The Evolution of Recipes

The picture on the right is of a Christmas Stolen. It's a German coffee bread that is traditionally served on Christmas morning. I've never made one before, but plan to this year.

The first Christmas thing I bake every year is a fruit filled pound cake that was originally called Kentucky Bourbon Cake. I was laughing as I put the fruit out to soak because I couldn't remember how the recipe went when I first started making it 35 years ago. I've lost the original recipe and am making more modifications this year to the already modified recipe.

It can't be called a Bourbon cake any longer because I decided to use Brandy. Since I live in Indiana, it could be named Indiana Brandy Cake. Originally it called for the traditional fruitcake type candied fruit along with raisins and pecans. Since I don't like citron or candied pineapple, I switched to green and red glaceed cherries. This year I have an abundance of dried cranberries so I decided to dump the glace fruit altogether. Mr. Bill is a little nervous because he doesn't like too many changes to his favorite recipes. I think it will be great! (Recipe follows below)

The reason I ended up using brandy was that I was too embarrassed to ask for bourbon. Even then it was an adventure to get the brandy for the cake. When I lived up north my local supermarket carried everything, even liquor. Well, my new local supermarket carries wine and beer, but that's it. I asked the checkout lady where I could get brandy and she looked shocked. I told her right away that it was for fruitcake, but I don't think she believed me. The bag boy knew, though, and informed me that there is a liquor store a little farther down the street. I had never noticed it. I felt a little funny going in there, and although I told the girl I was making fruitcake, I think I just should not have said anything.

The cake only takes 1/3 cup of brandy and a little more to soak the cheesecloth wrap as it ages. So now I had a lot of brandy left. Many years ago I made something called a Rum Pot. Over a period of 4 weeks you add different fruits to rum and sugar. When it is done, it can be served over ice cream or pound cake. Well, you probably guessed - this year I'm making Brandied Fruit instead. I could have called it Brandy Pot but it somehow lost a lot in the translation. (Recipe follows below)

All of that brings me back to Christmas Stolen. I never made it because it calls for citron. I'm thinking though that it might be great with glaceed cherries...or maybe even cranberries.

INDIANA BRANDY CAKE

1 1/2 cups raisins
2 cups dried cranberries (or red and green candied cherries)
1/3 cup brandy (or bourbon - maybe even sherry)
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1. Soak raisins and fruits in brandy for several hours.
2. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Stir dry ingredients together.
3. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy.
4. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk.
5. Stir in fruits and nuts.
6. Turn into pan. Bake a 300 for 2 hours. It's done when top springs back.
7. Cool in pan 20 min. Remove and cool completely. Wrap in brandy-soaked cheesecloth and then in foil. Store in refrigerator 3-4 weeks. Resoak as necessary.

BRANDIED FRUIT
Allow at least 4 weeks before serving.

1 can (16 ounces) sliced peaches, drained
1 can (13 1/4 ounces) pineapple chunks
2 cups sugar.
1 cup brandy (or rum)

Place peaches and pineapple in 2-3 quart sterilized glass or glazed pottery container. Add 2 cups sugar and the brandy. (Fruit should be completely covered with brandy; add more brandy if necessary.) Cover container loosely. Let stand at room temperature, stirring several times to dissolve sugar, for 2 weeks. (Stir carefully to avoid breaking up fruit)

After 2 weeks add:
1 can (16 ounces) sliced pears, drained
1 can (about 17 ounces) apricot halves, drained
2 cups sugar

Fruit should always be completely covered; add more brandy if necessary. Let stand at room temperature, stirring several times to dissolve sugar, 2 weeks longer.

After 2 weeks stir in:
1 package (10 ounces) frozen raspberries, thawed.
The Brandied Fruit is now ready to use. It will keep several weeks if stored in refrigerator. Serve at room temperature for best flavor. 15 to 20 servings.

I started my fruit last Thursday - to be ready for New Year's Eve.

My Thanksgiving Recipe Book

A few years ago I decided to put all my Thanksgiving recipes into one small book. Usually I had piles of cookbooks and loose recipes all over the counters in a rather small kitchen with limited counter space.

In my Microsoft Works there is a place to organize recipes and I typed the ones I needed in there and added some Thanksgiving clip art. I bought a small inexpensive 4 x 6 foto album and replaced their cardboard cover insert with my own - (picture above). Here is how some of the recipe pages turned out:





This works out well for Thanksgiving because I almost always make the same things. This year I only made the Turkey, Gravy, Stuffing and Potatoes. My Guests brought the vegetables and dessert.

Some of the other recipes included in my book are Turkey Stuffing, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Bean-Mushroom Medley, Pastry for two pie crusts, Famous Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie and Crescent rolls. (I cheated and bought rolls again this year).

I found my little book so handy and helpful that I made one for Christmas Baking too.

NO leaves, NO sun, NOvember

November is living up to it's bad reputation this week.

November

No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -
November!

by Thomas Wood

Boy! That's depressing - and so is the 5 days of rain we've had. But never fear - I have lots of inspiration and cheer to get through these darkened days. Here's a better November poem:

Kitchen Magic

When Gray days sometimes leave you
At a loss for what to do,
Fill your house with warmth and fragrance....
Bake a pie, a cake or two.

Make some heart-shaped sugar cookies
or a creamy pudding, fine;
A batch of fudge or brownies
Helps to pass the gloomy time.

A tin of golden muffins
Or some loaves of fresh-baked bread,
I am sure will be more pleasing
Than some 'store-bought' bread, instead.

What a thoughtful cheery greeting
For your loved ones...at the door
When they sniff your homemade goodies,
Wafting welcome evermore.

Violet Rourke Broderick

"Kitchen Magic" comes from the Ideals pamphlet shown on the left. It's one of several that I have - dog-eared and well used. The sentiments and heart-warming pictures always pull me back to the 'ideal' of family life and daily living. Some may call this 'corny', but the poems and pictures speak to my heart.

Today, I am inspired to make some of my Cranberry - Ginger Shortbread. - a recipe I copied from the Dec 2001 Victoria Magazine . So, I'll turn on all the lights in the kitchen, pick out a fall looking apron, line up all the ingredients on my island and indulge myself in a happy hour of creativity.

Cranberry Shortbread

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour
2/3 cup coarsely chopped dried cranberries
1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger OR 1/4 tsp powdered ginger (or more to taste)

1. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (for 3 6" rounds).

2. Cream butter and sugar. Add dry ingredients on low speed, slowly. Stir in cranberries and ginger. Mix until just crumbly. Knead together into a ball.

3. Divide dough into 3 balls. Press each to a 6" round on baking sheet. Cut each round into 8 wedges (do not divide). Press edges with tines of a fork. Chill 15 min.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Edges should be light brown.

5. Let cool 15 minutes on pan. Cut now or later.

Of Cottages--and Kings

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cottages--and kings--"

This little ditty kept running through my head the other day. It's one of those famous poem lines I had to memorize as a child. After a while I realized that I had it wrong - the last line is 'of CABBAGES--and kings'. (Methinks it might have been a Freudian slip). I had been asking myself why I was still at sixes and sevens two full months after the big move, and what comes to mind but a Lewis Carroll nonsense rhyme!

It's called 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' and is from 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'. Since I was thinking about it, I decided to look up the rest of the poem. Here's the first two stanzas:

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright--
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.


The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done--
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"

I've never been a big fan of Lewis Carroll or of nonsense poems in general, so I was shocked to find that it was making sense to me! Everything is topsy-turvy and not in the place it's supposed to be. Even the sun and the moon seem to be in the wrong places.

I can relate to that. Since 1978 I've lived in houses that were oriented East to West. My new cottage is oriented North to South. I can't see the sun rise OR set. I always tried to do my morning devotions at sunrise and it was great to see a new day dawn. If I could, I tried to do my evening devotions at sunset - sometimes with spectacular displays as a backdrop. The last house was a great one for sunsets.

And that's not all: every time I automatically reach for something, it's not there and I have to stop and think where I've put it. Every time I write my address, I have to stop and really concentrate to get it right. I used to just jump into my car and it would go on automatic pilot to wherever I needed to be. (Okay, some days I'd end up in the wrong spot, but not too often). The first night we were here I didn't realize that I was sleeping on the wrong side of the bed because it was turned around. I ended up falling off in the middle of the night. And on and on it goes.

I really like my cottage and don't miss my old house at all - certainly NOT the stairs. But I have been disoriented. I'm sure it's not my age!

O course, sooner or later, this will all pass. In the meanwhile, I think I'll dig out my Alice books. I may be able to relate to her in a whole new way!

'My Apologies' and 'If I had a Goose I MIGHT Have Cooked It.'

I have to apologize for my ramblings about the 'good old days' the last two blogs. I guess it comes from my frustration at not being able to complete the decorating on my new place. I kind of wander around trying to decide what to do about curtains and where to hang pictures. So instead of grasping the situation firmly and getting it done, I spend time reading philosophy and then more time philosophizing! Meanwhile, my 86 year old mother is telling me all her plans and accomplishments. (This week she is painting her shed - one side per day). Some day I'll figure out her secret. One thing - she isn't distracted by reading philosophy. Cookbooks, yes, but philosophy, no.

Yesterday, I was wasting time researching Michaelmas Daisies and came across information that there are all sorts of things associated with the name 'Michaelmas'. One of them is a harvest feast that usually includes a roast goose and things made from apples - apple stuffing, apple jelly, apple desserts. A goose used to be essential, but I found out that nowadays a chicken is considered more than adequate. This is a good thing - one Thanksgiving my Mom decided to cook a goose instead of a turkey and it was quite a project. It was a hilarious project! I'll tell the story in a future blog.

Well, anyway, since I hadn't planned dinner yet, I decided to make a Michaelmas feast (with a roast chicken). I went to my local market and found that all the whole chickens at the meat counter were frozen solid! The breasts were all frozen, too, but I did find some good looking thighs that were pot-ready. I picked up some apple butter and some bread that had a 'harvest time' look about it.

When I got home, I cut up some apples and put them in the bottom of a baking dish. I placed the chicken thighs on top, smeared them with butter and a little salt and baked them at 375 for an hour. I threw some baking potatoes in the oven, too. A tossed salad with lettuce,apples, dried cranberries, and nuts topped with a sweet-sour dressing was a last minute inspiration.

I must say that my 'feast' surpassed my expectations! It looked very 'harvesty' and tasted great! The apple butter on the bread was a great touch. We finished off with some pumpkin spice bars and a little cranberry wine from Wisconsin.

My feast wasn't planned, but sometimes serendipity works, too.

P.S. The fall term at Oxford is also called 'Michaelmas'; the spring term is called St. Hillary. See what useful info you can find when you waste time!

Michaelmas Daisies, G.K., and the Thrill of Monotony

Whatever happened to Michaelmas Daisies? I'm not sure, but I think that they are asters. Whether that is an old fashioned name for all asters or just for a particular variety, I can't say.

When I was a child, Michaelmas Daisies were a common feature of the gardens I knew. They were a delicate purple flower that bloomed in September and October. How nice it was that when everything else was fading, they were just coming into their own. They remind me of the passage in Ecclesiastes about there being a season for everything.

Several years ago, I bought a plant labeled 'Aster', but it bloomed in June and never came back! Can't have been the real thing. I'm going to have to take a drive around town and see if I can't spy some.

Last Sunday evening I saw a man portraying G.K. Chesterton. He quoted him about life being a 'dance' and not a 'race'. The dance stands for order - rhythmic and recurring action around a central thing whereby balance is kept. God built this balance and rhythm in nature - the days, the seasons, and the stars.

The 'dance' ruled in society and private life until 'the cult of progress' took hold in the last century. It was a new goofy idea in Chesterton's day, but a way of life now. "New is always better than old", "We must leave the past behind us" are two of the progressivists credos. Doing the 'same old thing' is truly a horror. It's just as bad as having the 'same old tired ideas'. "Change is what we need!" And finally, "God is Dead!" But the problem is, the progressivists have no clear goals for the race they propose. So, here we are, personally and collectively rushing toward unknown or undefined goals (healthcare is one of the latest) and all the world is thrown off balance by it. But if nothing else, progressivists say, "the race is more exciting than the dance!" Is it?

Let's ask G.K.:

"Because children have unbounding vitality, because they are fierce and free, they therefore want things repeated and unchanged. They often say, "Do it again", and the grown up person does it again till he is nearly dead. For grown up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps, God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes each daisy separately, but never got tired of making them. It may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."

From Bats to Buzzards

One of the great joys of life is to be tuned into the natural world that is all around us. Bird watching has been a favorite pastime of mine for 60 plus years. I've always had a garden and am well acquainted with all the gentle visitors that have shown up to eat at my flowers and feeders.

The first few days we were here, I didn't see ANY birds. I could HEAR some jays and finches in the woods at the side of our house, but never saw one. Then one evening as I sat on the deck watching the sun go down and waiting for the first star, I was introduced to my first visitors - BATS. It wasn't even dark yet, but there they were bombing all over the place.

The next visitors were crows - lots of them. Of course years ago we had crows stop by every now and then on garbage day, but the West Nile Virus had wiped them out in our area. So, it was fun to see them again and to watch their raucus antics.

While I was watching the crows, I began to notice smaller birds walking around with them. Kildeer! Actually, they are not so small, but were dwarfed by the crows. They really grow them BIG out here. Well, the kildeer are delightful. Eventually they came closer and even play in the puddles on the walking trail. The way they walk/run reminds me of the Road Runner.

At first, I didn't realize that there was a creek in the woods. J-man II took me exploring in there and I was amazed to find a 10 foot deep ravine with a creek at the bottom in a very dense wood. This has promise! It seems to be teeming with all sorts of wildlife. J-man says he's run into large snapping turtles. But, I'm not the only one who's noticed that there's life in there. A great-horned owl hunts there in the middle of the night and has a lot of fun sitting in a tree next to my bedroom window hooting for hours.

But the prized sighting goes to Mr. Bill. He had noticed a dead red squirrel on the road one day when he was going to the nursing home to visit his brother Tony. When he returned, he found a determined Turkey Vulture feasting on the carcass. He barely moved when Bill slowed down to go around him. That squirrel was HIS and nobody was going to contest it!

Yesterday I rigged up my bird feeder and put out my 'bait' - sunflower seeds. I'm hoping to lure some of my old gentle friends out of the woods and onto my deck. I can HEAR them, but I would like to SEE them, too.