June 1, 2012 This past weekend we celebrated strawberry season on the farm; by making 8 pints of strawberry jam! I found several different recipes for strawberry jams and jellies when I was flipping through…
April 23, 2012 This past Spring we have been hard at work refreshing some of the interior paint at the 1900 house. It is difficult to find time to do small projects like this as…
March 22, 2012 It is difficult to resist the urge to start planting the outdoor gardens with this string of nice days we have been having. Anyone who lives in Iowa knows that the weather…
February 22, 2012 The third Monday in February gives Americans a token winter day off from school or work to play in the snow or get a jump start on Spring Cleaning. For me, President’s…
February 15, 2012 (Editor’s Note: This year at Living History Farms, we will be celebrating leisure in 19th century American life. The farm is often a lot of work, but families still found time for…
February 8, 2012 As we progress into February we start to see candies and chocolates displayed in our local stores alerting us to the arrival of Valentine’s Day. People have several different opinions on this…
February 1, 2012 Because there was less field work and outdoor activities, the winter season was the social season for people of the 19th century. January has been pretty social with historic dinners here at…
December 20, 2011 Near the back of The Original Boston Cooking School Cookbook (1896) there is a list of different menus for the ardent housewife to draw from as she planned meals for her family. …
December 8, 2011 This is the time of the year when I am grateful to prepare a meal around the wood stove that sits in the dining room of the 1900 farm house. As I…
December 1, 2011 Now that we’ve all had our fill of turkey, it’s time to trim the Christmas tree! Recognizing that holiday traditions vary greatly based on religion and ethnic background, I still wanted to…