Historical Nibbles

Boar’s Head Festival

/ sandramervillehart

In 1340, according to legend, a student at Queen’s College in Oxford, England, read a metal-bound book of Aristotle as he strolled through the forest to Christmas Mass. Wild boars, a menace to society, roamed the woods and one attacked the young man. With no weapons, he rammed his book into boar’s mouth, choking the animal to death. Roasted boar was often served at medieval banquets. A procession carried in the boar’s garnished head into the dining hall that night while carolers sang. This presentation at Christmas became a symbol of Jesus’s triumph over sin.

St. John’s College in Cambridge celebrated the Boar’s Head Festival by 1607. An expanded cast of historical characters, lords, ladies, knights, hunters, and others told of the birth of Jesus. Magi and shepherds were added later.

Mince pie and plum pudding were served at the festival and the Yule Log was lit.

The medieval festival is still celebrated in Europe and the United States. The formal program at Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati includes: Orchestral Prelude, Procession of the Beefeaters, The Yule Sprite Comes, The Boar’s Head Procession, The Yule Log, The Waits, The Angel, The Shepherds, The Magi, The World joins the Kings and Shepherds, Recessional, Orchestral Postlude and The Yule Sprite Returns.

During the Boar’s Head Procession, a boar’s head is carried in by knights and others.

There is symbolic meaning to the parts of the medieval service that occurs between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The costumes and processions transport guests back in time and is worth experiencing.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

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

“The Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival Tradition,” Christ Church Cathedral, 2019/07/29 ttps://cincinnaticathedral.com/boars-head-tradition/.

Primer Pecan Pie

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Today’s post has been written by friend and fellow author, Cathy Krafve.  I shared my mom’s pumpkin pie recipe  with her last week so I asked her to share her mother’s pecan recipe with us.😊 Welcome to Historical Nibbles, Cathy!

Dear Sandra and all her reading friends! What a treat to share one of my favorite recipes with you. It makes me so happy to remember about all the ways my mom blessed our family. Thank you for inviting me to share!

Greetings from Texas

I spent many happy hours under pecan trees in my youth, helping my grandmother pick up pecans. As kids we laughed and frolicked like baby squirrels, hoarding the prize of nuts for winter. For my grandmother it was a win-win. She made the family budget go further and she kept three busy grandchildren occupied for a little while!

Of course, Texas’s state tree is the pecan tree and we grow tons of pecans here. Recipes using pecan are a staple in most homes.

Mom’s Primer Pecan Pie

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust

3 eggs, mixed together with a fork in a separate small bowl

1 cup white Karo syrup, mix with eggs

2 Tablespoons flour

¾ cup refined sugar

2 teaspoons melted butter, cooled slightly

dash of salt

1 cup whole pecans

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon and sugar mix

Preheat oven to 350. Place uncooked piecrust in pie pan. In a large bowl, mix flour and sugar. Add eggs and syrup and stir again. Add butter and salt to mix. Stir in pecans until well coated. Pour into the uncooked piecrust. Bake 30 minutes, then sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on top of the pie. Bake 15-30 more minutes until golden brown and the center rises slightly.

To double (or triple or quadruple), I just set out several bowls and make pie filling in each bowl.  Great recipe to share with neighbors!

My dad always requested Mom’s Pecan Pie instead of a birthday cake. In the last few years, my sister innovated with the genius idea of using glazed pecans, adding another generation’s love to this family-tested holiday favorite! We send our best wishes and prayers for your holidays to be filled with family fellowship, laughter, and happy memories!

-Cathy Krafve

More about Cathy

 Queen of Fun and Coffee Cup Philosopher Cathy Krafve just announced collaborations to publish TWO books in 2020!

How do we create healthy conversations when it really counts? Look for The Well: Drawing Our Authentic Conversations, publisher Elk Lake Publishing, for release in the spring 2020. Need to ramp up communication in your marriage (is that even possible)? The Gentle Art Of Companionship: Communicating Your Way to a Delightful Marriage, CrossRiver Media, is due out in early fall 2020.

Cathy puts a snappy spin on deeply spiritual truths. Her family, affectionately known as Camp Krafve, is devoted to transmitting healthy, joy-affirming ideas. Today, through Fireside Talk Radio, they bring together wise people to share stories of courage, hope, and companionship.

Having learned most stuff the hard way, Cathy writes with a never-met-a-stranger attitude. Like a friend you met for coffee, she passes along practical strategies for creating tender fellowship and a big, beautiful view of communication. Truth with a Texas twang!

 To find Sandra Merville Hart’s interview, blog, and podcast with Cathy for Fireside talk Radio, click here.

 

Molly Tipton’s Roasted Veggies

/ sandramervillehart

 

I asked my friend and fellow author, Rebecca Waters, to share her yummy recipe for roasted veggies. She made it for a recent writers’ meeting—unfortunately, the whole dish was gobbled up at another potluck she attended the previous evening! To make up for it, she agreed to share the recipe with all of us in time for Thanksgiving. Thanks, Rebecca, and welcome back to Historical Nibbles!  

Ingredients:

1  small butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 small acorn squash, peeled and cubed

1  sweet potato, peeled and cubed

3  Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

1  red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1  red onion, quartered and separated

¼ C.  olive oil

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 T   chopped fresh thyme

2 T   chopped fresh rosemary

Salt and Pepper

 

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Place chopped thyme and rosemary in a jar. Add olive oil and cover.

Prepare veggies as directed and place in a large bowl.

Add vinegar to jar of oil and herbs. Mix and pour over veggies while stirring to coat vegetables.

Pour veggies into a large roasting pan.

Lightly salt and pepper.

Roast at 475 for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Veggies should be tender and lightly browned. Enjoy!

Molly Tipton is the fictional wife, mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother to two. Molly lives in Rebecca Waters’ book Breathing on Her Own. Molly loves to cook and care for her family but her life is turned upside down one February night.

-Rebecca Waters

Here’s the blurb:

An icy road and a sharp turn leave one woman dead, another clinging to life.

Molly Tipton looks forward to a peaceful retirement, but her life suddenly spirals out of control when her oldest daughter is involved in a terrible accident.

While two families grieve, details emerge that shake Molly to her core. As she prepares her daughter for what lies ahead, Molly discovers her oldest child is not the only one injured and forced to deal with past mistakes.

Rebecca Waters identifies with Molly. After raising three daughters, Waters and her husband, Tom, retired to Florida where she began her writing career. Breathing on Her Own is Rebecca’s first novel. Libby’s Cuppa Joe, her second novel, released in March 2019.  Rebecca has published several stories in the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul books as well as three books for writers: Designing a Business Plan for Your Writing, Marketing You 101, and Writing with E’s. To learn more about Rebecca or to read her weekly blog, visit www.WatersWords.com.

Want your own copy of Breathing On Her Own?

Take a trip to beautiful Door County, Wisconsin in Libby’s Cuppa Joe.

 

 

 

 

Frozen Chocolate Mousse Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

I’ve been watching a lot of cooking shows recently that left me craving chocolate. Flipping through The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, I found a recipe for frozen chocolate mousse that is easy and delicious .

Pour 1 cup of cold milk in a heavy saucepan. Sprinkle 1 envelope of gelatin over the milk and let it stand for 5 minutes. This allows the gelatin to soften.

Stir this mixture. Then add 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate and ¾ cup sugar and stir. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and the mixture is blended.

Pour into a bowl and chill until lukewarm.

While that chills a few minutes, whip 2 cups of heavy cream until it forms soft peaks.

Remove the chocolate mixture from the fridge and then gently fold the whipped cream into it. Pour the chocolate mousse into a mold and freeze.

An alternative: I wanted to use part of my mousse as a layer in a cake so I lined a cake pan with parchment paper and poured some inside. This was frozen until ready to put on the cake. (A yummy choice!)

The rest I placed in individual serving ramekins.

Delicious! Smooth and creamy and chocolatey. Everyone who tried this devoured it. This chocolate mousse is a hit!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

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

 

 

Meatloaf Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

When I was a child, meatloaf was a staple in my home. I don’t know my mom’s recipe so I rarely make it. When I found this recipe in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, I was excited to try it.

The cookbook offers a few variations of its standard recipe. I chose Meat Loaf with Parsley and Tomato. I chose to remain light (1/2 teaspoon of dried) on the parsley because it called for ¼ cup of minced parsley and I know from past experience that this seasoning packs of lot of flavor.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop one onion and set aside. (I didn’t use the whole onion because it was too much for my taste. Instead I used about ¾ of a medium-sized onion.)

Prepare two cups of freshly made bread crumbs or buy them. I like the flavor of Panko bread crumbs, so I used them. (It was a great choice!)

Butter two loaf pans or use cooking spray.

Mix together 2 cups of bread crumbs with the reserved chopped onion. Add 2 pounds of ground beef and mix together. (I find using my hands is easier than a spoon.)

Then stir in 2 slightly beaten eggs, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon parsley, ½ teaspoon basil, and ¾ cup tomato sauce. Blend this all together.

Divide it into two and pat it into place in the loaf pans. Pour ¾ cup tomato sauce on the top of the unbaked loaves.

Bake for 45 minutes.

This is a good recipe. I liked the texture. When hot, I tasted the basil and thought about omitting it for the next time. Then I had a cold meatloaf sandwich the next day. Yum! The basil is not as strong in cold meatloaf.

This comforting dish gave me a nostalgic feeling for all those childhood suppers. I hope you enjoy it, too.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

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

 

 

Using Food to Enhance Story Settings

/ sandramervillehart / 3 Comments

Today’s post has been written by JPC Allen, friend and fellow author in “Christian Fiction Off the Beaten Path”—welcome to Historical Nibbles, JPC!

Food, like music, is a universal language. People connect with one another over mutual likes, dislikes, cooking techniques, and fond experiences with food. Writers can connect with readers using food to explore characters, enhance settings, and establish plot points.

Explore character

In my YA Christmas mystery, “A Rose from the Ashes”, my main character is Rae Riley, a nineteen-year-old, who is living on her own in a tiny apartment on the salary she makes as clerk at a library. She often mentions food, especially snagging free food at a church lunch or Christmas party.

All these remarks about food tell readers, without actually stating it, that Rae doesn’t have much money. It’s a concern for any young adult, and I hope it makes a connection with readers.

Enhance setting

Two scenes in “A Rose from the Ashes” are centered around food. One is a church lunch. Rae is invited by a grandmother to eat with her family. The aromas of chili and soup make Rae hungry. She stays to clean up after the lunch to see if she can get any leftovers to take home. These activities with food show how Rae is welcomed at the church. The grandmother has given Rae homemade food in the past, demonstrating that she cares for Rae.

Establish plot points

If I need to slow the narrative, a great way to do it is to sit my characters down to a meal. It’s also a very effective way to impart information to the reader as my characters talk while they eat. But I have to be careful and not take this opportunity to dump too much information.

What memorable meals have you read about in books?

-JPC Allen

JPC Allen is holding a book giveaway on her site! Click here for details.

 

BIO

JPC Allen started her writing career in second grade with an homage to Scooby Doo. She’s been tracking down mysteries ever since. A former children’s librarian, she is a member of ACFW and has written mystery short stories for Mt. Zion Ridge Press. Online, she offers writing tips and prompts to beginning writers. She also leads writing workshops for tweens, teens, and adults, encouraging them to discover the adventure of writing. A lifelong Buckeye, she has deep roots in the Mountain State. Join the adventure on her blog.

 

Book Blurb

Christmas fiction off the beaten path

 Not your Granny’s Christmas stories …

Step off the beaten path and enjoy six stories that look beyond the expected, the traditional, the tried-and-true.

Inspired by the song, “Mary Did You Know?” – a mother’s memories of events leading up to and following that one holy night. MARY DID YOU KNOW? By Patricia Meredith

A young woman seeking her own identity searches for the man who tried to kill her and her mother on Christmas Eve twenty years before. A ROSE FROM THE ASHES. By JPC Allen

Princess, tower, sorceress, dragon, brave knight, clever peasant – combine these ingredients into a Christmas-time story that isn’t quite what you’d expect. RETURN TO CALLIDORA. By Laurie Lucking

Anticipating tough financial times, the decision not to buy or exchanged presents leads to some painful and surprising revelations for a hardworking man and his family. NOT THIS YEAR. By Sandra Merville Hart

Years ago, a gunman and a store full of hostages learned some important lessons about faith and pain and what really matters in life – and the echoes from that day continued to the present. THOSE WHO STAYED. By Ronnell Kay Gibson

A community of refugees, a brutal winter, a doorway to another world – a touch of magic creating holiday joy for others leads to a Christmas wish fulfilled. CRYSTAL CHRISTMAS. By Michelle L. Levigne

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, 24Symbols, Kobo

 

 

Fannie Farmer’s Tips for Cake Flour

/ sandramervillehart

I purchased The Fannie Farmer Cookbook in an antique store. This book was originally published in 1896. Fannie Farmer’s name is still well-known today.

In the chapter for Cakes, the author gives some tips about the ingredients.

It turns out there are a few decisions to make about the flour used in recipes.

Firstly, all flour should be stored in airtight containers.

Secondly, some recipes call for cake flour, which has less gluten and more starch than all-purpose flour. Cake flour makes lighter cakes and can be used in any cake recipe.

Cakes made with all-purpose flour are also good, though sometimes using cake flour makes a significant difference.

Tip: If you don’t have cake flour on hand: for every cup of all-purpose flour, use 2 tablespoons less of flour in the recipe. Alternately, if you have cake flour and want to substitute it for all-purpose flour, use 2 tablespoons more of cake flour for every cup.

Thirdly, don’t use quick-mixing all-purpose flour as a substitute for cake flour. Also, don’t substitute with self-rising flour because it has both leavening and salt.

Fourthly, sifting lightens flour and mixes the dry ingredients. In older recipes, all flour was supposed to be sifted. However, flour is sifted many times during the packaging process today (1896) and the cookbook authors found that this extra step of sifting flour made no difference, except in refined cakes like angel food or sponge cakes because lighter flour makes it easier to fold in beaten egg whites.

When not sifting the flour, scoop it into the measuring cup and the level it off with a knife.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

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

 

 

 

Economical Dinner Suggestions

/ sandramervillehart

We all have our “go to” choices for inexpensive suppers when we’re waiting for that next paycheck.

The author of 1877 Cookbook Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping included several meal choices for economical dinners.

First suggestion:

Spare ribs, cabbage, roast potatoes, rice pudding, and fruit.

Second suggestion:

Codfish, egg sauce, parsnips, horseradish, Lancashire pie, pickles, bread, and custard pie.

Third suggestion:

Boiled pork, beans, greens, potatoes, and green currant pie.

Fourth suggestion:

Fish, baked tomatoes, potato cakes, applesauce, and bread pudding.

Fifth suggestion:

Boiled beef, boiled potatoes, squash, lima beans, sliced tomatoes, and apple tapioca pudding.

Sixth suggestion:

Roast beef and potatoes, meatless bean soup, apple butter, macaroni with cheese, and custard pie.

Seventh suggestion:

Broiled chicken, meatless tomato soup, turnips, fricasseed potatoes, fresh fruit, and tomato toast.

What a list! There are some good ideas here. I had to look up Lancashire pie—it’s a potato and onion pie. I think I’ll have to try this soon.

Chicken is more of a supper staple than fish at our house, but if we lived beside the lake or ocean that might not be the case.

How about you? Did you find any gems in these lists?

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.

 

Corn Rolls Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

The author of 1877 Cookbook Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping included meal suggestions. A fall breakfast meal suggestion is: fried trout; Graham mush; beef croquette; pork steak; boiled Irish potatoes; baked sweet potatoes; bread; corn rolls; coffee; and cocoa. I imagine an everyday breakfast did not include all these dishes.

The cookbook includes recipes for some of these. Today I’m sharing one for corn rolls from cook Mrs. Capt. J.P. Rea.

If you happen to own a gem pan, bake these in it.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray cooking spray on a muffin pan.

Beat 3 eggs and set aside.

Combine 2 cups of corn meal, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well.

In a small saucepan, heat 2 cups of milk to boiling. Then add the milk to the corn meal mixture. Allow this to cool and then stir in the eggs.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

I tasted a bit of sweetness from the sugar in these rolls so it was slightly sweet corn muffin. It’s a nice, easy recipe that can be prepared from ingredients usually stocked in pantries. Enjoy!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.

 

Corn Mush Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

The author of 1877 Cookbook Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping included meal suggestions. A spring breakfast meal suggestion is: fried ham; Graham bread: fried mush; scrambled eggs; radishes; potatoes boiled in jackets; coffee; tea; and chocolate. What time would you have to get up?!? 😊

The cookbook includes recipes for some of these. Today I’m sharing one for corn mush from Mrs. W.W. Woods, the 1877 cook.

Mrs. Woods gave no ingredient measurements so I looked at a few modern recipes to give me an idea how much water to boil.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cooking spray or grease a skillet or loaf pan.

Boil 3 cups of water in a large saucepan. Stir in ½ teaspoon of salt.

A LITTLE BIT AT A TIME, add 1 cup of cornmeal to the boiling water. Prevent lumps by sifting the cornmeal through your fingers. Stir constantly over medium high heat until all the cornmeal is added.

Remove from the burner. Because it’s difficult to boil the mush thoroughly enough to cook it without scorching, Mrs. Woods put her kettle directly into the oven and baked it for an hour. Since she recommended stirring the mixture using a 2-foot paddle with a 2-inch blade that was 7 inches long, it’s safe to say she made huge batches at a time. My “paddle” was an ordinary wooden spoon! 😊

I transferred the mush to a sectioned-skillet for baking and it still took about an hour. I then chilled it in the fridge for frying later. (Baking and chilling the mush in a loaf pan makes it easier to slice for frying.)

Once chilled, beat 2-3 eggs in one bowl. Bread crumbs should go in a different bowl.

While the Crisco or lard heats, dip the mush slices into the egg mixture and then the bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown.

I enjoyed the baked corn mush as a nice side dish. The fried mush was delicious—I liked it better than I imagined I would. Frying the mush enhanced the flavor. I liked it both baked and fried. To save the calories, I’d eat it baked.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.