Something New

[L Verge]

I recently mentioned a new book on Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen. I began reading it this evening and love it! As many of you know from my previous confessions, my knowledge of early-Lincoln history is sorely lacking. This book is reinforcing the little bit I do know and filling in blanks the best way I like -- through social and cultural history.

Yes, it's a cookbook; but it's more basic history on the areas where the Lincolns lived and what their daily life and chores would have been like. As for the recipes (55 of them), only a die-hard homemaker would attempt most of them - from how to hull corn to make hominy to frying corn dodgers. The recipes only serve to enrich the cultural image of the times. I've heard of pawpaws all my life, but have never seen one or tasted one. The description of them, along with other native fruits, etc., is making me very curious. Has anyone out there ever encountered a pawpaw?

One question: The author states that Lincoln never wrote about his experiences in New Orleans after the flatboat trip down the Mississippi. Is this true? She paints such a vivid picture of what the city was like at that time that I would think young Lincoln would have preserved his memories in text.