Work took me kicking and screaming to Ottawa this week. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Canada. It was just a chock a block week and...

Halloween’s passed us by, but here’s a tale of horror from the late eighteenth century: a visit to the drugstore. This advertisement...

Marylanders recognize this scene. The wet smear of spice-reddened shattered carapace across moist newspaper says it all: it must be the...

Beer. Mmmm. Recently, my friend Ms McC and I travelled to Maryland for a eighteenth century event at Fort Frederick State Park (see my...

Last weekend, I pushed it. I bought two tomatoes at the local farmer’s market on 67th street. New York state tomatoes are okay (they...

We have some pigeons who decided to make a nest on our window sill. I found them too late – when I knocked on the window to get the hen...

RL Fifield, 2012. Last weekend, The Brigade of the American Revolution hosted an Authenticity Event at Don Carpentier’s Eastfield...

I’ll have the Scollop of Oysters, hartychokes, cold lobster, and olive pudding! Winterthur has in their collections the Dinner Book of...

Swank at The Green Mill. RL Fifield 2012. During our recent trip to see Jeremy W.(of Le Cafe Witteveen) and Tina S. in their Chicago...

With all the cocktail goings-on currently, it’s worth a look back toward the 18th century processes being rediscovered and further riffed...

Yesterday morning, I took advantage of Mr. V’s need for extra zzzs to get some early morning errands done. The Upper East Side has always...

Fred Harvey was a British immigrant that brought high standards for trackside eating halls alongside the Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa Fe...

New York Public Library Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Photo: Wikipedia. My mother’s favorite meal of the day is lunch. Usually those...

Devilled eggs. A staple at my family’s picnics. A 1950s joke. A modern canvas for fine herbs and expensive vinegar. My family recipe is...

Photo: Amazon I found this gem while flipping through Meta Given’s Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking. Originally written in 1947, my copy is...

I was looking for some family members using the American Antiquarian Society’s America’s Historical Newspapers database, and found this...

I grew up with the three-in-a-row packaged in cellophane variety of tomato in the winter, as that “red ingredient” to put into our...

Photo: Box of Apples.com. Asparagus season is drawing to a close, depending where you live. If you’ve reached your limit of fresh...

Tomatoes – it runs in my Maryland family’s veins. We had not one, but three commercial tomato packing houses in my family. Millard...

Fifty Years in a Maryland Kitchen (1873) has several recipes for fostering yeast from potatoes, including potato and hops mixtures, on...