I've been sick, so there's been a minimum of work around here. But two weeks ago I went on to the next recipe in the Sands, Taylor / King Arthur booklet - Chocolate Cake "With Chocolate" (that's what it says). 1-3/4 cups King Arthur Flour 1-1/4 cups sugar 1/2 cup shortening 1 teaspoon salt 1 … Continue reading Chocolate Cake (ca. 1937)
Dictionary 18??: Agate to Agrace
Today I worked at cleaning up, sorting, and putting things in boxes for a tag sale - and I found our battered and really old dictionary (as opposed to the 1881 one we also own - see the "language" category. It's an odd size - nearly square - battered, leather-bound, and missing a bunch of … Continue reading Dictionary 18??: Agate to Agrace
Small Basic Cake (ca. 1937)
Alas, it's been a while since I ran across anything from general history that's interesting enough to report on here! But I am still using my vintage pamphlet collection. Last week I baked a cake from the Sands, Taylor & Wood Co., aka King Arthur Flour (previously mentioned here), and it was excellent. The first … Continue reading Small Basic Cake (ca. 1937)
Article in Connecticut Explored
And here's something new: my spouse and I have an article in the current issue of Connecticut Explored! "Exploring Early Connecticut Mapmaking" is - okay, a bit obviously - about historic maps of Connecticut, an area we know quite a bit about. The magazine is a well-put-together popular history publication focusing on our home state. … Continue reading Article in Connecticut Explored
Handwriting of John Mix, 1813
I'm back in the War of 1812 correspondence files of Connecticut Governor John Cotton Smith, and Quartermaster General John Mix had the most adorable handwriting. No, really, look: Beautifully legible, if definitely unusual in shape, and it looks almost like he was writing along a ruled line. (That's a Connecticut Historical Society document, by the … Continue reading Handwriting of John Mix, 1813
Soft Molasses Cookies (1932)
Nothing interesting enough to post about has happened lately in my history work, I'm afraid. But I did feel like baking something this afternoon, and picked a molasses cookie recipe out of this 1932 Royal Baking Powder company booklet. They came out very well. The amount of baking powder in the original recipe is correct. … Continue reading Soft Molasses Cookies (1932)
Kristen Noble Keegan, Historical Geographer 