Historical Nibbles

10 Family-Friendly Things to do During our Stay-At-Home

/ sandramervillehart

Many of us are staying at home right now. We are working from home while our children are off from school.

In thinking of positive things to do during this time, I’ve already washed my curtains and plan to do some spring cleaning as time allows, but let’s have fun with our loved ones while soccer practices and dance lessons are cancelled.

Here are a few ideas:

1) Movie night

Take turns selecting movies so that everyone gets into the fun while making sure that the show is appropriate for each person in the room. Don’t forget the popcorn!

2) Themed dinner nights such as:

Meatloaf Monday or burgers

Taco Tuesday

Wacky Wednesday can be hodge-podge meal of menu items that don’t normally go together like Spaghetti and peanut butter sandwiches. Ask your children for ideas—they’ll be creative!

Thermal Thursday—spicy dishes or soup and sandwiches

Fish Friday

3) Puzzles

Put up your card table, if possible, so that you can leave the puzzle out for a few days depending on how fast you work.

4) If your budget allows, order carryout meals for your family. Pizza, chicken, burgers, wings, and sandwiches will be a treat and will also help our favorite restaurants make it through these challenging times.

5) Board game night

Many of us have a few board games on a shelf. Dust them off and plan a fun game night. Take turns allowing each person—no matter their age—to select the next game. Doing this helps with grumbling because each one knows their turn is coming to select a game.

6) Make dessert together.

Do you have a delicious chocolate cake recipe? Does you banana bread always get compliments? Do your children love your chocolate chip cookies? Invite them to bake a batch with you. It may be messy but messes can be cleaned. The fun your children have creating their favorite dessert is worth biting your tongue and keeping the atmosphere light and happy.

7) Video game night

Remember those video games in your cabinet? Why not use them in that gaming system none of you have thought of for months? Take turns playing each one’s favorites.

8) Silly Saturday—have some silly fun with your family!

a. Wear pajamas all day

b. Eat breakfast food for supper

c, Crazy hair day—on purpose!

d. Ask your children for silly ideas and select one.

9) Stay active!

a. Enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. If possible, play in the yard. Sit on your balcony or porch. Walk in the park if it’s open, maintaining social distance.

b. Create dance steps to your favorite song. Involve as many family members as possible. Consider input from everyone in the home. Practice the steps and then take a video. Share it if you like. Your video will encourage others.

c. Many of us have exercise DVDs tucked away in the cabinet. Pull them out and do one daily.

10) Read a book!

This is the perfect time to curl up with a good book. If you want new selections, it’s very easy to buy print books and eBooks. Authors are small businesses too.

 

Many churches are live-streaming worship services so this will help us stay connected to others too.

I hope this list sparked ideas for fun activities with your family. I’d love to hear about it if you’d like to share.

I am saying a prayer for the health and safety for all my loved ones. If you’re reading this, you’re included! Stay safe and healthy. Love to all.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Ways to Keep Eggs Fresh without Refrigeration

/ sandramervillehart

Have you ever wondered how pioneers kept food fresh in the days before refrigeration? I have. I’m sure that part of my curiosity stems from writing historical novels, but that’s not the only reason. I love history!

These methods are from an 1877 cookbook.

Mrs. H.S. Huntington suggests several methods—yet they all start with the using fresh eggs.

  • Place 2 inches of salt in a stone jar. Add a layer of eggs with the small end pointed down. Then another layer of salt and then eggs until the jar is almost full. The final layer is salt. Cover and store in a cool place not cold enough to freeze the eggs.
  • Dip the eggs in melted wax.
  • Dip the eggs in a weak solution of gum.
  • Dip the eggs in flaxseed oil. (Wax, gum, and flaxseed oil make the shell air-resistant.) Using flaxseed oil was the best method, in Mrs. Huntington’s opinion, yet it discolors the eggs.
  • To prepare eggs for winter: Boil water in a large pot. Arrange eggs in a wire basket and lower them slowly into the water for a count of ten. Then remove the basket from the water slowly to avoid crackage. After this, pack them in salt as described above.

Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher (yes, this is likely the wife of the famous minister) shared another method of preserving eggs.

Slake (combine) a pound of stone lime in 2 gallons of water. Allow it to chill. Then stir in a pint of salt and let it settle until clear.

Select a keg, half-barrel, or stone pot for storage. Pack eggs carefully inside with the small end down. Remove any eggs that crack because even one cracked egg will ruin the whole batch.

Once eggs are packed close together, pour lime water gently over them “without disturbing the sediment” and cover completely. Wait a few minutes and add more water so the eggs are thoroughly covered.

Close the jar. Don’t open until the eggs are needed.

Have you learned of other methods?

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.

 

Boiled Eggs

/ sandramervillehart

From deviled eggs to coloring eggs, I’ve boiled hundreds of eggs in my lifetime and I suspect you’ve made your share as well. However, I learned a couple of useful tips from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Perhaps these will also be helpful to you.

Firstly, for any boiled egg, piercing the large end of the egg before cooking releases the pressure that can crack the shell. You can pierce this with an egg piercer or use a needle. I don’t own an egg piercer so I used a needle.

Unfortunately, the hard-boiled egg still cracked a little.

Secondly, adding the egg to the water varies between soft-boiled, medium-boiled, and hard-boiled eggs. I had always placed the eggs in cold water and then turned on the burner.

Thirdly, fill the kettle with enough water to cover the egg.

 

For soft-boiled eggs—Wait until the water is gently simmering to add the egg on a tablespoon. The recipe calls for cooking the egg 3 – 4 minutes for softly-set whites and runny yolks. I cooked mine for 3½ minutes and then submerged it in cold water to halt the cooking process. It was very hard to peel against the very soft egg whites and the yolk quickly ran over the plate.

For coddled or medium-boiled eggs—Wait until the water is gently boiling to add the egg on a tablespoon. The recipe calls for cooking the egg 4 – 5 minutes for firm opaque whites and soft yolks. I cooked mine for 4½ minutes and then submerged it in cold water to halt the cooking process. It was still hard to peel against the soft egg whites and the yolk was runny not soft.

For hard-boiled eggs—Place the egg in enough water to cover it and then bring it to a boil. Simmer for 12 minutes. Immediately submerge it in cold water. Overcooked eggs, though fine to eat, develop an unappetizing dark ring that diners will see instead of a pretty yellow yolk. As noted above, piercing the shell didn’t prevent small cracks on this one yet it peeled easily. It gave the firm yolks and whites that signify a hard-boiled egg.

For my taste and preference, I’d cook the medium-boiled eggs about a minute longer and it’d be just about perfect.

Enjoy!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

 

Storing Eggs

/ sandramervillehart

Have you ever thrown away leftover egg whites because a pie or cake recipe required only yolks? Or have egg yolks ended up in the garbage because you only needed egg whites to make meringue?

That’s happened to me as well.

I found some guidelines in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook for storing eggs that have been separated.

Uncooked yolks may be stored in the fridge for 2 – 3 days. Cover them a thin layer of cold water. Cover the bowl with plastic until ready to use in a sauce. You may also add the yolks when cooking scrambled eggs to enrich the flavor.

Leftover egg whites will last a few days in the fridge if stored in a covered container.

Unbeaten egg whites can be frozen.

When freezing egg yolks or whole eggs that have been removed from the shell, salt or sugar must be added. If saving the eggs for a dessert, add sugar, using 1 teaspoon per 6 yolks. When the frozen eggs will be used in egg dishes or sauces, add ½ teaspoon of salt per 6 yolks.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

 

 

Poached Eggs Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

I have been on a low-carb diet for a few weeks. Since eggs are on the diet, I’ve been looking for new ways to fix them.

When I was a child, my grandmother had an egg poacher pan. It was a single-serving pan about the size of a man’s doubled fist. She used it to make a poached egg for my grandfather on rare occasions. Sadly, that pan is long gone and I’ve never seen another like it. Yet it stirred an interest in poached eggs so I thought I’d share this simple recipe with you.

I made a single serving with one egg.

When poaching 3 – 4 eggs, choose a nonstick 10 – 12-inch skillet. Since I made 1 egg, I chose a smaller nonstick skillet. Nonstick is important because you don’t want the eggs to stick to the pan.

Fill the skillet with water until 2/3 full. Add 1 teaspoon of vinegar, which helps keep the egg together while it cooks.

Add ½ teaspoon of salt or salt to taste. Heat the water to simmering.

Crack an egg and place it on a plate. When the water starts to simmer, slide the egg gently off the plate into the water. (If cooking 3 or 4 eggs, use separate plates so you can arrange them around the pan in a 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, 12:00 pattern.)

Turn off the heat. Cover the skillet and allow the egg to stand for 5 – 6 minutes. The whites are opaque when done.

Remove from the water with a slotted spoon. These eggs are delicious on toast, on hash, or on an English muffin.

I served mine on lettuce and ate it as a wrap. Delicious! I prefer my egg yolks slightly runny so I cooked it 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

 

 

Shirred Eggs Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

I have been on a low-carb diet for a few weeks. Since eggs are on the diet, I’ve been looking for new ways to fix them. Shirred eggs are baked so this is a variation from the scrambled eggs and omelets that I’ve been eating.

Shirred eggs are baked in a shallow dish (I used ramekins) until just set. The yolks should be runny. Place the ramekin on a baking sheet to make it easier to remove from the oven.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put 1½ teaspoons butter in the ramekin and place it in the oven to melt the butter. When melted, remove from oven and swirl the butter to coat the dish.

Crack 2 eggs and place them in separate bowls. Then carefully slide the eggs, one at a time, into the buttered ramekin. Cover tightly with foil.

The recipe says to bake for 7 minutes. Mine took almost twice that to bake. Though the eggs should be barely set and the yolks runny, they were still raw at 7 minutes. Try baking 12 – 14 minutes and see what your preferences are.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Delicious! It tasted similar to a soft-boiled egg. Here are a couple of variations to try that are still low-carb:

  • Sprinkle with cheese (cheddar, swiss, etc.) after baking and while still hot.
  • Cook 4 small sausages until done for every 2-egg serving. Drain. Arrange sausages around the egg in the baking dish and bake the eggs.
  • Place 2-3 tablespoons of cooked ham, diced, into the baking dish, cover with 2 eggs, and bake. (Other meats like corned beef and chipped beef can be substituted for the ham.)
  • Shirred Eggs Florentine – Spread 2 tablespoons of chopped, cooked spinach per 2-egg serving on the bottom of the ramekin, cover with the eggs. Then sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

 

 

 

Creme Patissiere Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

I’ve been watching a lot of cooking shows recently that have inspired me to try new things. The recipe for crème patissiere is called basic cream filling in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Though it’s most commonly used in pies, pastries, and cream puffs, I wanted to use this custard as a layer in a chocolate cake.

Mix together ½ cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of flour, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

Heat 1 cup of milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until it’s almost ready to boil. Remove from heat.

Stir the milk into the dry ingredients until well-blended.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Using low heat, whisk constantly for 4 – 5 minutes when the custard turns smooth and thick.

Stir in 2 slightly beaten egg yolks and cook a couple more minutes.

Remove from heat. Let it cool, stirring occasionally, and then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Delicious! Smooth and creamy and thick. As I said, I used it as filling for a chocolate cake. It’s a good flavor but a thicker consistency than a layer of mousse. My husband loved it!

I will definitely make this again—the next time in as a layer in a pie.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Source

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

First Christmas at Columbia Tusculum

/ sandramervillehart

Benjamin Stites discovered the future location of Columbia, Ohio, through an unfortunate event. He was on a trading expedition with other traders in Kentucky when some of their horses were stolen. They built a raft and pursued Native Americans across the Ohio River. Stites and his men followed them up the Little Miami River. He returned without the horses, but had found the location of a settlement he wanted to establish.

Stites returned to his Pennsylvania home and eventually purchased 20,000 acres on the Ohio River near the mouth of the Little Miami River.

Twenty-six people traveled the Ohio River in November of 1788. Stites’ group included women and children. At Limestone, Kentucky (modern-day Maysville,) they prepared lumber to build a fort. They resumed their journey, arriving near the mouth of the Little Miami River on November 18th.

Having heard rumors of Native Americans waiting for them, Stites’ party posted sentinels. After singing a hymn and praying, the settlers began building a blockhouse. Three more blockhouses were quickly constructed. Palisades formed a wall around them to create Fort Miami.

They named the settlement Columbia.

Native Americans were friendly at first and visited the blockhouses.

Christmas of 1788 was a warm, pleasant day. The pioneers set up tables outside and invited their Native American neighbors to eat with them. Their guests arrived with their guns, fearing a trap.

Judge Isaac Dunn of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, later recalled that Christmas when he was a boy of six. Potpies, cooked in two ten-gallon kettles, were the main dish.

The settlers had also invited soldiers. Their arrival nearly caused a disaster. The pioneers wanted to live in harmony with their new neighbors and convinced the Native Americans to stay.

A delicious dinner was eaten on the river bank, a day the settlers long remembered. Well-satisfied, the Native Americans left around sunset.

Unfortunately, peace didn’t last. But on that Christmas Day, peace reigned.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Berten, Jinny Powers. Cincinnati Christmas, Orange Frazer Press, 2011.

“History of Columbia Tusculum,” Columbia Tusculum, 2019/07/29 https://www.columbiatusculum.org/history.

Suess, Jeff. “Christmas Celebrations in Cincinnati over the years,” Cincinnati.com, 2019/04/27 https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/history/2014/12/11/christmas-celebrations-cincinnati-years/20252307/.

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First Children’s Christmas Party at the White House

/ sandramervillehart

President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams didn’t have the warmest of homes–even if it was at the White House.

Their Pennsylvania Avenue home, built near a swamp, was drafty and cold. Large fires crackled and snapped in thirteen fireplaces to ward off the chill.

In 1800, as Christmas approached the President and First Lady decided to host a children’s Christmas party. Their four-year-old granddaughter, Susanna Boylston Adams, lived with them and they wanted to honor her.

Greenery was hung in the East Room to decorate for the occasion. Government officials and their children were invited to the party.

A small orchestra provided music. Guests munched on cakes and drank punch.

They sang Christmas carols and played games. The party was a great success … with one exception.

One of the children accidentally broke a gift of Susanna’s—a doll dish. Susanna grabbed her friend’s doll and bit off its nose in retaliation.

The President stepped in before the situation got too out of hand.

Christmas parties soon became a tradition at the White House. Occasionally these were children’s parties in those historic early presidencies. Other parties were elegant affairs for adults.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Source

“Background: Winter Holidays at the White House,” White House Historical Association, 2019/11/03 https://www.whitehousehistory.org/press-room/press-releases/background-winter-holidays-at-the-white-house.

Christmas in America in the 1700’s and 1800’s, World Book, Inc., 2007.

“Christmas Traditions at the White House Fact Sheet,” White House Historical Association, 2019/11/03 https://www.whitehousehistory.org/christmas-traditions-at-the-white-house.

 

 

Colonial Virginia Christmas Feast

/ sandramervillehart

Christmas morning began with a bang in colonial Virginia. Literally. Men fired their muskets. Firecrackers popped and cannons roared in celebration of the day. If none of these noisemakers were at hand, men beat on pots and pans to join the merrymakers.

After church services, the colonists enjoyed a large dinner that might include up to eight courses.

George and Martha Washington, wealthy landowners before the Revolutionary War, served lavish feasts for their guests. Meats included crab, oysters, codfish, turtle soup, Yorkshire pudding, ham, venison, boiled mutton, and turkey with stuffing. Served with these were relishes, vegetables, biscuits, and cornbread.

Then, if the diner had any room for dessert, there were possibly a dozen choices. Tarts, puddings, pies, fruit, cakes, ice cream, and dishes of candy, nuts, and raisins were among the selections.

January 6th was known as Twelfth Night, and was typically marked with a celebration that marked the official end of the Christmas season.

Most of the colonists were from England or had English roots so it isn’t surprising that they enjoyed wassail (spiced wine or ale punch with apples), mince pies, plum puddings, and fruit cake.

Washington had an eggnog recipe that he made for his guests. They loved the potent drink.

Music, dancing, and visiting with friends might last for another week after the feast.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Source

Christmas in America in the 1700’s and 1800’s, World Book, Inc., 2007.