A Recipe for Elizabethan Bread; Yummy!

Long time no write. Life has been busy, busy, busy lately, however I've had time to read a book.  Why does this not shock anyone?  Because I'm a book a'holic, that's why. I've tried getting help for this affliction, but the desire overpowers me.  sigh.....

As for the book I've been reading, it contains interesting recipes and tidbits about daily life in Elizabethan England. Daily life in Elizabethan England by Jeffery Singman is over fifteen years old, but still a goodie. While the book explains how to play Elizabethan card games, sing songs and play music, my favorite part is the bread recipe.

Anne Boleyn recommends this bread recipe. (She was known for her good taste, after all)

While "refined" flour was available in Elizabethan times, only the wealthy could afford it. So most bread was made of whole wheat four. If you've only baked with white flour, you may not know that whole grain flour requires a bit more water. Keep in mind that the dough should be moist, but not sticky. Enjoy baking this bread and tell me how it turns out.

3 cups of unbleached white or whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of lukewarm (not scalding) water or beer

Dissolve one teaspoon of yeast in one cup of water or beer and stir in the salt. Make a well in the flour and pour the yeast mixture into it. Knead for five minutes. Let the dough rise for an hour (a warm, but not hot radiator works wonders). Form the dough into a round loaf and prick it with a knife (this allows it to rise higher). Cover and let it rise until double in bulk than preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. (high temperatures create a harder crust and a softer middle). Before placing the dough into the oven, reduce the heat to 350 and bake until golden brown. Eat, enjoy and tell me how it tastes.

Something To Say: Stupidity, Humans, Food

Pope Benedict recommends the pasta carbonara.  Really, it's to die for!

Food is my second love, behind history of course. I love this blog because it encourages us to take back our kitchens and not rely on "fake food." Bon Appetit!

Something To Say: Stupidity, Humans, Food

I never got this lucky when I did home improvements.

A Somerset couple found a mural of Henry VIII in their home.

Some people have all the luck.  Several years ago, after my husband and I moved into our 1920's era house, we started to remove the grandma inspired wall paper.  Layer after painful layer, we were exposed to the hideous decorating  choices of our predecessors.  Seriously, when was it ever fashionable to have diarrhea brown and pee yellow striped wall paper?  Who ever thought that this was a good color combination should have been placed in the tower or at least lost their wall paper design job.  It makes you wonder if incontinence was an issue for a previous owner.  Yes... an unsettling thought.

Moving on...After the final layer of wall paper was removed, we saw a beautiful white plaster wall.  If you've ever removed wall paper, you understand that it is truly breathtaking.  Call the art experts, because this is a sight truly to behold.  A bare plaster wall from a 1920's condo, however, doesn't hold a candle to a recently discovered mural of Henry VIII in a private residence.

A couple in Somerset, England were renovating their home and after chipping away layers of wood paneling, discovered a mural painted of Henry VIII sitting upon his throne.  Obviously the couple and art historians are excited by this find saying that the mural is, "enormously significant, stunningly exciting and of national importance"

Yea... why couldn't I have found a mural of President Herbert Hoover or Franklin Roosevelt in my living room?  Think of the resale value that would have added to my home?  Now, instead of an art treasure, I have beige walls and the memory of incontinence inspired wall paper.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-12306904

It's the End...Or Is It the Beginning?

"For many, I was as dangerous as an ice storm."

Last night during a treacherous ice storm, I watched the series finale of the Tudors.  Many had seen the finale months ago, but I don't have cable and have to wait for a copy from the library.  After months of waiting, I wasn't disappointed.  In fact, it seemed fitting that I should watch the finale during one of the most dangerous ice storms in recent memory.

Henry VIII could be describe as an ice storm.  Before the storm commenced, birds chipped, the sun shone brightly and if you haven't seen the weather report, you would swear spring was on its way.  Henry's reign began with much promise.  He was a true Renaissance king, intelligent,well-read, athletic and handsome.  The sun shone brightly for England, but weather and kings can change in a heart beat.

The ice storm came, encasing the world in a cold tomb.  The ice was more destructive than fire, destroying monasteries, religious shrines and the laws of England.  When a lull in the storm came,  people relaxed.  Hoping that the worst was over.  However, the ice wasn't easily defeated. 

As the ice storm raged and as prayers ascended to heaven, the thought of tomorrow frightened many.  Will the storm ever end?  What will the damages be?  Will we ever return to normal? As suddenly as the ice storm began, it stopped with a ray of sun shining through.  Perhaps the future won't be so bleak after all.  A new king has been crowned and a new day is dawning.  Long live the king!