On the way to 2015!

As the hours clock by, and snow flurries look imminent here in the high desert, I look back to 2014, and see it as a very good year! Filled with adventure and challenge, good times and interesting reading and research.

I am excited to see what will come in the New Year! I look forward to researching the 18th Century in more depth.

I thank you for your support, your readership. I have quite a following now!

I bid you peace, joy, love and learning!
M.

Skiing - 1700's Style

Sick at home on the couch the past few days, I had tv as a companion. When I was not asleep I caught bits and pieces of interesting cooking shows, including a new favorite, New Scandinavian Cooking. I love the chef, Tina Nordstrom, who does a lot of cooking out in the open. Yesterday she was preparing pumpkin soup in a cauldron out on the ski slopes. She mentioned that though skiing goes way back in history, actually to 600BC in China, skiing became more than a utilitarian pursuit, a form of transportation, in the 18th Century. This caught my attention.

To backtrack a bit, the word ski comes from Old Norse, "skio" meaning stick of wood. In Norwegian the word is "vedski" meaning split wood, or "skigard" which means split-rail fence.

The first recorded skiing for enjoyment or competition came in the 1700's. This stems from the military use of skis where soldiers practiced by racing. This recording comes from 1767. The races also included target practice, similar to Olympic Nordic combine competitions now. In 1799 a French traveler, Jacques de la Tocnaye, visited Norway and wrote in his travel diary:

In winter, the mail is transported through the Filefiell mountain pass by a man on a kind of snow skates moving very quickly without being obstructed by snow drifts that would engulf both people and horses. People in this region move around like this. I've seen it repeatedly. It requires no more effort than what is needed to keep warm. The day will surely come when even those of other European nations are learning to take advantage of this convenient and cheap mode of transport.

        

When I was growing up, I learned to downhill ski along with my family. It was exhilarating! There was such a sense of freedom, and excitement. Later on, I took up Nordic cross country, which is much like Tocnave suggests, "moving around quickly unobstructed by snow drifts". Cross country gets you way back off the beaten path, and the scenery is quiet, peaceful, magical. I regret the change to snow boards these days. It's not quite the same, but all things change.

Needless to say, now I yearn for some pumpkin soup!

And by the way, the first known ski jumper was Olaf Rye, 1809!

The Gift of History

History is a something we generally take for granted, but truly it is a gift. Where would we be if we only knew what was going on right now? With no beauty or inspiration recorded for us to savor, to reflect upon, to use as a guide or even a
warning.

I take the liberty of recording a story from the early 1900's, my Holiday gift to you by O. Henry, entitled "The Gift of the Magi". Here is its summary:

A young married couple with little money independently ponders how to provide each other with a holiday gift.
The husband goes out on the snowy December city streets, looking in windows for inspiration. Finally, he spots the perfect gift: tortoise-shell combs for his wife's long, lustrous hair. But in order to buy them he must sell his watch.

Meanwhile, the wife searches for a way to get money to buy the husband his gift. Finally, she hits upon the ideal scheme: sell her long hair to a wig-maker. Thus shorn, she now happily buys him a present: a fob for his watch.

When he comes home from his shopping outing, the husband is shocked to be greeted by his wife with her hair now short. He holds out her gift -- when she unwraps the combs, she bursts into tears. Then she hand him her gift to him, and he is likewise moved by it.

The couple decides that the moral of their story is that material gifts are not as important as that which is even more precious than the frankincense, myrrh, and gold given to the Christ Child by the Three Kings (Magi) -- that gift is their love for each other.

History gives us a look back into a time before the commercialization of Christmas. Keep this story in mind when Christmas Day arrives. It is LOVE that is the greatest gift!

Merry Christmas to you!

A Dark and Stormy Day

With all the activity of this December, including a hectic work week with business deadlines looming December 31st, entertaining with friends and family, Shopping, cooking, and the recent difficult diagnosis of health issues for my Kitty, I forgot to blog about one of my favorite subjects....Mozart.

Of course, as you may well know, Mozart died in December after a prolonged illness complicated by renal failure. It is on his sick bed that he wrote the Requiem mass. There is controversy about how much he wrote, and how much his colleague Sussmeyer penned, but none-the-less, the signature sound of Wolfgang is there.

He died on 5 December 1791 at the age of 35. It is said that the night he died, there cropped up a winter storm.

In a  memoir attributed to one Joseph Deiner, who was claimed to have been present, the following account appeared in the Vienna Morgen-Post of 28 January 1856.

The night of Mozart's death was dark and stormy; at the funeral, too, it began to rage and storm. Rain and snow fell at the same time, as if Nature wanted to shew her anger with the great composer's contemporaries, who had turned out extremely sparsely for his burial. Only a few friends and three women accompanied the corpse. Mozart's wife was not present. These few people with their umbrellas stood round the bier, which then taken via the Grosse Schullerstrasse to the St. Marx Cemetery. As the storm grew ever more violent, even these few friends determined to turn back at the Stuben Gate, and they betook themselves to the "Silver Snake". Deiner, the landlord, was also present for the funeral.

I would like to think that at the Silver Snake. probably a tavern, those who attended raised a glass, to the great composer. Those who did not care to pay their respects can now feel themselves ashamed (wherever they are, perhaps sitting on a little dark cloud in a corner of heaven, or toasting their buns below ) as Mozart is surely and enduringly remembered! 

Take this Capsule, and call me in two hundred years!

Last week a time capsule dating back to 1795 was unearthed from the granite cornerstone of Massachusetts Statehouse! How exciting! Historians believe it was placed there by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, and perhaps some of their contemporaries.

It has not been opened yet, but it is believed that it contains some coins and newspapers, but it is in precarious condition and Secretary of State William Galvin thinks some of the items may have deteriorated over time. It will go to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for x-raying, then be opened.

It is in the shape of a box, made of cowhide, and it is thought that it was placed when the statehouse was being built. John Adams was governor of Massachusetts at the time.

Actually, the time capsule was removed in the 19th Century, and it contents transferred to a copper box. So, it means that the box was known about, and removed recently due to an ongoing water filtration project at the building. It will be returned to its cornerstone location when the project is complete.

Museum conservator Pamela Hatchfield says that the box is heavy, and enthusiasm is high for the discovery of its contents. Another time capsule from 1901 was recently found, uncovered from the Old State House, the state's first seat of government, and contained some well-preserved newspaper clippings, a book on foreign policy and some letters from journalists of the time.

Time will tell what is found inside the Statehouse box!

A Mount Vernon Favorite

George and Martha Washington welcomed thousands of guests to their estate Mount Vernon, They were noted for their boundless hospitality, frequent parties, and for the culinary treats served.

One interesting dish was the Salamongundy is a late-seventeenth-century term for what is actually a dish salad. Composed of a variety of ingredients ranging from greens, herbs, cucumbers, edible flowers, and lemons to roast chicken, anchovies, and other meat or fish, it was suitable for a lovely buffet in a gracious home such as Mount Vernon.

Vegetables of quality were a prized addition to any table, and Mount Vernon features a lovely garden of its own from which the Washington's kitchen staff could choose from.

Below is a recipe from Mount Vernon, that you might like to try.

Ingredients

2 heads romaine lettuce, cored and thinly sliced crosswise
1 roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), carved into breasts, wings, and legs
10 to 12 anchovies
1 lemon, diced
4 yolks of hardboiled large eggs, minced
1 bunch fresh parsley, stemmed and chopped
1/2 pound small white onions (can use pearl onions), cooked and peeled
Salt
Ground black pepper

Blanched red grapes for garnish
Blanched young green beans or haricots verts for garnish
Nasturtium blossoms for garnish

A light dressing of lemon and olive oil

  

Holiday Meat

With the holidays coming, and entertaining planned, I look into holiday food of the 18th Century. Generally speaking, meat made up the largest portion of the diet of the English at that time. For example, a meal served to Queen Anne in 1705 included: Oleo, Pigeons, Sirloin of Beef rost, Venison, Chyne of Mutton, Turkey, Snipes, Ducks, Partridge. If someone served venison, by the way, it generally meant that they had vast property from which to hunt. Venison therefore was a status symbol.

Meat was not restricted to the upper class. Most people ate meat, but unlike the Queen, veggies were big at the average person's table. Funny thing, by today's standards, the included vegetables would be the RIGHT and BEST and HEALTHIEST way to go!

Evening meals of meats were generally served cold; heated for when company was present.

The quality of food became rather poor during the 1700's in England, as meat rose in popularity. Due to urbanization, meat had to be brought into the city, and the trip was not always easy or quick. Meats were not refrigerated, and hence could spoil along the way. A doctor who was the author of the 1788 book The Honours of the Table warned that the odor of meat was such that one should keep it away from his/her nose while eating it!

The things we take for granted today! Think about it, even the royals or aristocracy did not always have the best food to choose from. And that is why presentation was so important! Who could resist the fabulous crust décor for a meat pie, or the flaming Christmas pudding with a sprig of holly.


   

The Spy Trade

Last week there was an announcement of the new James Bond film, to come out in 2015, entitled Spectre! It's very exciting to anticipate another film about the famous spy! The past two films with Daniel Craig in the title role, have been particularly good. He and his fellow actors from the last film will be working together again to bring romance, intrigue and suspense to the silver screen once more.

Got me to thinking about spies of the 18th Century. Spying is a murky business that actually kick-started Britian's industrial revolution. For example, the town of Derby tried but was unsuccessful in competing with Italy for silk production. And so, John Lombe, Englishman, travelled to Piedmont, Italy to gain knowledge of how silk was spun there. He surreptitiously made drawings of the Italian machinery and smuggled them back to England. On his return he arranged for an engineer to construct a five-story building to use as a factory to wind, spin and twist silk! The factory ran on water power. Lombe's Mill, as it was called, was the first and successful operation of its kind!

But besides men in the spy trade, there is always the "Mata Hari", the "Pussy Galore" as it were. A surprising 18th Century equivalent was Margaret Kemble Gage, wife of General Thomas Gage of Revolutionary War fame. He was British and she a Colonist! It is said that she sent word of her husband's strategy regarding Lexington and Concord! Once he learned of her actions, he sent her to England for the remainder of the war. But, obviously, the damage was done. We in the States might view her as a patriot; back in the UK, she is considered a traitor.

Cheers to George!

With the Christmas holiday on its way, I look for interesting and tasty gifts for my whisky drinkers, yet I'd have to go to Mount Vernon to pick up these particular bottles. That's the caveat.... no shipping. You must be present to pick up your purchases. Sorry, guys.

Anyway, this is quite a special whiskey - from George Washington's Mount Vernon estate!

In Washington’s time, whiskey was not aged and was sold in its original clear form. George Washington’s Rye Whiskey® is the most authentic version of Washington’s whiskey available today, at $185/bottle. Mount Vernon staff used Washington’s original mash bill and traditional 18th-century methods in the production of this rye whiskey. The mash bill, or recipe, was discovered by researchers examining the distillery ledgers for 1798 and 1799. His whiskey consisted of 60% rye, 35% corn and 5% malted barley.

The Rye Whiskey was made according to Washington's original recipe then aged on-site in charred oak barrels for two years. Mount Vernon staff produced this whiskey based on traditional 18th-century methods. After aging for two years in barrels, this straight rye whiskey was bottled and labeled by hand, at $95 each.

Cheers!