I am a food nerd

I'm giddy like a school girl over finding and purchasing this new book, A History of Food in 100 Recipes by William Sitwell.  It's part cookbook and part history book- two things I nerdily love but don't know nearly enough about.  Many of you know I have volunteered as a historical reenactor at a Federalist era mansion as part of the kitchen guild.  I would dress up like it was 1832 and cook seasonally over an open hearth.  All recipes (or receipts, as they were called way back when) were from American sources from 1845 and earlier, which meant a lot of Eliza Leslie and Mary Randolph. I haven't volunteered in a while for various reasons - busy schedule, laziness, for a while with my knee injury I didn't feel safe near an raging fire wearing a long skirts, AND I no longer fit in the dress my grandmother made for me (it's too big now!). But I loooove culinary history.  I love knowing why we eat the things we do and how they came about.  If anyone is interested in going to talks by the Culinary Historians of Washington a.k.a CHOW (how clever!), let me know.  I've yet to go to one.  See the above reasons.

I also hope this will get me back in the kitchen with recipes to try.  I know cooking at home is cheaper and healthier for THE UNFATTENING, but it's hard to keep the number of servings I eat under control when I cook enough for a family of 6.

Anyways, I'm excited about my newest addition to my beloved food book collection (I possess few pieces of literature or novels, but I do have an excellent array of food books.  They are my weakness.)  The first recipe is Ancient Egyptian bread from 1958 BC. Squee!