Posted in hearth cooking, tagged hearth cooking, receipts, Valentine's Day on February 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Rum Gingerbread
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2- 1/2 cups flour
1- 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup molasses
3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup rum
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Combine butter, sugar and egg. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with the molasses, water and rum. Pour into a buttered 9 x 12- inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. You may substitute buttermilk for the water and rum.
Posted in antiques, hearth cooking, tagged antiques, hearth cooking on September 7, 2014| 2 Comments »
This morning I saw a wonderful reflector oven, which is also sometimes called a tin kitchen. This reflector oven combined all possible variations into one! It had a spit for roasting large roasts and big birds, hooks for cooking smaller game birds and was designed to have a shelf for baking. I was sorely tempted to buy it, but managed to resist, since I own many more reflector ovens than any one kitchen needs! I have multiple ovens for roasting and baking and while I only have one bird oven, I’m sure that is sufficient for as frequently as I cook tiny game birds!
After virtuously passing up such a wonderful tin kitchen, I did give into temptation and buy an amazing early pictorial sampler in a birds eye maple frame. For even though I could do without more 18th century cooking implements, I could not pass by fine stitchery done in pinks, purples and mauves!!! The new sampler is now hanging in my kitchen where it is right at home amongst my claret colored woodwork and purple transferwear!
9/8/14 Addition
I’ve had a request for photos of the sampler too 🙂 These aren’t the best photos, since I get a lot of reflected light in my kitchen, which is why I didn’t post any yesterday… The light was still a problem this morning, but I took photos anyway and here they are!
This is the sampler that I bought yesterday at the Elephant’s Trunk flea market.
I love all of the different motifs in this sampler. I immediately identified with it’s maker! Who wants to stitch boring old letters and mottoes when you can use off those pretty colors of thread to stitch pictures instead!!!
This is one of my other “kitchen” samplers that was stitched with similar colors.
I feel very fortunate to have found a handful of antique samplers stitched in purples, lavenders, rose, pink and mauves. This is the third one that resides in my kitchen. The fourth hangs above a very early R.I. blanket chest in my bedroom.
Posted in hearth cooking, sale, tagged hearth cooking, sale on March 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Today at my house we are celebrating Easter. Tomorrow the festivities will continue as we party in honor of my middle son’s birthday! I’d like to share a bit of our celebrations with you by offering you 10% off on every single item I sell at Paula Walton’s A Sweet Remembrance!!!
This includes all classes, all dolls – even new custom orders -, all bears, all reproduction clothing, all antiques – carousel horses & cooking items -, literally everything! There is free shipping within the United States on all purchases, except carousel horses & you may place any item on lay-away, with terms to fit your budget 🙂
The coupon code for the sale is ” peeps”. Enter the code when you check out today or tomorrow using the secure shopping cart at A Sweet Remembrance and 10% will automatically be subtracted from your total. Email or call me to buy the antique cooking item shown at Paula Walton’s 18th Century Home Journal, to order a custom made Izannah Walker reproduction doll, or to set up lay-away payments. Paula@asweetremembrance.com 860-355-5709. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the sale or any of my work.
Wishing you a Happy Easter and an amusing April Fools Day!
Posted in antiques, hearth cooking, online show, shopping, tagged antiques, hearth cooking, online show, reflector oven, shopping, vintage kitchen goods on June 24, 2011| 8 Comments »
To purchase any of the pictured items email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com or call me at 860-355-5709 between 9 a.m. – 10 p.m. Eastern time. Click on the photos to enlarge. Free U.S. shipping, via First Class mail! Priority & Express Mail, and insurance are extra. 6% sales tax for CT residents.
#C2. Green painted metal dome. New food cover, perfect for covering a block of cheese, or just for decoration. $10
#C3 Antique egg poacher. To use place inside of a skillet full of boiling water. $15 See next photo for details.
#C3. Antique egg poacher. $15 See previous photo.
#C4. Vintage aluminum syrup pitcher. Small dents, pin missing from hinge. $8
#C5. Large sugar egg mold. A few small rust spots on the tinned interior, but still very usable. $12
#C6. Vintage metal french fry cutter. $7
#C7. Father Christmas green glass gin bottle. $29
#C8. Collection of 5 vintage metal graters. Usable for cooking or fun to put over tea light candles. $21
#C9. Stove-top toaster. Place on burner to use. Makes 4 slices of toast, or pop it over a tea light for a little whimsical kitchen ambiance. $8
# C10. Large late 18th / early 19th century reflector oven. This oven is for baking. If you wish to cook in it you will need to add a tin tray. Great patina, wonderful for display as is. See additional photos below. $185
#C10. Interior of reflector oven. See more photos above and below. $185
#C10. Right side of reflector oven. $185
#C10. Left side of reflector oven. $185
#C10 Hinge detail of reflector oven. $185
#C10. Handle detail of reflector oven. $185 See more photos above.
Posted in antiques, hearth cooking, online show, shopping, tagged antiques, hearth cooking, online show, shopping on June 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »
*Thank you to everyone who dropped by my online show last year! I hope you enjoyed it and the items you purchased 🙂* It was great fun putting the show together. I’m not doing one in 2012 due to a wedding in the family and my upcoming Izannah Walker Retreat.
The show is open! Hours – Friday, June 24th, 2011 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time through 10 p.m. Sunday, June 26th.
The show includes dolls, antique bears and toys, vintage and antique cooking items, small handcrafted treasures plus a few surprises for sale on a first come basis. So don’t wait!
The show is posted here on my blog, www.paulawalton.com. You will be able to view the show by visiting paulawalton.com from 8 p.m. Eastern Time on June 24th through 10 p.m. Eastern Time June 26th. If you see something you would like to buy, you can either email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com or call me at 860-355-5709, please no phone calls before 9 a.m. or after 10p.m. Eastern Time. I will be accepting checks, money orders and Paypal for payment. You may also place items on lay away. If you would like to pay using Paypal, I will invoice you. If you wish to pay with a credit card, you may do so through Paypal as a guest – you do not have to open a Paypal account.
As always everything, except carousel horses and large pieces of furniture, will include free shipping. If it is possible for you to come pick your purchases up in person, then I will subtract a bit from your total 🙂
I will be posting additional items throughout the weekend, so check back 🙂
Scroll down to see the sale or click on these links:
Antique Children’s and Doll’s Furniture
Want to see more??? Visit my main website for more of my work.
Posted in hearth cooking, holidays, receipts, uncategorized, tagged George Washington's birthday, hearth cooking, receipts, recipe on February 22, 2011| 2 Comments »
Two receipts to mark the occasion of George Washington’s 279th birthday.
George and Martha’s Favorite Mince Meat Pie
5 pounds beef, ground
1 pound beef suet, ground
2 pounds raisins
2 pounds currants
1 tablespoon cloves
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
4 cups sugar
1 lemon, juice and rind
1/2 poud citron peel
8 cups apples, chopped fine
Cook the ground beef and after it cools, add all of the other ingredients. Blend thoroughly and set aside.
Boil in a large saucepan:
1 quart apple cider
1 quart brandy
2 tablespoons butter
Pour over the other ingredients. When cool, pack in jars, or cover the bowl well and store in a cool dry place. Allow to stand for at least 24 hours before using to make pies. Will keep up to 6 months if canned in sealed canning jars.
Makes 8 – 12 pies.
George Washington had a definite weakness for mince meat pies. Martha found it well worthwhile to make up a large batch, for if planned wisely, it only had to be undertaken once each winter. She recommended not eating these pies at night before going to bed, if the eater valued his slumber.
Receipt from The Early American Cookbook Authentic Favorites for the Modern Kitchen by Dr. Kristie Lynn & Robert W. Pelton.
Washington Cake
Beat together 1-1/2 pounds of sugar, and three quarters of a pound of butter; add 4 eggs well beaten, half pint of sour milk, and 1 teaspoon of saleratus*, dissolved in a little hot water. Stir in gradually 1- 3/4 pounds of flour, 1 wine glassful of wine or brandy, and 1 nutmeg, grated. Beat all well together. This will make two round cakes. It should be baked in a quick oven, and will take from 15 to 30 minutes, according to the thickness of the cakes.
*use baking soda
Posted in hearth cooking, holidays, receipts, tagged hearth cooking, holidays, receipts, recipe, Valentine's Day on February 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Scottish Shortbread
1 pound butter
1 cup sugar
4 cups flour
Cream butter and sugar. Add flour a little at a time until it makes a stiff dough. Pat into a large cookie sheet or 9 x 13 pan, or roll and cut out with tin cookie cutters. Bake in a slow oven (300 degrees) for 30 minutes or till golden. If you baked one large sheet, cut it into squares as soon as you remove it from the oven and cool in the pan.
Last Christmas Christine Crocker posted a wonderful idea for shortbread. It’s taken me over a year, but I finally gave it a try. 🙂 Drop in and read Christine’s post, it’s sure to start you on a mad hunt for pressed glass!
Cobblestones
(Fanny Pierson Crane, Her Receipts, 1796, adaptation)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1- 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cracked chocolate (pieces)
Cream together butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla and stir well. Mix dry ingredients together and stir into creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate. Drop from a heaping tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet 3 inches apart. Bake in a medium hot oven for 12-15 minutes. (for the cookies shown in the photo I substituted cinnamon chips for the cracked chocolate pieces)
Posted in hearth cooking, holidays, reference books, tagged hearth cooking, holidays, reference books on February 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Cookbooks sitting on a 19th century Texas table in original black paint, made by my great great grandfather.
Today is the 202nd anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. One of my favorite stories about Abraham Lincoln is one that he often told about his extreme fondness for gingerbread.
Once in a while my mother used to get some sorghum and some ginger and mix us up a batch of gingerbread. It wasn’t often and it was our biggest treat. One day I smelled it and came into the house to get my share while it was hot. I found she had baked me three gingerbread men, and I took them out under a hickory tree to eat them.
There was family near us, who were a little poorer than we were, and their boy came along as I sat down. “Abe,” he said, edging close, “gimme a man.” I gave him one. He crammed it into his mouth at two bites and looked at me while I bit the legs from my first one. “Abe,” he said, “gimme that other’n.” I wanted it, but I gave it to him, and as it followed the first one I said, “You seem to like gingerbread.” “Abe,” he said earnestly, “I don’t s’pose there’s anybody on this earth likes gingerbread as well as I do,” – and drawing a sigh that brought up crumbs – “an’ I don’t s’pose there’s anybody gets less of it.”
You can read about this encounter and many other fascinating Lincoln food facts along with period recipes in Lincoln’s Table A president’s Culinary Journey from Cabin to Cosmopolitan by Donna D. McCreary, ISBN 978-0-9795383-1-5. For even more Lincoln recipes, turn to Miss Leslie’s Directions for Cookery by Eliza Leslie ISBN 0-486-40614-8. Mary Todd Lincoln is known to have purchased a copy of this receipt book when the Lincoln’s were residing in Illinois.
These are two receipts that I enjoy, in case you would like to bake some gingerbread to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday.
Eli Whitney’s Grandmother’s Chewy Ginger Cookies
Eli Whitney (1765-1825) dearly loved these cookies that his grandmother made.
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon each of cinnamon & ginger
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
1/4 cup sour milk
4 cups flour
Blend butter, soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add the egg, molasses and sour milk. Gradually stir in the flour. Drop from the tip of a teaspoon on to greased baking sheets. Let stand for 10 minutes, then flatten cookies with a glass covered with a damp cloth. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 12 to 15 minutes.
Rum Gingerbread
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2- 1/2 cups flour
1- 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup molasses
3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup rum
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Combine butter, sugar and egg. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with the molasses, water and rum. Pour into a buttered 9 x 12- inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. You may substitute buttermilk for the water and rum.
Sorghum Gingerbread
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
12 teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup lard
1 cup sorghum
1 cup hot water
Stir the dry ingredients together. Mix the lard, butter and hot water together and when melted,pour into the flour mixture. Stir well, then add the eggs and sorghum and stir again. Spoon the batter into a buttered and floured baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
If you share Mr. Lincoln’s love of gingerbread you may also want to find these books:
Gingerbread 99 Delicious Recipes from Sweet to Savory by Linda Merinoff.
Gingerbread Timeless Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Desserts, Ice Cream and Candy by Jennifer Lindner McGlinn.
The Gingerbread Book by Allen Bragdon.
Posted in antiques, hearth cooking, tagged antiques, hearth cooking on November 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »
* Note: I do have one antique reflector oven for sale. Click on this link Antique Cooking & Kitchen Goods. The reflector oven that I currently have in stock is for baking. I’m asking $185.00 which does include free shipping.
There are several types of reflector ovens that are commonly used in open-hearth cooking. The first is often known as a tin kitchen, which has a spit and is used for roasting meat. The second is used for baking and is sometimes called a tart oven or a biscuit oven. I also own a “bird oven”, which is a very tiny, shallow reflector oven with pairs of hooks. As the name implies, it is used for roasting small game birds, such as quail.
Reflector ovens are a very easy and efficient way to cook. I love mine. In fact I love them so much that I own six of them, which is many more than would have been found in a normal 18th century household.
If you have been searching for somewhere to buy a new reflector oven, try some of the following links. Three of my reflector ovens are new and three are antiques. I use them all. Generally speaking, reproductions will be less expensive.
Posted in hearth cooking, receipts, reference books, tagged great books, hearth cooking, receipts, recipe, reference books on November 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »
This is an ongoing list of Open Hearth Cookbooks and magazines that I particularly like. Please feel free to comment if you have a great resource to add to the list. I just love “new” (to me) cookbooks! 🙂
The Williamsburg Art of Cookery or Accomplish’d Gentlewoman’s Companion: Being a Collection of upwards of Five Hundred of the most Ancient & Approv’d Recipes in Virginia Cookery, published by Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The Early American Cookbook – Authentic Favorites for the Modern Kitchen by Dr. Kristie Lynn and Robert W. Pelton.
The Virginia Housewife Or, Methodical Cook – A Facsimile of an Authentic Early American Cookbook by Mary Randolph.
Miss Leslie’s Directions for Cookery – An Unabridged Reprint of the 1851 Classic by Eliza Leslie.
The Kentucky Housewife by Mrs. Lettice Bryan, originally published in 1839.
Boston Cooking School Cook Book a Reprint of the 1884 Classic by Mrs. D. A. Lincoln.
Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt-Book by Catharine E. Beecher.
Paula Walton's 18th Century Home Journal 