Back from the Land of 10,000 Lakes

My grandma's family home.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

We arrived back in California on Saturday afternoon, and went right into Memorial Day, with a block party in my sister's neighborhood, then laundry and re-stocking the fridge today, and I'm still not totally back on California time!  We'll see how that works when I go back to work tomorrow ...

Kitzville School, where my grandma attended.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

While I was gone we had a heat wave here in California, and we must have brought some California weather to Minnesota because, apart from a chilly rainy day the first day we were there, it was sunny and really warm the entire time.  Beautiful weather for my grandmother's funeral, which was nice.  Got to take a drive around town with my great uncle seeing a bunch of historic places, which I do remember doing the last time or two we were there when my grandma was alive, but it was different this time.  Before, we were always tagging along on her visit, we were only there to accompany her and make sure she was o.k., and although we were seeing family, we only ever saw them on these types of occasions; she was the one who had a relationship with them, and we were kind of the proverbial "third wheel" in the equation.

Catching up -- I'm so behind!

My grandparents' wedding
portrait from 1945.  Photo:
Elizabeth Urbach.

We've been keeping busy around here lately.  My grandma, who passed away last month, wanted to be buried in her hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, up near the Canadian border with the U.S., and the weather has finally warmed up enough that they can have her interment.  So, several members of my family will be flying out to Minnesota next week and spending a few days there with the family for my grandma's second funeral and burial.  It will be a lot of flying and driving, and hopefully, a really good experience with the family, since it will also probably be the last time we go out to Minnesota, and maybe the last time we see those relatives in person ...

Irish tea and treats for St. Patrick's Day

Image: AntiqueClipArt.com

Well, even though I'm not Irish, how can I pass up celebrating a holiday that honors a nation of tea-drinkers?  My mom always makes a corned beef, cabbage and potato dinner, and has lately started buying Irish beer for my dad and brother.  I, on the other hand, am more a fan of cider and wine rather than beer, and much more a fan of tea and treats.
I've made seed cake, shortbread and soda bread before, but not barmbrack, which according to modern recipes, is a fruitcake where you first plump the dried fruit in hot tea and then add it to the cake.  I may have to try that today for elevenses (morning tea and treat at 11 a.m.), which according to some Irish cultural websites, is as much an Irish tradition as an English one!

Christmas preparations.

Italian cuccidate.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

I'm gearing up for my annual holiday baking marathon.  I usually make one or two types of traditional Italian cookies, fruit cakes, and gingerbread to both serve and give away as gifts to family and friends, along with homemade jam.  I also like to make at least one historic recipe as well.  I've tried Mrs. Beeton's Seed Cake and Currant Cake with good results, but this year I think I'll try her Christmas Cake.  Here is the recipe:

Mrs. Beeton's Christmas Cake

A Victorian recipe reborn -- summer pudding!

Summer pudding.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

It's "too darn hot" around here! Yet, there are festivities where sweet things are expected.  Ice cream and popsicles are always a good thing (I keep a box of popsicles or fudgesicles in the freezer all summer), but what if you want something a little more elegant, but you don't want to heat up the house?  Summer pudding is a refreshing, no-bake, party-worthy dessert.  Opinions differ as to the origins of the recipe; it seems to be a late-Victorian Trifle combined with a Charlotte.  No matter; it's delicious, and easy, and involves 2 minutes of simmering on the stove, so your house stays cool!  I made a summer pudding for a party on the 4th of July, and it went over really well.  Here is the recipe I used, based on a recipe from a book by Elizabeth David, posted to the Leite's Culinaria blog:

12 oz. frozen sweetened raspberries (thawed)
1 box fresh raspberries
1/2 lb. fresh sweet cherries (pitted)
2 Tablespoons plum jam (could use raspberry or strawberry)
1/4 cup sugar
1 loaf sliced white bread, day-old or dried slightly in the oven, crusts trimmed
heavy cream

Golden Gate National Cemetery, So. San Francisco, CA.

While the main conflicts of the Civil War occurred far away from San Jose, California did participate in the fighting, with local skirmishes between Union and Confederate sympathizers.  California was split between North and South in its sympathies, with more Confederate sympathy in southern California, and more Union sympathy in the North.  Since the gold fields were in Northern California, the Union received large donations of California gold, which greatly supported the war effort.  California’s brand-new state legislature also sent multiple companies of men to serve in the Union army, most ending up replacing more experienced soldiers stationed at army forts in the Midwest, but several seeing action on the front lines by joining up with Massachusetts and other Northern states’ militias.  The conflict split the nation in more ways than one, and the scars from those wounds are still sore in some areas of the U.S.!

Greet May 1st with Morris dancing!

Morris dancers in England.  By Kaihsu Tai,
GNU Free Documentation 1.2

My friend Amy is a Morris dancer and says that it's traditional to greet the sun (i.e. get up before sunrise and dance at dawn) on May 1st, "to make sure the sun will rise for the rest of the year."  So, if you happen to be up before 5 a.m. tomorrow morning, and you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, why not go down to one of the following Morris dancing performances?

Berkeley Morris: from 5:30 to 6:45 a.m. at Inspiration Point in Tilden Park.
Mad Molly: at 5:50 a.m. at the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve.
Goat Hill: at 5:45 a.m. in the Twin Peaks parking lot in San Francisco. E-mail goathillsquire (at) oakashthorn (dot) com for more information about the group.
Seabright Morris & Sword: at 5:30 a.m. at the Lighthouse on West Cliff Dr in Santa Cruz.
Apple Tree Morris: at 5:30 a.m. at the Sebastopol Community Center Youth Annex, 425 Morris St., Santa Rosa.

They say that there will be dancing all day long, so you may still be able to catch a performance even if you can't be there at dawn!  

More Victorian events in San Jose this season!

image from Nikolay Dimitrov, www.e-Cobo.com
Afternoon Tea and Ornament Making: Sunday, November 15th, 1:00-5:00pm. At a private residence in San Jose*. RSVP to Miranda at eurohaus@earthlink.net. Please note: Because of materials and limited table space, you must RSVP for this event. This event is limited to approx 15 crafters, so please RSVP right away. “Please join us for a lively Autumn afternoon of taking Tea and making Victorian Ornaments. The ornaments we are making are to support and raise funds for the operating budget for the Andrew P. Hill House. We hope to participate in the Heritage Holiday event on Dec 6th, where the VPA will have a table at the crafts faire and sell the ornaments. All the supplies needed to create ornaments will be present, but you are welcome to bring your favorite pair of scissors, or scrapbooking tools to help you create works of art. If you have doilies, ribbon, lace or other bits n bobs that you would like to donate to the cause, please feel free to bring them (we would appreciate that). This event is free. We're asking that everyone bring a potluck contribution to the tea table. Tea will be in the English style, so think cucumber sandwiches, scones, lemon curd and such. If there is more interest, we may be able to accommodate more. *location will be sent to you upon receipt of your RSVP. Hope you can make this fun filled afternoon!”

Hill House Docent meeting: Sat Nov 14th, 10:00am till noon, Firehouse (upstairs) at History Park, 1650 Senter Road, San Jose. “Ever wonder what it takes to be a docent? Please come to the Docent meeting where all this (and more) will be discussed. We’ll meet in a comfortable casual atmosphere and learn more about the wonderful world of Docenting from Barbara Johnston. We’ll also chat about the upcoming Docent training session, where you can learn all you need to know to get involved in this fulfilling experience. What can possibly be more rewarding than sharing the beautiful Hill House, and its rich history with an appreciative public. Please pop an email or phone call to Miranda to let us know you are coming.”

Help man the table at Heritage Holiday: Sat Dec 5th from 12:00 noon till 5:00pm, at History Park, 1650 Senter Road, San José, CA 95112. (408) 287-2290. www.historysanjose.org Spend an afternoon celebrating the holidays in old fashioned Victorian style. There will be crafts for sale and other activities. We are looking for a few volunteers to help Diana and Hullene to sit at our table and sell the ornaments and other items to raise money for the Hill House operating fund. It's just a few hours spent in the festive atmosphere of History Park. Please contact Miranda if interested in helping out. Thanks!’