, I decided the best way was to find some kind of tasty tea treat. Nothing else really screams Edwardian elegance as much as a tea party, and while these biscuits might not look like anything special, they've got some really interesting history that would've made them a favorite of anyone living at the Abbey, upstairs or downstairs. They're quick to whip up, don't make an overwhelming amount, and most of the ingredients are things you probably already have in the pantry. If you're looking for a snack to much on during the finale, look no further.

Oh, and they taste pretty great, too. 

Samantha's Cucumber Sandwiches

Time consuming, but so worth it!

As much as I enjoy cooking and baking for myself, I do really enjoy trying to cater towards my friends and family's tastes, too. So when my sister said she really wanted to have some cucumber sandwiches, I knew I needed to find a way to make that happen!

Not that it's really too enormous of an undertaking. It's not like she owes me her first born child after throwing these together.

But as it turns out, cucumber sandwiches are a little more fussy and difficult to put together than I naively assumed they would be!

Kirsten's Prairie Teacakes

Tiny lemon cakes with a citrus glaze? Yes, please.

As many of my followers know and as many of you likely have guessed even if you haven't checked out my FAQ page, I have been into American Girl since I was pretty small, and Kirsten was my first doll. While I know this is something nostalgia addicts like to claim without really meaning it, I can genuinely point to this toy line and Scholastic's Dear America book series (and their spinoffs) as the reason I'm so interested in history, and American history in particular, which has had its ups and downs. I often joke it's too bad Pleasant Company didn't make science themed dolls and stories, because I was really into biology as a kid, and that... has kind of died off. And might have opened doors to more lucrative professions!

But I really don't have many regrets. I'm proud I got my BA in what I did, and if nothing else, I have a lot of good cocktail party stories, so long as I remember to tone down on some of the more upsetting topics I've become passionate about raising awareness of.

What does all this have to do with cake, Gwen? I'm getting there!

This post today is intended as kind of an homage to my enthusiasm for American Girl, which really kind of is responsible for where I am today, and a throwback to my ninth birthday party, which happened about fifteen years ago this month. Growing up, I was lucky to have a mom who went a little over the top creativity wise for birthday parties, and this recipe is the slightly more complicated version of what she and my grandmother put together for my birthday, with a little help from a book I've talked about here before.

Nellie's Walnut Banana Bread

A tasty treat enjoyed by people of all levels of Edwardian high society.

Did you know banana bread comes from England? I didn't, before doing this blog post! I would have guessed it was an American invention, but according to my new favorite cookbook, it was actually popularized by the English. Good for you, guys! And to think most people don't have very nice things to say about English cooking.

Banana bread is one of those items I usually buy from our local gigantic, commercialized farm stand - they make a really yummy chocolate banana bread I always have to fight my brother off to get a slice of it - and it's not something I'd really considered trying making myself until this recipe caught my eye. Making tea breads is definitely one of my favorite things this blog has taught me how to do, and since banana bread is such an iconic baked good, it seemed like trying my hand at it was long overdue.

So, what makes this something Nellie O'Malley might have enjoyed?

Felicity's Spiced Cider Punch and Providence Cake

A tasty tea bread and hot apple cider to keep warm during any other polar vortexes!

It probably won't come as a surprise to most of you when I say I'm a pretty nostalgic sort of person. I mean, this blog is pretty much all about my affection for American Girl dolls, something I was introduced to at age five and have pretty much always loved, even with all their various flaws. I've really enjoyed reminiscing with friends about their favorite characters and which books they liked best, or what hairstyle horrors they accidentally put their dolls through, and it's been a lot of fun for me to get both new and old fans thinking about what kind of food their favorite characters would have enjoyed.

Today I had the pleasure of having an old friend over the house for a late lunch, and since Felicity was her childhood doll, I went around trying to find a good recipe to go with the beef pasties. I ended up finding an archive of a lot of interesting recipes that I'm definitely keeping on file for future post ideas, and I'm very excited to share it with you guys.