There is no denying it... there are more and more virtual talks about drinks as our Covid lockdown continues. Grog (yes, grog by a Naval museum), beer, whiskey/whisky, gin, cocktails, teas and chocolate. Many talks include recommended samples - either mailed or picked up locally. And even beer games done museum style (Penn Museum of UPenn). Tapes, then the October talks.
Bacon or meat racks hung from the
ceiling beams in front of hearths in Great Britain. By 1823 "every
kitchen" had the racks which were also an "impediment to upright
walking." Image from 1758.
Clarissa F. Dillon, the authority (she wrote the book!) on 18th century kitchen gardens, is introducing us to unusual plants and their uses in true quarantine fashion - virtually. We get to follow along as she tends her period correct garden at the 1696 Thomas Massey House, see the end results (medicinal, cosmetic, and yes, as food) and delight in Clarissa’s vast knowledge, sharp wit and great sense of fun. She is One Cool Colonial... in 10 minute episodes.
This image, from 1840, shows one of the flamboyant stands in Naples which "look much like the shrines of the Madonna in other Italian cities." The stands sold "orangeade and lemonade mixed with snow." Complete image, below. 
The Center for Food and Culture is collecting oral histories and also written answers to online questions (if you prefer) on comfort foodways during the pandemic. Help them... and future researchers... by participating HERE.
The cylindrical sorbetiere and scraper was still sold in 1903. But in the 1840s models were patented with paddles to churn the cream or milk as it froze. I've put some pictures I've collected of a wide variety of styles of ice cream makers together to easily compare and contrast. Many of these images, with descriptions, are in future (Walker, Gouffe) or past posts (Fuller HERE) and 5 descriptions in 'Gunter's Tea Shop' with more posts HERE. 
Let's show support for our Canadian friends and "Cook like a Canadian" on their #FoodDayCanada. Their catchy "Put Canada on the Menu" with recipes and nice photos are on the official website HERE And remarkably, cooking in a First Nations wooden box.
Owen Wister's popular 1906 novel was followed the next year by a Lady Baltimore Cake recipe, and in 1909 the Lady Baltimore Ice Cream appeared. picture of LB cake
Large strawberries are coated in a batter of flour, egg whites, wine and oil, then fried, rolled in sugar and glazed (browned) with a salamander (broiler). John Nott had a delicious fried beet recipe with a wine batter from 1723. 
This is a lemonade for hot weather - like Switchel or Shrub - very tart (only 1T or a teaspoon of honey). Alexis Soyer called it a "Cooling Lemonade" in 1849, and a later cookbook author named it "Picnic Lemonade." The vivid pink color happens instantly when lemon juice is added to the liquid from boiling the figs and yellow of the lemon peels.
The American Philosophical Society, founded in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin in 1743,
houses his papers, which include recipes in French. The APS “invited scholars, public historians, and chefs with a range of interests to share their reflections on Franklin, his recipes, and the
culture of the eighteenth-century Atlantic World over the coming weeks” on their BLOG. Other sites offer videos or old recipes, below.
Handwritten documents - recipes, letters - are important for research. You can help other researchers and libraries from your home computer by transcribing digitized manuscript cookbooks; thus making them easier to read and able to be searched. 
Remember those who served... and those still serving to protect us.
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