Hoopskirts

When looking through historic foodways and cookbooks to plan menus, I find it hard to reconcile my love of cookies with my desire to  incorporate historic accuracy. Sadly. cookies don't figure as importantly as they do today.  Cakes, yes, although they tend to be more solid and dense, like pound cake and various fruit cakes.  Puddings of all types - baked and especially boiled - seem to be highly favored.  And so my problem.  I LOVE cookies!  To me it's a size-limited sweet that is easy to transport and easy to eat - and best of all, no dishes to wash when you eat them! I have made Shrewsbury cakes, gingerbread of varying types, and am always on the lookout for a new cookie recipe.  So, when my friend Betsy had posted about her successful attempt at making common jumbles. I was very excited.  They proved popular with my family and friends and are now one of my go-to recipes.  A wonderful cookie to take to reenactments (and to eat at home)...

The Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #8 "It’s harvest time in the northern hemisphere, and springtime in the southern hemisphere. Make something either to preserve that produce that you’re harvesting, or replenish your supply after the winter! Fruit and vegetable jams, jellies, and preserves are the focus!" Northern Illinois in late August and early September has seen some sudden rainstorms with very strong winds  During one of these storms, the crab apple tree in front of our church building was toppled.  While accompanying my husband, who is the congregational president, to look at the damage, I noticed the crab apples had ripened to a brilliant glossy red. I had toyed with the idea of making a historic preserve with crab apples for a long time but it kept getting pushed to the back of my "to do" list.  All of a sudden, it was now or never.  The organic supplies were lying on the ground in front of me in easy reach (our congregation does not spray th...

It's August - and that most seasonable of vegetables is ripening - tomatoes! How utterly perfect, because the current challenge for the Historical Food Fortnightly is Seasonal Fruits/Vegetables.   The challenge: concoct a dish based on the fruits and/or vegetables that would have been in season and available to the particular time you wish to interpret. It needn’t be the place you are in at this moment, but it should coincide with the season! I selected "Tomatoes Sliced with Onions," which can be found on  p 49 of Elizabeth Lea's book  Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers  (10th edition), published in 1859 in Maryland. This simple recipe makes a lovely summer salad that highlights the tomatoes.                                        Tomatoes Sliced with Onions               ...

Vinegar pie sound like a contradiction in terms.  A pie based around vinegar?  For the Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #5 (Pies), I decided to explore vinegar pie in the 1860's. I had had some vinegar pie at the Eagle Tavern in Greenfield Village this May.  The pie was delightful - light and lemony.  The technique seems similar to that of Key Lime pie, in which the acid "cooks" the raw eggs.  There was only one problem:  as I combed through mid-nineteenth century cookbooks, I could not find a recipe for vinegar pie.  Except for one.  And it didn't sound like it would turn out the way I was hoping, since there were no eggs included.  But there was one recipe!  That meant the challenge was on! The recipe I found came from The Practical Housekeeper and Young Woman's Friend by Mrs. M. L. Scott (Toledo. 1855)    Like most period recipes, the instructions were minimal, assuming a familiarity with the necessary...

Last weekend saw the inaugural use of the new wheelbarrow,  It was pronounced a rousing success, although it was very squeaky and squeally at first.  A neighbor loaned us some of her spinning wheel oil and that resolved the issue.  It helped haul firewood and straw from the far side of the encampment and also carted personal belongings with ease.  A couple of fixes had to be made at home - the axle was greased and the pins capped so they didn't work their way out. Some details for those who wished further information.  The wheel came from Amishwares.com http://www.amishwares.com/site/1504461/product/189-WBW As for more information on blindfold wheelbarrow races From Games and Sports , by Donald Walker, published in 1837 by Thomas Hurst, London "Each candidate for the prize in this race appears on the ground with a wheelbarrow.  The ground selected for the race is generally an uneven surface, limited by ditches on each side, and ...

It's a lovely spring day and my husband's thoughts turn lightly towards ....woodworking. Yesterday was his last day for his current class in grad school, and the freedom and warm air intoxicated him.  He has wanted to make a period wheelbarrow for a while now.  His incentive was attending some National reenactments where we had to haul our belongings in and out of the campsite without being able to bring our car down to the site.  He has brought a modern dolly along at times, but he kept thinking about how he could leave this at the site and use it to haul things, such as firewood.   He doesn't complain too much about my projects, so I am more than happy to support him in his. It took him a while to source his materials and draft his design.  The wheel was the most important component, because it would be too difficult for him to make his own wheel.  He found an appropriate one at an Amish supply store.  The handles are standard wooden wheelbarrow ha...

We recently participated in the reenactment commemorating the sesquicentennial of the deadly Charleston (Illinois) riot of 1864.  Riot?  Deaths?  Until then I had believed that Illinois was the site of only peaceful things: Lincoln's nomination, election, farewell, the Great Northwest Sanitary Fair in Chicago, and Lincoln's funeral. Charleston is the county seat of Coles County.  Like many other towns located further South in the state, it had a large number of Southern sympathizers, or at least people who believed their business interests aligned with those of the South.  There were also those who were Union supporters but who had grown tired of the war and wished it to end, sometimes under any circumstances.  These Peace Democrats were nicknamed Copperheads.  The term "copperhead" was derived from the name of the poisonous snake that struck without warning.  Apparently the term was used before the Civil War for an unexpected, hostile, vind...

My latest project was a period scarf or comforter.  This very easy scarf is shaped to be narrower around the neck and wider where it crosses on the chest.  Both the shaping and shorter length make it a scarf to be worn inside the coat.   I had already made my husband a scarf, but thought he might also like one in a light weight that would be more shapeable. After I completed it, I realized this scarf would fulfill the requirements for the Historical Sew Fortnightly   Challenge  Generosity & Gratitude.  The challenge was  "about celebrating the generosity of spirit and willingness to help others that makes the historical sewing community great, and giving credit and thanks to those who have contributed to our collective knowledge without expecting payment in return."  Scanned on-line books are such an incredible resource to anyone involved in recreating historical items! These references take us from vague imaginings cobbled together from...

I decided I needed a lady's nightcap.  Not a fancy ornamental day cap, but a practical one that could stand washing, ironing, and wearing.  My criteria were that it be historically accurate,  that it would cover my ears and keep me warm, and that it not twist around or fall off while I was sleeping.  I sleep cold; when we camp out at a reenactment, I will wear a knit cap to sleep during the cold weather.  At the end of March we are going to participate in an immersion event, which is where everything must be as accurate as possible at all times, 24/7 (or in this case, 24/3).  We will be staying in an antique log cabin, so there is no heating other than the fireplace.  It's been a cold, windy winter with an over abundance of snow, so I wanted to make sure I stayed warm at night. In July 1859, Peterson's Magazine  (akin to Good Housekeeping or Better Homes and Gardens ) published a pattern for a lady's nightcap.  A number of reenactor...