Small projects

A small group of us run an SCA arts and science event every May, with the whole May long weekend full of different classes.  This year of course, with the pandemic social distancing rules in place, we've had to cancel it.  We decided to make it a virtual event.  We'll see how it works out.   It's been a huge amount of computer work though, and some days it feels like I've done nothing else but sit in front of the monitor.

I spun up 100 g of grey ramie.   It's nice yarn.  It was nice to spin, although sometimes it seemed I was wearing it as much as I was spinning it.  It's very fine and clingy, especially since the weather has turned cold again and the humidity is low.

I made homemade egg noodles for dinner the other day.  .  I haven't done that in a very long time.  They are easy to make and fun to slurp.  I made stew for supper and didn't want to make biscuits, and we were out of bread.  The guys had been moving the woodpile, so I thought they'd like a hearty dinner.

The lemon tree is flowering.  The tree is loaded with flowers.  Every day I check out to see which ones have newly opened.  I've been helping Mother Nature by taking a cotton swap and rolling it in the pollen tipped bits (stamens?) and daubbing it on the central spikey thing (stigma?).   I've done this in the past.  It usually results in fruit setting.   Often the tree blooms in the summer, and the bees do the job for me.   I do like being able to pick a lemon and use it, so helping it along is okay.

I'm finishing up spinning the brown cotton.   I'm pretty sure it's the last of the good coloured cotton sliver that I have. I will miss it.  It's something I'd have to order in from either the west or the U.S. since I haven't been able to find a supplier locally or in central Canada at any rate.

I'm dressing the loom.  It's a fussy colour pattern gamp.   I was going to put it on hold, and do waffle weave tea towels, but nope, I decided to do the projects I'd listed in order.   I'm sort of regretting it now.   It's going to be fussy to thread the heddles.  I'm now thinking they'll be fussy to weave.   Since I've seen the finished project, I know they the pattern makes for spectacular towels though.

The only thing about small projects is that it doesn't feel like I've accomplished a lot.  I still haven't started on my new dresses for Westfield, nor a new medieval gown, that I've been promising myself.

Small Currant Cakes 1827

Small Currant Cakes

This is a recipe from  the cookbook,  Domestic Economy and Cookery for Rich and Poor published  in 1827 by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, Paternoster-Row, London.  It was presented to Westfield volunteers, as a regular cookery challenge while we are locked down during the pandemic.  

I didn't have currants or raisins in the pantry and am not due to go shopping for another week and a half, so I substituted diced dried apricots.   I used a half recipe because not only do I not have that much extra butter on hand, but I know that we would never be able to eat that many little cakes.

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, however I used my Kitchen Aid mixer rather than beating everything on manual.  I did wish I had a hand mixer as well when I had to scrape the butter mixture out of the bowl, and clean it up properly so I could whip the egg whites.  However my mixer was ancient and last fall it fell apart while my son was using it, and for some reason it was never replaced.

I baked the little cakes in a square cup cake pan. I've found that this pan used up more batter per cup cake than a regular round pan; almost double the batter from experience.   Regardless, I filled up 10 of the little moulds, so even half a batch makes a lot.

They rose quite nicely even without any levening agent but the egg whites.  They are a bit dense but not overly heavy.  This description  makes no sense unless you actually get to eat one of them though.

If I were to modernize this recipe, I'd cut the butter in half, add a bit of milk and maybe a tsp of baking powder, just to be sure.  I left out the mace because apricots have a fairly delicate flavour and I didn't want to overwhelm them with excess spices.

As it was, here is the recipe I used.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs separated
3/4 cup diced dried apricots (1/2- 3/4 cup currants, or raisins, or other dried fruit would work)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

Beat the butter and sugar until well blended.  Add the egg yolks and beat until very pale yellow and fluffy.     Combine the flour, spices and fruit in a separate bowl.   Add to the butter mixture and beat just until blended.     Whip the whites until very stiff.   Gently fold the whites into the butter and flour mixture just until everything is combined.  Fill your muffin pans or moulds about 3/4 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, at 375F.

Rugs, and yummy things

Butter tarts are supposed to be a very Canadian thing.   It's said that they can be traced to the late 1600's here, especially in Quebec, where they were made with maple sugar and possibly syrup.   The first written recipe though is dated 1900.   They can be plain, with raisins or walnuts.   They are quite unique in flavour being both buttery and sweet.  It uses just a few ingredients and is infinitely variable as it is a forgiving recipe. Yesterday,  I made butter tarts.  Although I do like a good, runny butter tart, I end up dripping them everywhere, so these aren't runny.  They are buttery and nicely sweet, but not cloyingly so. 

1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 2 eggs, 2 tbsn milk, 1 tsp vanilla.   Mix and divide evenly between 12 tart pastry shells.  Bake for 25 mins and 350 F.    I wish I had had some raisins in the pantry, because that would have made them perfect.    It doesn't look like a lot of filling, but you only need 1 1 1/2 tbsn - 2 tbsn in each shell.   They expand quite dramatically.

I made bread from a recipe that is supposed to be historical.  However it's a no knead bread, using a combination of flours that I'd not seen used in that way before and it was soft and fluffy like a commercial sandwich bread for those lunchbox type sandwiches.  As well, it was a bit bland.   I really prefer a bread with some body to it and flavour.    Most of it got eaten although with as soft as it was, it became difficult to slice after day 1.   The chooks liked the last bit.

I finished weaving the rugs.   To get the last one done, I wove until there were only 4 inches of warp behind the shafts.  I was manually lifting shafts help open the shed, in order to get the last inch done.    Still, the rug was a bit shorter than I would have normally woven.  However, I'd been looking for a new bathroom rug for a while but haven't found one it a colour or style I liked, so the old one is now gone and the small rug is in front of the shower.  Win!

The rugs are all hemmed and ready to be used.  The two with the multi coloured strips are bright and cheerful.  The red and grey rug is a little more defined and sedate.