In This Issue
Spring Is Coming
A St. Patrick's Day Menu
Irish Bubble Party
St. Bridget of Ireland
How To Make a Set of Chess Men Out of Spools
Colonel Mavers on Wine Slavery
Potato Recipes
More Miss Mary
Receipts & Remedies
LOBSTERS. The Irish are noted for the delightful way in which they prepare lobsters, heating them in their shells and sprinkling them liberally with Cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Canned lobsters can be made equally delicious by heating an ounce of butter in a stew-pan, turning the lobster into it, sprinkling it with red pepper, and, when thoroughly hot through, squeezing the juice of a lemon over it. It should be served upon a very hot dish, and it will be found most palatable. ~ Ballou's, 1883
Potatoes
We are all potato eaters (for ourselves we esteem potatoes beyond any other vegetable), yet few persons know how to cook them. Shall we be bold enough to commence our hints by presuming to inform our "grandmothers" how
To Boil Potatoes? put them into a saucepan with scarecely sufficient water to cover them. Directly the skins begin to break, lift them from the fire, and as rapidly as possible pour off every drop of the water. Then place a coarse (we need not say clean) towel over them, and return them to the fire again until they are thoroughly done, and quite dry. A little salt, to taste, should have been added to the water before boiling.
Potatoes Fried with Fish. Take cold fish and cold potatoes. Pick all the bones from the former, and mash the fish and the potatoes together. Form into rolls, and fry with lard until the outsides are brown and crisp. For this purpose, the drier kinds of fish, such as cod, are preferable. Eels, &c., are not so good. This is an economical and excellent relish.
Potatoes Mashed with Onions. Prepare some boiled onions by putting them through a sieve, and mix them with potatoes. Regulate the portions according to taste.
Potato Cheese Cakes. One pound of mashed potatoes, quarter of a pound of currants, quarter of a pound of sugar and butter, and four eggs, to be well mixed together; bake them in patty pans, having first lined them with puff paste.
Potato Colcanon. Boil potatoes and greens, and spinach, separately; mash the potatoes; squeeze the greens dry; chop them quite fine, and mix them with the potatoes with a little butter, pepper, and salt. Put into a mould, buttering it well first; let it stand in a hot oven for ten minutes.
Potatoes Roasted Under Meat. Half boil large potatoes; drain the water; put them into an earthen dish, or small tin pan, under meat roasting before the fire; baste them with the dripping. Turn them to brown on all sides; send up in a separate dish.
Potato Balls Ragout. Add to a pound of potatoes a quarter of a pound of grated ham, or some sweet herbs, or chopped parsley, an onion or eschalot, salt, pepper, and a little grated nutmeg, and other spice, with the yolk of a couple of eggs; then dress as potatoes escalloped.
Potato Snow. Pick out the whitest potatoes, put them on in cold water; when they begin to crack, strain, and put them in a clean stewpan before the fire till they are quite dry, and fall to pieces; rub them through a wire sieve or the dish they are to be sent up in, and do not disturb them afterwards.
Potatoes Fried Whole. When nearly boiled enough, put them into a stew-pan with a bit of butter, or some clean beef drippings; shake them about often to prevent burning, till they are brown and crisp; drain them from the fat. It will be an improvement if they are floured and dipped into the yolk of an egg, and then rolled in finely-sifted bread crumbs.
Potatoes Fried in Slices. Peel large potatoes, slice them about a quarter of an inch thick, or cut them into shavings, as you would peel a lemon; dry them well in a clean cloth, and fry them in lard or dripping. Take care that the fat and frying-pan are quite clean; put it on a quick fire, and as soon as the lard boils, and is still, put in the slices of potato, and keep moing them until they are crisp; take them up, and lay them to drain on a sieve. Send to table with a little salt sprinkled over them.
Potatoes Escalloped. Mash potatoes in the usual way; then butter some nice clean scollop-shells, patty-pans, or tea-cups, or saucers; put in your potatoes; make them smooth at the top; cross a knife over them; stew a few fine bread-crumbs on them; sprinkle them with a paste-brush with a few drops of melted butter, and set them in a Dutch oven. When nicely browned on the top, take them carefully out of the shells, and brown on the other side. Cold potatoes may be warmed up in this way.
Potato Scones. Mash boiled potatoes till they are quite smooth, adding a little salt; then knead out the flour, or barley-meal, to the thickness required; toast on the griddle, pricking with a fork to prevent them from blistering. When eaten with fresh or salt butter they are equal to crumpets.
Potato Pie. Peel and slice your potatoes very thin into a pie-dish; between each layer of potatoes put a little chopped onion; between each layer sprinkle a little pepper and salt; put in a little water, and cut about two ounces of fresh butter into bits, and lay them on the top; cover it close with paste. The yolks of four eggs may be addes; and when baked, a table-spoonful of good mushroom ketchup poured in through a funnel. Another method is to put between the layers small bits of mutton, beef, or pork.
Source: Inquire Within, 1858
Household Hints
To Make a Natural Barometer. The Germans take tall glass bottles filled with water, in which they place one or more frogs; a little wooden ladder is then inserted into the bottle, the steps in a rough way marking the degrees. In fine weather the frogs always mount the ladder, but in bad weather remain at the bottom. These barometers are much consulted and depended upon. Peterson's Magazine, Vol. 35, 1859
Etiquette
Envy. The more one is praised, the more he is envied, and, generally speaking, where envy is, there is little friendship.
Flippancy. The perpetual smile, the wandering eye, the half-open mouth, and the vacant stare, are no stronger evidences of ill-breeding than flippancy.
Giggling. Avoid all loud laughing or giggling; it is excessively bad taste. Do not interrupt yourself by laugh-ing at what you are about to say.
~ Jasper Goodykoontz, 1894
Gleanings
A Cheerful Disposition
A cheerful disposition and an optimistic view of life do much toward making the beauty suppliant, plump of outline and charming of countenance. When one is blue and moody, the appetite fails, the stomach sulks, digestion and assimilation are interfered with and the entire body suffers from malnutrition. One should get out of doors. Exercise moderately and rest a good deal. Read helpful books. I would suggest Ralph Waldo Trine's works. Sleep always in a well-ventilated room. One-half hour before breakfast take a dessert-spoonful of pure olive oil in a little lemon juice. The olive oil feeds the system, aids digestion and stimulates the bowels. ~ Source: The American Family Receipt Book, 1910
"Only a Woman's Hair."
Husband comes
Home at night;
Gets a kiss,—
That's all right.
Playful wife
On his knee
Sits and talks,
Waiting tea.
Sudden start
And a stare;
On his coat
Sees a hair.
Color red, —
Hers is black.
Sobs and tears!
Fury, thwack!
Husband goes
Out at night:
Won't come back
Till he's tight.
~ Ballou's Monthly, Feb. 1883
Chit-Chat
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Spring is Coming
Hurrah! Hurry on! Spring is coming soon;
Buds, and leaves, and little birds to sing a merry tune.
Hurrah! Hurry on! Clear the track to-day.
Joe and Jim and nimble Frisk all are on the way.
Hurrah! Hurry on! When the March winds blow,
Then good-by to skates and sleds, to ice and frost and snow.
Hurrah! Clear the track! Spring is coming soon;
Buds, and leaves, and little birds to sing a merry tune.
~ Source: Harper's Young People, Vol. V, 1884 ~
A St. Patrick's Day Menu
(March 17)
‘There's a dear little Island far over the sea,
And no spot on the globe's half so precious to me;
And by lake or mountain where e'er I may roam,
I shall never forget thee, my own Ireland home.
Other skies may be bright, other lands may be fair,
But what of all that if the heart be not there?
Other music may charm me, but ah! there is none
Which can move me to sadness or mirth like thine own.'
As green is the prevailing color on St. Patrick's Day, I have suggested a dinner menu where this color and white are used exclusively. Let a dish of ferns be made the centerpiece and scatter ferns about the table. Let Irish flags decorate the room. Have the china green and white, so far as possible.
Green silk embroidered over a small wire, to imitate a shamrock, placed at each plate, for a boutonnière , is quite appropriate and novel.
“Oh! the Shamrock, the green, immortal Shamrock!
Chosen Leaf
Of Bard and Chief,
Old Erin's native Shamrock!”
Menu
Breakfast
Grape Fruit :: Rice, with cream :: Popovers
White Omelette, garnished with parsley :: Irish Potatoes, in cream
Coffee
Luncheon
Escalloped Potatoes :: Whitefish Turbot :: Cold Slaw
Fruit Glacé a là St. Patrick :: Whipped Cream :: Cocoa
Dinner
Cream of Spinach :: Creamed Fricassee of Chicken
Irish Potatoes, mashed :: Peas :: Lettuce and Celery Salad
Pistachio Ice Cream :: Angel Cake :: Coffee
Recipes
Escalloped Potatoes
Pare six medium-sized potatoes, slice thin in cold water. Drain and put in a pudding pan. Season with salt and pepper, pour over two-thirds of a pint of rich milk, add a piece of butter the size of an egg, send to the oven, and when potatoes are well done serve. ~ Miss Mary. E. Wetherholt.
Creamed Chicken
Boil a chicken until tender the usual way. When cold, or while hot, as you prefer, place the breast in the chafing dish in which a small lump of butter has melted and is just beginning to brown, heat thoroughly and add one cup of rich milk. Season, and when it comes to a boil, thicken slightly with flour rubbed until smooth in a little butter. As soon as it comes to a boil pour over squares of toast. ~ Emma C.
Pistachio Ice Cream
Blanch and peel one-quarter of a pound of pistachios and pound them to a smooth paste with a few drops of rose-water. Beat the yolks of six eggs and pour over them one and one-half pints of boiling milk; add four ounces of powdered sugar and stir the custard over the fire until it begins to thicken; then pour it out and when cool stir into it the pounded pistachios and a teaspoonful of spinach coloring. Pass the whole through a sieve; mold and freeze. If preferred, the pistachio paste can be mixed with cream instead of custard. ~ Ella Brewster.
Fruit Glace
Boil together for one-half hour one cupful of granulated sugar and one of water. Dip the point of a skewer or darning needle in the syrup after it has been boiling the given time and then in water. If the thread formed breaks off brittle the syrup is done. Take any prepared fruits desired (grapes, pineapple, cherries, etc.) on point of a darning needle; dip them in the syrup. Place them on a dish that has been buttered lightly; when cold they are ready for use. Care must be taken not to stir the syrup as that spoils it. ~ Mary B. Burns
Menu and Recipes from: The American Family Receipt Book, 1910
Irish Bubble Party
Why not have something different for your St. Patrick's social?
Make enough tissue paper hats to provide one for everybody who comes to the social. Half the hats should be green and half white. Everyone gathers at several tables, on each of which are a bowl of soapsuds and a clay pipe for each player. The soap bubble contest then begins.
Largest Bubble — The person blowing the largest bubble at each table has a green ribbon bow tied on his pipe. These persons then contest, and the winner gets an additional bow.
Partner Bubbles — Partners by putting their pipes close together may make one large bubble. The partners at each table making the largest bubble in this way get a green bow each. The winners then contest as before, and an extra green bow is allowed the winners of the final.
Highest Bubble — The person at each table to blow the highest bubble gets a green bow in this contest. As in the other contests, the winners contest for the additional bow.
Through Wreath — A wreath is hung in a convenient place, and each person able to blow a bubble through it gets a green bow.
Bubble Tournament — The Greens and the Whites line up against each other in this contest, about one and one-half feet on each side of a rope or line stretched across the room. The Greens are furnished with fans, the Whites with pipes and bubble solution. For five minutes the Whites blow bubbles and endeavor to have them break on the enemy's side of the line. The Greens with their fans endeavor to prevent this. Judges award one point for every bubble that breaks in Green territory. The situation is then reversed, and for five minutes more the Greens try to blow bubbles into the White camp.
The following is a good bubble solution recipe: Fill a preserve jar two-thirds full of boiling water. Add three ounces of castile soup finely shaven, a teaspoonful of sugar, and four tablespoonfuls of glycerin. Shake thoroughly and strain through a white cloth.
Care should be taken to cove all tables used with oilcloth or heavy paper.
Refreshments: Sandwiches tied with green ribbon, olives, pickles, Irish potato chips, green tea, and green mints or candy. Brick ice cream would also be appropriate.
Source: Phunology, 1923
St. Bridget of Ireland
Although nearly every vestige of this saint is gone, she still lives as their patroness in the hearts of the Irish people.
Her mother was very lovely, and the captive, taken in war, of a powerful chieftain. His wife, being jealous of her, turned her away before the birth of Bridget. But two disciples of St. Patrick took pity on them, and baptized the mother and child. Bridget grew up with such beauty of mind and person, that she became famous, and her father desired to have her, and to marry her to a chief. But Bridget devoted herself to God’s service, especially to the instruction of women. She went to Kildare, “the cell or place of the oak,” and not only taught and preached, but performed miracles. Her fame drew about her many women who lived in huts, and from this arose the first religious community of women in Ireland. The convent and city of Kildare, were afterwards both flourishing and famous. Here was preserved unextinguished, for many centuries, the sacred lamp which burned before her altar. February 1.
“The bright lamp that shone in Kildare’s holy fane,
And burned through long ages of darkness and storm.”
The Saints & Sinners clip art cd includes an e-book of select Legends of the Saints and an explanation of religious symbolism. More Info.
HOW TO MAKE A SET OF CHESS-MEN OUT OF SPOOLS.
BY A. W. Roberts
A very good set of chess-men can be made out of empty spools by any boy who is handy with his penknife. It will be better, however, to also use a file. First sharpen both blades of your knife. Then from among your stock select sixteen spools of equal sizes. These are for the pawns, which are the easiest to make, as they are smaller and require less ornamentation than any of the other pieces. With your knife and file shape your pawn as in Fig. 1. The ornamental piece on the top is to be carved out of any soft white wood, such as pine or dog-wood, after which it is glued on to the pawn.
Colonel Mavers On...Wine Slavery
Text.—
Fill high the bowl with Samian wine!
Our virgins dance beneath the shade—
I see their glorious black eyes shine;
But, gazing on each glowing maid
My own the burning tear-drop laves
To think such breast must suckle slaves.
My Hearers—these are the words of my friend Lord Byron whom ‘a few gin' and a too hasty pursuit after glory put into the grave in the midst of years. He was fond not only of gin, but of filling high the bowl with Samian wine for the fun of seeing it lower a little; but these, with the assistance of a woman or two, an excess of poetry, and a peculiar kind of burnt-up patriotism, proved his ruin. Therefore, my friends, if you would escape his fate, avoid his follies. Gin, wine and women are well enough with a proper and temperate indulgement; but considerable danger attends the first partaking—there is no knowing what it may lead to, as the blind beggar said of his untrained dog, and while the lady dogs were seducing him from his proper path. The text says, Fill high the bowl with Samian wine; but don't you do it. Fill it with no kind of wine: neither Samian, Port, Sherry, Madeira , Teneriffe, nor Claret; for there is a little devil quietly sleeping at the bottom of every wine-cup, who, when disturbed by even a drop, is the very devil of all devils.
My friends—the text also says, Our virgins dance beneath the shade. Yes, they dance beneath the wide-spreading shade of the tree of liberty; but it isn't in consequence of Samian wine or any other manufactured excitement that they dance, laugh and sing, and ‘come the extras.' No, it is the natural elasticity of youthhood that causes them to hop up and down, wriggle about and promenade round, combined with the enlivening influences of freedom's atmosphere, and a desire to attract the attention of young fellows. Methinks I see, as well as friend Byron, their glorious black eyes shine; but they shine only with the luster of Nature's pure varnish. They need none of the extra touches of artificial stimulants to increase their brilliancy. They glisten like the stars of heaven, not from any borrowed light, but from an inherent fire of their own—and they are bound toshine, like a book with a red cover and gilt edges.
My hearers—I don't know as there is any occasion for crying, to think that the breasts of these beautiful virgins must suckle slaves. We are all slaves! Although in a world of comparative freedom, and in a land of outrageous liberty, we were born to be slaves; and death alone can emancipate us. We are slaves to one another, to circumstances, and to habit. Man enslaves his fellow man throughout the world. The man of wealth is considered the tyrant, and one of Freedom's pets; and yet he is slave to his own slaves. The fact is, there is a certain superiority, either of genius, talent, natural capability, or something else, that puts one man above another--to say nothing of the power of gold—and those that are under must contrive the best way they can to keep their corns from being trodden upon. We are all studying and trying hard to get up at the head of the class; and yet mawkish Philanthropy is continually shedding crocodile tears for those at the foot, just as if it couldn't be right that ANY ONE would be there! Oh, world, world!—what a world! Oh, man, man!—how good and pure thou are in precept, but how rottenly corrupt in practice! I know that human nature wants refining more than a toad wants wings; but it is not in my power, nor in the breeches of any living mortal, to do it; and he that attempts it might as well pull at a bush and try to make the earth perform a retrograde revolution.
My friends—I am disgusted with my fellow kind—and my own preaching in particular. So mote it be!
Originally published in Dow's Short Patent Sermons, Second Series.
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Wee banners for fun folks.
