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Posted by: Katie McCarthy
As we reach the end of summer, I’m beginning to feel nostalgic for the hot days I grumbled about. Thinking about the past months, I’ve noticed that there are some foods I eat exclusively (or at least in a much higher quantity) in the summer: BLT sandwiches, corn on the cob, and hot dogs, to name …
Posted in: Activities & Crafts, Cooking
Posted by: Alli Hartley-Kong
This post was written by Alli Hartley-Kong and Sarah Peet, educational specialists in the Library of Congress’s Informal Learning Office. In the Library’s Informal Learning Office, we find ourselves sifting through digital versions of primary sources every day to identify collections materials we want to connect children and families to. Every so often you find …
Posted in: Cooking, Holidays & Celebrations
Posted by: Rachel Gordon
Want to make your own family cookbook? This post by Rachel Gordon dives deep into a late nineteenth-century cookbook crowdsourced from "famous folk" of the time as inspiration for a family craft.
Posted in: Activities & Crafts, Cooking
Posted by: Rachel Gordon
This post explores Library of Congress materials related to the pawpaw and provides a recipe for pawpaw ice cream that your family can make at home.
Posted in: Cooking, Native American History
Posted by: Rachel Gordon
Marking Father’s Day with a cookout is as American as apple pie. As I was thinking about how to organize this most traditional of celebrations for Sunday, June 18th this year, I wondered about the custom itself. What’s the history of grilling, and of the backyard barbecue? When and why did “the man of the …
Posted in: Cooking, Holidays & Celebrations
Posted by: Rachel Gordon
Mother’s Day is fast approaching, falling on Sunday, May 14th in the U.S. this year. If you’ve already cycled through giving flowers, chocolates, and similar traditional gifts, why not hold a Mother’s Day tea? Like many British people, I grew up experiencing a mid-afternoon tea break as a widespread institution at home and at work. …
Posted in: Cooking, Holidays & Celebrations
Posted by: Rachel Gordon
This year, Hanukkah runs from December 18th to 26th. The winter festival of lights celebrates the 2nd century B.C. victory of the Jewish Maccabees over the Greco-Syrian King Antiochus and his forces. When the Jews sought to rededicate the temple in Jerusalem, the remaining one day’s supply of sacred oil miraculously lasted for a full …
Posted in: Cooking, Holidays & Celebrations
Posted by: Rachel Gordon
The winter holidays are almost here! If you can’t face any more shopping, prefer to make gifts, or would simply like to brighten someone’s day, this post has suggestions for last-minute treats you can whip up yourself. Homemade candy is a welcome seasonal confection that’s perfect to share. It’ll mean a trip to the grocery …
Posted in: Cooking, Holidays & Celebrations
Posted by: Rachel Gordon
“October is the apple-scented month… Apples into boxes, into baskets, apples in transit; gold and scarlet pyramids and in the market place….Apples for bowls, apples for lunchboxes.” These lines from a 1959 newspaper column perfectly sum up the sight in stores, farmers’ markets, orchards and roadsides at this time of year. Apples are everywhere. There …
Posted in: Cooking