Round Table Group

'Twas a hot day as we gathered round the fires  to enjoy an afternoon of cooking and bread baking... many thanks to those who braved the heat and humidity to join us!

 

Sandy demonstrated two one-pot-meals by making a great cornmeal mush and a very flavorful and filling bubble-and-squeak. Her husband, Michael, showed us all how to plank salmon and he even made a lovely strawberry sauce to go with it since we had an abundance of fresh berries thanks to Sue, Stephanie & Ken! Meanwhile, Sabra brought her ale yeast and took us all through the steps of making thirds and rye & injun bread. The breads were baked indoors and were finished just in time to have them for 'dessert' with some apple butter and honey butter. We could barely wait until it had cooled enough to cut!

 

Sandy made a small cookbook of the receipts she and Michael used for each of us and there were a number of articles written by John Rees on cooking in the army. He had given us permission to copy them for our group and you may also find them online at www.revwar75.com. Sabra and Carrie also had their back issues of "Food History News" which is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in early foodways. You can find more information at www.foodhistorynews.com
.  

After a long dip in the pool, the afternoon concluded with a sampling of Sue's almond cream and almond custard - delightful desserts from Hannah Glasse. Carrie had attempted spiced cantaloupe but it was decided that it needs to have the sugar level increased before serving it to company again! There were also a number of cordials and shrubs to sample which left us all in very good moods as we parted ways for the day. All in all - a very fun day! Thanks to everyone who was there - surely this was an event that could be repeated since there is no shortage of receipts to try in the future!