Hoopskirts

It's August - and that most seasonable of vegetables is ripening - tomatoes! How utterly perfect, because the current challenge for the Historical Food Fortnightly is Seasonal Fruits/Vegetables.   The challenge: concoct a dish based on the fruits and/or vegetables that would have been in season and available to the particular time you wish to interpret. It needn’t be the place you are in at this moment, but it should coincide with the season! I selected "Tomatoes Sliced with Onions," which can be found on  p 49 of Elizabeth Lea's book  Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers  (10th edition), published in 1859 in Maryland. This simple recipe makes a lovely summer salad that highlights the tomatoes.                                        Tomatoes Sliced with Onions               ...

Vinegar pie sound like a contradiction in terms.  A pie based around vinegar?  For the Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #5 (Pies), I decided to explore vinegar pie in the 1860's. I had had some vinegar pie at the Eagle Tavern in Greenfield Village this May.  The pie was delightful - light and lemony.  The technique seems similar to that of Key Lime pie, in which the acid "cooks" the raw eggs.  There was only one problem:  as I combed through mid-nineteenth century cookbooks, I could not find a recipe for vinegar pie.  Except for one.  And it didn't sound like it would turn out the way I was hoping, since there were no eggs included.  But there was one recipe!  That meant the challenge was on! The recipe I found came from The Practical Housekeeper and Young Woman's Friend by Mrs. M. L. Scott (Toledo. 1855)    Like most period recipes, the instructions were minimal, assuming a familiarity with the necessary...