A sewing needle may have won a war

We've all known since we were bitty kids that Betsey Ross sewed our first American flag. But how many of us know about the contributions of Martha Washington--and how she played a crucial role in establishing America? I must admit that my impressions of her when I was a kid was a glimpse of a rather dowdy old lady in a lace cap. The more I read, the more I know that this couldn't be further from the truth.

It's 1777, Morristown, New Jersey. You know the 'freak' snowstorms that blanketed the East Coast this past year? Well, contrary to the global warming theorists, they were happening back in the 1770's. Snow on the ground was two feet deep, New York harbor froze for the first time in recorded history, Baltimore's harbor was frozen, and it was possible to cross the iced-over Hudson on horseback. I've lived back east, and the cold cuts you to the quick. The snow is unbelievably heavy--that's why houses in the region have steep peaked roofs because the snow can literally cave them in. I have also been frost-bitten before (long story), and it isn't a cold feeling...it burns and burns. Simply put, it's agonizing. I cannot imagine these colonial men going without shoes, shirts, pants, some of them virtually naked in that biting cold.

Here's a paragraph that really gives us a picture of how really bad our American soldiers had it, taken from "The General and Mrs. Washington" by Bruce Chadwick:
"Men began to sneak out of camp to steal food, kitchen utensils, clothing, and anything they could find from area farmers. Washington ordered a halt to this behavior, writing that his men were 'becoming a band of robbers [rather] than disciplined troops.' But he looked the other way and let them do it. They had to keep themselves alive because the army could not. Finally, on January 3, the commander was told by Nathaniel Greene that there was no more money left to purchase supplies and that the army had run out of food. The money for clothing had been depleted, too. Then, in the first week of January, a double blizzard hit New Jersey, dumping over four feet of snow on the ground. Accompanying winds created TEN-foot high drifts. "

Enter Martha Washington. She is not only the wife of Washington--she is his dearest friend and support system. The General has chosen well in his life partner. She is incredibly strong and capable, a woman able to smile and embrace the joys in life, despite a life haunted by tragedy. In a span of less than a year, she has lost her former husband, three of her siblings, and two of her children. She is, by all accounts, the kind of woman, who asks you how you are doing, rather than sharing her troubles. She makes everyone feel special. She's rather plain, struggles with her weight, and likes understated clothes, but she has lovely white teeth, and her smile lights up her face. She has suffered recent economic privation, despite her wealthy background, and now that she has found love again in George Washington, he has been torn away from her for years of war and public service.

Washington has sent for her, as he often does during the war. He needs her beyond words. One could easily argue that Congress is as ineffective and apathetic as it is today, and he cannot convince them of the dire need for supplies. And besides, the fledgling government is as broke and desperate as he is. He is completely worn out, both physically and mentally.

First of all, she nurses the General back to health. He quite literally is on his deathbed when she arrives. He had been shoveling for days along with his men, and has contracted another devastating sore throat, a condition that plagued him his entire life, and eventually did kill him. Bed-ridden and weak from his physician's constant attempts to bleed him, his troops hold out little hope. When Martha gets there, she treats him with wifely TLC and certainly her molasses and onion tonic, and Washington survives. She immediately sets to work establishing sewing circles with the officer's wives. She orders all of her seamstress slaves at Mount Vernon to sew for the war effort, and coordinates circles of paid female laborers. She organizes get-togethers for the officer's families and generally raises the morale of every soldier there.

This work continues tirelessly into the infamous camping at Valley Forge. After returning to Mount Vernon, to take care of affairs there, she again rejoins her husband on the battlefield. Contrary to popular belief, the winter was not nearly as harsh as it had been in Morristown. The men were still woefully lacking in basic necessities, including shelter. Martha resumes her punishing days of sewing, everything from shirts to knitted stockings. She visits the sick daily, and probably was the first USO, as she constantly organizes dinner parties, choral singings, prayer services, and plays. She also understands that if she takes care of her man, she is taking care of the troops, and she makes sure that her husband rests, and takes moments out for leisure. Her sacrifices, among them being away from her surviving children and risking her life in a war zone, are inspiring, starting a chain reaction and galvanizing the women in the country. In fact, women from around the country raise $300,000 (imagine, how much that was in those times) to give to Martha, not to the General, for the sewing of soldier clothing. Hundreds of women huddle over their needles sewing and sending clothes. In fact, many of them embroider their names along a seam, so the soldier will know their hearts are with the man wearing it. Keep in mind, clothing was such an imperative in those days, because it wasn't like one could go the local store and buy a bolt of cloth. The colonies had been boycotting all ready-made fabric for some time, so all of these pieces of clothing were completely constructed from "scratch", so to speak. The cloth was hand-woven on a loom, and the item was hand-stitched.

Martha balanced the operations of an enormous plantation with handling the needs of an army, and this showed women all over the nation what they could be capable of. Most of these women were tending their own farms while their men were away, and working far into the night to support the war.  As Bruce Chadwick puts it:

"From Anne Terel, the wife of an American soldier...in a letter published in 'The Virginia Gazette', 'Women [are] part of another branch of American politics which comes immediately under our province, namely, in frugality and industry. [Women] raise their crops, make clothing, run their husbands' farms and stores, and secure the home front so that their husbands could continue to fight in the fields."

I wish that I had learned more of this in my history classes. In an age where textbooks are so sensitive about providing role models for women, it's so sad that the backbone, elegance, and grit of our new nation's women is so completely overlooked. Heroes do come out of kitchens, and yes, they can wear an apron.

As Easy as Pie

Recipe from Taste of Home, October/November 1996 "Perfect Apple Pie"

I don't know where the saying, "As Easy as Pie" came from. Probably from some smug pastry chef of long-ago that could sift flour in his sleep... I love to make pies, but I make them because in all my years in the kitchen they never get any easier. They are to me the Mount Everest of baking--and what's better than scaling the heights with hardly any oxygen and danger of tumbling off a ledge or getting frostbite at any moment? It's thrilling stuff, let me tell you.

Our first step is to add 3/4 of a cup of shortening to a mixture of 2 cups of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Then it's time to "cut" the shortening into the flour until the mixture begins to look crumbly. Some recipes suggest mixing the shortening into the flour, by using two table knives. I definitely prefer my pie cutter gadget, as I cannot hope to have such coordination in my lifetime...:) Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of ice cold water and mix. I often add a couple of tablespoons of water if it's still dry, but don't go overboard. It's important that the water be very cold, as this, along with a generous amount of shortening, makes your pie crust tender. I just keep balling up the mixture in the bowl with my hands until it sticks together in a ball.


After this, it's time to get out the rolling pin. I take out half of the dough, and gently roll it, while also pressing it to the table with my hands. My pie crusts tend to be very flaky and so this is the touchy part.






I am always amazed at the bakers on TV that roll out such pliable pie crusts that they breezily lay into the pie pan. With mine--and I can't tell you how many countless recipes I've tried-- I invariably wind up usually molding it to my pie pan, after fixing places where the pie crust has torn. It's kind of like my form of dessert "sculpture". Oh, and by the way, that metal spatula works like a charm to slide beneath the crust on the table and loosen it, once I'm done rolling.

Now it's time to get the apples peeled--I like Granny Smiths for pies. I peel and slice about 7-8 cups and toss them with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. I combine 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg in a separate bowl. This sugar mixture gets stirred into the bowl of apples and tossed. I love the touch of nutmeg in this pie.



Here is the pie without it's top. Now we roll out the top crust and gently put it on top of the sugary apples.



Voila! ready for the oven! Beat an egg yolk, and brush onto crust. And remember to cut a slit into the center, something I obviously forgot to do. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 and for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and the filling is bubbly. (And the bigger mess you make, the better it tastes!)

Well Worth Reading

Sorry that I haven't been in better touch. What is it about the onset of spring that brings out the flu bugs? Probably the warmer weather...but suffice it to say, I've been ill, and now I'm on the mend.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know about a book that I haven't been able to put down in the last few days. It's called "Just a Housewife: The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America" by Glenna Matthews. Ms. Matthews realized that in all the feminist arguments, the actual history of the housewife has been pretty much unexamined and ignored--which I find ironic, considering all of the speeches about the poor, oppressed wife coming from the podiums of so many radical feminists.

No matter where you stand on the feminist issue, this book will be enlightening. One of the things I've been learning is that there is a spectrum regarding feminism. There are feminists, such as myself, who want women to simply have equal opportunity under the law (known as equity feminists) and there are fanatical (gender) feminists who want to transform everything about the female experience...from our history (or as they term it--'herstory') to our family and social structure. This book is fascinating because it deals with the details of a woman's domestic life over two centuries, and how changes in politics, commercialism, and academia, all have molded how today's women clean, cook, and mother their children. It also shows how, in the so-called name of 'progress', we have lost something very precious in our society--the safety and sacredness of a well-run home, and the respect for those who keep it that way.

Things my mother taught me

It's a brilliant winter morning with only a dusting of snow. I don't have a cleaning job today, so I'm able to work in the studio...yippee! Got a new painting loaded on the Loud Colors website called "Cocktails and Salmon Colored Roses". It always feels so good to finish a painting. I keep looking at it, thinking I should tweak it some more, but sometimes I just get tired of being so darned perfectionistic. Besides, the woman in the work looks kinda quirky and kinda tragic, and the whole feeling of the piece is pretty and expressionistic at the same time. Does everything I do have to be so controlled, for Heaven's sake? I certainly hope not! Just got an email from a patron and I think two more small works have just sold.

On Thursdays, my husband's workout partner comes over for dinner. So after making the bed and putting away last night's dishes, (and tearing myself away from Facebook) I'm busy making cranberry meatballs, rice, and chopping up the last half of the remaining cabbage in the fridge for coleslaw. Oops-- out of chili sauce for the meatballs, so I'll just have to use ketchup. Improvised on the brown sugar, too, using white sugar with a small pouring of molasses. Nearly out of onion too, so dried minced onion went into the meatballs, and the remaining fresh onion will go into the coleslaw. I've never really thought a recipe should be followed like it's another Commandment--and besides I'm allergic to grocery stores(!) Tossed the meatballs into the crock pot to cook while I answer a few things on the computer, write out an invoice, and jot down my thoughts on this blog.

Puttering around in my kitchen makes me think about some of the things I learned from my mom (which is amazing because I avoided housework like the plague when I was a kid.)

1. Focus on the corners when you clean a floor--the middle will take care of itself.
2. Use what you have.
3. Don't add salt to your dishes--people use salt shakers often without even tasting the food, anyway.
4. Wash your dishes as you cook.
5. Figure out dessert and plan the rest of the meal around that.
6. If you don't cook enough, there will always be food left over--because everyone is afraid to eat too much.
7. Tea pretty much makes the day go round.

Well, I'm back to the easel. Catch you later.

(Image: "Cocktails and Salmon Roses" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2010.)

Time Travel Cooking

Hubby bought me "The Time Traveler's Wife" video for me for Valentine's Day...it was tucked under my pillow on Saturday night, because he couldn't wait until the actual holiday. Isn't that COOL?? And on top of it, when he buys me chick flicks, he even watches them with me. Now THAT'S a secure man...;)

Well, anyway, this isn't going to be a review of the movie--although I have to admit I liked the book better--isn't that the way it goes? But it does bring me to what's on my mind today--which is my fascination with the past, particularly when it pertains to home life.

I had an idea this year, based on some health issues we are both having. I wonder if people in my childhood (the 60s and 70s) were of normal weight because going out to eat was a major--and rare--treat. I remember how as a kid, getting a hamburger at our local hamburger stand (remember Sandee's?) was a HUGE deal. My mom, who labored tirelessly to serve us wholesome and home cooked meals, was forever in the shadow of anything that came of a greasy paper bag. I think back now, and I marvel how on a daily basis we were served vegetables out of our own garden, some sort of entree (my mom was, and is still, big on Campbell's soup casseroles), often fresh bread right out of the oven, along with homemade pickles and her owned canned fruit. Cookies, cinnamon rolls, and all sorts of pies were a staple. We thought nothing of it as kids, unfortunately. But I sure do now.
Anyway, I was thinking about the whole diet insanity in our nation. And I started to wonder if it might be that we simply eat out too much. And so at the beginning of January, I began to cook at home every night, including weekends. Believe it or not, we are starting to lose some of that not-so-lovely extra poundage. Hubby, who also works out at a gym, has lost about 13 pounds, and I've lost around 8. And get this, I'm still baking cookies and other yummy desserts! So, it's interesting to see how much we'll lose at the end of the year--or if my theory is a bust.

Well, I'm enjoying this so much, I thought it would be a kick to take it one step further. Right now, I use my crock pot on busy days. I can't look at a crock pot and not hear the Helen Reddy song "I am Woman, Hear me Roar". To me, crock pots are all about 1970s moms in polyester pant-suits, frantically throwing in frozen ingredients before they scoot out the door to fight the male-dominated work place. I think, however, that I want to go back a little further with my cooking style, back to the alien culinary planet known as the 50s.

So, I think this year, I want to add these things to our menus. Stuffed peppers, shrimp cocktails, jello molds with grated carrot and artichokes, Rice Krispie squares, veal chops, porcupine meatballs, Chicken a la King, and even a souffle or two. And wouldn't it be fun to make a Baked Alaska? Just thinking about these foods brings me back to all the hours I would spend as a very little girl poring over my mom's cookbooks, favorites being "Fun with Jello" and of course, the grande dame herself, Betty Crocker. Some of those foods looked like they came right out of a spaceship. And they also looked so incongruous--imagine green olives suspended in lemon gelatin!--that they had to be delicious...right?? Right?? What a wonderful thing to imagine ladies in hats and chiffon that "lunched" on aspics and mousses and ladyfingers and spritz cookies. They certainly didn't live anywhere in my Brady Bunch neighborhood.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

(Image: "Cherries on a Chair" Acrylic on Canvas, Cory Jaeger-Kenat, 2010.)

My Bread

In an effort to lose a bit of the love handles, we are trying to eat more complex carbs. Here is the loaf I baked today. It's made of wheat germ, whole wheat, molasses, and oats. I feel like an earth mother right now. ;)

Fun in the Freezer

I heard recently on a radio advertisement that the automatic washing machine ranks as the number one time-saver ever invented. I'm inclined to agree, but I would think that the freezer ranks close behind it.

I clean houses on a part time basis and I know--because I've cleaned many a freezer over the years--that people often use this nifty space as the repository for occasional tv dinners or a box or so of ice cream. But boy, oh boy, a freezer can be your best friend...well, maybe you're not THAT lonely, but it sure can save you time and big bucks.


Here's my freezer, crammed with stuff from my once a month shopping trip (we'll talk about that another time.) I have spent around $150 total (this includes all the canned and dried goods as well) for a month's worth of food for the two of us. Here's what we have that's on the cold side:
1 bag of popsicles...because those are a necessity!
1/2 ham
1 package of bulk pork sausage
2 packages of corn tortillas, 1 of white
a bag of onion rings
5 tupperware containers of homemade bean soup
10 chicken thighs
3 bags of zucchini that I grated up this summer
1 half of a cake, which I plan to make into a trifle
2 pork loins--these are so good!
a bag of frozen garden tomatoes--whole tomatoes freeze so well, and are as good as canned
1 bag of frozen bananas--I use these for banana bread all the time
1 bag of bread crumbs--can be used for meat-loaves, etc.
10 chicken breasts
1 brisket
a tupperware container of homemadetaco casserole
two containers of homemadeitalian soup
8 pounds of hamburger
4 pork chops
a tupperware container of homemade spaghetti sauce
Cool-Whip
two bags of mixed vegetables
a bag of turkey soup bones, recycled from Thanksgiving that make a great pot of soup!
4 salisbury steaks
a package of turkey lunch meat
a tupperware container of homemade chicken primivera
a tupperware bowl of homemade chicken and rice soup
a tupperware container of homemade pork and rice
a tupperware container of homemade sauerkraut and sausage

I buy most of my meats from a discount store that sells things that are slightly irregular, scratched or dented. We have seen no decrease in quality or safety buying these items. This is where I buy at least half of my meat--which is often already frozen, and most of the time, half the price of any store in the area.

I like to double up when I cook, and freeze half. Hubby and I have decided that this year we're going to work on eating at home at least 90% of the time, and these doubled-up meals really help me when I'm sick to death of cooking. I can just take something out the freezer, pop it in the microwave, and voila, a home-cooked meal!

I figure we've saved at least half on our grocery bill, just by using the freezer to it's full capacity and shopping more carefully.

So, I'm dying to know, what's in YOUR freezer?