I had the honor of reviewing one of the best, and most entertaining cookbooks I have yet to read. “A Thyme To Discover” is so much more than just a cookbook, it’s more than just recipes, it’s a peek into what life looked like, and tasted like for the early American settlers.
“This much-more-than-a-cookbook goes far beyond the ordinary recipe, providing a window into the origins of dishes that will not only delight the palate, but also the historical curiosity of the reader. Tricia and Lisa have created a magnetic work of food intrigue with A Thyme to Discover.”
From their voyage on the Mayflower to the days of the American Revolution, early American settlers struggled to survive in the New World. Join us as we travel through time and discover how our forefathers fed their families and grew a nation, from eating nuts and berries to preparing fantastic feasts of seafood and venison, and learn how you can cook like them, too!
With gorgeous and whimsical hand-drawn illustrations from beginning to end, A Thyme to Discover, spanning the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, is an illustrated historical cookbook for foodies, history buffs, and Americans alike. Cohen and Graves reimagine old original colonial recipes from pilgrims, presidents, and Native Americans, and modify them to suit modern palates and tastes. Arranged chronologically as the English settlers cooked and ate their way into becoming Americans, these deliciously historical recipes include:
- The First Thanksgiving, 1621: “Venison over Wild Rice Cakes” and “Pumpkin Pudding with Rum Sauce”
- Alexander Hamilton’s “Beef Stew with Apple Brandy” and Abraham Lincoln’s “Chicken Fricasee”
- Rhode Island’s “Bacon-Kissed Clam Cakes” and Massachusetts’s “Chowdahhhhh”
- Forefather’s Day, 1749: “Sufferin’ Succotash with Buttered Lobster”
- Jim Beam’s “Bourbon Oatmeal Raisin Cookies”
- And many more!
Including a “Tipsy Timeline” of New World alcoholic beverages, the menus of the oldest taverns in America, and other bite-sized tidbits to satiate your curiosity and hunger, A Thyme to Discover revives forgotten culinary traditions and keeps them alive, on your own dinner table.
About the Authors:
Tricia Cohen grew up in a house with two kitchens, surrounded by family, food, and love. In her adult life, she continues to share her love for food with the community as a hostess, gourmet home cook, and sous chef. Together with Lisa Graves, she authored A Thyme and Place: Medieval Feasts and Recipes for the Modern Table, the first in a three-part historical cookbook series. She lives in North Truro, Massachusetts.
Lisa Graves is the author and illustrator of the series Women in History, as well as the author of A Thyme and Place: Medieval Feasts and Recipes for the Modern Table (Skyhorse Publishing) together with Tricia Cohen. She is the creator ofHistorywitch.com, a site dedicated to illustrations of history’s most fascinating characters. She lives in Medway, Massachusetts.