Let's Visit Des Moines, Iowa

"Fancy running into you here, Danny! What brings you to Des Moines?"
"You did, I was riding in the back of the car."
"You don't say. Since we're here, how about going to visit the Saylorville reservoir to look for migratory birds?"
"Fine by me."

 There were both golden and bald eagles as well as pelicans, merganzers, and ring-billed gulls (none of which managed to be photographed by me).

Danny took better photos-perhaps I'll convince him to share some with us later on.

It was blowing a gale, but the weather was still unseasonably warm. I bought this leather coat expecting a few wears before I required something heavier, but I'm pleased to report it is getting plenty of wear this autumn.

Outfit Particulars:
Skinny jeans-K Mart
Vintage acrylic sweater-Hand-Me-Ups
Boots-Goodwill about 10 years ago
Vintage 70's leather coat-Goodwill
Vintage copper Hopi necklace-New Life Thrift
Knit headband-K Mart
Velvet shoulderbag-Goodwill
Fragrance-Alfred Sung

 We caught a buffalo.

Ready to tour the State House? Great, let's go inside!

The state house was constructed between 1871 and 1886. It is the only five-domed capitol in the United States. 

I'm sure they'll have this removed shortly as it is now been deemed irrelevant.

In the case is a replica of the battleship USS Iowa.

I'm glad polishing the floor tiles isn't my job. It must take a small army to keep this place as gleaming as it is. At the front bottom of the photo is a round of glass tiles that function as a skylight for the lower floor.

I did get a bit dizzy looking up, but it was so magnificent it was worth the discomfort.

I would imagine working in a building like this would give even the lowest-tier state workers the impression that their work was important and meaningful. It might not last ten seconds after sitting at a desk and getting to work, but I would think the walk in each morning would leave an impression.

 Obligatory covered wagon painting.

 Stained glass window.

 Fake marble. I learn something new every day.

 We learned so much on our visit, I'll bet we even look smarter.

The Iowa State Capitol is closed Sundays and holidays. Guided tours are available. 

Iowa Sunrise Cocktail:

1oz. vodka

1oz. white rum

1 oz. lemonade

1 oz. Sprite

4 ounces orange juice

Splash of grenadine

In a large glass add the alcohols, then the lemonade. Sprite, and orange juice on top. Add the grenadine and it should bleed through the layers making the sunrise.

Hot Dogs, and an Election Day Cake

 I used vegetarian "not dogs" to make Chicago style hot dogs for dinner. The bright green relish is a local er...delicacy that's mostly sugar and food colouring. I was able to find some in Omaha, which wasn't easy to do.

If you're concerned about "Clean Eating" you're going to want to sit the relish out. My dad didn't like carrying it on the truck in summer because he'd have a truck filled with bees that were attracted to the sugar. No matter how carefully he made up the barrels, some would always fall on the floor of the truck, and Chicago bees must be pretty damn smart because they'd be there within minutes of stopping somewhere to make a delivery. Anyway, the stuff is 90% sugar.

Okay, so what goes on a Chicago style hot dog? Well, it really should be a beef hot dog, but obviously we're not doing that. A poppy seed bun is traditional. Chopped white onion, tomato, the green relish, mustard, celery salt, sport peppers (tiny pickled green peppers), dill pickles, and in some neighbourhoods, sauerkraut. How do they taste? Terrible! I know I'm not supposed to admit that, but I never liked them *hangs head in shame*. I didn't eat any of these for dinner, but the boys enjoyed them. If I want a salad, I'll have a salad. If I want sausage, why I'll have a sausage. I never understood the compulsion to combine the two on a steamed bun. A polish sausage is another matter.

This is how I look on two hour's sleep. Is there anything lippy can't do?

Turns out, this wasn't just squinting in the sun, but the start of a two day migraine compounded by Danny and Mr. ETB both being sick. I swear, I'm still barely able to put words together in complete sentences. I apologise if I sound...not myself.

 I prefer Danny's homemade "W" flag, but I went ahead and bought him a proper one (and a tee shirt) on the MLB website so he can proudly wave it next season. I was surprised when my kid declared himself a Cubs fan a while back as I never did anything to encourage it. I thought he was setting himself up for a lifetime of disappointment...shows how much I know! I grew up in a divided household as dad was a Southsider (pronounced, "Sout") and mum a North. My dad always seemed a little uncomfortable at Cubs games and would want to leave before the end of the game to, "Beat the traffic." I can't tell you how many games I had to finish listening to on the radio. I watched the parade and rally this morning in a haze of headache and sleep deprivation, and cried tears of joy anyway. Then, I went back to sleep...for about an hour until "Lawnmower Man" across the street started up. He mows his lawn daily-I think it must be some sort of therapy. In the winter he shovels. As he's quite elderly (about 90) I must give him credit for keeping active. I hope I can do the same at his age.

You might have heard, we're having an election in the United States on Tuesday.

We've been noticing these chalked on sidewalks around the city. I hope people do turn out to vote. This is the first time I've ever had to make arrangements for Danny to stay home when I go to the polls. The threats of voter intimidation, violence, and a generally hostile environment are enough that I don't want to expose a child to it. I could have voted early, but I also feel it is important to stand up to the nativist assholes, and go cast my ballot in person at the polls. I don't expect problems, but I can't be foolish and unprepared for the possibility.

Did you hear about the, "Vote Shaming" phone calls?

Last week, a caller that wouldn't say on who's behalf she was calling started into a lecture about, "Our records show you have missed a few elections. Who you vote for is private, but IF you vote is public record."

I asked which registered voter they were calling for, and she was unable to supply me a name-just my telephone number. Ah. Our number is unlisted, and you do not need to provide a telephone number when registering to vote-so I called her on the bullshit, and hung up. I like to think I've, "Heard it all" when it comes to political campaigning and sleazy tactics, but this was a completely new one.

There's an old tradition in New England of baking a cake to share on Election Day. The Puritans weren't in favour of celebrating holidays like Christmas, so Election Day became a sort of holiday when people would see neighbours. Most recipes trace it to Hartford Connecticut, but I don't know if that is historically accurate, or something invented by a cookbook author. I'm almost certain the Puritans wouldn't be using brandy.

The recipe I have seems suspiciously luxurious for the times. I have no idea how authentic it is. I've made it a few times over the years, and it is a large enough (and heavy enough) treat for a crowd. Think of a rich fruit cake that's more bread than cake. I'll reprint it here with plenty of time before the election in the event you still have neighbours you wish to share cake with afterward.

Hartford Election Day Cake:

You Will Need:

Yeast Dough:

1 cup diced, peeled raw potato
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 cake yeast (I used 2 1/4 teaspoons granulated dissolved in 1/4 cup of the warm potato water)
1 large egg
3-4 cups plain flour

Additions:

3/4 cup very soft butter
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup brandy
1 cup raisins or sultanas
1 cup candied fruit
1 cup plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice

Cook the potato in water to cover until tender. Mash, and set aside. Pour scalded milk over butter in a large bowl and add sugar and salt. Stir until butter is melted. Meanwhile, proof the yeast if using granulated in 1/4 cup potato water. Then, stir into milk mixture. Add the mashed potato and then the egg. Add flour a cup at a time until you have a soft, but workable dough. Place in a buttered bowl, cover and let rise until doubled.

Punch down the dough and work in the butter in pieces. Add the eggs, brown sugar, and brandy. Coat the raisins and fruits with flour and add to the dough. Add remaining flour and mixed spice. Work very well so that dough is not streaky (it will be a mess, but stick with it (sorry, I just seem to be full of these tonight). Turn into a well-buttered 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees F. for about 1 hour, or until cake is baked through inside. Cool in pan ten minutes, then finish cooling on a rack. When completely cool, frost with buttermilk frosting below.

Buttermilk Icing

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon bicarb
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 cup butter

Combine all, cook over medium heat in a medium saucepan until it reaches 230 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. With a hand mixer, beat until icing begins to thicken. Spread quickly on cake.

Here's the Parkin I made for the 5th. This was the first year I was smart enough to bake it well ahead, and use a larger pan. Look, it didn't sink in the centre!

Yes, it is mostly golden syrup, treacle, and brown sugar...but there's oats so...health food! I didn't make toffee apples, because no one likes them (except me).

I'm going to crawl back into bed, and try to keep the boys from coughing/breathing within ten yards of me. I've never had strep throat and I'm hoping to keep it that way. I will say that I appreciate living across the street from Children's Hospital when Danny is having trouble breathing at 3 AM. I remember the frantic drives to the nearest hospital half an hour from home when we lived on the farm, and this is much, much, better. Much.

Wiggs (Whygges)

I was stuck at home today waiting for an exterminator to do a termite inspection (no termites, or evidence of-hooray! They eat books, so it is no small worry.) so I passed the time between lessons with a bit of baking. At a recent book sale I bought a copy of Celebration Breads by, Betsy Oppenneer. Wiggs are said to be associated with Lent in Britain, though rich with eggs, butter, and sugar I don't see how they could be viewed as any sort of deprivation. According to Oppenneer, Wiggs were often lightly toasted with cheese and served in a bowl of red wine or ale. I served them slightly warmed without any adornment and they were well received, though in the future I would skip the caraway seed topping as it is a mess. Caraway with sweet spices is an odd combination to modern palates. I have recipes for candied caraway seeds, cakes of caraway and rosewater, and all sorts of things that might set your teeth on edge today. So be warned, if you associate caraway seeds with a rye bread or cooked sauerkraut, you may wish to sit this one out.

I can't offer photographs as a certain someone broke my new camera. I'll get another at the weekend, but for now I'll have to do my best to describe them. Interestingly, the cookbook does not have a photo or illustration. It would be hard selling a cookery book to a publisher today without glossy photographs.

I made a few changes in technique you may find helpful such as rotating the pan halfway through baking, that vary from the original recipe.

You Will Need:

For the Sponge:
1 scant tablespoon granulated yeast
2 tablespoons warm water
1 cup light cream (single) or half and half (double and milk in equal amounts) lukewarm
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup plain flour

For the Dough
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3=4 cups plain flour

For the top:
3 tablespoons caraway seeds (pretty, but far, far too many)

In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast in  water to soften it. Stir in cream, sugar, and 1 cup flour. Stir until mostly smooth. Cover with cling film and let rest 30 minutes.

Combine sponge, sugar, butter, egg, ginger, caraway, salt, nutmeg, mace, cloves, and 1 cup of the flour. Beat well 2 minutes (I used a wooden spoon). Slowly add the remaining flour a cup at a time until you have a dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I only needed 3 cups. Knead, adding flour if it is too sticky until dough is smooth and elastic (about ten minutes).

Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and let rise until doubled-about an hour. Punch down and divide into three even sections. Roll each into a ball, and then flatten the balls to 1/2 inch thickness. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet (or lightly grease) and sprinkle 1 tablespoon caraway seeds atop each loaf. Press into surface flattening as you go. Cover lightly with a towel and let rest 30 minutes.

Cut each round into eighths-you must cut all the way through. I used a pizza cutter. Do NOT pull them apart as for scones as they will rise together. Cover again and let rise another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake 10 minutes, then rotate pan and bake another ten or until lightly browned and internal temperature of buns reads 190 degrees F.

Place on a rack to cool, and break into wedges to serve. The recipe suggests the wiggs will keep frozen for 6 months and can be reheated in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. I have the other two loaves in the freezer, so I will report back when I use them as to how well they hold up.

Mushroom "Ketchup"

Mushroom ketchup is one of those things that elicits a funny expression when people hear it. Understandably, it evokes the image of the more familiar tomato ketchup but in truth, is closer to what Americans call, "Steak sauce."

This was an experiment, and as it only made about a pint, I skipped canning it in favour of keeping it in the fridge. We weren't sure what exactly to use it on-until we began using it. Tonight, it dressed up steamed broccoli at the table.

I'll try this again using a combination of dried and fresh mushrooms. This time I used only fresh shitake, and the stem of a large trumpet mushroom. I'm not sure what an ounce of dried porcini would bring to it in terms of depth, but at some point, I'll give it a try.

You Will Need:

(about) 1 lb. fresh mushrooms (I used Shitake and Trumpet)sliced thinly
2 tablespoons coarse salt or sea salt (or canning salt if you have it)

1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
6 scallions, white part only-sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup sherry

24 hours before:
Place mushrooms in a plastic strainer or colander and set over a bowl to catch liquid. Salt the mushrooms, cover lightly with a tea towel, and set in fridge to drain for 24 hours.

Puree the mushrooms in a food processor with the liquid in the bowl. Transfer to a large, heavy non-reactive pot (I used an enamel pan) along with everything else. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook down until it is thickened. It should be close to the thickness of tomato ketchup, but should not mound on a spoon like apple butter. This should take about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from heat, remove bay leaves, and puree in batches (be careful, it is hot) and return it to a smaller pan to cook over very low heat for another fifteen minutes or so. Remember, you want it smooth, so if there are still bits of mushroom, you may wish to puree it again, and force it through a fine sieve.

Bottle, and store in the fridge. Makes about 1 pint. I'm storing mine in a large molasses bottle, which lets it pour nicely.

First Ladies Cookies

In my copy of America cooks, many of the recipes are attributed to the First Ladies (the book was a collection of women's clubs recipes, so it sort of makes sense). The cookie section featured three. At present I have the dough for Mrs. Eisenhower's sugar cookies chilling, though I must say, they seem kind of plain. Still, I can picture her making them. I wonder if perhaps the recipe came via her mother-in-law. I've visited Eisenhower's childhood home in Kansas, and stood in his mother's kitchen. I could see these originating there. I know one thing for certain-I don't dare embellish these cookies. No extra sanding sugar on top, no brushing with egg-these are mid-century, mid-American cookies that are, "just enough" for family, but probably not for company. I know that sort of cookie, for I am of mid-century-mid-American bakers that wouldn't waste expensive dragees and such on children. My Gran would have appreciated Mrs. Eisenhower's cookies. She does use a hefty tablespoon of vanilla extract in the dough.

The cookbook also has a recipe for chocolate butter cookies attributed to Mrs. Nixon. Again, they're pretty ordinary sounding, conservative even in the use of butter, but I can summon a mental image of Pat rushing in the house, tossing her cloth coat on the chair, pitching Checkers a biscuit, screaming at the girls to pick up their room, and getting down to work rolling butter cookies. I have to work a bit harder at this, but it isn't impossible.

Finally, we have a recipe for some incredibly fussy meringues from Mrs. Kennedy. This requires too much imagination, as we all know Jackie never got anywhere near a cookie, and she probably didn't let Caroline either (at least not until she grew out of the awkward teenaged years). John John probably got cookies, but I still don't believe she baked them. All that beating sugar slowly into egg whites with the stuff flying off the beaters all over her designer clothes? Unlikely. I don't think they taught Home Ec. at Miss Porters.

Tomorrow I'll bake up Mrs. Eisenhower's cookies, and report back.

Oddities-Scotch Bun/Black Bun Yeast Risen

Very big bread.

Could have baked a hair longer, but the moisture is mostly down to the fruit. I wouldn't call it underbaked by any means.

This is my day for imposing historical oddities on the family-I also baked a Scotch Black Bun. No, not the fruitcake encased in pastry that people think of as a Scotch bun today-I made the 17th Century version, yeast risen with modern yeast rather than a barm.

I don't think I've ever baked anything that weighed ten pounds!

Yes, it is a large thing, the Black Bun. I need to let it cool before slicing it open (please God, let the centre have baked through) to reveal the bread within the bread. I don't know what the point of the yeast was, as it barely rose, weighted down with all that fruit. I looked around on the internet, and all the examples were the fruitcake sort, so I didn't have much help envisioning the final product. I looked at Elizabeth David's take in her bread book, and while mine is close to what she describes, I can't help but think it should have been lighter-or not, people in the 17th Century had different expectations for the density of bread. I swapped out different dried fruit as sultanas and currants are quite expensive now, but kept the proportions the same. I have to admit, encasing a bread in a second layer of dough brings to mind a turducken, albeit one made of rich bread and fruit. Now I regret not making the centre of yet another small bun-next time.

I'll update the post later with photos. I suspect this will be a recipe that needs a bit of tweaking and adjusting.

Old Fashioned Apple Cake

I couldn't be arsed to spend two minutes arranging the apples neatly. Look, I baked a cake-you want it fancy as well?



I'm posting this recipe as the end result was pretty good, but bear in mind the recipe itself left quite a bit to decipher. The cake comes from a small, softbound cookbook, From Williamsburg Kitchens 1993. The recipes are presented as, "Regional" rather than historical, which makes sense as I doubt very much they were making use of hydrogenated vegetable shortening in colonial days.

The "recipe" is little more than a list of ingredients and an oven temperature. I can tell you, it took closer to 45 minutes to bake than the 25 suggested. I am going to go ahead and post what I actually did, though I really felt the cake was somewhat overbaked at the edges and underbaked at the centre. I'm not a fan of Crisco in cakes as it gives me terrible heartburn. Terrible. On the other hand, it does tend to limit how much I'm able to consume. Silver lining, people-I keep telling you to look for the silver lining. Anyway, I'm sure you could make a better apple kuchen, but I'll post this just for regional interest.

You Will need:

1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
Dash of lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
1 cup Plain flour
Dash of nutmeg (my addition)
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

2 apples, pared and sliced thin
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I omitted this)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch cake pan. If I were to do this again, I'd flour it as well-the cake stuck horribly.

Cream the shortening and sugar until light. Beat in egg mixing well. Stir in lemon juice. Sift dry ingredients together. Add vanilla to milk. Add, alternating. Do not over-mix. Pour into prepared pan. Arrange apple slices on top. Dot with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 25 (their suggestion) to 45 (my reality) minutes. Cool in pan on a rack.