Eliza Acton (17 April 1799 – 13 February 1859) was an English food writer and poet. In 1845 her cookbook Modern Cookery for Private Families was released. It was one of Britain's first cookbooks aimed at the domestic reader and introduced the now-universal practice of listing ingredients and giving suggested cooking times for each recipe. It included the first recipes in English for Brussels sprouts and for spaghetti, and contains the first printed reference to Christmas pudding. Engagingly written, the book was well received by reviewers. It was reprinted within the year and several editions followed until 1918. In the later years of its publication, Modern Cookery was eclipsed by the success of Isabella Beeton's bestselling Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861), which included several recipes plagiarised from Acton's work. Many English cooks have been influenced by Acton, including Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson, Delia Smith and Rick Stein.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Acton

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1797:

French Revolutionary Wars: British Lieutenant General Ralph Abercromby and a force of 7,000 invaded Spanish-controlled Puerto Rico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Juan_%281797%29

1969:

Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirhan_Sirhan

1986:

Having supposedly been at war for 335 years without a single shot having been fired and no casualties incurred, the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly declared peace. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Hundred_and_Thirty_Five_Years%27_War

2014:

NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-186f (artist's impression shown), the first exoplanet with a radius similar to Earth's discovered in the habitable zone of another star. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-186f

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

implacable: 1. Not able to be placated or appeased. 2. Impossible to prevent or stop; inexorable, unrelenting, unstoppable. 3. Adamant; immovable. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/implacable

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

As angels in some brighter dreams Call to the soul when man doth sleep, So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted themes, And into glory peep.   --Henry Vaughan https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Vaughan