Victorian kitchen at Shugborough Hall, UK.
ALL YOU THAT TO FEASTING AND MIRTH ARE INCLINED
by Anonymous (English/Medieval)
All you that to feasting and mirth are inclined,
Come here is good news for to pleasure your mind,
Old Christmas is come for to keep open house,
He scorns to be guilty of starving a mouse:
Then come, boys, and welcome for diet the chief,
Plum-pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef.
The holly and ivy about the walls wind
And show that we ought to our neighbors be kind,
Inviting each other for pastime and sport,
And where we best fare, there we most do resort;
We fail not of victuals, and that of the chief,
Plum-pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef.
All travellers, as they do pass on their way,
At gentlemen’s halls are invited to stay,
Themselves to refresh, and their horses to rest,
Since that he must be Old Christmas’s guest;
Nay, the poor shall not want, but have for relief,
Plum-pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef.
The countdown is in earnest — just one more week till Christmas!
pie recipes
a very poignant thanksgiving
“Forever on Thanksgiving Day, the heart will find the pathway home.” ~ Wilbur D. Nesbit
photo by midstatemagazine.
The one thing I am thankful for above all this year is that I got to see my aunt when we were in Hawai’i last month.
Almost two weeks ago, I learned she had passed away. She fell at home and never regained consciousness. She had dementia and didn’t know who I was, but seemed happy in the little world she had created for herself.
photo by KellyLWatson.
In addition to giving thanks for family, friends, and good health, I will be celebrating my aunt’s life and reflecting on good times. Auntie Ella was my godmother, my mother’s younger sister, and since she lived just 10 minutes away, we saw each other often while I was growing up.
just peachy: eating by the books
It all started when Noodles the Monkey found the big stash of peaches used to celebrate Grace Lin’s new book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.
He loved reading about the greedy monkeys, but he also remembered the part about Minli using her last copper coin to buy a peach for a hungry beggar. After he ate the peach, he planted the pit, which instantly grew into a big tree full of ripe, luscious fruit. Mmmmmm! All the people in the marketplace relished those peaches, and Minli soon discovered who the beggar really was.
The more Noodles looked at the peaches, the hungrier he got. Maybe he could convince the alphabet soup kitchen helpers to bake something special with them!
out and about in charlottesville, virginia
Michie Tavern, Charlottesville, Virginia
Recently, when my parents were visiting from Hawai’i, we drove out to beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia.
Our main objective was lunch at Michie Tavern — an 18th century colonial rest stop serving Southern specialties based on historic recipes. I had been to Charlottesville several times before, thoroughly enjoying Monticello and the University of Virginia campus, but this was our first time at the Tavern. I thought it would be fun to dine near the homes of Jefferson, Monroe, and Madison. Very presidential!
Michie only does a buffet lunch; people wait in line and enter the restaurant at the right of the building. The two hour drive was definitely worth it — take a look at the Bill of Fare:
Colonial Fried Chicken
Hickory Smoked Pork Barbecue
Murphy’s Biscuits
Michie Tavern Corn Bread
Black-eyed Peas
Green Bean Salad
Southern Beets
Stewed Tomatoes
Cole Slaw
Potato Salad
Garden Vegetable Soup
Crispy Peach Cobbler
The fried chicken was so delicious, we all had seconds, but then we were too full to try the peach cobbler for dessert. No matter, I purchased a Michie Tavern Cookbook (cookbooks are my favorite souveniers), and made a batch the other day.
Though they call it a “cobbler,” I would call it a “crisp.” I always thought cobblers had a pie crust on top. Anyway, there’s a pancake-like batter that you pour into the bottom of the baking dish, then you layer the peaches over that, and finally sprinkle the topping over all. Absolutely heavenly!
blueberry bonanza
Kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk!
That’s the lovely sound of blueberries hitting the bottom of Little Sal’s tin pail.
The other day, I opened this delicious classic for the first time in eons. I had forgotten about how wonderful Robert McCloskey’s illustrations were, all done in dark blue ink. The double page spread displayed on the endpapers is stunning, showing Little Sal standing on a chair playing with rubber canning seals, her mom pouring cooked blueberries into jars, the Hoosier cabinet with a drawer and door open, and of course, the cast iron stove. You can just feel that fresh breeze drifting in through the open windows.
And what a sweet, gentle story — Sal and her mother go blueberry picking, but Sal never fills her pail because she keeps eating the berries as they go along. On the other side of the hill, a mother bear and cub are fattening up for the winter on blueberries. Sal and Little Bear fall behind and eventually trail after the wrong mothers.
Blueberries are a staple in our house all year round. They are one of the reasons I’d like to live in Maine. The best blueberry pie I’ve ever eaten, hands down, came from the Red Fox Tavern in Middleburg, Virginia. It was made from a bounty of small, incredibly sweet wild Maine blueberries. It’s been over 10 years, and I’m still thinking about that piece of pie.So, for all you fellow blueberry lovers, here are three wonderful recipes – classic blueberry pie (compliments of Violet Beauregarde of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), blueberry cream cheese pie, and a simple blueberry cobbler. I’ll take my blueberries any way I can, and I love showing off my blue tongue!
NOT VIOLET, BUT BLUEBERRY PIE
Pastry for one 2-crust 9-inch pie
4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp fresh grated lemon zest
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
Place berries in a bowl. Drizzle them with lemon juice. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to distribute. Pour the berries into a 9-inch pie pan layered with a bottom crust rolled 3/8 inch thick. Position top crust, crimp edges together, and trim. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 50 minutes. Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
~ from The Book Lover’s Cookbook (Ballantine Books, 2003)
BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE PIE
1 prebaked 9-inch pie crust
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 8-oz container whipping cream
1 can blueberry pie filling
Mix cream cheese until soft, add sugar and vanilla. Stir well.
Fold mixture into stiffly whipped cream.
Pour into baked pie shell, top with pie filling and chill.
Here is the easiest one of all; takes only about 10 minutes to prepare for baking.
BLUEBERRY COBBLER
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt, if desired
2/3 cup skim milk
2 T butter or margarine, melted
2 cups blueberries, cleaned and washed
1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the milk, and mix the batter until it is smooth.
2. Pour the melted butter into a 1 or 1-1/2 quart casserole-type baking dish. Pour in the batter, and sprinkle the blueberries on top.
3. Bake the cobbler in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until it is lightly browned. Spoon out the cobbler onto individual dishes to serve.
~ from Jane Brody’s Good Food Cookbook (Bantam, 1985)
Jama's Alphabet Soup 