LHF Blog

June 18, 2019 What’s Cooking at Living History Farms? Quite a lot, actually! Throughout the summer, our museum demonstrates food traditions, cooking techniques, and the use of historic ingredients at many of our historic farms,…

August 10, 2018 At the height of the summer in Iowa, one of our greatest simple pleasures is seasonal eating. Lettuces, strawberries, summer squash, cherries, cucumbers, sweet corn, good tomatoes—it boggles the mind and fills…

November 23, 2015 Thanksgiving is one of America’s favorite holidays. Generally filled with food and family, and often football, it is a time to reflect on the blessings of the year and share our table…

June 8, 2015 Over one million people visit Washington, D.C. every spring to celebrate the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival celebrates friendship between the USA and Japan, and an initial gift of 3,000 cherry…

September 2, 2014 It’s been a busy summer here on the farm. Mild weather has meant many visitors from nearby and faraway places. It’s meant taking a break from posting things on the blog, but…

When planning a menu for dinner, there are several choices to be made. Generally speaking, a menu consists of a protein, a starch of some sort, and at least one vegetable. Menu planning in 1900…

August 8, 2013 Every July the Flynn House ladies celebrate “A Victorian Birthday Party” commemorating Katherine Flynn’s 8th birthday. Martin and Ellen Flynn’s eldest daughter Katherine was born in 1867 and would have turned eight…

July 18, 2013 This week’s recipe sounded very appealing when the wood-burning cookstove was heating up the house this morning! Courtesy of Mrs. Curtis’s Cookbook, this salad would have been a great way to utilize…

June 21, 2013 Alright all you cooking fans, this week I have another recipe for you from our 1900 kitchen cookbooks! This recipe comes from the Boston Cooking School Cookbook. There are several omelet recipes…

June 14, 2013 I now present a Swedish almond cake (or toscakaka) recipe! Though toscakaka is often made in the winter, I encourage you to give it a try and let me know what you…