Seeds & Plants Have Disappeared And they have been for years. I bought myself some seed catalogs from the years of WWII to see what kinds of things they were growing in their Victory Gardens. Some things looked familiar like Danvers carrots. Others were a mystery! Like the below picture for “Chicken Lettuce”. This was a poultry crop meant to be grazed by chickens. I have yet to locate any actual seeds. Sadly, this original packet didn’t come with any either. It appears in earlier catalogs, but in my 1942 Woods Tested Seeds catalog it describes Chicken Lettuce as: “Unlike any you have ever ..read more

Newsies Strike in 1899 Yes, you read that right. Newsies. You may or may not have seen the infamous Disney musical called “Newsies” with a David and Goliath storyline and some pretty sweet costumes and accents. Heck, they even made a Broadway musical out of it. Well, once upon a (long) time ago, I was very passionate about the real story behind the movie. Who were the newsies? What did they really say and do? Seriously, were there actually kids named “Kid Blink” and “Racetrack”? You bet there was! Believe me, I know, because I did dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of research at the New York P ..read more

Why First Person Interpretation Within Museum Settings Isn’t Helpful for Teaching History (I originally wrote this post back on April 16, 2013 on my old blog, but have posted it here with updates.) Have you ever been to a living history museum with first person interpretation? Many times these types of museums are held up as prime examples of history interpreted, the best museums to visit, and certainly the most fun. While the fun is definitely there, in my experience, first person interpretation in a museum setting isn’t helpful or accurate in educating the public. These past few days, as I’v ..read more

Rescuing lidless vintage glass refrigerator dishes is not only a great way to “reduce and reuse”, it’s a beautiful and simple way to organize your home. Storage for Anything I love organizing, but I’m not necessarily good at it. I think a lot of people must be like me, because it’s reflected in American stores everywhere I go. Lots of different organization products and systems abound. There are some great ideas out there. But many of them are expensive and most of them are made out of plastic. That’s never really appealed much to me. Enter: vintage glass refrigerator dishes. I’m not sure when ..read more

When I get in a meal planning slump, I like turning to my vintage cookbooks for some off-the wall ideas and you’d be surprised by how inspiring they can be. I like the idea of seasonal cooking. Using produce, meats, even dairy and eggs in season as it was available is something our great-grandparents were familiar with. Once grocery store chains, refrigeration, and global shipping became more common, the idea of seasonal eating faded mostly into memory. I think it’s fun to look through old cookbooks that had seasonal menus in mind, like the cookbook pictured above. For someone who loves to co ..read more

With simple ingredients like milk, eggs, bread, and maple syrup, this vintage bread pudding is delicately sweet and soft. It’s the perfect vessel for any spices, add-ins, or toppings you’d like to add to make this dish your own. Autumn is a time where we shift gears, slow down, and take in the changing of the seasons. At least that’s what I’d like to do! With three holidays three months in a row, to be honest it feels like it’s full steam ahead. If I want any kind of slow down or mental break, I have to carve that time out and make myself take that time. When I was hunting for the next Vintag ..read more

Autumn is the perfect time to bring out the cozy recipes like this Canadian staple of Maple Butter Tarts. Flaky crust, sweet and mapley filling, these tarts are the perfect addition to any Fall Festivity you have planned. Maple Butter Tarts are just the essence of autumn – sweet, buttery morsels full of that earthy maple goodness. The fact that they’re tarts make them that much easier to serve at parties or give away. Or have with a nice cup of tea or cup of coffee. I think they’re too decadent to make all year round, but are perfect for the holidays, though I think some Canadians might stron ..read more

When I realized my new blog was heading in the wrong direction, I looked to the past for some much-needed inspiration… This blog hasn’t been here long, but I’ve been blogging for 10 years over at HISTORY: Preserved. It was a fun place to share my love of American history, vintage recipes, and history museums. I started my podcast Victory Kitchen in 2020, but after awhile I wanted somewhere I could share more about the ration recipes and things I’ve learned from studying wartime homemaking. Thus the beginning of this blog, American Victory Kitchen in 2022. After awhile, though, I kept getting ..read more

This easy and delicious Strawberry Ice Cream is perfect for when you’re short on cream but in need of some summery, good old-fashioned scoops of pink sunshine! Strawberry Ice Cream should be the official dessert of summer: bright, fresh, creamy, and perfectly nostalgic. It’s just bursting with pink, summery sunshine and old-fashioned vibes. But what if you’re short on cream or you want a cold dessert that’s not quite so high in fat? Is that even possible when it comes to homemade ice cream? And would it taste good? What if I told you that, yes, it is indeed possible! And that you don’t need a ..read more

These Strawberry Rhubarb Rolls start the summer off right by rolling fresh strawberries and rhubarb up in a vintage biscuit dough and drizzling them with a simple vanilla glaze. Serve them for breakfast, dessert, or take them to your next friend get-together! Strawberry and rhubarb are seasonal buddies. One’s sweet, one’s tart, so naturally they team up together in desserts all the time. Strangely, I didn’t grow up eating rhubarb, so it’s been an acquired taste/texture as an adult. But I do love it paired with strawberries. There’s just something so fabulous about how the super dry tartness o ..read more