Christmas Cooking Through History

Merry Christmas! (or almost!)

A picture from a few years ago - we haven't had snow in the past month or more,

 and I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

Jan here, revealing a little-known fact about me: I'm a history geek. Super history geek. I love reading about history - especially books that were written in the time period (aka: source materials.)

This book is one of my favorite sources 

for western living in the late 19th century.
You can buy it HERE.

One of the things I try to do in my writing is to give my characters' lives an authentic flavor. Whether they are cooking over an open fire or on a wood stove, doing laundry in a wash tub, or making soap out in the yard after butchering time, I want to be able to describe those activities authentically in my books.

But how does an author do that? It's one thing to read a recipe (receipt) for cooking a turkey in the eighteenth century, but when an author writes about such things, it's important to know exactly what the character needs to do. I need to visualize the activity in my mind, and the questions are endless. I know how I prepare a turkey in my twenty-first century kitchen, but what about my imaginary eighteenth century friend?

YouTube comes to the rescue!

Today I'm going to share Christmas recipes from some of my favorite YouTube cooking channels. These are fabulous sources for writers, or anyone who enjoys history. Watching these channels not only gives me the information I need to write an authentic scene, they also give me ideas for future scenes, or even new stories.

Here's the first one, from Jas. Townsend & Son's 18th Century Cooking. His turkey looks so good!

Jas Townsend also share this light and crispy cookie:

This next YouTube channel is a delight to watch. The setting is an English stately home of the Victorian Era, and the cook is a treasure. It's like Christmas with Mary Poppins. :-)

Here, Mrs. Crocombe teaches how to make Galantine of Turkey for a Christmas side dish:

And what Victorian Christmas would be complete without the Christmas Plum Pudding?

Yes, I know I haven't written any books set in Victorian England or eighteenth century America, but I still enjoy and learn from these videos.

And someday, maybe I will get that series written that takes place in mid-18th century Pennsylvania!

What are some of your favorite ways to learn about the past?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Cherry chip cake disaster!

Hello, everybody! We made the most DELICIOUS cherry chip cake for my husband's birthday. Unfortunately... it didn't want to come out of the pan! WHY OH WHY didn't I use Ruthy's recipe?? But I have pictures so you can laugh along with us. Since it's probably user error and not really not the recipe's fault, so I'll share it, too.
But first, some of our recent happenings!

 We have a new project. We've done trunk refurbishes before and it's a BIG project. This is a steamer that my grandparents used in the early 1900's and we've had it for quite a while. But now is the time! Stay tuned for updates...

 So, my kids raised a ton of money for the Cub Scout pack and this was one of the rewards, hitting the den leader with a pie. I rolled my eyes when I heard, but apparently to an 8 year old boy, it's the greatest thing EVER.

 They were all good sports about it...
                                                      
Also one of the prizes they won- a walkie talkie set. This was very useful for when we delivered all those bags of coffee.They would run up to the door, and then they'd stop at the curb until I sad, "RETURN TO THE MOTHER SHIP".

 We just turned the last of our Easter eggs into deviled eggs and I hated to say goodbye. Our hens lay beautiful brown eggs and they turned out looking like dragon eggs!

 Also... baseball season is here. Goodness. I'm not a sports person but seeing these kids in their teeny uniforms... like goats in pajamas. SO CUTE.
                                                       
Of course, all this running around is in between viruses. We're STILL fighting different bugs. This time it was the stomach flu. Yuck.

 Cherry trees are blossoming!! Pray for good weather and no hail. A few years ago we lost most of the cherry crop in the area. It was horrible.

 Those clouds better bring rain (good) but not hail (bad).

 SO. That brings us to this delightful creation!!

 Here is my husband accepting his fabulous cake. With a smile, no less!!

It was absolutely delicious, so I'm posting the recipe. Just make sure to let it cool before removing from the pans. I wasn't in the kitchen at the time and my younger kids didn't know that step. Now they do.

1 10 ounce  jar maraschino cherries
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tspt salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice


I also added about three drops red food coloring. Maybe that was my mistake?? LOL. Anyway, cream the butter, sugar, egg whites, vanilla and almond together. Mix the dry ingredients. Add, in alternating batches, the buttermilk and dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add in the chopped cherries. 

Pour into greased cake pans and place in a preheated (350) for 35 minutes or so. GOOD LUCK. :D

All in all, it was delicious. We used a buttercream icing but you can also use a cream cheese frosting if you prefer. 

That's all for now! Be sure to stop by my authors pages at Virginia Carmichael or Mary Jane Hathaway for book news. 

All the Blue of Heaven was free last week....

And on the 27th, Purple Like the West will be on sale for .99! All to prepare for a new historical release on May 15th! 

Until next time!

Homemade Mint Lemon Refresher or How to Make Sodas

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I first wanted to share some of our local library's art. This is all made with a paper punch and those free paint chip samples. Isn't it awesome! 

 This is my favorite. I really love trees and have quite a few tree art pieces in my own house. I think I'd try this if I thought I could make it look as nice!

 Soooo, I found this great book called "Homemade Rootbeer, Soda and Pop" (you can get it here on Amazon) in our local library and we were very excited to try it out. There are a lot of "make your own pop" books but I liked this one because it has historical recipes. If you've read my Austen Takes the South books, you'll know I loooooove old recipes and always include the history of the food when I write it into a scene. Food, history, and stories. The perfect trifecta!

 First, this funny recipe from Anonymous in 1771 for Pumpkin Ale. No, we didn't try it, but it made us think of Harry Potter's Pumpkin Fizzies! Anotherpart of the book reminds readers that there was no line between alcoholic and non-alcoholic back then. It was more of a matter of how much alcohol, since anything that was fizzy was slightly fermented, and therefore had traces of alcohol.
This is relevant. I promise.
                                                  
So, I thought this lemon mint refresher sounded wonderful. Remember, I really have no experience in fermenting anything but I figured sugar, flavoring and some fizz... what could go wrong?

 First, piles of mint... Check!

 Vintage jar filled fresh lemon juice... Check! (I was making a big batch, so if you try the recipe, follow the one above. I was tripling and adjusting as I went.)

 Pour boiling water over the mint leaves and let it set. (Oh, be sure to wash them first. Ours came straight from the garden and needed to be de-dusted.) Pour the mint water and the lemon, sugar, and yeast together. Put on the lid. Let it sit for a day. Now, this is where I went wrong. It was very warm in the laundry room where I had the jar (it was supposed to be in a cool, dark place) and plus, I left it for two days.

 So, when I went to open it up, the lid nearly popped off! My friend who works at a winery shook his head when I told this story because I'd basically created a lemon-mint BOMB in my laundry room. So glad I didn't let it sit for a week! The whole thing could have exploded.
But it didn't!
What it did do was fizz all over the place. My friend said we'd made "no-messin'-around" bubbly, like champagne. It was certainly... *gasp* No what I was heading for. We all had a sip and declared it quite interesting and chalked it up to a learning experience. I think we'll still with mixing flavors with soda water!

And one last photo. My husband took this picture of a snapdragon seed. SO funny. If you have snapdragons, go check them out. They're like tiny people.

Until next time! Feel free to stop by my author pages at Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael, or by my blog on The Things That Last!

Healthy (kinda) Egg Rolls - Low Carb and free book!

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have a delicious recipe for those evenings when you want something a little different.

These are officially low carb, but they're not low calorie. So, you can decide whether it fits into your diet, or whether you can have just one with a salad. (I didn't have to think too hard about this since I'm not fond of cabbage OR Chinese food. No brainer!) But I knew this would be a big hit with the family, and since we've had wayyyyy too many cookies and sweets lately, this seems a fun way to get back on the road to real food.

 What you see is a doubled recipe (alert- family of EIGHT!) but the measurements I'll give are what is listed on the back of the package.

1lb pork sausage
2 cups cabbage
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 cup shredded carrots
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp garlic
2TBS oyster sauce
one package egg roll wraps (made with rice)

 Brown pork sausage. Use thirteen year old child who does not appreciate her picture taken.

 After the pork is browned, add in the carrots, cabbage, garlic, ginger and green onions. Stir over high heat for 2-3 minutes, like a quick stir fry.

 Remove from the heat and add 2 TBS of the oyster sauce. I checked the back and there was no MSG but it still made me nervous. So far, so good. Usually anything with that many preservatives gives me a killer migraine but I saw this on a list for people who are sensitive to MSG and derivatives.

 So, let the mixture cool, then remove the rice paper wraps from the container. Put a small bowl of water near as you assemble the egg rolls.
Preheat oven to 400F.

Put about 2 tsp of mix in the middle. It smells DELICIOUS.

 Wrap it up like a little envelope, sealing the last flap with a bit of water.

 Ta-dah. Now, into the oven for about 12-15 minutes, until browned.

 I order these napkins from Macy's because I fell in love with this line of china. (Wait, you say... why order napkins if you love the china!?) The china was sooo crazy expensive, even on sale, that one mug cost $49! I mean, seriously. In this family, we could break hundreds of dollars in dishes a week that way!

 Anyway, so I got placemats and napkins. And they are SOOOO pretty. I'm going to try and paint a replica of it... but it might be a fail. I'll let you knew what happens.

 Looking tasty! Now, the original recipe called for green cabbage an I'm sort of seeing why. These babies look purple!

 Hubby was pretty excited to see this as his appetizer. (This couldn't be his whole meal. He needs a big salad and maybe some corn or green beans. But I took pictures before I put everything on there...)

 Dipping in the soy sauce... And the other sauce is a spicy and sour... my fave!

 Steaming hot and the veggies are still crisp!

 Now, while I was cooking, the kids were out playing in the garden. And across the fence lives a lovely woman named Sandy. She's a cook for one of the elementary schools and she must think my kids are missing out on the goodness of cafeteria food (the good kind, not the horrible kind) becuase she always sends plates of goodies over! So, dessert appeared in front of me... angel food cake with a chocolate glaze and vanilla pudding middle. YUMMY.

I wasn't really sold on the oven baked part, so I fried the last batch in about an inch of oil, turning until each side was crispy. I really thought they tasted so much better... but of course, it raises the calorie content as well. I think if you only have one or two, the frying doesn't make a difference. For hubby, I think I'll keep his baked because he ate about seven. That would be a lot of grease!

Before I get to the free book part, I wanted to show you the coolest thing my husband made. Built in bookshelves! 

That's about 20 feet of bookshelves... isn't it awesome?? It took a while, even with all the shortcuts, but I show you all the pics next week. But I'm still swooning over them. Finally, all our books will be organized!

Here is working on it... and even though I told him, "It will be SO easy!", it really wasn't. But I'll share that next time. For now, enjoy the egg rolls and the... FREE BOOK!

Ok, everyone! Have a wonderful Wendesday and if you haven't read it yet, Purple Like the West is FREE!! It's the second in my historical romance series. And it fits right in with the recipe because the book is all about the Chinese laborers in California at the turn of the century.

 Here's the blurb: 

    Margaret Gilbert, a railroad executive’s daughter, is a pampered princess of San Francisco’s wealthy elite, but she chafes under the expectation that she will marry for status and dreams of independence. When she joins the local Ladies’ Aid Society, she’s horrified by the treatment of the Chinese immigrant laborers. Vowing to expose the abuse, she begins to investigate the complicated system of slave labor provided to the railroads, but no one will listen to a woman like her. 

When she meets Ezra Pendleton, heir to a newspaper empire, she concocts a plan to tell the world- without incurring the wrath of her father. Ezra is the perfect cover. She’ll make her family happy by feigning interest in a very eligible bachelor, become an undercover reporter, and keep her identity a secret.
         At least, that was the idea. Margaret starts to wonder if Ezra will turn out to be her plan’s fatal flaw. He is not the sort of man you can string along with flattery. He’s smart, wary, and is hiding a secret of his own. As the city falters under the stress of the Chinese mobs, the situation turns more dangerous than they could have imagined. Racial tensions in the city hit a breaking point and arson erupts close to home. By the time there is an outbreak of the plague in Chinatown, it seems as if all the darkest parts of the city will be revealed at once.
     Margaret and Ezra are thrown together in a common cause, but will their secrets destroy the love that  is growing between them? A story of faith, honor, and forgiveness.