The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
The photo shows a cafe behind glass which appears to be on the ground floor of a large building. . There are tables, chairs, and people in the cafe. Skyscrapers are reflected in the glass.
Click Frog to Participate
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
AMERICAN PIE
Exhausted after a day of household duties, Amelia gathered her receipts. Quill in hand, she squinted at the parchment in the candlelight. “This new world needs its own receipt book. I shall entitle mine ‘American Cookery.’”
She wrote and whispered, “2 pounds citron, currants, and raisins…”
***
“Do you suppose this café serves independence cake?” Elise thumbed through her newly acquired slice of history.
Brandy cast a puzzled glance at the book. “What’s that?”
“First American cookbook. Published by a woman named Amelia Simmons in 1796. I found this facsimile on Amazon.”
“Why have I never heard of her?”
“Good question.”
Little is known about Amelia Simmons.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
We’re all learning to eat independence cake now
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Neil.
“Someone left the cake out in the rain…” I guess independence cake is up for debate.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
I have never heard of an Independence Cake- but if ours should be returned during my lifetime- I just might give it a try!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Violet,
I guess much remains to be seen. 😉 Thank you for stopping by for a slice.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s very interesting… food then? Hmm…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Chris,
I went for food. Glad you found it interesting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Rochelle,
I love that she calls them “receipts”. It had to start somewhere!
And who doesn’t love a pound cake?
Shalom and lotsa love from the kitchen,
Dale
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Dale,
It’s been years since I’ve had a slice of pound cake. I used to love it with a heavy layer of butter.
I wonder when receipts became recipes? Another search for another time perhaps.
Shalom and lotsa fresh baked hugs,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mmmm….now I want some!
LikeLike
I like the story you created for how the recipe came into being. I think we might want to eat that cake while we can!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Clare,
It does sound like quite a cake doesn’t it? Thank you re my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
It’f fo much more difficult to read old-fafhioned fpelling and writing 🙂
I love old recipe books, found one years ago that reads a lot like your recipe. I did better using it once I had a few year’s experience in cooking!
LikeLike
I’m not anonymous. Guess you have to log in to be identified.
LikeLike
Dear Linda,
I appreciate your idendifying yourfelf. Some of those old receipts look interesting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember being confused by “receipts”while reading my very first Georgette Heyer book. I was probably 11 or 12. No computers back then, so I had to research it the old-fashioned way 🙂 Took me a while to find it. Today, I checked the etymology. Still somewhat cloudy, language being what it is.
LikeLike
Good story about an American hero. The video was interesting, and interesting to see she was a civic-minded orphan ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Lisa,
I’d really love to know more of this lady’s story. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rochelle, thanks much. There is plenty of her story “out there,” with plenty more to be revealed over time.
Shalom,
Lisa
LikeLike
Fascinating history of cooking and recipe books, something that has become so ubiquitous today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Amanda,
Actually I look most recipes online and then print them off. Then my son gave me an amazing cookbook called The Wok.
Thank you re my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
The internet is the biggest cookbook of all
LikeLike
Happy National Women’s month! Thanks for the history lesson. I think I will share this with my friend at https://thehistoricalhomemaker.com/.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy National Women’s month to you, Dawn. You’re always welcome to a history lesson. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is as fascinating read Rochelle 🙌
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Angela.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this bit of history, learning something new from your story. Thank you for teaching me something new and wonderful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Angela,
Thank you for such a lovely comment/compliment. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Yes, great historical information. I wonder if the ingredients used can still be found today, or do we have to use the modern processed alternatives.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear James,
From what I could tell, most of the ingredients look to be ones we could find today…in huge proportions. I won’t be looking into it. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s really interesting, especially the Receipts page!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Keith,
I’ve heard the term receipts used before. Always thought it was odd. Language fascinates me.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
All of those recipe books had to start from someone at some time.
I don’t think people even cook anymore. Recipe books might be
on their way out or maybe already are out. HA HA
Bueno, como siempre, Izzy 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
Querida Izzy,
A few weeks ago our eldest son came home to offer comfort after Jan’s sister passed away. My son and I spent an entire day cooking a meal. It was great fun. He loves to cook. And after he left he sent me a copy of The Wok by Kenji Lopez-Alt. A huge book with a lot of info.
But as many cookbooks and cooks as there are, I agree. Cookbooks aren’t what they used to be. And so many recipes are available online. I have a large loose-leaf in which I’ve been compiling online recipes.
Lo siento for the long winded reply. I’m distill that down to gracias mi amiga. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Querida Rochelle,
No hay problema. Me gusta leer las cosas que familia hace. ❤️
It’s funny you should write this. My 2 daughters who live (New York & So. Carolina) in different states decided to come for a belated Puerto Rican Traditional Christmas dinner, and visit without their family. When I was making the arroz con gandules verde my daughter decided to video tape the procedure and snap the ingredients. They want to know how to make it. I loved the idea, and it was very heartwarming.
It’s a testament that family and friends around a table with a home cooked meal is all you need to be happy and content.
Thanks for sharing … mi amiga. ❤️
LikeLike
This is fascinating, Rochelle, and I’m reminded that I haven’t made a pound cake in a very long time! Wonderful story.
Shalom
🕊️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Nancy,
I don’t know that I’ve ever made a pound cake. I used to buy Sara Lee brand pound cake. It was great with butter on it. Now I’m gluten free and eating has its challenges.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ve come a long way in compiling recipes, haven’t we? I just google as and when I need something. Nicely done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Sandra,
You can find just about anything online these days. However I’ve printed off quite a few and compiled them in a large loose-leaf notebook. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
This was exciting to learn about. The First American cookbook by Amelia Simmons was a good tipic. And have you heard about the person who is getting recipes from tombstones?
“Rosie Grant, a librarian and archivist, discovered recipes engraved on gravestones during a 2021 internship at Washington, D.C.’s Congressional Cemetery, which inspired her viral TikTok project @ghostlyarchive and led to the 2025 cookbook To Die For, featuring 40 gravestone recipes and stories of love, legacy, and food.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Yvette,
Glad you enjoyed my story. I wish more was known about Amelia Simmons.
Rosie Grant’s project sounds fascinating. Thank you for sharing that.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
wishing you a great day, R
LikeLike
Four dozen eggs! Twenty pounds flour… holy mackerel, that must have been some cake! Where do you bake something like that? A baker’s oven?
Interesting story, Rochelle, and great pictures. I’m fascinated by that font and the use of the different s’es.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Gabi,
The font is fascinating. I wonder when they dropped f’s as s’s. I’m certainly glad they did.
My dad was a restaurant owner and was once asked for his pumpkin pie recipe. He started with something like twenty pounds of flour…He made everything in large batches. Perhaps Amelia was thinking along those same lines. 😉
Thank you for stopping by for a slice of story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Brandy needs to read your blog. She’ll learn a lot about a variety of interesting people who have been buried by history.
LikeLike
Dear Nobbin,
Thank you for the encouraging comment. Who’s Brandy?
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
You tell me. 🤔
“Brandy cast a puzzled glance at the book. “What’s that?”
“First American cookbook. Published by a woman named Amelia Simmons in 1796. I found this facsimile on Amazon.”
“Why have I never heard of her?”
“Good question.””
LikeLike
Oh duh. 🥹
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤣 I’ve been there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess I write em and forget em.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s not easy being a deity. There are so many creation of which to keep track.
LikeLike
🤣🤣🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gosh, what a fascinating story.
You do find such interesting examples of history not told
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Laurie,
I’m always amazed at how much is out there I never knew about. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely snippet about Amelia, and hello to Elise too! I’m intrigued by the receipts – recipes etymology. Going to have to look that one up!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Jen,
I find the receipts thing interesting, too. Could be fodder for a story, maybe. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s fascinating, Rochelle. There should be a restaurant that just serves dishes from that book, or maybe like a Colonial era night or something. It’d be cool to try some of that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear David,
Sounds like a great idea for a restaurant. And the servers should all dress in Colonial costume. How fun would that be? Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have you read the book “Women In The Kitchen,” by Ann Willan? It tells the history and American Cookery writing profiling 12 women including Amelia Simmons up until Alice Waters. Fascinating read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Michele,
Never heard of the book. Sounds interesting. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike