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Category: Cookbooks and Food

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On the Subject (Heading) of Bourbon Whiskey

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

Today’s post is guest authored by Michelle Cadoree Bradley, a Science Reference Specialist in the Library’s Science, Technology, and Business Division who has previously written – Rise of the Broom Brigade and Marie Curie: A Gift of Radium. Is it Bourbon or is it Whiskey? “Not all whiskey is bourbon, but all bourbon is whiskey,” …

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Broccoli, Opossum, and Gingerbread: Presidential Food

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

Today’s post is written by science librarian and culinary specialist Alison Kelly. She has provided her expertise in a number of Inside Adams blog posts related to food history and cooking such as Early American Beer, and Early Mixology Books. Abraham Lincoln liked gingerbread cookies, William Howard Taft enjoyed roast opossum, and Ronald Reagan always …

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The Potato Transformed: Norwegian Lefse

Posted by: Angel Vu

This post was authored by Stephanie Marcus, Science Reference & Research Specialist, in the Science, Technology, and Business Division of the Library of Congress. She is also author of the blog post “Kebabs, Kabobs, Shish Kebabs, Shashlyk, and: Chislic.” I considered writing my December blog post about leeches and bloodletting, but decided that wouldn’t be …

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Featured Advertisement: Cracker Jack

Posted by: Yvonne Dooley

On this day in 1918 the featured Cracker Jack ad appeared in Washington, D.C.’s Evening Star suggesting folks ship the treat to troops overseas for Thanksgiving. The fine print in the middle of the ad states: Cracker Jack is a favorite with soldiers and sailors everywhere. They learned to love it before the war, and …

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Stranger than Fiction

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

This guest post was written by Constance Carter who recently retired as head of Science Reference after 50 years of service at the Library of Congress. But being the dedicated librarian that she is, she now volunteers her considerable talents. The Science Reference Section has an extraordinary collection of 19th-century community and commercial cookbooks—some of …

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How Community Gardens Can Save America: Book Talk and Lecture, May 19

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

LaManda Joy wants to inspire everyone she meets to grow their own food. She is an author, national speaker, award winning master gardener, and considered the “Best Urban Farmer in Chicago.” Her rallying cry “We can grow it!” recognizes the influence of the past while invigorating the American can-do spirit to create a positive future. …

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Upcoming Book Talk on the Mediterranean Diet, May 13

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Author, chef, and television personality Amy Riolo has written the following guest post about the history and benefits Mediterranean cuisine for her upcoming book talk on May 13 – “The Mediterranean Diet: Delicious Food Prescriptions for Transforming Illness.” Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food (Hippocrates) Almost daily we are learning how …

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The President and the Parsnip: Thomas Jefferson’s Vegetable Market Chart (1801-1808)

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is guest authored by Julie Miller, historian of early America in the Library’s Manuscript Division During most of his two terms as president of the United States, (1801-1809) Thomas Jefferson carefully compiled a chart recording the seasonal appearances of fruits and vegetables in Washington’s market. This seems like a funny way for a president …