Anne of Green Gables Nut Cake

Andy and I haven't been seeing much of each other lately due to work, school and the snow, so tomorrow night we are going to get together and watch Anne of Green Gables (The 1985 Version.)

We might even bake a few Anne of Green Gables treats. I think we might try to make a Hickory Nut Cake using a recipe from 1902. In the book series, A nut cake, topped with pink icing and walnuts is given to Mr. Harrison to apologize for Anne's mistake of selling his cow.

Below is the recipe from 1902, it sounds like a "toothsome concoction" like the one is described in the book.

 Anne of Green Gables Nut Cake

Ingredients:

- 1/2 Cup Butter
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 3/4 Cup Milk
- 2 Cups Sifted Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder (Rollings Reliable Recommended)
- 4 Egg Whites, beaten stiff
- 1 Cup Hickory Nuts, ground

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the Baking Powder and the Flour together in a medium sized mixing bowl, add the ground nuts. In a separate bowl, cream the Butter into the Sugar add the Milk. When thoroughly mixed add the Butter mixture into the Flour mixture and add the Egg Whites. Grease and Flour 2 9 inch loaf pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

For the glaze: Mix 1 1/2 Cups of Powdered Sugar with a Tablespoon of Vanilla and enough hot Water to form a stiff paste. Spread on the cake once cooled.

Hickory Nut cake was very popular around Anne's time, it is also known to be one of James K. Polk's favorite foods. Hickory trees are native to most of the eastern U.S. and their nuts are probably familiar looking to most people. As kids we used to sail the pieces of the outermost shell of hickory nuts like little boats in the local creek. Hickory nuts have fallen out of favor due to their extremely hard shells.

Vegetable Gardening

Did anyone else get their vegetable gardening catalogs yet? They always send them in the midst of the bleak winter when you're yearning for color and delicious summer fruits and veggies. Now I will plan a garden about 4 acres large and by Mother's Day, I will have to whittle it down to 3 tiny raised beds and a few loose pots.

When I was little, my friend's mom had the prettiest garden. She grew flowers in the front yard along the walkways, which the butterflies loved, and a vegetable garden in the back. Her gardens were not huge, although they seemed that way when I was little, but they always had enough veggies to collect every time I was over there. I remember how colorful they were and how fun it was for my friend and I to stand in that garden barefoot and collect veggies in the bottom parts of our sundresses.

Now, I have had a garden on and off since I was, well, very little and I am still a terrible gardener. (Before you laugh at this picture, remember: It was the 90s and my socks match my tie-dye.)

Gardening is fun for me and I work in the garden almost everyday in the summer and I normally end up with about 5 tomatoes and a green bean. I am normally frugal but I do admit to spending about $50 in the summer on enriching my soil and other garden needs. What am I doing wrong?

So I have decided I no longer want to waste money, even though the garden is a lot of fun. I'm asking my readers for tips, suggestions, and book recommendations that will allow my garden to be fun and frugal.

Any ideas? Any books you could recommend?  

Sick Day with a Good Book

Ugh! I've been so sick! Luckily I've been in bed with a really awesome book: Fashion : A History from the 18th to the 20th Century. It is a photograph rich book detailing dresses from the Kyoto Costume Institute. It's normally a pretty expensive book but it is currently on sale in store at Barnes and Noble for $10.00 in their 50% off section. :D

I normally do not buy new books but I really couldn't pass this one up. You can read a preview of it here. Be prepared to drool and have your "To Sew" list expand by 100 garments.

 

Hope you enjoy!

Full View Godey's Lady's Book for January 1864

I really love it when people have wonderful resources at their disposal and take the time to share them with others. I decided to digitize one of my Godey’s Magazines that wasn’t available online so everyone can benefit from it. I wish it turned out a bit nicer but I couldn’t use my scanner without damaging the magazine. The benefit of using my camera is that the pictures are of a really high resolution. You can read it in my pages at the top of my blog page. It is really hard to read in picture form, anyone who would like a PDF copy of it, please leave a comment with an e-mail I can send it to or send an e-mail to TheSailorsWifeSA@Aim.com.

Enjoy! (Oh, and I promise, no more Civil War posts for a while, I've been neglecting other periods and topics terribly.)

1850s Multicolored Yarns

Pearl wool and Chine Wool were multicolored wools similar to multicolored yarns today. In the late 1850s, these yarns were a relatively new style. These yarns were dyed alternately white and one or more colors, about 1/4 inch to 1/2 and inch long of each color. This yarn was used in scarves, hoods, and decorative pillows. This very pretty, sweater vest is possibly made out of pearl wool.

Another type of multicolored wool was "Clouded Wool." Clouded wool was  Clouded wool was wrapped in corn husks,paper, cloth or string every two or three inches apart before dyeing to create a white and colored effect. Clouded wool was popular in the 1840s.In later years clouded wool was made by combing two different colors of dyed, raw wool together before it was spun. Blue clouded wool socks are referred to in many early 20th century books and a possible "clouded blue sock" can be seen at the Wisconsin Historical Society. 


Below is a pattern for a knitted comforter or scarf. It is knitted with pearl wool and black to imitate woven plaid. For reenactors, if you can find 100% wool with 1/4-1/2 inch color streaks, a knitting project using it could add some much needed variety to the group impression.