Angela's Pasta Fagoli

A family favorite, perfect for feeding a crowd!

This recipe comes straight from the family archives. I've said before about how my great-grandmother (the same lady behind our delicious family meatball recipe) was hands down the best cook in the family. She'd make pasta and tomato sauce from scratch, and my dad didn't even know he liked Italian food before he tried her cooking. Like many talented cooks, Nana didn't write down any of her recipes because she worked from taste and touch rather than specific measurements, so if you wanted to learn how to make something, she had to walk you through it herself. 

Unfortunately, this means quite a lot of her specialties have been lost to history, but my mom learned how to make this tasty, hearty soup that's served as the main course at countless family gatherings, and she very kindly took the time to show me how to make it myself. If you're looking for a really east, very tasty dish, definitely consider giving this one a try!

Rebecca's New York Cheesecake

A New York classic you can make far from the Big Apple!

My wife loves cheesecake. I'm not sure I would go as far as to say she's a cheesecake fiend, but she's certainly close. I, however, am not as big of a fan (which is not to say I don't like them, just to be clear), so I haven't actually made very many of them in my time learning to bake and exploring historic recipes. I made one for her birthday based on Perfectly Preserved Pies from Fallout (which you can see on my Instagram), and I've made a very historic cheesecake that the Pilgrims might have enjoyed, but I'd never tried my hand at a very basic, classic New York style cheesecake before. 

Well, now I have, and it was a lot easier and more fun than I expected it to be. Some of that might be because I once again turned to American Cake by Anne Byrd, my favorite cookbook of all time, for guidance, but I think between this and my attempt at Perfectly Preserved Pie have encouraged me to try out a few more cheesecakes down the line. Read on to see how it turned out!

Emily's Oslo Lunch

Keeping British kids fighting fit during World War II!

I feel like September has always been a really rough month for the blog. I'm usually in the middle of moving, starting a new job, finishing grad school, or recovering from planning a wedding. 2019 had been especially unkind motivation wise, so this post is one of three that probably should have gone up way sooner, and will end up being backdated. Whoops. 

Anyway, one thing I've also been trying to do this September is eat better. As I've discussed before, historical recipes and eating "better" by modern standards often aren't really compatible. What was considered healthy for a pioneer family in 1854 is vastly different for an office worker in 2019, because I'm not getting up at the crack of dawn every day to do backbreaking labor like every member of the Larson family would have been. One period that does have surprisingly healthy - and often surprisingly not that bad, if not good - recipes to offer is World War II, especially when looking into British dishes, where rationing was a lot more intense than it was in the United States. Read on to see an experimental meal that helped British school kids stay healthy in spite of food shortages!

Kaya's Spice Cake with Berry Compote

Recreating an old favorite!

This Kaya inspired recipe barely qualifies as historical, but it's inspired by something I've been dying to recreate in my own kitchen for quite some time: a delicious carrot, parsnip, and spice cake I had at the National Museum of the American Indian during my first visit to their delicious cafe. 

Unfortunately, my version is lacking in parsnips despite my best efforts to find them, but the result was still an extremely tasty treat that I've been enjoying over the last few days, complete with a fresh, tart blueberry compote that I'll definitely be making again. Read on to see how to make it yourself!

Samantha's Wellesley Fudge Cake

A cherished tradition from Wellesley College!

There's something about September that always seems to signal a slow down in my blogging. Whether it's moving to grad school, getting married, planning a vow renewal, or just wiping myself out with an anniversary post, September just hasn't been my strongest month production wise. 

That's my way of apologizing for taking so long to get this one up, and how quickly the next post is going to follow it! I've got quite a schedule I'd like to tackle, so there's no more time to waste. And what better way to get back in action than finally getting to test out one of my favorite cookbooks properly!