My husband asked that I make something other than sweets (at least for today) – he can only indulge in so much! 🤣 So I decided on a much healthier recipe and, of course, it’s something very easy to make and you can make in your own kitchen too! Also, how cool is it to eat something Thomas Jefferson enjoyed.
At home in Virginia at his beloved Monticello, Thomas Jefferson had a large garden of different varieties of basically anything you can possibly think of. From herbs to fruit to the most luscious vegetables including asparagus which was one of his personal favorites.
Here’s what you will need to make Marinated Asparagus Trim the asparagus and then wash Boil until tender (about 3-5 minutes) Drain after boiling. Let the asparagus soak in cold water for a few minutes. Prepare your marinade mixture Pour the marinade gently to the asparagus. Add more eggs or parsley for garnish if needed.
In former First Lady Julia Grant’s personal memoir, she refers to the deliciousness of Maryland Biscuits and how they were a favorite in the Grant household. So…I thought I would make something that Julia Grant and her family enjoyed very much – especially since today is her birthday!
Maryland Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
4 cups unbleached flour* 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup lard or butter 1 ½ cup water, milk or cream
Directions
1: Place flour, salt and lard/butter in a mixing bowl. Cut (mix) lard into flour using finger tips until lard in mixed into flour.
2: Mix in the water, milk or cream at little at a time, mixing to create a stiff dough. Note, if dough is too dry, add a little more liquid. Too wet, add a little more flour.
3: Place dough on a work table that has been lightly floured.
4: Using a mallet or a rolling pin beat the dough until it begins to blister. This takes about a half hour.
5: pat out dough and cut into rounds or pinch dough off to make small balls about the size of a small egg and flatten a little before placing on baking sheet.
6: Place biscuits on a greased baking pan. Using a fork poke a few holes in the top of each biscuit.
7: Bake at 425 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes – until brown. Serve hot
Makes about 2 dozen biscuits.
*I used regular flour for this recipe. The biscuits came out fine – delicious!
Today in American History…former First Lady Julia Grant was born on January 26, 1826 near St Louis, Missouri. Later in life, when writing her personal memoirs, she described her childhood as “one long summer of sunshine, flowers, and smiles…”
Mrs. Grant is the first First Lady to have written her memoirs. When she passed away in 1902 the manuscript remained private and unpublished for decades.
The book, The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant (Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant), was officially published by Southern Illinois University Press in 1975.
I had some days old bread laying around I thought it would be terrible for it to go to waste so…why not make Bread Pudding? 🤔
It’s not my first rodeo with making bread pudding. I used to make it for my children when they were young and they are still quick to remind me on how I ruined the stove once (true story!) over a bread pudding disaster. Once when making it…I forgot about it (hey, mom’s get distracted!) and it leaked into the electrical board circuit of our stove. What was worse thing was that it was days before my oldest son’s high school graduation party – and I was without a stove. Over bread pudding. Ahhhh the memories 😆
Bread Pudding has literally been around for centuries. It was initially named “poor man’s pudding” because it was a popular dessert in the lower classes in English society.
The original idea and concept for the bread pudding evolved out of necessity because it was used as a way to prevent food from being wasted and just thrown out when deemed old. Rather than throwing out stale bread homemakers would soak the bread in a sweet and savory liquid and then bake it in a dish in the oven until it was golden brown and then serve it warm.
If you have some days old bread laying around your kitchen and don’t know what to do with it – make up a batch of bread pudding. It’s so delicious! And it’s incredibly easy to make.
Everything you will need to make Bread Pudding (I omitted the Nutmeg because the hubby isn’t a Nutmeg fan. Also made my own Heavy Cream* since I didn’t have it on hand) Bread cut into 1 inch chunks. I used old Wonder Bread Sandwich Bread. After greasing your dish, lay the bread chunks evenly in the bottom of your dishWhisking together the milk, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract and cinnamonPour the mixture evenly over the bread pieces. Make sure to coat all of them. Then let this sit for about 20-25 minutes for extra soaking. Now it’s ready to bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees for 50-55 minutesThis is what you will need to make the yummy vanilla sauce The vanilla sauce is being made while the bread pudding is in the oven Ahhhh the Bread Pudding is fresh out of the oven And the vanilla sauce is slowly added Ready to eat ☺️
* What if you don’t have heavy cream?
To make 1 cup of heavy cream, melt 1/4 cup of butter and slowly whisk in 3/4 cup milk. This works for most baking or cooking recipes that require heavy cream, but it will not whisk into stiff peaks. You’ll need the real thing for that.
It’s a cold dreary Saturday here in Virginia and I thought…perfect day for baking! While researching Civil War recipes I came across an Orange-Lemon Cake that was one of General Robert E. Lee’s favorite. It’s like a chiffon cake – with all of the egg whites and yumminess included. Here’s the recipe.
Here’s what you will need to get started Sift the cake flour along with the baking soda + cream of tartar Sometimes I think the only thing that I ever learned in high school was to separate an egg 🤣 Here I separated the eggs into each bowl (all 9 of them!)Combine the egg yolks + sugar in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer until yellow. Adding the vegetable oil to the egg and sugar mixture Lemons and oranges. I love the smell of citrus! Add the flour mixture until it’s well blended. Then add the lemon rind and lemon juice 🍋 Beat the egg whites and salt until frothy and stiff peaks form Combine the egg white mixture and flour together. Line your baking pans with parchment paper and grease them really well Pour into baking pans While the cake is baking…start preparing your icing 👍Cream the butter. Add the egg yolks and beat very well. Then add the powdered sugar and grated orange rind alternately with the orange juice. After the cake has cooled, ice the cake and decorate with orange slices🍊 Oh my. So good! 😋😋😋
Today in American history…Michelle Obama was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She would go on to become the First Lady of the United States when her husband, Barack Obama, was sworn in as our 44th President on January 20, 2009.
In honor of Mrs Obama’s birthday, we made her cookie named “White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie” she had submitted to Family Circle Magazine for the cookie bake-off against Anne Romney in 2012. It was said that the winner of the cookie contest’s husband would be elected to the Presidency. Mrs Obama’s cookie did win the contest that year and as they say…the rest is history. For the recipe please click here.
Michelle Obama’s award winning White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie
Barack Obama was our first African American President and Michelle Obama the first African American First Lady.
“Barack and I were both raised by families who didn’t have much in the way of money or material possessions but who had given us something far more valuable–their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves,” part of Mrs Obama’s speech at the 2012 Democratic Convention.
Wishing you a wonderful Birthday, Mrs Obama. Thank you for “opening the doors” for many and being such an inspiration to all.
In honor of Dr Martin Luther King’s Birthday yesterday and celebrating his legacy today on Martin Luther King Day we made his favorite dessert in the kitchen tonight – Pecan Pie! We used the recipe here to make this sweet deliciousness and it’s so simple that you can make it in your own kitchen tonight.
Homemade Pecan Pie Dr King and his family enjoying a meal together. Maybe the dessert was Pecan Pie!
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened (I prefer to use the real deal aka butter)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas – which is about 3 to 4 medium bananas. The darker the better – as my grandma used to say! As a kid I used to get grossed out by my grandma’s “mushy, black” bananas but now that I’m older? I totally get it 👍
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired (I use walnuts)
Directions
Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven.
Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.
Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans: 8 1/2×4 1/2×2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches (I used one loaf pan of 9x5x3 inches)
Mix sugar and butter in large bowlStir in eggs until well blendedAdd those “mushy” bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth.Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened.Don’t forget the nuts! Now pour into the greased pan
For 8-inch loaves, bake about 1 hour. If you are using a 9-inch loaf pan bake about 1 1/4 hours, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack.
Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.
PS. What if you don’t have buttermilk on hand? No problem! You can easily substitute by mixing 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar and enough milk to make 1/2 cup. Or substitute with 1/2 cup plain yogurt.
Now the fun part. Time to indulge in homemade banana bread – with tons of butter on top! 😋
We made former First Lady Barbara Bush’s famous chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen tonight. Mrs Bush was known for her friendliness and fun but above all – she was truly dedicated and loyal to her family. It’s not surprising at all that she would have a treasure trove of family recipes and how generous it was of her to share them so that we could enjoy them too!
Barbara Bush’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups instant oatmeal 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 package (12 ounces) chocolate chips
Directions
Blend the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs. Sift and add the flour. Add the baking soda and salt. Add and mix in the oatmeal, vanilla and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy!
The Historical Homemaker 