Puddings on the High Seas!

Currently, I am reading Book #19 of 21 of the Master and Commander series, "The Hundred Days". As I have said before, it's a wonderful series of the adventures of Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey, his good friend Dr. Stephen Maturin (Irish activist, and spy for the British government...shhhh!), and the enduring crew of the Surprise. At the moment, political intrigue abounds regarding Napoleon Bonaparte ("Old Boney"). Is he still in power? Is he planning conflict on land as well as at sea? We will find out as the book unfolds.

But, meanwhile, daily life goes on for Aubrey and his mates, the continual daily washing of decks, the exercising the great guns, the Sunday church rigged with the reading of the Articles of War, etc etc. And, of course, there are accounts of Aubrey's famous dinners for the high-ranking officers of ships under his overall command. He is a Commodore now.

And this is where I spend some time with you today, to tell you about the wonderful if unusually-named desserts served out with the after-dinner port and cognacs at the Commodore's table. These desserts are prepared by his faithful cabin servant Killick, a crusty old crank of a man, whose claim to fame is keeping the Aubrey's uniform to as perfect a condition as possible, and polishing the silver serving platters to an incredible gleam.
Not an easy task given that he is responsible for all the Captain's meals, cooking and mending and cleaning all in a very tiny space, a closet really, just off the great cabin.

The first dessert, he has often prepared (a favorite of Aubrey), is the famed, or infamous-named, Spotted Dick (or Dog).  The recipe is as follows:
8 oz. flour, 1 pinch salt, 4 oz suet, 1 oz sugar, 8 oz currants or raisins, 150 ml cold water. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, suet and fruit. Mix into a dough with water. Form it into a ball, and put on a warm, damp cloth. Sprinkle with sugar. Roll up the dough and leave to expand in size a bit. Put into a pan of boiling water, cover and boil for 2 hours. Add more water if needed. Turn out onto a serving platter, and serve with custard sauce. Yumm!

The second: Plum Duff

This has a more cordial name, as it were. But, in looking at the definition, "duff" is also a slang word for buttocks. So, here goes the recipe: 2 large eggs, 1/2 c vegetable shortening, 1 c brown sugar, 2 c cooked prunes, 1 c flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tbs cold milk. Beat eggs. dissolve sugar in hot, melted shortening. Add to eggs. Add cooked prunes after draining and mashing. Sift flour, and add. Dossolve soda in milk and add.
Fill greased pudding mold 2/3 full, cover and steam one hour. Serve with rum sauce. Very tasty, but may add to the general size of one's buttocks!

The third: Suet Pudding

Suet, as you may not know, is fat from beef or mutton. So, don't be shy, and give it a try! 1 c brown sugar, 3/4 c ground suet, 1 egg beaten, 1/2 c milk, 2 c flour, 1 tsp sode, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 c chopped walnuts, 1 c raisins cooked, cooled, drained.Mix sugar and suet. Stir in eggs, milk. Sift dry ingredients together and add. Stir til blended. Fold in nuts and raisins. Spoon into steamer pan or pudding mold. Put wax paper loosely over mold to prevent steam collecting on pudding. Steam 3 hours, remove and serve.

I can't decide which I like best, but if you were months at sea, probably eating alot of fish, or salted beef, I think any one of these desserts, or puddings as the English call most any dessert, would be a welcome ending to any meal, especially if served with the ports and cognacs, and some good music as well. Remember, Aubrey and Maturin are famous for their violin and cello offerings. Give a look below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL9ahJBgbwI

 

And, who are you wearing tonight?

I spent the better part of last Sunday afternoon on the Red Carpet, or rather, watching the celebrities walk the famed RC for the Academy Awards. It's always fun to see the glitterati arrive in all their haute couture splendor, the gowns of dreams, costing upwords of tens of thousands of dollars, millions in  jewelry (sometimes their own, but most often borrowed), all for one special night.

The press alsways asks the famous question, "Who are you wearing?" to which the actor or actress gives a shout-out to their designer, "Oh! Dior, of course!", "Well, I always wear Armani!" or "This is vintage Valentino!" Of course, no matter who you arrive with, you hope to go home with Oscar!

Anyway, I noticed one person in particular who seemed to be sporting an 18th Century do. None other than Eddie Redmayne, who played and sang the role of Marius in the current movie production of Les Miserables. Eddie's auburn locks are swept onto his temples, and amassed rather high above his forehead. It is the way he wore his hair for the movie, but it was rather interesting to see it paired with a contemporary tux.

This hair style is definitely a "look". And a look that has been done before. We often think the latest hair, make-up and clothing trends are always something new, but many harken back to another time. And, we generally think fashion is for girls, but here we are wrong.

In fact, we can than George Bryan "Beau" Brummel, (1788-1840) for bringing men into the fashion scene. An iconic figure, friend of the future King George IV, he established the dress for men that rejected the overly ornate in favor of the classic, understated, perfectly tailored suit. The look was based on darker tones, full length trousers rather than knee breeches, the beautiful linen shirt and perfectly knotted cravat.

Beau was known to take five hours to dress, and polished his boots with champagne! They always say women take years to dress. Now, I'm not so sure! Ha ha

In London, today, there stands a wonderful statue of Beau in the heart of the city's high fashion menswear area, Jermyn Street. All the best of the best clothing, accessories, walking sticks, leather goods, hats,smoking/pipe goods, ties and kerchiefs are there.

For all you guys who know good fashion, or hope to, take a stroll down Jermyn one day! You won't be disappointed.

Beyond the Blue Horizon

I just finished a wonderful book, "Beyond the Blue Horizon: How the Earliest Mariners Unlocked the Secrets of the Oceans", by Brian Fagan. Fagan is an author of archaelogical books, a professor emeritus of Anthropology at UCSB in California, and an intrepid sailor, who has voyaged every ocean on the planet.

The premise of the book is the question of why do men go down to the sea in ships. For time in memorium, men have been venturing out in sea-going vessels from the most primitive dug out canoes and leather boats, to today's modern, nuclear miracles. But the question of why primitive man would have headed out to sea, not to neighboring islands seen to the naked eye, but past the horizon, to the unknown, the uncharted territory, is what Fagan explores.

The author says it goes way beyond the interest, curiosity or daring of wanting to know what's out there. In fact, he says, that with primitive man believing in monsters and wrathful gods out there somewhere, he hardly would want to confront the open water. Certainly trade and social engagement with neighboring societies fits the scenario for close-range sailing or paddling, but not for voyaging into the unknown.

He notes that little by little these ancient mariners learned the ways of navigation by stars, by currents and tides, by trade winds, handing down their expertise to their sons, and in turn their sons. Making one's way in the open ocean was a bit of a rite of passage. Of course, there is the Homer's Odyssey with Odysseus encountering the sea and all its blessings and curses. Later, Early Christian saints took on the passage to spread the Word, like St. Brendan.

In the 1400's, exploration, colonization and trade was the thing, but ships were better built and stocked and there was benefit of sextant and astrolabe. Full scale battles at sea have been recorded through history. In the 1500's the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the Elizabeth I's British fleet was on the grand scale, and of course, Lord Nelson's conquests at the Battle of the Nile and of Trafalgar are the stuff of legends.


But the initial question remains. Why did men go out in the first place? The answer is still a bit illusive, but those who do go are forever captivated.

See below a couple quotes regarding the sea, to ponder:

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore. - Vincent Van Gogh

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides. - Jules Verne

By the way, one of my next books on the agenda is Jules Verne's "Twenty-thousand Leagues Under the Sea". Perhaps Verne will shed some light on what's down there!!

 

Gold Rush!

Recently I took a day trip to Calico Ghost Town, in California, just outside of Barstow, not too far from the Nevada border. It makes for a fun outing, stepping back in time, basically to the mid-1800's when it was a booming silver mining town. When silver was devalued, people lost interest, and moved away.

It got me to thinking about mining in the 18th Century, in the United States. The first actual documented gold mining took place in Virginia in 1782, but it was not until the discovery at Reed's Farm in 1799 in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, that real excitement took hold!

In 1799, a man named Conrad Reed, son of a Hessian soldier found a 17 lb. rock in a creek on his family farm. The boulder was tinged yellow and for three years, it served as a door stop, until a jeweler in 1802, recognized it for what it was worth! A golden nugget!!! Reed sold it for a whopping $3.50, thinking he got the better end of the deal. It's real at the time value was about $3,600.

By 1803, though, Reed organized a small mining operation, and then a slave found a larger rock, this time 28 lbs worth! Reed continued to mine, placer mining, as it was called. This is the type where gold is extracted from alluvial deposits, dirt or gravel, basically panning. Later Reed began underground mining, or lode mining. Eventually he died a very rich man. All the gold came off his very own property. You can visit the Reed Mine today, a state historical site.

By the way, it was Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, under George Washington, who priced the American dollar by the "gold standard", which at the time amounted to a little more than 24 grains of gold, about 1/20 of an ounce, or about $19.39. This price of gold remained in place until 1934!

A Muse-ical Treat!

I've been listening to a wonderful album, a gift from a friend. It's Rameau's "Une Symphonie Imaginaire". Lovely music, with my particular favorite being the tract,  "Les Boreades - Entree des Polymnie". It's serene, and I find myself close to tears at parts of it.

I wanted to know a bit more about the composer, and the work. Jean Philippe Rameau (at right) was one of the most important French composers, yet little is known of his early years.  He was born in 1683 and lived until 1764. He won fame in 1720, for his Treatise on Harmony.  He later embarked on a career of operatic writing. He was embraced, and later attacked for being "establishment" by those who preferred the Italian operatic sound. His music fell out of favor in the 18th Century, and only came once again to the fore in the 20th Century, where there is now a renewed appreciation.





 I looked into the Entree des Polymnie, and not knowing what the Polymnie was, I was surprised and delighted to see that it is not a thing, but a person, a female, a muse! Polymnie is one of the artistic muses, for sacred poetry, as a matter of fact, from Greek mythology. She is depicted as serious, pensive, meditative.  The music also has that quality. Give it a listen sometime. The exchange, or dialog, between strings and horns is so moving, heart-wrenching. You won't be disappointed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V8O8W30sH4

Love in all its Splendor!

For all you romantics, tomorrow is Valentine's Day!

 

I remember when I was in elementary school, we made Valentines for every member of the class, and at lunch time, along with heart-shaped cookies and punch, we exchanged them, putting them in our handmade, red construction paper files. We decorated these files as we wished, with cut-out hearts and rick-rack, filled them with the cards, and took them home to enjoy. There were always the tiny heart candies with stamped messages. We would giggle at recieving them. The teacher made sure it was all fun and fair, and I recall the event with delight.

 

Of course, later on, Valentine's Day gets more complicated, with the fear of sending a card to a person in friendship, and having it misinterpreted, or planning a special occasion for one's true love who all but forgets the day, and not getting a card or gift at all. Ah...the possibility of the broken heart. These days, I throw caustion to the wind, and send cards to friends and family that I hold dear. The joy is in the doing.

 

But I do love the idea of Love in all its Splendor. I found a beautiful poem written by John Gay, an English poet (1685-1731) about a sailor away from home. It's called Sweet William's Farewell to Black-eyed Susan. It's sentiment is so lovely:

 

"Believe not what the landmen say,

Who tempt with doubts thy constant mind:

They'll tell thee, sailors when away

In ev'ry port a mistress find.

Yes, yes, believe them when they tell thee so,

For thou art present whereso'er I go."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doesn't that deserve a sigh! By the way, John Gay was the man who wrote The Beggar's Opera, a comedy and political satire, a "ballad" opera, in which songs are song to advance the story, but there are no recitatives (or spoken parts). The Beggar's Opera is a three act play, written in 1728, and involves the lives of a group of thieves and prostitutes in 18th Century London. See Hogarth's painting of the opera at right above.

 

I send my readers my very best wishes for a lovely Valentine's Day, whatever you plan, or better yet, be surprised with. I send a special hug and kiss to my daughter and her husband, who, a couple years ago, enjoyed a special and private wedding on Valentine's Day, just for themselves. Now, that's romantic!

 

 

 

And sew on, and sew forth......

I have begun watching a new lecture series on Henry VIII. Extremely interesting. In setting up a background of Henry, the lecturer remarks that of all the English kings, in fact of all the kings throughout history, Henry VIII always jumps to mind, if not first among them all, at least among the top ten. A towering figure, physically and historically, Henry looms large!

In fact, from an 18th Century perspective, Henry was one of the most popular figures to emulate at the Masquerades, costume parties/masqued balls, that the nobles at court enjoyed in the 1700's.

The lecturer of the series made reference to a book of sewing patterns that courtiers could refer to when planning their "get up!" Called the "Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Ancient to Modern (1757-1772)", it was compiled by Thomas Jefferys, who was originally the cartographer to King George III.  Jefferys lived from 1719 to about 1772, and was quite a draftsman and artist. His maps are very well known, but his drawings of all kinds of native dress are truly beautiful. He captures different walks of life from many parts of the globe, including noblemen and common men alike. The complete work is in four volumes! 

At that time, there was quite an interest in the Middle East and things "Turkish". Remember Mozart's opera, Abduction from the Seralio", the seralio another name for harem. The story takes place in Turkey, or at least, in far off exotic lands of the Ottoman Empire.  

With Mardi Gras here, it begs the question, who will have a costume party?              And what will one wear?

 

 

Picture This!

I have been watching a wonderful lecture series on the History of European Art, from 800AD to the birth of modern art and the early 1900's. 48 lectures in all, they are fascinating, with a very accomplished and knowledgeable professor from the Smithsonian Art Institute explaining the most important and historically significant pieces of scultpure, paintings, drawings through the ages.

I found the section on the "Salon" very interesting, as far as art and the 18th Century is concerned. Officially established in 1725 in Paris, the Salon was an art exhibition from the Academie des Beaux-Arts, it became the greatest annual or twice-yearly art event in the Western world. It had its beginnings in France in 1674, when royalty called for art patronage, with works by recent graduates from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts on display. The event was created by Cardinal Mazarin, the chief minister of France, and gave artists the opportunity to display current work for review by the critics, and it became a mark of royal favor to be included. The artist had the chance of becoming one of the "in crowd" if their work was particularly praised, and perhaps gain a royal commission or two!

In 1725, the Salon was held in the Palace of the Louvre, and by 1737, the exhibition became a public event, begining on August 25, the feast of St. Louis, and running for a few weeks. By 1748 a jury of awarded artists was included, and from that time, the influence of the Salon went without question.

Every inch of wall space was used for the display of paintings. There are, ironically, paintings depicting the event itself, and also criticisms of the Salon as well. The artist Daumier did a satirical cartoon of one event, with people running out of the gallery, aghast at what they saw. New artistic expressions are always at the mercy of the conservative conformists. Sometimes it takes years for an artist's inspiration to be acknowledged.

The Louvre shown just above at left and right is a magnificent art piece in itself, Palace of the Kings of France, it is serious and stately but remarkably decorative too. It has stood since the 1500's. Actually it was a fortress from the 12th Century, but became a residence centuries later. In 1793 it became a museum by national decree during the French Revolution.

Today the Lourve includes an incredible glass pyramid that graces its central courtyard. In 1984 Prime Minister Francoise Mitterand commissioned the work by famed Japanese architect/artist I.M. Pei, and it was finished in 1989. Some liked it, some were aghast, but today it is an icon, part of the entire space, an homage of sorts to ancient art and the Egyptians, down through history, to a modern expression on the past.

From time in memorium, once man has established himself in relative comfort and security, he has saw fit to decorate his environment. The famous pre-historic caves of Lascaux in France attest to that! Today, what artistic achievement can you refer to that does the same?
New York City graffiti?  One of the magnificent movie theatre picture palaces from the 1930's? What do you think?

Write On!

The hand-written letter is a precious and beautiful thing, though in our 21st Century, it seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. What a shame. In today's world, folks may begin a correspondence with a thank you note, a birthday card, but it seems that the moment a relationship is established, the charm and grace of the hand-written gift is gone in favor of an email or text or phone call. That's fine, of course, better than nothing at all, but the time and effort and careful words recorded on paper is sadly over.

I marvel at the correspondence of the past. In a case like Mozart's, there remains over 1,400 letters that either he wrote to friends and family, or their letters to him. Because of this wonderful fact, we have access to the real person, from quaint and sweet letters he wrote to his sister and mother when he was on the road with his father, at about age 9 or 10. We have letters written to his father when he was a teen-ager about 17-18 when he was again travelling with his mother to Mannheim for a concert tour. They are humorous, provocative, sometimes silly or baudy. One letter written at about 20-21 years of age, to his cousin Basle, is downright naughty! Later, there are beautiful letters back and forth to his beloved wife Constanze. They are filled with inside jokes, tender musings, heartache and longing when they were apart. There is correspondence to friends and associates for help finding a post at court, or for financial assistance when times were lean. All in all, we get a real picture of the man, what he was up to, where he was going, and how he felt about all this. It's great, and we can thank Constanze for preserving these letters, and in turn, his legacy.

Sometimes, though, letters were thought too personal, none of anyone's business, and they were destroyed. This is the case with Martha Washington. When George died, she burnt all their letters! What a shame! And so, we certainly know alot about George, but more from a historic perspective than an emotional or personal portrait.

Here's an interesting bit: Letters in the 18th Century, at least in England, were paid for by the recipient, not the sender! And so, if you had any regard or compassion for the next person, you used very little paper, wrote small, AND, interestingly enough, if you ran out of room on the page, you turned your letter 90o and wrote over the writing already there!!! This was called cross-letters, and is commonly seen in old antique letters. The paper used was "laid" paper, which was marked with parallel lines or water marks, as if ribbed, from parallel wires in the mold.

Of course, one of the most important things about letter writing in the 18th Century was how carefully and respectfully one's thoughts were expressed. People addressed each other in a much more formal way, UNTIL they knew the person, over time, and with that person's permission. Today, everyone is on a first name basis whether it's called for or not, or addressed as "you guys" or "hey, man!" The nightmare of Facebook adds to the gross familiarity. Everyone knows everyone's business. There are no parameters. "Friends" air their "dirty laundry", argue or gossip on line, for all to see. Those kind of friends one doesn't need.

Isn't it lovely to go to your mail box and find an actual letter, correspondence from a friend or loved one, perhaps while on their travels, or to inform you of some wonderful news! I just cherish those moments, though I know they are few and far between. Actually, I have kept all the letters of a very dear friend, a correspondence that spans over 30 years now. I keep them in a special place, and they are bound with ribbon. We have shared so many of life's adventures, important occasions, landmarks, changes, travels. They call to me to do something special with them, and I know that inspiration will reveal itself one day. Meanwhile, I keep collecting!