Hoopskirts

Today is a travelogue, and who doesn't like going on a road trip?  A couple of weeks ago we went to the Genteel Arts Symposium in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  It was my second time to attend, although a couple of years had passed since my first trip.  This time I was accompanied by my best friend - my husband.  Road trips are always better with congenial company!  Being mid-March, the weather was rainy most of the way. Civilian conferences or symposiums (or whatever you wish to call them) are outstanding ways to increase your knowledge of your chosen time period.  When your hobby is reenacting, you may feel isolated at home. feeling like your friends and extended family lovingly deal with you and your "eccentricity."There, there, don't get Auntie going on that history stuff again.  You know how she gets!"  As a civilian reenactor, you don't even have the excuse of gunpowder to explain your fascination with living history. Have you ever explained your obse

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge # 6: Juicy Fruits The challenge:  It’s fruits! Do something with fruits. It doesn’t get more simple than that. Bonus points for use of heritage crops and ingredients! I've know for a while that I wanted to make stewed/poached pears in red wine.  I've seen them forever in various cookbooks and never made them (after all, there's no chocolate).  This challenge was just the way to push myself.  The Recipe     I chose Stewed Pears from The New England Cookery by Lucy Emerson. (1808, Montpelier, Vermont)  How I Made It The ingredients were very straight forward.  Pears are a fall/winter fruit.  I chose Bosc pears, which are a firm pear, well suited to cooking. 6 Bosc pears, peeled, quartered, and cored 1/2 lb of white sugar (modern pears do tend to be large, so I used the ingredients for larger pears) 10 cloves 3 pieces of lemon peel 1 c of dry red wine (Santa Ema Barrel Select 60/40) Preheat

   Roast Duck Challenge #5:  Roasts   They’re a staple of the historic table, in many different shapes and forms and types. It’s also a cooking technique. Try a historic recipe for a roast, or a recipe that involves roasting, and tell us how it turned out. This challenge was a bit more, um, challenging.  I had already made a roast beef for the first challenge (meat and potatoes) and puzzled over what to make.  I wanted to try something totally different and chose duck. The Recipe, Year and Region Today's recipe comes from The Virginia Housewife by Mrs. Mary Randolph, published in 1838 in Baltimore.  Some people consider it to be the first truly American cookbook.   There are actually several recipes involved We also need to make onion sauce as an accompaniment From the Virginia Housewife, 1838 Let's Cook! How Did You Make It:         Ingredients:     1 whole duck, approximately 5.3 lb     giblets from said duck     water