Cindy Ervin Huff

Tornadoes

/ sandramervillehart

Cindy Ervin Huff, fellow author in “The Cowboys,” shares some background for her new historical romance book release. Welcome back to Historical Nibbles, Cindy!

by Cindy Ervin Huff

Tornadoes are a force to be feared. And even more so in the 1800s, when there was no way to predict when they might come. It was so feared that the word “Tornado” wasn’t permitted to be used when reporting the news. 

Westward expansion into the Great Plains brought about the need to study tornadoes. The frequency of the whirlwinds and the intensity of its power had to be understood to keep the burgeoning communities safe.

A twister can rip a path of destruction through a farm, change course at any moment. It may take one home in a neighborhood and leave the rest or flatten an entire community. There is a report of a home in 1870s Kansas being destroyed but an oil lamp remained lit resting under a nearby tree.

Another tale was of a train ticket booth being ripped away to land in a field. Although the building was badly damaged, the window was untouched.

I was amazed to discover that until Doppler radar was adapted for use in tracking weather in 1974, predictions were hit or miss. When 149 tornadoes dubbed the Super Outbreak touch down in a 24-hour period on April 3 – 4,1974, it called for a more accurate way to measure the winds that made up tornadoes. 

The setting of my latest novel—Angelina’s Resolve, Book #1 in the “Village of Women” series—is in Kansas. Twisters are still a real threat in that state. It is part of what is called Tornado Alley, and Angelina, Edward, and the people of Resolve, Kansas are not immune from its fury.

One had to have a bit of iron in their veins to uproot and move to a new area, not knowing what obstacles would stand before them. Tornadoes and other natural disasters could make or break a homesteader and even a new town.

About Cindy

Cindy Ervin Huff is an Award-winning author of Historical and Contemporary Romance. She loves infusing hope into her stories of broken people. She’s addicted to reading and chocolate. Her idea of a vacation is visiting historical sites and an ideal date with her hubby of almost fifty years would be a live theater performance. Visit her on her website or on Facebook.

Angelina’s Resolve

Architect Angelina DuBois is determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession by building a town run by women, where everyone is equal, and temperance is in the by-laws. Contractor Edward Pritchard must guard his heart as he works with the beautiful, strong-willed yet naïve Angelina. He appreciates her ability as an architect, but she frustrates him at every turn with her leadership style. When the project is completed, will it open doors for more work or make him a laughingstock? Can two strong-will people appreciate their differences and embrace their attraction as they work together on to build their town?

Summer Kitchens in the 1800s

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Cindy Ervin Huff, fellow author in “The Cowboys,” has a new historical romance book release that I loved! Welcome back to Historical Nibbles, Cindy!

by Cindy Ervin Huff

In my newest Release Rescuing Her Heart, Delilah James wants to start a bakery to provide for herself by baking in her employer Genny Holt’s kitchen and sending baked goods to the mercantile in town. Genny persuades her husband to build a summer kitchen for baking and canning in the sweltering heat.

This was not unusual request, considering there were no air conditioners or fans in the 1870s. Many families had some sort of summer kitchen.

Some women did all the cooking for the day in the morning, so the house could cool off before evening. Then the cold food was eaten throughout the day.

For the wealthy, it comprised a brick building in the back of the house near the main kitchen. They did all the cooking and canning in the summer kitchen throughout the warm months. Middle-class families might have a summer porch for cooking or a small, roofed area out back with a stove. Others resorted to building a campfire away from the house to keep the heat out of their homes.

My heroine Delilah James helps Genny Holt do canning and baking in a summer kitchen built by Lonnie and Jed Holt. The ranch has a large garden and some of what is canned, along with the baked goods, are sold in town.

They furnished the summer kitchen with a preparation table, a stove and shelves. Utensils, pots and pans came from the main kitchen.

I am so grateful for air-conditioning so I can cook in comfort throughout the summer!

About Cindy

Cindy Ervin Huff is an Award-winning author of Historical and Contemporary Romance. She loves infusing hope into her stories of broken people. She addicted to reading and chocolate. Her idea of a vacation is visiting historical sites and an ideal date with her hubby of almost fifty years would be live theater.

Visit her at her blog.

Rescuing Her Heart

As her husband’s evil deeds haunt a mail-order bride from the grave, can she learn to trust again and open her heart to true love? Jed has his own nightmares from a POW camp and understands Delilah better than she knows herself. Can two broken people form a forever bond?

Generational Pie Crust Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

Cindy Ervin Huff, fellow author in “The Cowboys,” shares a family recipe that’s been passed down for generations. She also has a new historical romance book release that I loved! Welcome back to Historical Nibbles, Cindy!

by Cindy Ervin Huff

This recipe has been in my husband’s family for generations. It makes four crusts or several tarts.

Back in the day this recipe was created, the perfect pie crust was the envy of every homemaker. Pies were more often made than cakes. Like the little girls in my historical romance Rescuing Her Heart, they learned to make pies at an early age. Even I remember having tiny pans as a child and my mother helping me make a pie.

It was this recipe from my mother-in-law’s family that made my flaky, delicious crusts something to be proud of. I imagine my heroine Delilah James in Rescuing Her Heart used a similar recipe  when baking pies for her bakery.  

Bakers often kept recipes in their heads so no one could steal them. They measured by sight … a pinch of this, a handful of that.

A cup was not always the same depending on the tea cup one used. Standard measuring cups were slow to appear in every homemaker’s kitchen in the 1800s. Some recipes or receipts as they were often called only listed ingredients, like this one. Others gave detailed directions. Note there is no temperature listed either. Women learned from their mothers or grandmothers how to shape the dough and its various uses and how hot the oven needed to be.

This dough is good for fried pies too. Modern stoves with consistent temperatures made successful pie crusts so much easier.

Foolproof Pie Crust

Mix together in a bowl with a fork:

4 cups flour

1 ¾ cups vegetable shortening (Crisco, or Margarine, older recipes used Lard)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

In a second bowl beat:

1 tablespoon vinegar (I used apple cider)

1 egg

½ cup water

Combine and stir until moist.

My mother admired my pie crusts so much my husband made her plaque for her kitchen with the recipe on it!

About Cindy

Cindy Ervin Huff is an Award-winning author of Historical and Contemporary Romance. She loves infusing hope into her stories of broken people. She’s addicted to reading and chocolate. Her idea of a vacation is visiting historical sites and an ideal date with her hubby of almost fifty years would be live theater.

Visit her at her blog.

Rescuing Her Heart

As her husband’s evil deeds haunt a mail-order bride from the grave, can she learn to trust again and open her heart to true love? Jed has his own nightmares from a POW camp and understands Delilah better than she knows herself. Can two broken people form a forever bond?

Healing Hearts by Cindy Ervin Huff

/ sandramervillehart

From the Smitten Historical Romance Collection: The Cowboys

 Taming the West … one heart at a time.

 After all he’s lost, Lonnie Holt is determined to save his brother’s life and get Jed back to their newly-inherited home. The snowstorm wasn’t helping matters. The welcome sight of his uncle’s ranch quickly turned to dread. No one should be there. So why did smoke billow from the chimney?

 Having been hired through correspondence, Genny Collins took a job as Clyde Holt’s housekeeper months ago and had been waiting for her new boss to arrive. Meeting the Holt brothers brought more surprises than the death of her employer. She has no place to go and every reason to hide.

Lonnie, with his scarred face and scarred soul, knows that Genny will prefer his brother over him. But that doesn’t prevent him from loving the feisty, resourceful woman.

Both characters carry scars from the past. These wounded, believable characters drew me right into the story. Well-written.

This isn’t the first book I’ve read and enjoyed by this author. I will look for more stories by her.

-Sandra Merville Hart

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Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas  Save money and use coupon code SandraMHart for a 20% discount on Lighthouse Publishing books!

 

Sour Dough Starter Survived Through the Centuries

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Today’s post has been written by fellow author and friend, Cindy Ervin Huff. We’ve both written novellas that are included in “The Cowboys” Smitten collection. Cindy’s story in the collection is a page turner! Welcome to Historical Nibbles, Cindy!

 People often think of sourdough bread as part and parcel of the Old West. You might be surprised to know sourdough bread has been around since ancient Egypt. The naturally occurring yeast in the air is what sours the dough causing fermentation. The fermented goo causes the bread to rise.

Sourdough Bread gets its name from its tangy smell.

Equal parts of flour and water are mixed together and left to ferment to create the mother dough. Salt or sugar are part of the base in some recipes. Each day the mixture is stirred, and more flour and water added. Usually it takes five days before the mixture is bubbly and ready to use. Sourdough starter will live for years if fed daily.

Pioneers heading west kept a crock of sourdough starter secured in their wagon. This hardy starter survived the trail and became a staple in the new homestead. Gifting a neighbor with a cup of sourdough starter was not uncommon. The starters often had different flavors based on their origin. The bacteria in the air in New York is different from the bacteria in San Francisco. Taking a bit of raw dough from the day’s baking and adding it to the starter preserved the unique flavor. It was used for pancakes and other recipes in place of baking powder or yeast.

Most modern sourdough recipes add a teaspoon of yeast to shorten the fermentation time.

Pioneers kept it close at hand and passed the starter down through the generations.

My novella Healing Hearts, part of The Cowboy Collection, is set in 1868. Genny, my heroine, received some starter as a gift from a friend and brought it with her to Kansas.

-Cindy Ervin Huff

About Cindy

Cindy Ervin Huff is a multi-published, award inning author of Historical and Contemporary Romance. She has been featured in numerous periodicals over the last thirty years. Cindy is a member of ACFW, Mentor for Word Weavers. founding member of the Aurora, Illinois, chapter of Word Weavers, and a Christian Writer’s Guild alumni. Visit her on her blog www.jubileewriter.wordpress.com.

Healing Hearts by Cindy Ervin Huff

Lonnie Holt’s external scars remind him of his failures, his internal scars torment him. Genny Collins seeks safety at the ranch once owned by Lonnie’s uncle. When Lonnie and his brother arrive, sparks fly and distrust abounds. While Lonnie and Genny fight the love growing between them, his past haunts him, and her past pays them a visit.

Buy Links to The Cowboys:

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Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas  Save money and use coupon code SandraMHart for a 20% discount on Lighthouse Publishing books!

 

 

The Cowboys Releases Today!!!

/ sandramervillehart

 

I’m thrilled to announce my latest release!

This is my first western book. I’m in Smitten Historical Romance Collection “The Cowboys” with three other talented authors—Jennifer Uhlarik, Linda W. Yezak, and Cindy Ervin Huff. How exciting!

 

 

Here’s a bit about our stories:

Healing Hearts by Cindy Ervin Huff

Lonnie Holt’s external scars remind him of his failures, his internal scars torment him. Genny Collins seeks safety at the ranch once owned by Lonnie’s uncle. When Lonnie and his brother arrive, sparks fly and distrust abounds. While Lonnie and Genny fight the love growing between them, his past haunts him, and her past pays them a visit.

Becoming Brave by Jennifer Uhlarik

When Coy Whittaker stumbles upon a grisly scene littered with bodies, he wants nothing more than to get his boss’s cattle out of Indian Territory. But when a bloodstained Aimee Kaplan draws down on him, his plans—his heart—screech to a halt.

Trail’s End by Sandra Merville Hart

Wade Chadwick has no money until his boss’s cattle sell, so he takes a kitchen job at Abby’s Home Cooking. The beautiful and prickly owner adds spice to his workday. Abby Cox hires the down-and-out cowboy even though the word cowboy leaves a bad taste in her mouth. Just as she’s ready to trust Wade with her heart, money starts to disappear … and so does her brother.

Loving a Harvey Girl by Linda W. Yezak

Eva Knowles can’t imagine why the local preacher doesn’t like Harvey Girls—women who work serving tables instead of finding a husband and falling in love. But if Eva can get the handsome and wayward cowboy Cal Stephens to join her in church, maybe the reverend will accept the girls. Or maybe she’ll forfeit her job for a husband, hearth, and home!

Pick up your copy today!

***For my newsletter recipients, the town of Abilene hired Tom Smith as marshal in 1870. Good luck in the drawing!

Reviews are always welcome!

 

 

Cover Reveal for Upcoming “The Cowboys Collection” Release!

/ sandramervillehart

 

Revealing the book cover for the “Smitten Historical Romance Collection: The Cowboys” that releases in August!

All the authors in collection—Jennifer Uhlarik, Linda W. Yezak, Sandra Merville Hart, and Cindy Ervin Huff—have written stories with cowboy heroes and feisty heroines. Prepare to head to the Wild West!

I hope you love the book cover as much as we do!

Trail’s End, my novella in the collection, is set in the wild cowtown of Abilene, Kansas.

Back cover blurb:

Wade Chadwick has no money until his boss’s cattle sell, so he takes a kitchen job at Abby’s Home Cooking. The beautiful and prickly owner adds spice to his workday. Abby Cox hires the down-and-out cowboy even though the word cowboy leaves a bad taste in her mouth. Just as she’s ready to trust Wade with her heart, money starts to disappear…and so does her brother.

Mail-order Brides

/ sandramervillehart

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Today’s guest post is written by fellow author, Cindy Ervin Huff. I think you will enjoy learning a bit about mail-order brides.

 

Mail-order brides were a booming business in the 1800s. The Matrimonial News, a San Francisco paper, was sold throughout America during the mid to late 19th century. The paper was chock full of ads from lonely men or hopeful women looking for a chance at love, financial security, or a step-parent. Many a single woman and widow traveled west to marry strangers.

Some advertisers misrepresented themselves, causing lawsuits and broken promises. There were rocky relationships and joyously happy ones. It was common for the prospective groom to write the bride for a few months before paying for her passage. A few women came with dark secrets, fears or—surprise—children not mentioned in her correspondence.

One woman, a con artist, was quite surprised when her intended mark had misrepresented himself and was poor as a church mouse. The ads were often filled with exaggerations regarding wealth and physical appearance.

Many young men had gone west in pursuit of gold, land, and other opportunities. Missing the comforts of home, they were anxious to find wives. The Matrimonial News presented many willing men to the single female population back east.

After the Civil War, many newspapers carried columns dedicated to these paid announcements. The shrinking pool of eligible men in the east was the number one reason why women were so willing to immigrate west. Even the homely woman had no problem finding a husband.

Most women placed ads focusing on their finer qualities. Some included pictures. One woman, however, advertised herself as fat and 45. This successful businesswoman wanted a man over forty.

cindy-2016Bio:

Cindy Ervin Huff is a multi-published writer and winner of the Editor’s Choice Award from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas at the 2014 Write-To-Publish Conference. Secrets and Charades released March 15, 2017.She has been featured in numerous periodicals over the last thirty years. Cindy is a past member of the Christian Writer’s Guild and President of the Aurora, Illinois, chapter of Word Weavers. Visit Cindy on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cindyehuff, follow her on twitter @CindyErvinHuff, or check out her blog at www.jubileewriter.wordpress.com.

Her Brand New Release!!!

secret-charades-front-coverSecrets and Charades : Dr. Evangeline Olson is desperate to put her past behind her. Civil War veteran and rancher, Jake Marcum gets more than he expects in his mail-order bride. Will the secrets in their hearts get in the way of a happily-ever-after?

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