Sara's table: "keeping house" in Ohio, 1800-1950

Once again, Dr. Lorle Porter weaves her historical magic, designing the fabric of eight generations of Saras as they struggle and succeed through 150 years of homemaking.

Woman s work in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, making do in lean times and prospering in good times Sara s Table is a story of ordinary American life set in a special place: the village of New Concord, Ohio. The hometown experiences of these women also represent an American saga shared by millions of Americans during the nineteenth century settlement and development of our country, and during the Great Depression and World War II.

Throughout this fascinating story, the author has included many legacy recipes taken from original personal collections, as well as dozens of recipes from Godey s Lady s Book and Good Housekeeping that will provide readers with a glimpse of the past. How about Head Cheese? Calves Foot Jelly? Ash Cake? Need something a little more tame? Try Sara s Baked Beans, Fresh Johnny Cake Fritters, Chess Pie, or an 1818 Wedding Cake. Depression recipes include Fried Homemade Scrapple, Pea Sausage, Tomato Barley Soup, and Butterless Eggless Milkless Cake. When the war broke out, homemakers were taxed to the extreme, learning to cope with rationing and shortages. Mock Meat Patties, Peanut Butter Ham Loaf, and Macaroni Loaf graced the tables. The book contains over 150 recipes, plus interesting historical information about the way a house was run.

The frosting on the cake, however, is the wealth of antique photographs and vintage advertisements from Good Housekeeping magazines of that era.