Monthly lunches and meetings

It's not all serious meetings with the Historical League. We start off with discussions and enjoy hearing the report from museum director, Tawn Downs. She is filled with enthusiasm and ideas so it is great to hear how the attendance has increased, facilities rentals have improved, exhibits are being built and even the gift shop is doing well.

Meetings are followed by a delicious lunch from Dancing Chef. The couscous with black beans was very tasty and those look like Terri's All-American Brownies with the strawberries and blackberries. The recipe can be found in Tastes & Treasures II, A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona. Available at HistoricalLeague.org/SHOP.aspx

Tasty couscous with black beans

Enjoying lunch in the lobby area near the Historymakers exhibit

Presses are rolling for Tastes & Treasures II

What a thrill to watch the big Heidelberg presses at O'Neil Printing start to roll! Cathy Shumard and Ruth McLeod were on hand as the colors, textures, photos and recipes came to life!

President Anthony Narducci explains color processing to Cathy Shumard

Meeting the very friendly and helpful staff was a bonus. It was indeed a wonderful experience to work with O'Neil Printing and President Anthony Narducci!

O'Neil President Anthony Narducci introduced us to some of his wonderful staff

They even let us operate the buttons! Let the printing begin!

Showing the cover in B&W, then the 4 colors that make up the printing process.

Final Proofreading for Tastes & Treasures II

Ruth McLeod, Debra Thompson, Cathy Shumard

With great delight and anticipation, we met at O'Neil Printing on Tuesday, January 23 to see the colors of the cookbook and to have one last chance to proofread.
Thanks to those marvelous "eagle eyes" we found a few more corrections before the book goes to print. Margaret Baker, Zona Lorig, Nina Filippi joined cookbook co-chairs Leslie Christiansen, Cathy Shumard and Ruth McLeod to see the Press Proof. After two years of working on this book, we are thrilled to see it at the printer.
Debra Thompson, our project manager at O'Neil Printing, was a joy to work with. O'Neil Printing is an outstanding company for quality and customer service.

Watermark page with increase in background color

Tour to Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Perfect follow up to the guest speaker at the January meeting, we enjoyed Paolo Soleri:The City of Nature up close and personal. Curator Claire Carter explained the exhibit at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art as we viewed each piece. Amazing work, fascinating history, interesting architect and artist.

Supreme Court Cookbook

Cookbooks are very popular but combined with history, they become much more interesting. Thanks to Historical League member Norma Hinton for sharing this article about Table for 9: Supreme Court Food Traditions and Recipes. From The Daily Journal, S.F. Peninsula Weekend Journal 12/22/2017.
In fact, Tastes & Treasures II also has Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's beef jerky recipe. You don't have to go to Washington D.C. to get it.
Available at www.HistoricalLeague.org/SHOP.aspx

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art Curator Claire Carter

One of Soleri's many long scrolls with his designs

Paolo Soleri was the topic of discussion at the January Historical League meeting. Curator for SMOCA, Claire Carter, has spent years researching his background and tells some interesting stories of his life and career as an artist and architect. She presented an overview of Paolo Soleri:The City is Nature now featured at SMOCA.

Soleri and fellow student at Taliesin West

Soleri was commissioned to build this unique Dome house with rotating roof for sun exposure

Uniquely made and designed, Soleri bells

Soleri at work

Diana Smith thanked Claire Carter for an informative presentation with a copy of Tastes & Treasures cookbook

The Palace Restaurant and Saloon in Prescott

The Historical League is not the only one to appreciate The Palace Restaurant and Saloon. Thanks to a wonderful article in The Arizona Republic, January 8, 2018, we are reminded of the fascinating history of this Prescott establishment.
You can read more history and recipes from The Palace in Tastes & Treasures II, A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona due out in February. www.HistoricalLeague.org/SHOP.aspx

Calvin Goode busy with MLK celebrations

Honored as a Historymaker in 2003, Calvin Goode continues to be involved in civic affairs. So good to see him recognized again and again for all he has done as a renowned Phoenix City Councilman and educator. He continues to volunteer and improve the lives of so many. Congratulations Mr. Goode.

January cookbook meeting

Filled with information, laughter and serious discussion, the January cookbook meeting was held at the AZ Heritage Center on Monday. So grateful to have this fabulous group working on Tastes & Treasures II, A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona.
We learned how to take credit card payments at special events, saw the Phoenix Home and Garden article, discussed future shows, inventory control, publicity, Feb 13 Statehood Day celebration at the museum, proofreading, funds raised, historic venues in the book, trademarking the title, stores, and more!

Proofreading for Tastes & Treasures II

Ruth McLeod, Zona Lorig, Linda Corderman,
Leslie Christiansen, Cathy Shumard (missing Margaret Baker)

Final proofreading edits are going on for Tastes & Treasures II, A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona. We meet and discuss all the aspects of printing a cookbook: photography, history, recipes, historic buildings, commas, punctuation, recipe-style writing, index and so much more. It is a long and involved process but when you have a passion for history and food, it is a worthwhile endeavor.

Phoenix Home & Garden PR

Nice to see this article in the January 2018 edition of Phoenix Home & Garden announcing Tastes & Treasures II, A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona. Thanks to Susan Dale for scanning it.

The article resulted in several orders from all over the country. 

Those delicious creme puffs are a recipe from The Spicery in Glendale found on page 111. 

To order the book www.HistoricalLeague.org/shop.aspx

The Spicery in Our 1895 Home

Glad to see Phoenix Magazine December 2017 appreciates this charming tearoom as much as we do at the Historical League. The Spicery is one of the featured historic venues in Tastes & Treasures II, A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona to be published soon.
www.HistoricalLeague.org/shop.aspx

Feeling peckish? Remedy the problem with one of the Valley’s afternoon tea experiences.

The Spicery in Our 1895 Home
7141 N. 59th Ave., Glendale
623-937-6534, 1895spicery.com
Located in the historic Catlin Court area of downtown Glendale, this cozy shop serves a three-course tea ($23 per person) and lunch from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. every day except Sunday. In 2012, Matt Borowski took over the business from longtime owner Martha Campbell and has kept most of her traditions in place, from the buttermilk scones and ham biscuits to the coconut macaroons and matching teapots and teacups. “People don’t want (the menu and atmosphere) to change,” Borowski says. Servers bring out the tea courses separately, with detailed explanations of each bite. If you’re with a guest who doesn’t fancy tea, The Spicery has a small but suitable lunch menu that always features a hot special of the day “geared for gentlemen.” Afternoon tea requires a two-day advance reservation. 

Christmas Crackers

Did you have Christmas Crackers at your Holiday dinner table?

On a trip to Paris in 1840, Londoner Tom Smith discovered "bon bons" wrapped in a twist of tissue paper. The entrepreneur expanded this idea and created Christmas Crackers that snapped when pulled open. They were filled with small gifts, jokes, poems, paper hats, jewelry and/or miniature toys.

The company was very aware of current affairs and crackers were created for the Suffragettes, War Heroes, Charlie Chaplin, The Coronation and many other great occasions. A British tradition that continues today, exclusive crackers are even made for the Royal Family.