This blog will periodically post bits from the book by M.J.K. Fisher, "How to Cook a Wolf" published in 1942 a time period of great stress and danger.
The table of contents indicates that this will be a book of lightheartedness.
1. How to Be Sage Without Hemlock
2. How to Catch the Wolf
3. How to Distribute Your Virtue
4. How to Boil Water
5. How to Greet the Spring
And there are more, but let's start with these.
A recipe from the chapter How to Boil Water is
GREEN GARDEN SOUP
2 Tbls butter or good oil
1 bunch watercress
1/2 head lettuce
3 small onions and tops
2 or 3 cabbage leaves
4 celery stalk tops
1 sprig thyme or marjoram
1 handful parsley
2 cans (4 cups) chicken or beef broth
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup thick cream
Seasoning
Grind or chop the vegetables (clean, or course)
Heat them gently for about 10 minutes with oil, then add broth.
Cover and simmer slowly until very tender, about 45 minutes.
Beat egg yolk and cream together and add after the soup is in the bowl
Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper
Most of these ingredients can be found at your local Farmers' Market so distance yourself, but support them and enjoy fresh home cooked soup.
Another blog will tell you how to make vodka
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Fog and Rain Means Cooking
Potatoes boiling to make German potato salad
Bought some beets at the Farmer's Market this am to make beet soup
Also stopped at Dollar General to buy "fake" Girl Scout cookies - they come out with the same type during Girl Scout cookie sale time. Luckily they don't have them all year.
So here is a recipe (not the famous Iron Mountain Inn chocolate chip cookie recipe, however) that I often make on foggy days - or getting ready for a Super Bowl Party!
HOT CHEESE DIP
1 lb sharp chedder cheese grated
2 jars jalapeno peppers without seeds
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 large can whole tomatoes mashed up
In about 2 tbls olive oil saute the onions and peppers
Add the mashed up tomatoes (can do it in a blender or with a fork)
Simmer until it makes a thick paste (about 20 minutes or more) Stir
Add the cheese
Serve in a chafing dish with Dorito's of course
Be sure to keep it warm
This recipe also freezes well
You probably should double the recipe as it goes very fast!
Wish I could post a picture, but I haven't made it yet
Between the early morning finals of the Australian Open Men's Tennis Finals and the Super Bowl later in the day, I think there will be a lot of shouting and screaming around the world tomorrow. Glad I'm not in Miami or Melbourne!
Bought some beets at the Farmer's Market this am to make beet soup
Also stopped at Dollar General to buy "fake" Girl Scout cookies - they come out with the same type during Girl Scout cookie sale time. Luckily they don't have them all year.
So here is a recipe (not the famous Iron Mountain Inn chocolate chip cookie recipe, however) that I often make on foggy days - or getting ready for a Super Bowl Party!
HOT CHEESE DIP
1 lb sharp chedder cheese grated
2 jars jalapeno peppers without seeds
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 large can whole tomatoes mashed up
In about 2 tbls olive oil saute the onions and peppers
Add the mashed up tomatoes (can do it in a blender or with a fork)
Simmer until it makes a thick paste (about 20 minutes or more) Stir
Add the cheese
Serve in a chafing dish with Dorito's of course
Be sure to keep it warm
This recipe also freezes well
You probably should double the recipe as it goes very fast!
Wish I could post a picture, but I haven't made it yet
Between the early morning finals of the Australian Open Men's Tennis Finals and the Super Bowl later in the day, I think there will be a lot of shouting and screaming around the world tomorrow. Glad I'm not in Miami or Melbourne!
Friday, January 3, 2020
Grandmother and Me
I've lived from no tv to listening to the Vienna State Orchestra on a little cell phone that doesn't weigh more than a pound...amazing!
Sometimes I just have to stop and shake my head at the changes in the world today. The changes in morals, women's rights, technology, and the "oneness" of the world since my grandmother's time makes me shake my head. My grandmother went from horse and buggy to man on the moon and when I asked her what she thought was the most important change in her life she replied, after a few minutes of thought, "Ladies no longer wear hats".
First of all, she referred to women as ladies. I haven't heard anyone call women "ladies" recently. Second, not only do ladies no longer wear hats, neither do men unless you count the ball caps which some men wear everywhere. (I'm old fashioned enough to not approve of ball caps or terry caps at the dining table.)
But ladies no longer wearing hats represents a sea change in attitudes women have of themselves and those society has of them. Women today are as free to do as they wish as men....almost. The pill freed women from unwanted pregnancy so if they wanted multiple partners, that was a new choice. Men always had that choice. Pants allowed women to work in factories, to be active without having to worry about showing "too much skin". Of course, my grandmother couldn't understand how a woman could ride a horse astride as there was nothing to hold on to like the horn of a ladies' saddle under the flowing riding skirt.
My grandmother was a woman before her time and I was lucky to have her as part of my life for over 42 years. She was an avid bridge player with many Life Master points, a fierce backgammon player who seemed to be able to "call" the number she needed at appropriate times (her great-grandson has the same ability), a wicked sense of humor and most of all a love of life and curiosity about everything! She loved "the young" and listening to men talk as she was surrounded by women most of the time. She told me one time she wished she could have worked for a company like IBM so she could work all over the world.
She was a commanding presence whenever she walked into a room and as a child, "the look" was enough to make me behave, or stop whatever I was not supposed to be doing. But she also loved to have me climb into her bed in the mornings and she would tell me stories of her life in the early 20th century. She had a driver's license - number 3 in Washington, DC she always said.
When my father was courting my mother and he came to dinner, as the guest of honor he was placed at my grandmother's left, but as the food was passed to him last he often didn't get to eat much he said. My grandmother liked her food hot, so instead of waiting until everyone was served, she would begin eating and she was a fast eater. That meant, when she was finished she would call for the table to be cleared leaving my father hungry. But after a few times, he learned to eat very quickly and keep my grandmother in conversation so she couldn't finish so fast.
She loved to give parties and I was always welcome to bring my friends over to her house any time. When the University of Colorado football team went to the Orange Bowl in Miami, I invited my friends to stop in at my grandmother's house for a shower and a rest. One morning, there were about 15 people asleep around the edge of the pool when my grandmother came out to take her morning swim - au natural. I happened to glance out my bedroom to see her peering at the faces of the sleeping friends trying to decide if they were asleep enough for her to have her swim. She decided not to that morning.
Since the pool was very private we all swim as nature made us, but one afternoon when I was enjoying my swim, my grandmother came in with some of her bridge friends. I called out to her to wait a minute while I got out of the pool and into the bedroom. But she she brought her friends out and insisted it would impolite if I didn't say hello and shake their hands. I was at the far end of the pool but she and her friends were having a grand time. Finally they went back into the house to start a bridge game and I was able to sneak out of the pool.
Of course, on her 90th birthday, after an elegant delicious dinner with a group of friends who had come down in a bus from Indiana for the celebration the group ended up back at the house. Grandma went into her room and everyone was saying she must be tired after her busy day, that is, until she came back out naked but wrapped in a beach towel! "It's my birthday so I'm going swimming in my birthday suit. Come join me". And the entire party did! By the light of the moon, 65+ year olds all shed their clothes and jumped into the pool. A memorable night and hope I have that spirit and a place to swim on my 90th.
Sometimes I just have to stop and shake my head at the changes in the world today. The changes in morals, women's rights, technology, and the "oneness" of the world since my grandmother's time makes me shake my head. My grandmother went from horse and buggy to man on the moon and when I asked her what she thought was the most important change in her life she replied, after a few minutes of thought, "Ladies no longer wear hats".
First of all, she referred to women as ladies. I haven't heard anyone call women "ladies" recently. Second, not only do ladies no longer wear hats, neither do men unless you count the ball caps which some men wear everywhere. (I'm old fashioned enough to not approve of ball caps or terry caps at the dining table.)
But ladies no longer wearing hats represents a sea change in attitudes women have of themselves and those society has of them. Women today are as free to do as they wish as men....almost. The pill freed women from unwanted pregnancy so if they wanted multiple partners, that was a new choice. Men always had that choice. Pants allowed women to work in factories, to be active without having to worry about showing "too much skin". Of course, my grandmother couldn't understand how a woman could ride a horse astride as there was nothing to hold on to like the horn of a ladies' saddle under the flowing riding skirt.
My grandmother was a woman before her time and I was lucky to have her as part of my life for over 42 years. She was an avid bridge player with many Life Master points, a fierce backgammon player who seemed to be able to "call" the number she needed at appropriate times (her great-grandson has the same ability), a wicked sense of humor and most of all a love of life and curiosity about everything! She loved "the young" and listening to men talk as she was surrounded by women most of the time. She told me one time she wished she could have worked for a company like IBM so she could work all over the world.
She was a commanding presence whenever she walked into a room and as a child, "the look" was enough to make me behave, or stop whatever I was not supposed to be doing. But she also loved to have me climb into her bed in the mornings and she would tell me stories of her life in the early 20th century. She had a driver's license - number 3 in Washington, DC she always said.
When my father was courting my mother and he came to dinner, as the guest of honor he was placed at my grandmother's left, but as the food was passed to him last he often didn't get to eat much he said. My grandmother liked her food hot, so instead of waiting until everyone was served, she would begin eating and she was a fast eater. That meant, when she was finished she would call for the table to be cleared leaving my father hungry. But after a few times, he learned to eat very quickly and keep my grandmother in conversation so she couldn't finish so fast.
She loved to give parties and I was always welcome to bring my friends over to her house any time. When the University of Colorado football team went to the Orange Bowl in Miami, I invited my friends to stop in at my grandmother's house for a shower and a rest. One morning, there were about 15 people asleep around the edge of the pool when my grandmother came out to take her morning swim - au natural. I happened to glance out my bedroom to see her peering at the faces of the sleeping friends trying to decide if they were asleep enough for her to have her swim. She decided not to that morning.
Since the pool was very private we all swim as nature made us, but one afternoon when I was enjoying my swim, my grandmother came in with some of her bridge friends. I called out to her to wait a minute while I got out of the pool and into the bedroom. But she she brought her friends out and insisted it would impolite if I didn't say hello and shake their hands. I was at the far end of the pool but she and her friends were having a grand time. Finally they went back into the house to start a bridge game and I was able to sneak out of the pool.
Of course, on her 90th birthday, after an elegant delicious dinner with a group of friends who had come down in a bus from Indiana for the celebration the group ended up back at the house. Grandma went into her room and everyone was saying she must be tired after her busy day, that is, until she came back out naked but wrapped in a beach towel! "It's my birthday so I'm going swimming in my birthday suit. Come join me". And the entire party did! By the light of the moon, 65+ year olds all shed their clothes and jumped into the pool. A memorable night and hope I have that spirit and a place to swim on my 90th.
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