Howdy! When the fillies invited me a few weeks ago to toss my name into the Stetson as a permanent blogger at Wildflower Junction, I tingled with joy and nerves both. There I was, asked to join a stable of award-winning authors who inspire me, whose books I read and treasure. At a site that recently got its millionth hit and, on a daily basis, reaches hundreds of viewers. 

Writers and readers and cowgirls, oh my. Then came the decision on what to post first. Oh, I’ve done some guest blogs at the Junction that were well received. So I reckoned I had to devise some topic to eclipse those. 

Should I feature locales near my Southern California homestead where Western movies are filmed and totally evoke the inner cowboy in anybody who drives by on a busy freeway?  Here’s Rocky Peak, one of my favorite places.

Should I orate on the marvelous coincidence that both Pam Crooks and I have daughters with the same name getting married imminently? Share a sneak preview of The Dress? Nope. Had to nix that. Top Secret. The groom has been ordered to check out this blog today.  

Preview my book Marrying Minda that will be released in a few weeks?

Then of course, there’s always my toddling grandson about whom I can emote endlessly. And who I believe has romance cover-model potential in about twenty years.

Ah I can handle all of that later on. For when the clouds parted, I realized what my inaugural Filly post should be about. 

Chocolate!

My mainstay, my dear love. The ruin of my waistline, hips, thighs and every pound of flesh in every direction. And how to tie my vice, my guilty pleasure, into a Western blog?

The Mason Jar.     

Said jar was actually invented as the first canning jar in 1858 by John Landis  Mason. However, it was Frenchman Francois Nicolas Appert, a pickler, brewer, chef and distiller who established the principles of preserving food in hermetically-sealed glass containers in 1810. 

In 1858, John Mason developed a shoulder-seal jar with a zinc screw-cap. Check the name and date on the yellow jar. Ten years later, he inroduced a top rubber seal above the threads and under a glass lid.

So why do most Mason jars come marked with the name Ball? 

Let me digress. I have an antique Mason jar of my very own, the blue jar shown below. It’s been displayed in each one of my domiciles starting with my college dormitory. Why? Well, during my years of higher education in Nebraska, I often spent weekend with my roommate Bel at her family farm in Fairbury. My overly-protective father had allowed me to leave my California home because it was a church college and You’ll Be Safe There.

 Oh I loved those long leisurely weekends. I loved farm life so much I stumbled downstairs one morning about ten o’clock stating I’d love to marry a farmer. Her dad, who had been up for five hours, had just come inside for his quick mid-morning coffee. I still hear his shouts of laughter as his wife started on cooking her second big meal of the day before I’d even wiped the sleep dust from my eyes. 

These darling folks happily sent me exploring the farmstead to acquire souvenirs to take home. Old rusty tractor gears decorate my patio to this day. And I found my Mason jar all by myself in their old-fashioned  disused wash house. It’s one of the ten things I’d save if a tornado was coming. Well, make that an earthquake.

My treasured Mason jar displays the name Ball and the date  1906. Because John Mason’s patent expired in 1879 , the name changed. When the market opened for competition in 1884, the Ball brothers swooped in and started a manufacturing company in New York State. However, three years later, Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company moved to Indiana.

In 1909, the first Ball Blue Book was published, full of tips on home canning. I am certain my gramma and mom used this book. You see, my brother found ancient Mason jars of canned peaches a few years ago when we started cleaning out mom’s old garage. We reckoned they were left from the Cold War years when you expected a nuclear blast and had to store up indestructible food to survive it.

But for the Balls, it wasn’t all about the jar.  Frank, Edmund, George, Lucius and William Ball endowed a small college in Muncie that later became Ball State University. Even more impressive, their company did not lay off a single worker during the Great Depression!

After 88 years as a family business, the company went public in 1972, and the Ball mason jar celebrates its 125h birthday this year. Through August 23, the exhibit Can It! 125 Years of the Ball Jar is going on at Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie. Details at minnetrista.net 

All right now. Lesson over. Can’t help it. I am a former teacher. But what does all this have to go with chocolate?

SAND ART BROWNIES!                                 

They’re easy to make and lovely to look at. Layers of cocoa, brown sugar, chocolate chips and other goodies in a Mason jar make this a gift to remember.

I’ve made these jars for all my neighbors at Christmas, and it’s a sweet homemade gift for first-day-of school, a thank-you or hostess gift. Cover the lid with red and white gingham cover tied with a blue bow and you’ve got a perfect treat for a Fourth of July BBQ.This recipe makes one gift jar using a wide-mouth quart Mason jar.  Cover the top with a circle of gingham and tie with a pretty ribbon. And don’t forget to attach the directions.

For 1 jar:

2/3 t. salt
1 1/8 c. flour, divided
1/3 c. cocoa powder
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans

Instructions:

In  a clean, dry canning jar, layer the ingredients as follows:

2/3 t. salt
5/8 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts

Close jar, add fabric circle and attach the following directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 9×9 baking pan.

2. Pour the contents of the jar into a large bowl and mix well.

3. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2/3 cup vegetable oil and 3 eggs. Beat until just combined.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and enjoy! Or if you’re like me, eat warm. Hot, even.

Now, the big questions of the day:

1. Have you ever canned anything using a Mason jar?  (I myself am terrified of the process. I never married a farmer and am fairly helpless in the kitchen.)

2. What is your favorite way to eat chocolate? 

Thanks for stopping by today. To celebrate my first day at Wildflower Junction as an official filly,  I’ll be drawing the name of one poster to receive a pretty pressed wildflower bookmark! 

(Sincere thanks to  Country Living magazine, May 2009, Canning Pantry,  and Minnetrista for the fun facts.)

 When was the last time you enjoyed a tasty meal at a restaurant?  Throughout most of history prepared meals have been served at inns for travelers.  But the first real restaurant appeared in France in 1765.  The proprietor served soups which he called restaurants, a word meaning restoratives.  The name stuck.  By the early 1800s fancy dining places were all the rage in Europe.  It took a little longer for the trend to spread to America.  The first great American restaurant was the legendary Delmonico’s. 

 Delmonico’s Restaurant was one of the first continuously run restaurants in the United States and is considered to be one of the first American fine dining establishments.  It opened in  New York City 1827, originally in a rented pastry shop at 23 William Street. It was first listed as a restaurant in 1830. Unlike the inns that existed at the time, a restaurant like Delmonico’s would permit patrons to order from a menu(a la carte), rather than requiring its patrons to eat fixed meals. Later, Delmonico’s was also the first in the United States to use a separate wine list.  The restaurant was opened by the brothers John and Peter Delmonico, from Ticino, Switzerland.  In 1831, they were joined by their nephew, Lorenzo Delmonico, who eventually became responsible for the restaurant’s wine list and menu. In 1862, the restaurant hired Charles Ranhofer, considered one of the greatest chefs of his day.

Beginning in the 1850s, the restaurant hosted the annual gathering of the New England Society of New York, which featured many important speakers of the day. In 1860, Delmonico’s provided the supper at the Grand Ball welcoming the Prince of Wales. Supper was set out in a specially constructed room; the menu was French, and the pièces montées (decorative figures on the tables) represented Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and the Great Eastern ship. The New York Times reported, “We may frankly say that we have never seen a public supper served in a more inapproachable fashion, with greater discretion, or upon a more luxurious scale.” 

Famous patrons included Jenny Lind (who, it was said, ate there after every show), Theodore Roosevelt “Diamond Jim” Brady, Lillian Russell (usually in the company of Diamond Jim) Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, JP Morgan,Walter Scott, Nicholas Tesla, Edward VII (then the Prince of Wales), and Napoleon III of France. 

The restaurant was so successful that it expanded to four New York locations and eventually to other major cities.  A scene from my April Harlequin Historical, HIS SUBSTITUTE BRIDE, takes place in the San Francisco Delmonico’s.  That restaurant initially survived the disastrous 1906 earthquake and fire, but during the military occupation that followed, some celebrating soldiers, feasting on leftover food and wine, accidentally set the place on fire and burned it down. 

Eventually the restaurants fell on hard times.  In 1923 Delmonico’s closed its doors for good and lost the exclusive rights to its name.  No restaurant named Delmonico’s today is connected to the original.  Some of the dishes first served at Delmonico’s are still famous today.  Baked Alaska, Lobster Newberg, Delmonico Potatoes and possibly Chicken a la King were invented at Delmonico’s restaurant, but it was most famous for Delmonico Steak. 

These days we have an endless variety of restaurants to choose from.  What’s your favorite kind of restaurant food?  Ethnic?  Gourmet?  Down home?  Burgers and fries?  Do you have a favorite restaurant?  A favorite meal? 

Let’s go shopping, 1860s style.

If you lived back in the Old West, chances are the tinsmith ran one of your favorite shops. To an untrained eye, entering his store might look as though you’re entering a cluttered space. But if you look closer, you’ll note the fine tools, the specialty patterns and the intricate designs. What you’ll love most of all is the usefulness of every product.

There was an art to handling tin. The fine detailed work often lent itself to women’s hands, and I can well imagine the tinsmith’s wife or daughter working just as hard as the man himself in designing the tools, the well-crafted shapes, and coming up with ideas for new products.

Here are a sampling of things available to a person in the 1860s. 

   Hip tubs.

Lanterns of all sorts.

Cookie cutters. How would you like to have a cookie in the shape of a horse’s head?

Tin ceiling tiles, designed to your liking.

And best of all, if you lived in a cold climate, how about some duct work going from the stove to the ceiling, thereby warming the floor of the upper story above you?

You’ve probably spotted other kitchen pots and utensils for sale on the back walls. Do you have your credit card ready? What’s the first thing you’d buy?

My new book is out now! Visit me at www.katebridges.com.

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Hot cross buns are traditionally served on Good Friday, but they are good any time. This recipe will make 2 1/2 dozen buns.

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup softened butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 1/2 to 7 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup dried currents

1/2 cup raisins

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

2 Tablespoons water

1 egg yolk

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1 recipe Icing (below)

Have the water and milk at 110-115 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the warm milk sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well after each addition. Stir in the dried fruit and enough flour to make a soft dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and turn over to grease the top. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down and shape into 30 balls.

Place on greased baking sheets.

Using a sharp knife, cut a cross or X on the top of each roll.

Cover again and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Beat the water and egg yolk together and brush over the rolls.

Bake at 375-degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes.

Cool on wire racks.

Drizzle icing over the top of each roll following the lines of the cut cross.

ICING: Combine 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 4 teaspoons milk or cream, a dash of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir until smooth. Adjust sugar and milk to make a mixture, which flows easily.

Did you know that raw honey, properly stored, doesn’t spoil? Archeologists have uncovered ancient tombs from Egypt—some bearing honey in sealed containers that is still of good quality and edible.

Earliest caveman paintings - 13,000 B.C. - depict people getting stung by bees as they try to collect the gooey liquid.

Honey is the source of many traditional myths. In Greek mythology, honey was considered one of the foods of the Gods of Olympus, a drink or nectar they consumed to achieve immortality.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, emphasized its nutritional and medicinal values. Several centuries later, the art of beekeeping (apiculture) passed down to the Romans and then the rest of the world. Beekeepers encourage an overproduction of honey in their hives so that the excess can be removed without leaving a dangerous food shortage for the bees. In cold weather and when food sources are scarce, the bees survive on their honey.

A healthy hive contains about 40-60,000 bees. Honeybees visit approximately two million flowers to make a pound of honey. To produce one ounce, a bee has to make about 1600 round trips from the flower source (one round trip can be as long as 6 miles). Average lifespan? 4-6 weeks. No one said it was easy to be a bee.

For 4,000 years, honey has been used as a remedy for health ailments. Here are a few:

- Ancient Egyptians used it for burns, skin ulcers and wounds

- Inflammation of the eyelids

- Athlete’s foot and fungal infections

- Stomach aches and diarrhea

- Sore throat

- Recently, a New Zealand scientist discovered one particular honey with high levels of  antibacterial properties to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Honey was also used for all kinds of ailments that it actually did not help to cure. There are still many inaccurate claims out there.

Not all honey is created equal. The quality depends on the source of the pollen—the types of plants used by the bees. Recently, some experts have been suggesting that if you suffer from hay fever allergies, you might desensitize your allergies by eating local honey produced by bees that have used local plants. Amazing stuff!

Beeswax is used in cosmetics, such as lip balms. Other uses: candles, lubricants for doors, bow strings, furniture polish. Royal jelly, a pollen-and-honey combination used specifically to feed the larvae which develops into the Queen Bee, is used in skin creams to fight aging.

Raw honey may be pasteurized (heated) to kill any yeast that may be present. Yeast causes honey to ferment and crystallize, so pasteurizing slows this process. Crystallized honey can be brought back to liquid form by gently heating it—but not boiling.

The nutritional benefits of honey include vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. Never feed an infant or young child honey–including baked goods with honey—because it can cause botulism, a type of food poisoning that can be fatal. Pasteurizing honey does not make it any safer against botulism.

When honey is fermented with yeast and water, it develops into an alcoholic liquid called mead. Mead was a favorite beverage with the English and Europeans, and used around the world as far back as 8,000 years ago. It may have been the first type of alcohol ever invented, predating wine. It was flavored and brewed with spices and fruits. It’s still sold today.

In Classic Greek, the word ‘drunk’ means ‘honey-intoxicated’. Some say the English word ‘honeymoon’ is traceable to the father of the bride giving the couple enough alcoholic mead to celebrate for a month—but others dispute the origin of the word.

What’s your favorite source of sweetener? Did your mom or grandmother use honey in any form to soothe any of your ailments? Have you ever tasted mead?

Visit me at www.katebridges.com!

My new book is in bookstores now! 

Click on the link to go to Amazon: Wanted In Alaska (Harlequin Historical Series)

“Chuck away, come and get it!”

The chuckwagon has always struck me as a fun part of cowboy history. Just as kitchens were the heart of the home, the chuckwagon was the heart of any cattle drive. Movie’s generally show a colorful, jovial sort of fellow, “Cookie” as they are often fondly called, in charge of keeping a cattle outfit fed. In truth, most chuckwagon cooks were known to be ill-tempered and stern. These chefs of the open range were far more than simple campfire cooks. Cookie was also the doctor, barber, dentist, letter-writer and banker of the cattle crew, and he was regarded in high esteem only second to the trail boss. His pay also came second to the trail boss, often double or triple to that of a cowhand.

On the cattle trail chuckwagons were loaded down with all the cowboy bedding, water barrels, dough kegs (a main staple), cast iron Dutch oven as well as the food supply. Canvas usually draped the outside of the wagon in a hammock fashion, which stored fire wood, tools and dried cow chips. Packing and unpacking a wagon was a skill all its own. These wagons were usually drawn by oxen or mules and followed along behind, usually joined by the cattle crew’s “wrangler” - a young inexperienced cowpoke charged with herding the spare horses. Once parked, the chuckwagon became cattle drive headquarters–and the cook was in charge.

Charles Goodnight, co-founder of the Goodnight-Loving Trail running out of Texas and through New Mexico and Colorado, needed a sturdy wagon that could withstand five months of rugged travel along the cattle trails.  He rebuilt his Army supply Studebaker wagon, adding steel axels and what became known as the “chuck box” at the back with a hinged lid that also became a work table when parked. In 1866 the first “chuckwagon” hit the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

“Chuck” is considered to be the least-expensive cut of beef. This gives some indication of the type of food served from these contraptions. There’s a misconception that most cattle crews had all the beef they could eat while on a long drive – not so in most cases.  Cattle drive outfits were generally contracted to drive cattle by the owners, and those owners expected their beefs to arrive alive and kicking at the stockyards, not in the bellies of cowboys. On most drives, while beef was served occasionally, these hard working beef herders ate mostly salted pork, beans, black-eyed peas, potatoes, sour dough biscuits and cowboy coffee. A cowboy hungry for a steak must have felt a lot like a thirsty sailor…steers as far as the eye can see, and not a steak to eat! 

Cookie had no shortage of responsibilities, rising hours before the crews to prepare breakfast, staying on the move and having meals ready for the returning crew—cooking rain or shine, freezing snow or brutal heat–no wonder they were cranky!  He was expected to know practiced medince and tended to any injured cowboys riding in, and truly seems to be a source of rough-handed nurturing for young cowhands far from home. If Cookie was having an agreeable day and feeling generous towards the boys, he might whip up some Spotted Pup for desert (sweetened rice with raisins) or pie using dried fruit.  

 I have read that chilies and peppers were planted by cooks along the edges of many cattle trails for added convenience. I wonder if there are still wild peppers and chilies growing in those areas.

Who remembers that Chuckwagon dogfood commercial?  YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BBqgMQluDM

Did y’all know Chuckwagon Racing is competitive sport?  Here’s a couple fun You Tube links:

Houston Race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUr742hGzMY
Music Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEU4ZsYawBI

Now here’s a holiday I can sink my teeth into!

Pies have been around at least since the ancient Egyptians. They filled their pies with things like honey, fruit and nuts. The ancient Greeks enjoyed pie in Egypt and took the recipes home with them, then surrendered the recipes to the Romans, who thought so much of pie as to make offerings of pie to their deities.

Pie was destined to catch on, but it sure hasn’t always been the coconut cream, cinnamon apple or French silk we know and love today.

Originally, pies were simply cooking and serving container fashioned from dough for holding ingredients, like all types of meat and fowl, and their juices. Without a top crust they were called coffins, and those with no crust were traps. Large short-sided pies are tarts and small pies are tartlets. When someone made a pie of some type of bird, he or she would leave the legs of the bird outside the edge of the pie and then used the legs for handles.

Those crusts were often too hard to be eaten and some of the recipes called for making ’bulletproof’ dough. These pies were often much larger than we imagine and used for entertainment purposes as well as eating.

Remember the nursery song “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie” and “When the pie was opened the birds began to sing?” That is literally what they did—placed live birds, frogs and other small creatures, even dwarves and sometimes a small orchestra—inside the pie. Of course the top and bottom crusts were baked or “petrified” separately, the ingredients placed inside and then the top ‘soldered’ on, so they weren’t actually baking the live ingredients. During the meal, the pie was served and the entertainment emerged to enliven royal feasts. Wild, huh?

Pies made their way to England and later America. The colonial settlers came up with cottage and shepherds pie. From the American natives, the pilgrims learned about fruits and berries. Women at that time conserved their rations by making round pies and shallow pies. During the1700s, pies gained popularity in many homes, picnics and fairs.

Pies have been adapted to fit into every culture. Today we have chicken potpies, fruit and nut pies, mince pies, pumpkin and squash pies, as well as cream pies and ingredients like custards and creams and meringues. Most families enjoy pie traditions and pass down recipes. There is hardly a home or restaurant in the US that doesn’t serve pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

Why all this talk about pie? Well, tomorrow, January 23^rd is National Pie Day, and I didn’t want you to be caught off guard. You might have the ingredients on hand, but if not, pick up something to whip together your favorite pie. I doubt you’ll serve a blackbird or a frog tomorrow, but what is your family’s favorite pie?

The Fillies would be plum grateful if you shared your favorite pie recipes with us!

Here’s an idea to get you started:

Nothing Better Than Pie

Crust:
1/4 cup butter, melted
15 to 18 Keebler Pecan Shortbread Sandies cookies, finely crushed

Stir butter into finely crushed cookies with fork. Press into a 9-inch pie pan; freeze to firm.

First layer:

2 cups Cool Whip
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon sugar

With electric mixer, beat all ingredients together until blended; spread onto crust and return to freezer.

Second layer:

2 cups Cool Whip
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter

Beat Cool Whip, sugar and cream cheese together until blended. Mix in peanut butter and spread on top of pie; return to freezer.

Third layer:

2 cups Cool Whip, plus extra for topping.
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 ounces German sweet chocolate baking squares, melted

Beat Cool Whip, sugar and cream cheese together until blended. Beat in melted chocolate. Spread on top of pie and return to freezer.

Before serving, top with more Cool Whip.

The Lost Art of Pie Making Made Easy

I love to read old recipes and imagine the pioneer women cooking up a batch of Hopping John or Son-of-a-Biscuit Stew or Molasses Cookies on their wood stove. I can just see them getting out their ingredients and setting to work building a fire and getting it the right temperature.

Old-time recipes called for a smidgen of seasoning, a pinch of this, a dab of that, or a dollop (usually butter) the size of a walnut. And sometimes the recipe called for a dash of something or “enough flour to make a stiff dough.” I’m guessing that housewives pretty much cooked by trial and error and adjusted things to suit them because it would be extremely difficult to know what these measurements meant.

Is a smidgen more than a dash or a dab? I doubt anyone knows. If you do, speak up.

My mother rarely used a recipe. She’d get out her ingredients and start mixing things together until it looked, tasted, or felt right. I used to love watching her cook. It was an amazing sight. And boy, did her dishes taste wonderful! She must’ve had the pioneer spirit instilled in her.

For the record, that talent was not passed down to me!!

I can cook just enough to get by.

But to demonstrate what I’m talking about, here’s an old recipe for Gingerbread:

½ cup sugar
2 dollops of butter
1 egg
1 cup syrup Enough flour for a soft dough
1 ½ small spoon soda Smidgen of cinnamon, ginger, cloves Pinch of salt
1 cup hot water

Mix all ingredients together and bake in a medium oven.

A medium oven? Precisely how hot is that? Good grief!

* * * *

With Thanksgiving being a week away, I wanted to share this old recipe for Indian Pudding that was derived from the English Hasty Pudding. It was supposedly prepared by the housewives of Plymouth, Massachusetts at the first Thanksgiving. The recipe even traveled West with the settlers and eaten at gatherings. This recipe makes a lot. (I’ve used modern measurements.)

Indian Pudding

7 cups milk divided
1 cup molasses
1/3 cup sugar ¼ cup butter
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup packed cornmeal

Heat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Combine 6 cups of the milk, the molasses, sugar, butter, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook over medium heat until just about to boil.

In a medium bowl, mix together the remaining cup of milk and the cornmeal. Whisk this mixture into the pan of cooked ingredients. Return to fire and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until nicely thickened.

Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 90 minutes or until pudding is set at the center. It may puff during the baking, but will flatten when cooling. Let cool slightly before dolloping with whipped cream.

* * * *

As a side note, pioneer women gauged the heat of an oven by holding their hand inside and counting. If she could hold her hand inside for a count of 40, it was right for baking bread. A count of twenty would be sufficient for baking cakes and pies.

So, I’m wondering how many of you could cook using the smidgen, dab, dash, dollop, or pinch measurements. Aren’t you glad our recipes read much clearer today?

Mark your calendar for this release the first of February!

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Rumor has it that when the French monk, Dom Perignon, first tasted the champagne he created, he said, “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!” Whether he actually said it or not, it’s a great description of this sparkling wine.

I don’t drink a lot of champagne, but someone recently gave me and my husband a bottle of Dom Perignon. How nice!

French Benedictine monks were the first to create champagne in the 17th century, named after the Champagne region of France where they lived. One of the monks was Dom Pierre Perignon (1639-1715). Some say he was the very first monk to discover champagne, but the topic is controversial. During those times, monks produced wine because it was blessed and used during mass.

Because of the cooler temperatures and shorter growing season of the grapes in the Champagne region, the grapes were picked late in the year and fermentation was often cut short. A second fermentation process began in the spring when weather got warmer. This second fermentation process created natural bubbles of carbon dioxide. If the champagne was stored in barrels, the effervescence escaped. But when stored in bottles, how the monks stored it, the bubbles were trapped inside. Hence, champagne.

Some of the cheaper versions of sparkling wine—some produced in North America—have the carbon dioxide bubbles injected directed by machine. This is not true champagne.

The first bottle of the brand name Dom Perignon was produced in 1936–named after the famous monk.

Sometimes in my Westerns, I’ll have my Mountie hero open a bottle of Bordeaux or Burgundy wine from France, to indicate that Mountie Officers often came from cultured homes and wealthy Eastern families.

What’s your favorite drink? Maybe it’s non-alcoholic? Right now, mine is green tea. This summer, I loved visiting Napa Valley in California. (The photo below.) I live near the Niagara Region of Ontario, and its most southern point goes as far south as the northern tip of California, and so the weather here is conducive to growing grapes. The Niagara region produces some world-class wines. How about you? Do you live near a grape growing region where wines are produced? Or have you visited one? 

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