At Phillipsburg Manor in Tarrytown, NY, I participated in a three day Green Corn Festival. Yes, I did roast, boil and harvest the silks of corn in the green stage. But this picture is of roasting a rabbit on a roasting stick at the main fire.
It was a wonderful weekend even though I had just returned from Maine and the loss of my Mother.
Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com
Posted in culinary history, food history, Lenape, Native American
Ruth Ellen Alley McLellan
For those of you who have been followers of my blog, you may have noticed that I have not posted any Bites of Food History since August 21, 2009.
I was blessed with being able to be with my Mother, Ruth Ellen Alley McLellan at her passing August 26,2009 in my home state of Maine. I have many things to be thankful for as my Mother had her 87th birthday in January and I was there. I was there on Mother’s Day. She always lived independently in her home and was in good health despite her many mobility issues with arthritis. She was my unconditional support, my cheerleader and always listened intently about all my adventures with food history and travel.
All of the work that I do in food history will now be in the memory of Ruth Ellen Alley McLellan 1922-2009, Guy Stanwood McLellan 1919-1998, Viola Caroline Wood Alley 1898-1978 and Leslie Earl Alley 1895-1988.
Posted in food history
Green Corn
Posted in culinary history, food history, Native American | Tags: culinary history, food history, Native American
To preserve Chirrys
This is my nephew who assisted me today at the chocolate demonstration at the Ward-Heitmann Museum House’s Summer Festival. He roasted fermented cacao beans, hulled them, and processed the nibs into chocolate liquor on the metate.
This is some of the equipment that is used at my chocolate workshops. The next scheduled workshop is February 6, 2010.
Chocolate workshops can travel if there are 6 or more people interested in learning and experiencing this 17th and 18th century process.
For more informatation on the chocolate workshop and other classes, please visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com.
Posted in chocolate, confectionery, culinary history, food history, Hearth cooking classes | Tags: chocolate, classes, confectionery, culinary history, food history
I am driving to Connecticut today so if you are in the area of West Haven, you might consider visiting the Ward-Heightman House (http//:www.wardheitmann.org) Saturday August 8th from 10 am to 4 pm. This is the museum’s Annual Ice Cream social but I will be doing my complete chocolate cake preparation on the metate and roasting raw cacao beans.
Please make me aware if you visit and have come after reading this blog.
Thank you and hope to see some of you there!
If you cannot come or want hands on experence roasting and preparing 100% pure chocolate, my next Chocolate Workshop is February 6, 2010 and information can be found by clicking the Current Class button on my website www.hearttohearthcookery.com.
This is one of the receipts (recipes) that I used in my 18th century preservation demonstration at Bolton Mansion’s Summer Fest August 2nd.
Mushrooms were foraged in the 18th century and as I looked at all the mushrooms emerging in my yard, I decided to try this receipt for pickling mushrooms.
The stems of the mushrooms were removed and the “buttons” remaining rubbed with a “flannel ragg”. The pickle was made with white wine vinegar, salt, nutmeg, mace, cloves and bay leaves.
My Historic Speedwell Hearth Cooking classes for September and November 2009 have now been posted to my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com
Tomorrow August 2nd, I will be at Bolton Mansion for their Summer Festival from 9 am to 3 pm. Bolton Mansion as it exists today contains the original 1687 home of Phineas Pemberton (politcal and influential Bucks County leader at the time of William Penn) and its additions which were completed in 1790. Tomorrow I will be preserving cherries and mushrooms at the hearth where I conduct hearth cooking classes twice a year. The next cooking class will be Saturday November 14, 2009 from 10 am to 4 pm. The hearth cooking is done at one hearth and we enjoy our meal with wine in the oldest room of the house. 
The picture to the right is the meal that was prepared at the hearth at the March 2009 class. Please visit my website for more information on the upcoming class and for registration information: www.hearttohearthcookery.com.
Posted in culinary history, food history, Food preservation, Hearth cooking classes | Tags: classes, foodways
I preserved apricots with an early 18th century receipt (recipe). The apricots were preserved in sugar. The apricots were boiled in the sugar syrup that had to be scummed. Then allowed to dry. The apricots were then placed in the crock, the syrup added to cover. The final step was to seal the crock with the bladder.
Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com
Yes, I can spell but the receipt (recipe) that you are looking at was named by G. Penn. The receipt calls for taking “a splinter” out of the cucumber, filling the cucumber, and then “ty the Coucumber Round with a thred very Close”. These pickles were prepared Sunday July 19th.
Visit my website at www.hearttohearthcookery.com
Posted in culinary history, food history, Food preservation, Pickling
Heart to Hearth Cookery 