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Category: Cookbooks and Food

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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 …

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Presidential Food Book Display at Main Reading Room Open House

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

Today’s post is authored by Constance Carter, head of the science reference section. Connie has written for Inside Adams before- see her posts on Presidential Wheels, Civil War Thanksgiving Foods,  Food Thrift, the Chocolate Chip Cookie, LC Science Tracer Bullets, and her mentor Ruth S. Freitag. On the 16th of February, in honor of George Washington’s birthday …

Cover from How Phyllis Grew Thin show

Battling with the Scale: A Look Back at Weight Loss Trends in the U.S.

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

As we enter this new year, many of us have made resolutions to spend more time with family, to volunteer, perhaps to stop smoking, and of course, to get fit and lose weight. The widespread desire to become healthier and shed those extra pounds is met with a plethora of weight loss products, programs, and …