Welcome to the Old Fashioned Living Newsletter
We hope you are enjoying the
Old Fashioned Living newsletter! October is just about gone, that means that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. Here are some great recipes, fun crafts, helpful tips, and menu ideas. We welcome your feedback and comments, so please feel free to add your two cents at the end of this newsletter by clicking on the word "comment".
In This Issue
Kitchen: Cooking with Apple Cider
Crafter's Attic: Whimsical Corn Husk Dolls
Home and Hearth: Cast Iron Cookware
Tea Time: Apples and Honey Tea Party
Holidays:
KITCHEN
Cooking with Apple Cider
Autumn not only brings the arrival of apples, but of fresh apple cider. Nothing beats a cool fall day treat of cake doughnuts and a tall glass of fresh cider. If you can't make it to a local orchard you will find cider in the produce section of your grocery store as well.
Don't miss out on this traditional autumn treat. Buy an extra gallon and save it for the following recipes!
CRAFTER'S ATTIC
Whimsical Corn Husk Dolls
Cornhusk dolls have been made by Native American girls and women for more than a thousand years, probably since the growing and harvesting of corn began. They in turn passed this craft down to the Colonial families.
It was a time when nothing was wasted and a purpose was found for everything. Today we can still make these whimsical dolls with our children!
Supplies you will need are corn husks, fresh or dried, string, cotton balls, or scraps of batting, scraps of cloth, cording or ribbon, beads, and buttons.
To get the instructions for these fun dolls please visit Whimsical Corn Husk Dolls
HOME and HEARTH
Cast Iron Cookware
It has been said, over and over in fact, that there is nothing better than food prepared in a cast iron pan. Several dishes, including Mexican fajitas, Cajun seafood, sausage & eggs, and of course, cornbread, are hailed as delicious when prepared in these pans. Cast iron is also the cookware of choice amongst serious campers and hikers, but be sure to bring the pack mule, this stuff is heavy!
Why Cast Iron?
There are several reasons that people rave about this type of cookware, many won't use anything else. Besides being an ideal heat conductor, cast iron heats evenly and consistently, is inexpensive, and will last a lifetime with the proper care. When seasoned, a cast iron pan will be stick resistent and provide delectable meals every time.
To read the rest of this article please visit Cast Iron Cookware
TEA TIME
Apples and Honey Tea Party
Nothing welcomes autumn like apples and honey. Delight your guests with the scent and flavor of apple butter, an herbal honey tasting, and all the breads, cakes, cookies and tarts you can make with these wonderful ingredients. All of the recipes are here in the recipe index under the listed category. Please sign my guest book and let me know how you enjoyed this menu.
The Setting:
A bowl of beautiful fall apples on every table
A honey tasting, with apple slices for dipping
A game of "hide and seek" the honey bear for the little ones
A chance to enjoy the sweetness in life with good friends
HOLIDAYS
Native Bounty of Autumn
Some of the wild bounty from the field and gardens of the Native Americans and early settlers included squash, pumpkins, and corn. From the natives, the Plymouth and Jamestown settlers learned to cook these foods and prepare palatable dishes.
Of course, these colonists from England created their own variations and came up with recipes that have become part of our American culinary heritage. Methods of cooking corn followed largely the Indian ways of preparing grits or hominy (rockahominy), succotash (misickquatash) and samp(nasamp) or corn meal mush.
