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Two Fridays before Christmas…

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Two Fridays before Christmas, egads when did the time traipse so quickly by?

We’ve hit the marker of 14 whopping days before Christmas (the song 12 Days of Christmas could kick up on Sunday, though the 12 days actually occur the 12 days AFTER Christmas), a smooth two weeks before we tear into gifts and celebrate with eggnog and Christmas lasagna.

Additionally, Hanukkah starts today!

This year has been quite a cluster and it has impacted a bazillion small businesses. See if you can aim towards local businesses for your gift purchasing this year.

Understandably the investment for a session with About A Dog Photography is a bigger one than buying handcrafted socks, but there are other ways to help us out. Sign up for the Beyond the Barking Basics course, snag The Dogs of Minneapolis (plus help out rescues!), or pop over to Atomic Collars and snag some swag. 

If you missed it, we created a massive collective list of local and other dog businesses that would love the extra boost this year. Need a refresher? Find the list here!

Sweet butter lettuce, there are two weeks to create a gingerbread house from scratch! Eons of time until you realize how booked solid your schedule has become, plus the part of figuring out which gingerbread recipe to use! (Construction gingerbread will get your miles ahead, though the taste tends to be lackluster.) 

In curiosity, the 1896 was consulted. In its own subheading of GINGERBREAD, just after cookies (which interestingly are found under the CAKE AND CAKES subheading), there are 3 recipes for gingerbread and 12 variations from fairy to World’s Fair. 

Afterwards is found Jumbles to Yolk Rings (17 entries), though they seem to be the misfits categories, not falling under cakes, gingerbread or desserts and puddings. 

History of gingerbread: a simpler variation of it was consumed by ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks, though it didn’t arrive in Europe until the 11th century when Crusaders brought back ginger from the Middle East. Add a transition of breadcrumbs to flour, then the popularization of gingerbread men from Queen Elizabeth I (she made them into the likenesses of the visiting dignitaries!). 

Gingerbread houses don’t show up in popularity until the Brothers Grim crafted the witch’s house in Hansel & Gretel in the 19th century! (Germans were making gingerbread houses as early as the 16th century). 

Current times have us baking records and competing in competitions! (Google: national gingerbread house competition and prepared to be wowed!)

The aim for this year is neither a record or a competition, but instead a crafting of vision (Santa’s house over a reindeer stable… ambitious much?) Not sure I’ll use any of the very vintage recipes, but perhaps. Below is the trio of the gingerbreads, plus a trio of ones that caught the fancy. 

GINGERBREAD pg 20
One-half cup of molasses, one-half cup of sugar, one-third cup of milk, one-third cup of butter, one egg, one teaspoon of soda in the molasses, one teaspoon each of ginger, salt & cinnamon, two cups flour. Bake in flat pan and cut with heated knife. Very good on a cold day with a glass of hot milk into which a trifle of salt has been put. 

GINGERBREAD pg 72
Warm one-half scant cup of butter, one cup of molasses, one-half cup brown sugar, one-half teaspoonful mixed cinnamon and mace, one tablespoonful ground ginger, slightly together, and stir to a yellow brown cream; add half a cup of milk, two beaten eggs, and one level teaspoonful of soda dissolved in the milk, and two and a half cups of flour; beat well and bake in a large shallow pan. 

GINGERBREAD pg 322

Doesn’t seem to exist… Possibly a typo from 124 years ago? None of the recipes around that date have gingerbread. Odd…

* Assumed oven temp: try 350
** Assumed bake time: for cookies 8-10 minutes, for the shallow pan try 45 mins

Gingerbread pg 20 is DOG FRIENDLY! (Moderation of course!)
Gingerbread pg 72 is only dog friendly if you OMIT the MACE! (Mace comes from the same family as nutmeg which is toxic to dogs!)

GINGERBREAD – FAIRY
One cupful of butter, two of sugar, one of milk, four of flour, one-third teaspoon soda, one tablespoonful ginger. Beat the butter to a cream; add the sugar, gradually, and when light, the ginger; the milk in which the soda has been dissolved, and finally the flour. Turn baking pans upside down and wipe the bottoms very clean. Butter them and spread the cake very thin upon them. Bake in a moderate oven until brown. While still hot cut into squares with a cake knife and slip from the pan. Keep in a tin box. This is delicious. With this quantity enough for several days may be made. Remember to spread it as thin as a wafer and cut it the instant it is taken from the oven. 

GINGERBREAD – WARREN
Good gingerbread can only be made of the dark New Orleans or Porto Rico molasses. The following is a Dixie recipe and infallible: One-half cup butter, warmed till soft; one and one-half cups molasses, three-fourths cup boiling water, three level cups sifted flour, one slightly heaping teaspoonful of soda, one and one-half heaping teaspoonfuls ginger, on and one-half teaspoonfuls cinnamon, one saltspoonful cloves, one saltspoonful nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Put molasses in one bowl and add melted butter, spices and soda. When thoroughly mixed together add the boiling water, the the flour, beating until all lumps are gone. Bake in moderate oven. As anything made with molasses burns easily, the pan must be lined with thick double paper, or, the easiest method is to use two pans, the same size, putting one inside the other. 

GINGERBREAD – WORLD’S FAIR
Here is highly spiced gingerbread that will keep for a long time and makes a fine cake for travelers’ lunch. Thoroughly sift two quarts of flour and one even teaspoonful of saleratus together in a pan. Rub into it one cupful of butter and one pound of good brown sugar; add to the mixture one pint of New Orleans molasses, of the purest quality, six well-beaten eggs, one after-dinner coffee cupful of ground ginger, one tablespoonful of cinnamon and a teaspoonful of salt. This makes a soft dough, too soft to roll. Lift it on to your board with a knife and spread it to an equal thickness with it. Cut into small cakes, lay them far apart in buttered pans and bake in a quick oven. 

* Moderate oven – Fairy & Warren: 350-375° 
* Quick oven – World’s Fair: 375-400°
** Assumed bake times: 16-20 minutes for Fairy,  25-35 minutes for Warren (as a cake), 8-10 minutes for World’s Fair as they are cut into small cakes

* World’s Fair – saleratus = sodium bicarbonate = baking soda
* World’s Fair – one after-dinner coffee cupful = approx 3 ounces = 6 tablespoonfuls 

Fairy is DOG FRIENDLY / Warren IS NOT dog friendly (cloves and mace are a no no!) / World’s Fair is DOG FRIENDLY!

Regular scheduled vintage recipe time!

We harken back to 1896, a Saturday. The menu submitted by Mrs. Mary L. Cavanagh of Iowa City, Iowa. 

BREAKFAST
Grapes
Wheatena and cream
Pork tenderloins
Sanded potato cakes
Apple gems
Coffee

LUNCHEON
Veal toast
Home-made rye bread and butter
Potato rusks
Boiled apples
Tea

DINNER
Beef stew with dumplings
Scalloped tomatoes
Vegetable oysters
Cucumber pickles
Cranberry shortcake
Coffee

Wheatena is a cereal, started in 1879 and made from toasted, ground, wheat cereal. Indeed it still exists to this day, under the same name making it a long standing 141 years old! And we’ve never heard of it, have you? 

The other curiosities: Sanded potato cakes (they aren’t listed in the recipes and none are listed in the index either), home-made rye bread (no recipes given, only one listing, pg 180, the entry right above brains), and potato rusks (they seem to be potato cakes with yeast). Vegetable oysters are made from salsify, a root veggie related to parsnips. Quite interesting!

Next week we’ll skip ahead a week to give you ample time to craft from the Christmas menu, featuring a late luncheon (we feast at the midday dinner!).

This weekend should be the assembly and decoration of the Christmas tree. That means we can talk about getting epic holiday images with your dog plus the holiday lights indoors! Of course Bender will be thrilled…

Until we meet again next week, keep you jolly spreading (safely of course!), give your dog tons of love, and get out into those non December weather temp days!

If you need to get ahold of us (chit chat, scheduling your session, baking success or fail, etc) email:  / text or call 320-428-0135 / Facebook & Instagram

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The first Friday of December

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We’ve entered into December on a roll of holiday cheer and a landscape with a scrapping of snow (the hope is always a white Christmas, though we’ll trade it for 30-40 degree temps…) and a general zest after a solid fueling of pumpkin pie (the pie filling was from the can of Libby, using evaporated milk – only one other from the 1940s called for evaporated milk! The pie crust was flaky, a bit thick on the bottom, and from a 1916 Ryzon sponsored baking book).

Now into December, mom had a birthday on the 2nd,  we’re busy prepping for tomorrow and today is…NATIONAL COOKIE DAY!

Yes that totally counts for dog cookies! Have yourself one, two, a few or more and make sure your dog gets a matching bite, if not a couple of extras!

Sesame Street is credited to have coined National Cookie Day, penning it in on their calendar in 1976. It didn’t take off until in 1987 Matt Nader of the Blue Chip Cookie Company declared December 4th as National Cookie Day. 

Maker's Market TOMORROW 9am-2pm at The Regency!

Come out for some holiday shopping tomorrow December 5th from 9am-2pm at The Regency in downtown St. Cloud. Tons of vendors, all featuring handmade & handcrafted items, with most under $50! We’ll be out with Atomic Collars!

The vendors will be amply spaced out to allow for proper social distancing. If you do come out, please wear a mask!

The Regency is located:
912 W. St. Germain
St. Cloud MN

Parking can be a little clustered at times, there is a parking ramp behind the Paramount Theatre. Not sure if there will be a parking fee, but on street parking is not metered on the weekends. Once you’ve made it past all the vendors, there will be a coffee truck behind The Regency. Grab a cup and perhaps a stroll around Lake George or in historic downtown (temp looks to be forecasted at 36 and partly sunny). 

PLUS the Virtual Winter Artisan & Small Business Market, hosted by MPLS Parking is now live! 

DATE: November 28th – December 18th, virtual – the link: https://mplsparking.com/cat-dog/
 (you’ll find the code for saving on Atomic Collars!)

Want to shop other local makers? https://mplsparking.com/winter-market/

Our Vintage Recipe Adventure from 1896

Today’s recipe, a classic Saturday in 1896, submitted by Mrs. John Buie of Chicago doesn’t feature any cookie recipes, though she’s got quite the palette for uniques…

BREAKFAST
Oranges
Salt codfish in purée of potatoes
Hot rolls
Raised corncake
Coffee

LUNCHEON
Oyster croquettes
Celery
Toasted potatoes
Bread and butter
Jelly roll
Tea

DINNER
Egg-barley soup
Scalloped tongue
Riced potatoes
Turnips à la crème
Pickles
Golden pudding
Crackers
Cheese 
Coffee

Salt codfish for breakfast? That’s a unique start to a day! Add in the oyster croquettes (half a pint of raw oysters & half a pint of cooked veal…) and the scalloped tongue and you’ve covered a large collection of proteins. 

The raised corncakes & golden pudding struck my curiosity. (As did the tongue, but we’ll save that for later…) To deviate from the daily recipes, we’re going to traipse into a couple COOKIE recipes from 1896!

KINDERGARTEN COOKIES
Beat one egg well. Mix in one and one-half cups sugar. Add one cup sour cream, one-half teaspoonful soda and one-eighth of a grated nutmeg. Mix in enough sifted flour to make the batter stiff enough to roll out. Cut out, sprinkle sugar over them and bake in a quick oven. 

* DON’T SHARE – NOT DOG FRIENDLY – dogs can’t have nutmeg!
* quick oven = 400-425
* cook time = try 8-10 minutes

GINGER COOKIES
One-half cup molasses, one-half cup buttermilk, one egg, one-half cup sugar, one-half cup butter (melted), one teaspoonful soda, one teaspoonful of ginger. Mix with flour soft as can be handled. Roll out and bake in a hot oven. 

* SHARE THEM! All dog friendly ingredients!
* hot oven = 425-475
* cook time = try 8-10 minutes

HERMIT COOKIES
One and a half cups of brown sugar, one cup of butter, half teaspoonful soda dissolved in two tablespoonfuls water, three eggs, pinch of salt, half a nutmeg, one and one-half cups chopped raisins, three and a half cups flour, in which one teaspoonful of cream of tarter has been sifted; also flour the raisins before adding. Drop the dough from the spoon without connecting. Bake. 

* DON’T SHARE – NOT DOG FRIENDLY – dogs can’t have nutmeg!
* oven temp = 350-375
* cook time = 8-10 minutes
* half a nutmeg = approx 1 teaspoon (1 whole nutmeg = 2-3 teaspoons)

(Did you know: Chocolate chips cookies weren’t invented until 1938!)

COOKIES OF 1812
One pint of sugar, on teacup of butter, four eggs, two tablespoons of sweet milk, one-half teaspoon of soda, one teaspoon of cream of tartar, one-half nutmeg, one teaspoon of vanilla, one pint of flour. Roll the sugar (granulated) until quite fine; add the butter and cream them. Stir in the milk gradually, and beat the eggs separately, and then put together and beat again. Add to the mixture butter, sugar and milk, and lastly the flour and soda, which has been dissolved in a little warm water. After these have been well mixed add the nutmeg and vanilla. Beat well together, and add enough flour to handle well in rolling and cutting out. Bake in a moderate oven a delicate brown. These keep well. 

* DON’T SHARE – NOT DOG FRIENDLY – dogs can’t have nutmeg!
* moderate oven = 350-375
* cook time = try 8-10 minutes
* 1 pint sugar/flour = 2.33 cups
* one-half nutmeg = approx 1 teaspoon (1 whole nutmeg = 2-3 teaspoons)

Onward we go!

Today is a massive label & tagging day in anticipation for tomorrow’s Maker’s Market. (Labels after I finish a collar? Bah, I’ll get to them later! Enter later: the hell was I thinking?!? Easily 20+ collars without labels – egads! Thanks past me!)

Eat a batch of cookies (the 1896 cook book has 14 recipes if you’d like me to send you some inspiration!), make a batch for your pupper (or go for store bought, if they’re cookies your dog will LOVE them) and stay safe this holiday season. 

If you need to get ahold of us (chit chat, scheduling your session, baking success or fail, etc) email:  / text or call 320-428-0135 / Facebook & Instagram

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Black Friday Small Business Love

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The day has arrived, though the classical context of the Black Fridays of our youth (lines for the elusive doorbusters, the chaos and fending off the old women for the very last Tickle Me Elmo) has fizzled into a month long celebration of holiday spending and deals. Additionally, web buying allows us to be cozy in our robes and slippers without the hassle of parking, people and getting up at the ass crack in hopes of the thing might be available. 

This year is mega important to support our local small businesses. The pandemic has been rough, and small businesses have been hit quite hard. Be sure to show them ample love!

Below is a compiled list of local to Minnesota & beyond:

Local to Minnesota:

  • Atomic Collars
    – upcycled collars, scarves and hoodies for bigger dogs 
  • Sidewalk Dog
    – an awesome resource for everything dog in the Twin Cities plus they have awesome swag!
  • CuddleMutt
    – collars, bandanas & cozy blankets 
    * If you buy a CuddleMutt blanket, they give a CuddleMutt blanket + 20% of profits for all other accessories to a shelter!
  • Grey Duck Art
    – paint by numbers of YOUR dog!
  • Val & Co
    –     tasty treats from recycled brew grains, bowties, scarves & matching human sets too! 
  • Dog Love Repeat
    – classy and upscale accessories
  • Lucy & Co
    – coats, bandanas, harnesses & more!
  • Bubbly Paws Dog Wash
    –     get your pupper squeaky clean – self service, full service and grooming available! Find them in the Twin Cities!
  •  Kovered Up
    – crate covers, bandanas, collars & leashes and more! 
  • Miss Sophie Bowtique
    – adorable dresses & clothing for small to medium sized dogs & cats.
  • Nelli Designs
    – memorial candles, candles & gift boxes
  •  Riverrun Acreage LLC
    – collars, bow ties and face masks!
  • ZoZo & Co
    – adorable bandanas
  • Rescued Hearts Clothing
    – clothing for people with dog themed graphics – perfect for dog moms & dog dads!
  • Finley’s
    – mega tasty dog treats
    * Finley’s creates paid employment opportunities for people with disabilities while dedicating 50% of net profits to initiatives providing employment training, accessibility, health & wellness, and advocacy platforms for people with disabilities.
  • Carver County Chiropractic 
    – not only chiropractors for people – they adjust animals too!
  • Wilson Customs 
    – custom dog kennels that become pieces of furniture as well as a homey place for your doggo!
  • Loon & Beau
    – bandanas & bow ties oh my!
  •  Fuzz Butt Boutique
    – bandanas, face masks, matching sets and more!
  • Leashes by Liz
    – handcrafted leashes, collars & harnesses made from paracord
  • Curtis Collars
    – stunning embroidery collars & paracord ones too!
  •  The Bark Bars
    – soaps and bath bombs for dogs!
  • Fairly Odd Dogs Apparel
    – unique, fun and classy collars plus bandanas & more!
  • Peace Love Local
    – dog tags, bandanas and more!
  • Wet Lab Creative
    – custom portraits of your dog!
  • Northern Wick
    – they create candles, but their fall dog box is utterly adorable!
  •  Lauren Boatner Art
    – awesome portraits of your doggo! Check out her Instagram to see examples!
  • Pawfectreasures
    – Bandana holders for your dog’s bandana wardrobe
  • Stashios
    – wrap ups to turn pills into treats plus tasty dental treats!
  • Kannis Kreations
    – hand stamped dog tags
  • Black Dog’s Art Studio
    – watercolor portraits, face masks and dog bed sheets
  • Doodles and Loons
    – mega cute dog bandanas

More small businesses to love:

Etsy has way more than a ton of options. Collars, leashes, blankets, coats, dog everything. Here are some searches to get you into the rabbit hole:

 

BLACK FRIDAY with ABOUT A DOG PHOTOGRAPHY!

FRIDAY November 27th – MONDAY November 30th ONLY!
– When you invest in a session your session investment turns into a PRINT CREDIT of $250!

– BIG BONUS: Friday get an additional print credit of $100
– BONUS: Saturday-Sunday get an additional print credit of $50

EMAIL to:  
or you can snag a session here: aboutadogphoto.com/shop/classic-session/
to snag the Black Friday SESSION to PRINT CREDIT!

 


Additional savings with About A Dog Photography: 

 

ATOMIC COLLARS BLACK FRIDAY SAVINGS:
BOGO! Buy one, get one FREE on collars and scarves!
Use code: BLACKFRIDAY20BOGO
*Coupon is valid until November 30th. Excludes hoodies, crewnecks & sale items. 

 

We will be doing giveaways for December featuring: Atomic Collars, Val & Co, CuddleMutt, Nomadic Tails, & Dog Love Repeat!

Keep an eye on our Instagram @AboutADogPhoto to get your chance to win some awesome holiday swag!

Merry shopping and may the season be full of sparkle & love!

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The Week Before Thanksgiving – the meal, what dogs can & can’t eat and beyond!

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Gobble gobble greetings, tis the week before Thanksgiving. This year is a unique one, with our gatherings smaller and quite likely virtual. We may not get to see all the faces and eat all the fixings, but we can still celebrate the ones we love. Gather, be merry and love greatly!  

The meal: a classic large bird, stuffed to the brim with homemade or box made stuffing, veggies, breads and pies galore! All super tasty items to your begging dog, but there are a few things that they shouldn’t get their paws on. 

Dog’s can’t eat:
– stuffing*
– ham*
– turkey bones
– mashed potatoes
– chocolate desserts
– anything with nutmeg, onions & onion powder and garlic
– anything with raisins or grapes

HECK YES! Dogs can eat:
– turkey meat – no skin!
– unbuttered rolls & bread
– veggies: raw or cooked if there are no additional spices
*pumpkin, peas, carrots, green beans, corn (off the cob), celery, pumpkin, sweet potato and radishes are all great choices!
– cranberries, not cranberry sauce!

* stuffing can contain onions, scallions or onion powder which are toxic to dogs>
* ham can cause pancreatitis, upset stomach, vomiting and diarrhea if consumed in large amounts for a med-large dog.

** if your dog licks up a spoonful of mashed potatoes that plopped on the floor, high odds they will be ok. The biggest worry is an upset tummy in dogs that are lactose intolerant. If the recipe calls for onion powder or garlic powder, make sure to get it off the floor before Scruffy can!

Want to give your dog something a little extra tasty for this Thanksgiving? How about some Pup-kin Pies!

** If you’re already planning on handcrafting a pumpkin, apple or berry pie, set aside some of the pie crust. Dogs can totally eat pie crust made with butter, shortening or lard! Make cut out pie crust cookies, or fill with unseasoned pumpkin for more of a classic pie. 

Yes, Thanksgiving was around in 1896! And since these juciy bits arrive on Fridays, we are going DOUBLE on the dates for menus!

Today, as the norm, was a Saturday. Frances E. Peck of Davenport, Iowa,  is the contributor of the menus of November 20th. 

BREAKFAST
Fruit
Hominy grits, with cream and sugar
Eggs and mushrooms on toast
Raised doughnuts
Coffee

LUNCHEON
Fish fritters
Cucumber Sauce
Buttered hot crackers
Cocoa
Friars omelet

DINNER
Rice soup
Beefsteak and oyster pie
Baked sweet potatoes
Beet root and Spanish onion salad
Nottingham pudding
Coffee

A filling round of menus, the curious landing on buttered hot crackers, friars omelet and Nottingham pudding. Friars omelet isn’t listed in the recipes for the date, but found on page 40 under Sunday, January the Twenty-Fourth

HOT BUTTERED CRACKERS
Lightly butter a sufficient number of milk crackers, and place in a dripping pan, being careful they do not overlap each other; place in hot oven, and watch them carefully until they are crisped and light-brown. 

* they are literally buttered crackers!
** yes you can still by milk cookies – Royal Lunch  makes them! (Obscure Christmas gift anyone?)

FRIAR’S OMELET
Stew and sift six large apples; while hot add one cupful sugar, one teaspoonful butter. When cool add three beaten eggs. Heat a large tablespoonful of butter and brown in cupful stale, fine bread crumbs. Butter a mold, sprinkle crumbs on bottom and sides; fill with prepared apple, to which add juice of one lemon, cover with crumbs; bake a half-hour. When cool turn out on a platter, eat with sugar and cream. It can be eaten hot if preferred. 

*not sure what oven temp, try 350-400

NOTTINGHAM PUDDING
Sift together thoroughly two cups of sifted flour, two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder, on salt-spoonful of salt, add one and one-half cups of milk, one-half cup of cream and four eggs not beaten, and beat until very light and smooth. Pare and core six apples, put them in a baking dish and if quite tart sprinkle over one cup of sugar. Pour the batter over them and bake one hour. Serve with cream sauce, made as follows: Cream together one-quarter of a cup of butter and one-half cup of powdered sugar. Add two tablespoonfuls of cream and the same of fruit sauce. Thoroughly beat and heat over hot water, but only just enough to remove the curdled look. 

* no oven temp listed,  try 400
** this recipes has ancestry back to medieval days!

Pause for CUTENESS!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Isn’t she the CUTEST pupper? This lovely lady is Clarabelle! We met up in peak fall colors for a session to celebrate her and her newly engaged parents! And don’t let the RBF fool you, she was full of spunk and personality! 

Onward, towards the prep for next week’s grand meal! 

Mrs. P.B. Gehr of Riverside, Ill is the contributor for the feast day’s menu.

MENU FOR THANKSGIVING

BREAKFAST
Stewed prunes
Boiled rice with cream
—
Codfish à la mode
Sweet potatoes browned
White and brown bread
—
Pancakes
Coffee

DINNER
Bisque of oysters
—
Planked whitefish, lemon and walnut sauce
—
Roast turkey with chestnut filling
Cranberries
Olives
Celery
Chestnut croquettes
Mashed white potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes
—
Mashed turnips
—
Sweetbread salad
—
Mince pie
Pumpkin pie
Ice cream
Nuts
Black coffee
Raisins

LATE LUNCHEON
Welsh rarebit
Thin bread and butter
Chocolate cake
Buttercup jelly
Cocoa

HOT DANG, what a FEAST! And it seems that there were courses, with the oysters and whitefish leading the extravaganza. Overall the main menu still holds a similarity to our modern day Thanksgiving meal.  

After the menus, 11 recipes follow. These include the recipes for: Bisque of Oysters, Planked Whitefish, Walnut Fish Sauce, Roast Turkey with Chestnut Filling, recipe for the filling, Roast Chestnuts, Chestnut Croquettes (a most delicious accompaniment to turkey), Sweetbread Salad, Mince Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Cream Cake and Buttercup Jelly. 

*Sweetbreads are typically the thymus or pancreas of a calf or lamb. 

VINTAGE ROAST TURKEY
Get a plump, young twelve-pound turkey. Singe it over a burning newspaper on a hot stove. Draw, being careful not to break any of the internal organs. Rinse out with several waters, using teaspoonful of baking soda in next to the last. Wipe dry inside and out. Rub the inside with a little salt and fill. 

* assumption is that to draw a turkey means to remove the innards as turkeys would have been bought from the butcher or butchered at home. 

The eternal question: How long to thaw a frozen turkey?
– 24 hours per 5 pounds in the refrigerator 

So a 20 pound bird would take 4 days to full thaw.  Plan accordingly!

FILLING FOR ROAST TURKEY
Roast about thirty chestnuts; peel, removing the inner husk also. Take ten of these with the liver and pound well; add a little minced parsley, a sliver of onion, salt and pepper, the yolks of two eggs; put this into the crop and sew up. Cut into inch lengths five or six links of small sausage that have previously been fried in butter until half done; add a sup of bread crumbs, a large kitchenspoonful of butter, pepper and salt; add the reming chestnuts whole, and fill the body. Sew up with strong thread. Tie the legs and wings to the body and fasten securely with skewers; rub over a little soft butter, salt and pepper, dredge with flour. Wrap in slices of bacon and place in dripping-pan. Baste often, allowing twenty minutes to a pound in a moderate oven. It should be browned evenly all over. Boil the giblets until done. Mince very fine and add to the gravy. 

*Chestnuts were common, from the American chestnut trees. The chestnut blight happened in the early 1900s. American chestnuts are considered extinct, so all modern chestnuts are from Chinese chestnut trees. 

CHESTNUT CROQUETTES
Use fifty French chestnuts, two gills of cream, two tablespoonfuls butter, saltspoon of salt, four egges and some sifted bread crumbs for breading. Shell the chestnuts, put into a stewpot with enough water to cover. Boil thirty minutes. Drain off the water and pound the nuts until very fine; add one tablespoonful of the butter and pound until well mixed; add balance of butter and salt and pound ten minutes, then add the cream, a little at a time. When it is all worked in rub the mixture through a sieve. Beat three eggs until light and stir into that which has been strained. Place in a double boiler and cook eight minutes, stirring constantly. It should by this time be smooth and thick, if the water in the outer boiler has been boiling rapidly. Spread on a large platter to cool. When cold, butter the hands and mold into balls or cones. Dip into the fourth egg, then into the bread crumbs; fry a minute and a half. Arrange on a warm napkin and serve. 

* 1 gill = 1 teacup = 4 fluid ounces
** 1 saltspoon = 1/4 teaspoon

PUMPKIN PIE
Pie should be at least an inch thick. Two cups stewed pumpkin, one teaspoonful ginger, half teaspoonful salt, two-thirds cup of sugar, half teaspoonful cinnamon, two eggs, one scant pint milk. Mix sugar, spice and salt together, stir into the pumpkin; add eggs and milk. There should be one quart when finished. Line a tin plate with good pastry, fill with the mixture and bake forty-five minutes. To please the children, cut from thin pastry the letters spelling “Thanksgiving” and lay on the top when half baked. 

* No pastry instruction seems very common for pies of this era. Passed from your mothers and grandmothers, pasty would be something you just knew how to do or had an ancient handwritten recipe from the pie makers of the past. 
** Oven temp: start at 425 and drop to 350,  or try a straight 375. Seems to be ample variation for modern pumkin pies. 

And for giggles, Welsh Rarebit for late luncheon, found on pg 27, 400 & 411

WELSH RAREBIT, quick
Grate one pint of cheese. Sprinkle on it half a teaspoonful of mustard, one-fourth a teaspoonful of salt and a speck of red pepper. Heap this on slices of buttered toast and put in the oven until cheese begins to melt, when hurry to the table. 

WELSH RAREBIT #2
Scald one-quarter cup of milk. Stir into this when hot one cupful of grated cheese, with which has been mixed one-quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, one-quarter spoonful of mustard (dry) and a dash of cayenne. When the cheese is melted add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs; stir and cook a minute and pour over hot toast. In preparing a rarebit by this method a rich crumbly cheese should be used, as skimmed milk cheese will not melt, but main in the liquid as a tough mass. 

WELSH RAREBIT #3
Half a pound of fresh cheese, two eggs, one-quarter saltspoonful cayenne, one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of mustard, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-half cup cream. Break the cheese in small pieces, and put it and the other ingredients in a light sauce-pan, which put over boiling water. Stir until the cheese melts; then spread the mixture on slices of hot crisp toast. Serve at once. Water may be used instead of cream. 

Whew! What an adventure into the cooking of yesteryear! If you create any of these epic dishes, let us know! 

From here forward, we’ll be focusing on some of our favorite small businesses that are dog related – from treats, to accessories, to artwork and more. Perfect for the upcoming season of giving & gifting. 

We’ll also step into a short series of how to use Christmas lights successfully in pictures with your dog. 

The day’s recipes will be shared from 1896, and there may be a section of dogifying recipes – which would be taking classics, obscures and tastys, then turning them into dog friendly options. 

If there’s anything you want to learn, drop us a line! We love to help you any way we can in the world of knowledge!

Snuggle in, share your love in a grand gathering (virtual or in person), stuff yourself to the brim and celebrate family & friends. We appreciate each and every one of you. 

The Week Before Thanksgiving – the meal, what dogs can & can’t eat and beyond! Read More »

Mid Month Friday

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Mid month Friday.  2 weeks prior to the gathering of family and food, 2 weeks prior to the black weekend (which per Target / Walmart / others is the “old” way to do it, so the ENTIRE month of November is Black Friday.) An average Friday, on an average date, back into the winter vibes with the snow and crisp 20s temperatures. The birds are adorable as they fluff into poofs, keeping warm as they squabble over the birdseed bits. 

Ooooooo….

In a curious look up, today is actually an awesome day (no not donuts, cake or coffee). Today is: World Kindness Day.

In all the hoopla of our daily lives, today is a grand encourager to remember kindness. The “new normal” means you can’t dole out a plethora of hugs as a kind gesture. Perhaps it could be shoveling your neighbor’s sidewalk, paying it forward at the grocery store or coffee shop, or giving the extra care and appreciation to everyone we meet throughout the day. Yes, masks make it a bit more challenging to convey a smile when out with others. Give open gestures, bright eyes and trust me, those smiley crows feet wrinkles still show up around your eyes when you do crack a ginormous smile. 

Be kind. 

Not just today, but as we begin to create our new forward momentum in this “new normal”. 

The best way to thwart the early onset winter blues: a sassy husky pup (she was 6 months old during her session). This gorgeous, spunkful gal is Mishka! How freaking cute is she??? She was happy to trample the flowers, sniff and pose for treats during her summer session. She was a total sassafras and an absolute charmer!  Want to follow her sassy antics? Find her on Instagram: meanie_mishka. ( Follow her big brother Shiloh too – shiloh.the.sheltie.)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
There’s a new camera who is living with the rest of the Nikon pack – the Nikon Z6 II! 

She arrived this week, sleek, sharp and snappy. She’s a mirrorless camera, smaller and lighter, capable of ample pictures per second and a coveted 120p 1080 video (slow motion!). PLUS there’s human and animal face tracking which is mega awesome! We haven’t had much time to play as the snow came the same day she did. 

Camera #4 of the Nikon pack which includes: Nikon D5, D750, and D300s. (The starter Canon still lives here, plus a little mirrorless Sony NEX).  An exciting new adventure!

Recipe time: Into 1896. The date, as always, was a Saturday. The menu of recipes submitted by Alice Caskey of Burlington WI (6 hours away from St. Cloud, 5 hours mins away from Minneapolis, just south of Milwaukee). 

BREAKFAST
Fruit
Mushroomed cutlets
Cream toast
Coffee

LUNCHEON
Hot rolls
Mexican stew
Potato puff
Columbia cake
Tea

DINNER
Pumpkin soup
Fried rabbits à la Creole
Mashed potatoes
New England apple pie
Coffee

A hearty menu, mushroomed cutlets is interesting (uses the mushrooms as a coating for frying). No idea what cream toast is (could be simply a cream sauce over toast?) and the recipe for the pumpkin soup starts: “This is a novelty and delicious.” The New England apple pie, as most pie recipes in this cookbook has no recipe for the pastry, merely the ingredients to go within the pie. (There’s “a wee dash of red pepper” in this apple pie recipe – plus the recommended apples are Baldwin or Greening.)

The curiosities lie in Mexican stew and the Columbia cake (seems we prefer desserts over savory…).

MEXICAN STEW
A large cupful of cold, cook and minced chicken. Take half the quantity of uncooked ham cut in very small dice, both fat and lean, and fry for a moment in a tablespoonful of butter, add the chicken, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a dash of pepper, and when very hot stir in two heaping cupfuls of boiled seasoned rice. Toss all lightly together, and give just a dash of lemon juice. 

* Half the quantity of uncooked ham seems to be half the amount of the chicken – half a cup
** Not sure what seasonings might be used in the rice – perhaps Mexican/Tex-Mex influence?
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COLUMBIA CAKE
– Three eggs
– One teacupful sugar
– One tablespoonful butter
– One and one-half teacupfuls flour
– Half a teacupful of cold water
– One teaspoonful of baking powder
– One teacupful of chopped hickory nut meats

Beat the sugar and butter to a cream, add the yolks of the eggs, beat well, add the water, then the flour and baking powder; mix well, add the nut meats and then the well beaten whites of the eggs. 

And… that’s it.
With cooking and baking handed down from cook to cook, it was assumed that the knowledge of how hot an oven and the duration of time for a cake is assumed. 

* 1 teacupful = 4 ounces / 1 cup = 8 ounces, thusly 1 teacupful may be half of a cup
** teacupful is an approximate measure – you would literally take a teacup and use it to measure ingredients / 2 teacups = 1 coffeecup (there’s a wiki on approximate measurements – how many have you heard of?)
*** bake time try: 30-40 mins / bake temperature try: 325 to 450

In the food exploration: mascarpone cheese

Baking & cooking shows, a favorite of mine throughout the year, often mention adding mascarpone to mixtures. So we quested, to the fancy land of Lunds & Byerlys. (Actually the quest was for allspice, but since we were there… Opal apples and mascarpone!). Tucked by the fancy cheeses, somewhere between mozzarella and feta, in a quaint little tub, one of a kind. Snagged. 

The taste test: it’s like an earthy, less tangy cream cheese
(cream cheese is a relative, made from milk, whereas mascarpone is made with cream.)
– eaten with: ginger cookies, in the dinner salad (the blue cheese took over) and on homemade banana bread
– tasty, super soft, spreads like butter

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The next curious in food exploration: persimmons 

Atomic Collars has been sewing holiday scarves like elves on 5 Hour Energys the week before Christmas. (Double the amount in the picture above!). Yeehaw! 

The busy pace is brought to you for the prep of the upcoming Maker’s Market in the Regency downtown St. Cloud on December 5th, from 9-2. Can’t attend a holiday market without some holiday swag! There is t-minus 22 days to get sewing, snapping and labeling! We would totally love to see you by the way! The full details can be found here: https://www.makersmarketstcloud.com/

DATE: December 5th, 9 am – 2 pm, The Regency in downtown St. Cloud. 

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PLUS Atomic Collars will be part of the Virtual Winter Artisan & Small Business Market, hosted by MPLS Parking. This virtual market runs from November 28th – December 18th and will feature tons of creative and artistic things for everyone in your family – grandparents, partner, children and furbabies! No formal link as of yet, but as soon as we have it we’ll send it your way. Plus if you do your virtual shopping via the winter market, you’ll get exclusive savings on Atomic Collars!

DATE: November 28th – December 18th, virtual

 

Snuggle in, do your early Black Friday shopping, give the Mexican stew a go and remember to be kind. 

If you need to get ahold of us (chit chat, scheduling your session, baking success or fail, etc) email:  / text or call 320-428-0135 / Facebook & Instagram

 

Mid Month Friday Read More »

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