Ready for a delicious adaptation for Tasty Tuesday? This recipe for Scotch Collops took some serious thought to update to something my hubby and I might enjoy. And that we could afford. Here we go!
First, as always, comes Hannah Glasse’s receipt from The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy:
To dress Scotch Collops.
Take a piece of fillet of veal, cut it in thin pieces, about as big as a crown piece, but very thin; shake a little flour over it, then put a little butter in a frying-pan, and melt it; put in your collops, and fry them quick till they are brown, then lay them in a dish. Have ready a good ragoo made thus: take a little butter in your stew-pan, and melt it, then add a large spoonful of flour; stir it about till it is smooth, then put in a pint of good brown gravy; season it with pepper and salt, pour in a small glass of white-wine, some veal sweet-breads, force meat balls, truffles and morels, ox palates, and mushrooms; stew them gently for half an hour, add the juice of half a lemon to it, put it over the collops, and garnish with rashers of bacon. Some like Scotch collops made thus: put the collops into the ragoo, and stew them for five minutes.
Lamb cuts
Whew! This one was a challenge on several fronts. First the call for veal (again) which in my area is running around $26/pound. Out of my price range. So what might I substitute? I thought of chicken, but then realized the veal would have a beef-like flavor, not a poultry taste. What else is lean and has a hearty flavor? After some thought, I decided to use leg of lamb cut thin and into small pieces. Off to the store I went… But the only leg of lamb in my local Publix grocery store was organic and cost $36! Nope. My hubby stopped at Sam’s Club on his way home, and they were sold out of leg of lamb, too. So I went to a local meat store the next day and they also were sold out of leg of lamb. I don’t understand why nobody had any all at the same time. But the lady at the meat store pointed out a package of frozen lamb cuts. Small pieces with bone, it turns out, but they were approximately the right size and shape. Or at least close enough. So that’s what I used. However, next time (and there will be a next time) I’ll use the leg of lamb cut to shape.
Notice that Mrs. Glasse says to “have ready a good ragoo” which meant I needed to fix that before I started sautéing the lamb. So let’s look next at the ingredients for the ragoo.
Butter, flour, a pint of brown gravy, pepper, salt, white wine, veal sweet-breads, force meat balls, truffles and morels, ox palates, mushrooms, and lemon juice. Whoa. Veal sweet-breads? What are they? Off to look them up only to find it’s the pancreas of the calf. Um. No. I couldn’t bring myself to include them. Sorry, Mrs. Glasse!
Fried Force Meat Balls
Okay, so force meat balls. I’d made them earlier about the same time I made brown gravy from the broth, so now that I know they’re going into a brown gravy dish, I put some into a heated frying pan and browned them on all sides. Since I made them with butter shavings, I didn’t need to use any other oil or spray in the pan. Then when they were browned I removed them from the pan and set them aside to continue with the ragoo recipe.
Diced Mushrooms
Truffles and morels and mushrooms? First, I knew truffles are a kind of fungus, but I had not heard of morels before. Turns out they’re related also to truffles and mushrooms. If I’ve eaten either of them, I couldn’t tell you what they tasted like. If you have and would like to let me in on the experience, I’m all ears. However, both truffles and morels are expensive and difficult to locate. That’s not the point of adapting these recipes, to make it expensive and challenging to prepare. So I only used white mushrooms readily available from my local grocery store.
Ox palate was next. You know, the actual roof of the mouth of an ox? Nope, sorry. I’m not even sure where I’d locate one. I could find ox tongue at my local meat store which was a good sized piece of meat (believe it or not), but no palate. So I skipped that ingredient as well. I did think about how back in the 18th century they used every piece of the animal they’d butchered. To make broth or stew or whatever. I wonder what happens to the pieces we don’t see at the grocery store? Research for another day!
RagooSauteed Lamb Cuts
I mixed the other ingredients together to simmer while I fried the bacon “rashers” or thin slices – in my case, I used what I had on hand: 2 slices of bacon halved. Once the ragoo and the bacon were ready, I sautéed the lamb cuts to brown them and cook them to medium doneness, then put them in a dish and poured the hot ragoo over, garnishing the finished dish with the bacon.
Here’s my adapted recipe…
Betty’s Scotch Collops
Ingredients:
1 lb. Lamb, boneless, cut thin
¾ cup flour, divided
2 T + 1 T unsalted butter
1 cup brown gravy
2 oz. white wine (I used chardonnay)
16 force-meat balls, browned
5 mushrooms, diced
2 oz. lemon juice (equivalent of juice of ½ of one lemon)
2 slices bacon, halved and fried until crisp
Instructions:
Cut lamb into small, thin pieces.
Scotch Collops ready to serve
Sprinkle ¼ cup flour over the meat.
Set the meat aside while you make the sauce or “ragoo”…
Melt 1 T butter in a saucepan.
Stir in ½ cup of flour until smooth.
Add gravy, seasonings, wine, force-meat balls, mushrooms and cook gently for 15-20 minutes.
Add lemon juice.
Melt 2 T butter in a deep skillet.
Brown the collops over medium-high heat.
Remove to a serving dish.
Pour the ragoo over the collops.
Garnish with bacon slices and serve.
Hubby and I really enjoyed the combination of flavors. The only problem we had was the numerous small, sharp bones that the lamb cuts contained. That’s why next time, and in my recipe above, I’m calling for boneless lamb.
You can probably tell from the ingredients that this is a rich dish. We had enough for two meals for each of us. I’d recommend pairing it with something light, like steamed broccoli or a tossed salad and maybe some garlic toast.
I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did! What do you think about truffles and morels? Have you tried them?
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Also, I’ll be sharing one chapter each month in 2017 of a new historical romance novella, Elizabeth’s Hope, the prequel to my A More Perfect Union series, with my subscribers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books (including excerpts) and upcoming events.
In 1782, the fight for independence becomes personal…
Emily Sullivan’s greatest fear is dying in childbirth, as did her twin sister and their mother. Despite her half-hearted protests, her father insists Frank Thomson is the perfect man for both her protection from the vengeful British and as a husband. Frank always loved Emily despite her refusal to return his affections. A patriot spy posing as a loyalist officer, when Frank learns Emily’s been imprisoned for her father’s privateering, he risks his own neck to free his love.
Why did I choose the Cumberland Plateau as the location for Raven Hollow, my fictional remote valley in The Touchstone of Raven Hollow? Because it’s close to my fictionalized town of Roseville, Tennessee, and has some really interesting features associated with it.
Closeup of a topographic map of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Franklin-Marion State Forest is right-center on the photo. Russell Cave is off the bottom right in Alabama.
A few weeks ago I talked about my recent trip to the Russell Cave National Monument and our hike in the real Franklin-Marion State Forest. Both the cave and the forest are located within the Cumberland Plateau which is part of the Appalachian mountain range. The Nature Conservancy is taking steps to protect this American treasure.
Photo courtesy of the Nature Conservancy
The area has been home to humans for tens of thousands of years. Imagine what it must have been like to be among the earliest of humans who lived in this region. All the towering mountains cover with thick hardwood forest. What a spectacle the fall colors across the Appalachians must have been. They still are, but the forests are not as extensive as they were before we started clearing for homes and businesses and roads.
Still we can visit the many state and national parks dotted across the area to get a glimpse into what the wilderness might have looked like way back when mankind walked among the towering trees and crossed the many rivers and waterfalls.
Today the more remote areas of the forests are being developed or used for recreational purposes, most damaging the use of ATVs among the fragile plants and waterways. As they say when entering a park of any kind, leave on footprints, take only memories.
My hubby and I enjoyed our time in the Franklin-Marion State Forest, and we made sure to leave it as we found it for the next people who visit.
What’s your favorite park, state or national or even local? Where would you like to go that you haven’t been before?
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Also, I’ll be sharing one chapter each month in 2017 of a new historical romance novella, Elizabeth’s Hope, the prequel to my A More Perfect Union series, with my subscribers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books and upcoming events.
He dug for the truth and found her magic…
Tara Golden has hidden her healing power all her life. But occasionally, she uses her abilities on people passing through town, sure they’d never figure out what saved them. Now a tall, sexy geologist is asking questions she doesn’t want to face, and he isn’t going to take no for an answer. There’s no way she would reveal her abilities and her gifted sisters for a fling.
The latest medical tests divulge geologist Grant Markel’s fatal condition is cured, but the scientist within him won’t accept it’s a miracle. When he meets the sexy, mystical witch who may hold the answer to his quest, he’s determined to prove she’s full of smoke and mirrors despite their mutual attraction.
When they are trapped in an enchanted valley, Tara must choose between her magical truth or his scientific beliefs. Can she step from the shadows to claim her true powers before it’s too late?
I’ve starting to really get into some interesting historical “receipts” to convert for Tasty Tuesday! Today we’ll look at how we can use the broth I shared here to make brown gravy and force-meat balls to use in other “made dishes” I’ll talk about in upcoming weeks. Ready?
The next step is to make the brown gravy. First, you need to realize that in my house my hubby has always made the gravy. So that’s my first challenge with this recipe. Second, I needed to translate the original recipe into something not only understandable but also to a manageable quantity. Let’s look at Mrs. Hannah Glasse’s 1802 recipe:
When you want very strong gravy, take a slice of bacon, lay it in a stew-pan; take a pound of beef, cut it thin, lay it on the bacon, slice a good peace of carrot in, an onion sliced, a good crust of bread, a few sweet herbs, a little mace, cloves, nutmeg, and whole pepper, an anchovy; cover it, and set it on a slow fire five or six minutes, and pour in a quart of the above gravy; cover it close and let it boil softly till half is wasted. This will be a rich, high brown sauce for fish, fowl, or ragoo.
Her instructions are actually the second half of the broth recipe. Since I reduced the quantity of broth, I also reduced the quantity of gravy by using smaller quantities of meat. Instead of a pound of beef, I used several pieces of stew beef that I sliced thinner. I used four baby carrots whole, and added basil and thyme as my sweet herbs. I did not use any anchovy, and used 2 cups of broth (“above gravy”) instead of one quart. For some reason, I forgot to take pictures but it was a simple simmering of ingredients and then removing the bits and pieces. My pups were happy with their treat, too!
Betty’s Brown Gravy
Ingredients:
1 slice bacon
¼ lb. stew beef, cut thin
4 baby carrots
1 small onion, sliced
1 bread crust (end slice)
Basil, to taste
Thyme, to taste
Mace, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
Cloves, to taste
2 cups soup broth
Instructions:
In a large saucepan, lay the bacon on the bottom. Layer the beef, carrots, onion, bread, and herbs and spices.
Cook on medium heat until the bacon sizzles and the beef begins to brown.
Add broth. Cover and simmer until cooked down by half.
Remove the meat, bread, and vegetables.
Store gravy tightly covered in the refrigerator or divide into containers to freeze.
Now I have brown gravy to use to make the other dishes I’ll be adapting. See, there is an order to the progression of the recipes I’ve chosen!
Another ingredient I needed to make to have on hand for the made dishes is force-meat balls. Essentially, these are small meatballs used as filler and seasoning in dishes that are similar to what we call casseroles and pot pies.
Here’s what Mrs. Glasse would have me do:
To make Force-meat Balls.
Now you are to observe, that force-meat balls are a great addition to all made dishes; made thus: take half a pound of veal, and half a pound of suet, cut fine, and beat in a marble mortar or wooden bowl; have a few sweet herbs shred fine, a little mace dried and beat fine, a small nutmeg grated, or half a large one, a little lemon-peel cut very fine, a little pepper and salt, and the yolks of two eggs; mix all these well together, then roll them in little round balls, and some in little long balls; roll them in flour, and fry them brown. If they are for any thing of white sauce, put a little water in a sauce-pan, and when the water boils put them in, and let them boil for a few minutes, but never fry them for white sauce.
So the first thing I’ll say is that I didn’t want to use veal due to the expense. Instead, I chose another lean meat, ground turkey. I think it most likely has a similar consistency as ground veal. Note that when she says “cut fine” that would end up being very similar I would think to ground meats today. At least, I think it’s close enough.
Last year I made Martha Washington’s sausage and in doing so had done research as to a proper substitute for suet, which is difficult to find in my area. The result proved interesting. Frozen stick butter that you grate/shred and blend in. So that’s what I used in this recipe as well. However, there are other substitutes you may prefer to use.
My intent with these adaptations is to make new doable recipes from the historic ones. Therefore, when she calls for sweet herbs I’m choosing from what I have in my spices and seasonings collection. So this time I thought Italian seasoning would taste good with the turkey and other ingredients. Other possibilities that come to mind are thyme, basil, dill weed, and rosemary.
Mace, cloves, and nutmeg are strong spices, so I used only a sprinkle of each. (We’ve determined that mace is a bit overpowering for us, so less is definitely more.) For lemon peel, I used lemon zest (grated lemon rind). I omitted the pepper and salt, but feel free to use them if you’d like.
For egg yolks, I put one in and then decided to use two to have the proper consistency. If you make these, then you can decide whether you want to use both or just one, depending on the quantity you’re making.
Betty’s Force-meat Balls
Ingredients
1 lb. ground turkey
1 stick unsalted butter, frozen then shredded
½ T Italian seasoning
Sprinkle of mace and nutmeg
½ tsp lemon zest
2 egg yolks
Instructions
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, breaking up any lumps of butter to evenly spread it in the mixture.
Roll the meat mixture into balls. I placed them on waxed paper for easy handling. (See note below)
Note: Uncooked balls can be divided into containers (I used quart-sized freezer bags) and frozen until needed.
I’ll talk about how I cooked these for use when I share the recipes I used them in. I kept out 17 to use in the Scotch Collops recipe for next week’s post but froze the rest in 3 batches of 12.
Take a moment to consider the large amount of food the 18th-century cook must have been making. Then think about how long it would take to fix just one meal. I imagine she was pretty relieved that the evening meal was usually cold meats and lighter fare. Keep in mind the cook would not have ready-made seasoning to sprinkle on like I did, nor already ground meat to use. I know how long it took me to figure out the recipe, let alone prepare it for use. Of course, she might have some things ready to use from making different foods, but still, I think it was quite a feat to send dinner to the table.
Next week I’ll share how to put together a made dish using these ingredients and many others! Until next time!
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Also, I’ll be sharing one chapter each month in 2017 of a new historical romance novella, Elizabeth’s Hope, the prequel to my A More Perfect Union series, with my subscribers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books and upcoming events.
I thought I’d share a little about Elizabeth’s Hope, so you know what the serialized novella is all about. And remember, it’s not on sale yet, only available for my newsletter subscribers. In each newsletter, I also include a link to the novella as released up until that point, so you won’t miss out on any of the previous chapters. Enjoy!
CAUGHT BETWEEN DUTY AND LOVE
Joining the revolutionary army was the honorable thing to do—but Jedediah Thomson hadn’t realized how long he’d be away from the lovely, spirited Miss Elizabeth Sullivan. They’d only begun their courtship when the occupation of Charles Town, South Carolina, trapped her in the city, making it dangerous to get to her.
Elizabeth Sullivan feared for her brothers, fighting for American freedom; for her father, pretending to be a loyalist; for family and friends, caught between beliefs; and most of all for Jedediah, the man she loves, who was doing his duty. She cherished every moment they had together, knowing how swiftly it could be taken away.
And that made her willing to risk everything to claim a piece of him forever….
When I was writing The Touchstone of Raven Hollow, I envisioned a forest where Tara and Grant would go hiking. I based it on the description and photos of the Franklin-Marion State Forest on the Cumberland Plateau in southern Tennessee. Since I had not been to that area, I drew upon my memory of other hikes I’ve taken in various parts of America to fill in the details of my fictional forest where they stumble upon Raven Hollow. I determined that I wanted to visit the forest for myself so I could share pictures of it with you. What with the weather and then moving from Tennessee into Alabama, it’s been months I’ve waited. But finally…
Last weekI talked about my recent trip to the Russell Cave National Monument before we continued on into Tennessee to visit the state forest. One of the roads we took I wouldn’t recommend even if we did laugh our way along its gravel and sometimes paved surface. Talk about some rough going! I wished we’d had a Jeep or something instead of the Corolla. But we made it without any issues.
We eventually found our way through the winding back country highways into the breathtakingly beautiful forest. We parked near a trail and then started walking. Now mind you, I’m not in the best of shape so I didn’t expect to go very far. We did go quite a ways, even met a trio on horseback enjoying the beautiful day in the woods.
I was surprised to find places where the gravel and dirt trail had turned to mud. It must have rained up there recently, more recently than at our house farther south. We managed to skirt some of the muddy puddles but ultimately came to a complete stop when the trail ahead and the surrounding woods turned marshy and muddy. The folks on horseback had no problem with that, but for us mere mortals on foot, that was an insurmountable obstacle so we turned back toward the car.
I noted several differences between my fictional forest and Raven Hollow. First, the state forest had no marked trailhead or defined parking lot like my story, so if you go to Franklin-Marion do not expect to find those. The terrain is a bit different but not too much, it was still fairly easy to hike and not too steep. I had hoped to see some wildflowers, but nothing was in bloom. I didn’t see any wildlife, not even birds let alone an unkindness of ravens, so that was rather disappointing. Oh, we did see one lone turtle crossing the road, but no other animals in the forest. But the trees and the contrasts of brown bark and green leaves were soothing and energizing at the same time.
Overall, though, the fictional forest in The Touchstone of Raven Hollow was pretty close to what I had conjured based on the online resources and sites I’d found.
Do you like to hike? Do you need prepared or paved trails, or are you willing to rough it more?
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Also, I’ll be sharing one chapter each month in 2017 of a new historical romance novella, Elizabeth’s Hope, the prequel to my A More Perfect Union series, with my subscribers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books and upcoming events.
He dug for the truth and found her magic…
Tara Golden has hidden her healing power all her life. But occasionally, she uses her abilities on people passing through town, sure they’d never figure out what saved them. Now a tall, sexy geologist is asking questions she doesn’t want to face, and he isn’t going to take no for an answer. There’s no way she would reveal her abilities and her gifted sisters for a fling.
The latest medical tests divulge geologist Grant Markel’s fatal condition is cured, but the scientist within him won’t accept it’s a miracle. When he meets the sexy, mystical witch who may hold the answer to his quest, he’s determined to prove she’s full of smoke and mirrors despite their mutual attraction.
When they are trapped in an enchanted valley, Tara must choose between her magical truth or his scientific beliefs. Can she step from the shadows to claim her true powers before it’s too late?
Today’s Tasty Tuesday post is about making oyster sauce from scratch. I’ve never had this kind of sauce before, so it was an interesting challenge to make it. Unlike the broth recipe that required a good deal of adjustments, this one proved remarkably simple to tweak into an easier version. Let’s start with the original recipe…
Oyster Sauce is made thus.
Take half a pint of oysters, and simmer them till they are plump, strain the liquor from them through a sieve, wash the oysters very clean, and beard them; put them in a stew-pan, and pour the liquor over them, but mind you do not pour the sediment with the liquor; then add a blade of mace, a quarter of a lemon, a spoonful of anchovy liquor, and a little bit of horse-radish, a little butter rolled in flour, half a pound of butter nicely melted, boil it up gently for ten minutes; then take out the horse-radish, the mace, and lemon, squeeze the juice of the lemon into the sauce, toss it up a little, then put it into your boats or basons.
So the first consideration was the oysters themselves. I’ve seen how oysters are shucked (opened and shells removed) and knew that was not something I wanted to include in making this sauce. Nope. So I went to my grocery store and bought a pint of oysters shucked and ready to use. That way I didn’t need to figure out how you beard an oyster…
Then the equivalencies for a “blade” of mace and “anchovy liquor.” Both easy enough to deduce. A blade is a small piece of the spice, but since the original recipe called for removing it and I’m using ground, I reduced the amount from the approximate equivalence of one-half teaspoon ground mace equals a blade, to one-quarter teaspoon. The anchovy liquor is created by simmering anchovies in water and salt, which Fish Sauce lists as the only 3 ingredients. So I used a tablespoon full of that.
The horseradish is subjective, a “little” is a matter of taste after all. I found where one tablespoon fresh horseradish is the same as two tablespoons prepared. Again, since it’s supposed to be removed, I reduced the amount to one-half tablespoon.
I love the idea of rolling butter in flour. It seems to be a fine way to measure the right proportion needed. I chose to use one tablespoon stick butter (unsalted) and rolled it in flour until covered and then added it to the saucepan.
The resulting sauce was good and I’m likely to do it again but with a few minor changes. First, we tried it with grilled steak but didn’t like the combination of flavors. The next night we had the remainder over baked salmon and we enjoyed that much more. Second, I think after simmering the oysters the first time, cutting them up a bit would make a more balanced sauce instead of having the whole oysters in it.
So here’s what I ended up with.
Betty’s Oyster Sauce
Ingredients:
8 oz. raw oysters, shucked and cleaned, ready to use
¼ tsp ground mace
¼ fresh lemon
1 T Fish Sauce
½ T creamy horseradish sauce
1 T butter rolled in flour
¼ lb butter, melted
Directions:
Simmer 8 oz oysters in their juices on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Strain and reserve the liquor.
Place oysters in a saucepan and add remaining ingredients.
Simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the lemon, squeeze the juice into the sauce.
So what do you think? Does this sound like something you’d like to try? Do you know how to shuck oysters?
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Also, I’ll be sharing one chapter each month in 2017 of a new historical romance novella, Elizabeth’s Hope, the prequel to my A More Perfect Union series, with my subscribers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books and upcoming events.
The fourth and final story in the A More Perfect Union historical romance series follows the trials and decisions of Evelyn and Nathaniel as they try to adjust to life after the British occupation of Charleston.
Determined to make her own way in the newly independent America and live free of the dictates and demands of another husband, widow Evelyn Hamilton faces soaring post-war inflation as she struggles to provide for herself and her infant son.
Militiaman Nathaniel Williams visits Charlestown, where his heart is ensnared by a smart, beautiful widow, forcing Nathaniel to make the hardest decision of his life.
Have you ever driven past a historic site multiple times yet didn’t take the time to find out what the significance of the place might be? I’ve lived in the Tennessee Valley for almost 15 years now and have driven the highway that passes the Russell Cave National Monument countless times in that span. I wanted to visit to see what northern Alabama/southern Tennessee caves looked like since, in The Touchstone of Raven Hollow, Grant and Tara end up in one. My hubby and I almost stopped in on a return trip from Virginia a few months ago, but it was a rainy day and we decided to keep going. But we finally had a free Saturday on a beautiful day in June to make the short trip to investigate the monument.
We decided to make a day of it and packed a picnic and our books to read under a shady tree. We set out mid-morning and arrived at the National Park a little after 11:00. On the way in, I saw a sign that read, “Historic Shelter Cave,” and wondered what that meant. I would soon find out.
The cave is named after a Revolutionary War officer, Colonel Thomas Russell, who once owned the land known as the Russell farm where the cave is located. We browsed through the museum in the visitor’s center, learning about the people who once lived there. We saw a likeness of what a man of that period looked like as well as the kinds of weapons and tools they would have used. They mentioned the atlatl, a kind of leveraged spear that increases the speed and force of the thrown weapon. I was reminded of reading of the same kind of hunting spear in Jean Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear series and wondered about the linkage. A quick search online revealed the history of the device. According to quart.us, they were first used in Europe (where the Clan books take place) during the Paleolithic or Stone Age around 17,000 BC. People migrating across the Bering Land Bridge brought them around 15,000 BC. The atlatls were used in North America during the Paleo-Indian and Archaic periods. I like to know the linkages between places and times to have a better grasp of the flow of history and how people moved about.
A stream flows into and through the sheltering cave where people lived and worked for thousands of years. That’s a ready supply of water without having to venture out of the cave. There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether people lived in the cave year round or only during the fall and winter, but thousands of artifacts have been found. Including the Russell point arrowhead which is a style only found in this cave. Baskets, pottery, spear points and other cutting and scraping tools, jewelry as well as the charcoal remains of fires were found inside during the archeological dig conducted by first the Tennessee Archeological Society and then by the Smithsonian Institution with support by the National Geographic society. Most if not all of the tools were made using limestone, an abundant kind of stone in the Tennessee Valley.
The cave itself seems to have some structural concerns as there are large bolts spaced across the ceiling to keep it from falling. Indeed it appears some erosion and rock fall has occurred. We saw swallows darting in and out of the shelter but no other wildlife. Overall, it’s a very peaceful place with the merry sound of the river flowing gently by and the birds calling to one another.
We ate our lunch out front of the visitor’s center where picnic tables were situated under several large deciduous trees and pines. We were surprised to be joined by an unexpected companion, an old black dog we later found out is named Scoot and is 17 years old and visits from a neighbor’s property. Scoot looks an awful lot like our Sierra dog, which was rather startling when I first saw him. He kept us company for a time, which was rather sweet of him.
After we’d finished our picnic, we packed up and headed on into Tennessee to the Franklin-Marion State Forest. Why? That’s another story I’ll share next week.
So what historical sites are in your area that you haven’t visited – yet?
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Also, I’ll be sharing one chapter each month in 2017 of a new historical romance novella, Elizabeth’s Hope, the prequel to my A More Perfect Union series, with my subscribers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books and upcoming events.
He dug for the truth and found her magic…
Tara Golden has hidden her healing power all her life. But occasionally, she uses her abilities on people passing through town, sure they’d never figure out what saved them. Now a tall, sexy geologist is asking questions she doesn’t want to face, and he isn’t going to take no for an answer. There’s no way she would reveal her abilities and her gifted sisters for a fling.
The latest medical tests divulge geologist Grant Markel’s fatal condition is cured, but the scientist within him won’t accept it’s a miracle. When he meets the sexy, mystical witch who may hold the answer to his quest, he’s determined to prove she’s full of smoke and mirrors despite their mutual attraction.
When they are trapped in an enchanted valley, Tara must choose between her magical truth or his scientific beliefs. Can she step from the shadows to claim her true powers before it’s too late?
It’s Tasty Tuesday time again! One of the basic ingredients for many of the meat and made-dish receipts, or recipes, Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy is a broth to use as a base for soup or gravy. This proved to be one of my first real challenges to adapt because the ingredients needed to be interpreted and then located. Or at least find something that was a close approximation so I could make something with a similar taste and consistency.
Here’s what Mrs. Glasse tells the 18th-century cooks to do:
To make strong Broth for Soup and Gravy
Take a shin of beef, a knuckle of veal, and a scrag of mutton, put them in five gallons of water; then let it boil up, skim it clean, and season it with six large onions, four good leaks, four heads of celery, two carrots, two turnips, a bundle of sweet herbs, six cloves, a dozen corns of all-spice, and some salt; skim it very clean, and let it stew gently for six hours; then strain it off, and put it by for use.
So the first thing I had to do was understand what a “shin,” a “knuckle” and a “scrag” meant. Also what constitutes a “head” of celery. Thank goodness for the internet! A shin is the same thing as a shank today. A knuckle refers to the lower inside back leg (who knew?). The scrag is the lean end of the neck. A head of celery is the entire thing with all its stalks.
Last week I talked here about the assumed knowledge Mrs. Glasse expected of her cooks. This recipe is a good example of that belief in her reader. The specific terms for these cuts of meat have changed since the 1800s. Or at least, I had never heard of them. She also gives little direction as to what to do with the vegetables before adding them to the pot. Leave them whole or cut them up? I suppose that since she was making 5 gallons of broth, she likely was using one of the big kettles so you wouldn’t need to cut up the vegetables to add them. But of course, I was not going to make 5 gallons of broth. First, I don’t have a pot that big. Second, what would I do with so much broth? Especially in the spring when we don’t consume as much soup.
It became quite apparent that I’d need to reduce the quantities and adjust the amount of each ingredient. So let’s take a look at what I ended up with.
A shank of beef at my local grocery store weighed probably 8 pounds or more. I asked the butcher to give me about one pound. I figured I’d never find a neck of a sheep, lean or not, so I bought one shank of lamb to serve the purpose of flavoring the broth. They did not sell veal, so I had to go to a Whole Foods store to pick up organic, pasture-raised veal slices that weighed less than half a pound and cost ten dollars. I decided I needed to find some way to use the meats after they flavored my broth; I wasn’t going to waste them. More on what I did later.
Lamb shank
Beef shank
Veal slices
For the quantity of water, I added enough to the pot to about an inch below the top, which ended up being 12 cups total.
Meats in the pot before covering with water
I roughly reduced the quantity of vegetables to about one-third to one-fourth. Note that I didn’t use nearly as much onion because my hubby isn’t a huge fan of it, and I want to add onion and garlic to the recipes I make with the broth. You can adjust to suit your taste when you try this adaptation.
I forgot to add in any carrots or the herbs! Something I realized as I’m writing this post. I should have put in half a whole carrot, or four baby carrots. I’ll be sure to add them and other herbs when I make soup or stews with the broth. I’ll include it in the ingredients here so you don’t forget to put them in yours…
The 6 cloves became 2; the 12 corns of allspice was a little trickier to figure out. 5 whole corns equals 1 tsp ground allspice. So 12 corns would be about 2½ tsp, so I used ½ tsp.
Veggies and spices for the broth – don’t forget your carrots and herbs!
See what you think…
Betty’s Strong Broth for Soup and Gravy
Ingredients
~1 pound beef shank
~½ pound (I used .4) veal slices
1 lamb shank
12 cups water
1 large yellow onion, cut into large pieces
1 leek, cut into pieces, green leaves discarded
1 head of celery, cut into large pieces
½ whole carrot, or 4 baby carrots
2 whole cloves
Herbs to taste
½ tsp ground allspice (or 3 whole corns)
Directions
Place the meats in a large pot. Add water and bring to a boil.
When the meat is cooked through, remove it from the pot and skim the water. I used a handheld tea strainer to swish gently through the water and remove the bits and pieces that came off the meats.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2½ hours.
Remove the vegetables and skim the broth again to remove any stray bits and pieces.
Pour broth into a container and refrigerate until needed.
Note: If you’re not going to use the broth for a while, you can do like I did. I divided it into 1-quart Ziploc bags, 2 cups per bag, and stood them up in the freezer to keep until needed. Once frozen, then you can lay them flat for more compact storage.
The resulting broth really smelled yummy! I couldn’t wait to use it to make something like soup or gravy for one of the upcoming recipes I’ll share with you. What I ended up doing is taking four cups of the broth, adding in some garlic and carrots (right?!) and some of the stewed savory veggies. I let that simmer while I diced the lamb, beef, and veal and set it aside. Then I peeled and diced two baking potatoes and added them to the stew. Tossed in a bay leaf or two, some Italian herb seasoning and let it all simmer for about 45 minutes. So very good! Hubby and I both enjoyed dinner that night. And I had enough to spoon into two quart-sized Ziploc bags to freeze for later.
Now that I have the basic broth to use, next week’s recipe is something I’m curious to try: oyster sauce. I may even have it with grilled steak. Sound good to you?
I think if I make the broth again, I will leave out the veal because it is very expensive. What do you think might be a good substitute for the sweet flavor of the veal? A bit of pork chop perhaps? Or increase the amount of beef shank to keep the flavor in the same family of meats?
Thanks for swinging in and helping me figure out these new ways of cooking. I’m having a blast and I hope you’re enjoying the results as well.
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Also, I’ll be sharing one chapter each month in 2017 of a new historical romance novella, Elizabeth’s Hope, the prequel to my A More Perfect Union series, with my subscribers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books and upcoming events.
The third story in the A More Perfect Union historical romance series reveals what Samantha has been keeping from her friends and the world at large.
Midwife and healer, Samantha McAlester returns from the front lines to find Charles Town under British siege and the town’s new doctor at war with its citizens.
Dr. Trent Cunningham intends to build a hospital staffed solely with educated doctors. What he doesn’t need is a raven-haired charlatan spooning out herbs and false promises to his patients, while tempting him at every turn.
Then a mutual friend develops a mysterious infection. Trenton is stumped. Samantha suspects the cure but knows treatment will expose her long-guarded secret, risking all she holds dear… including Trenton.
I had a huge surprise at this year’s annual Heart of Dixie Romance Readers’ Luncheon in Huntsville, Alabama. My chapter celebrated 20 years of luncheons with the fabulous author Brenda Sue Novak as keynote speaker, and she didn’t let us down with her inspiring and touching speech.
As always, we had a room full of readers and authors getting to know each other, talking about their lives and their love of reading. Maybe about a few hunky book boyfriends here and there. Or about books we’ve read, life events that are touched upon in writing some stories, and so much more.
I was happy to share hosting a table again with the awesome contemporary romance author Linda Joyce. She’s a dear friend as well as an award-winning author. Without consciously coordinating our efforts, our gifts for the readers who shared lunch with us complemented each other. Perhaps we think more alike than I’d realized!
This year I had a few fans return from previous years at this and other reader events where we met and shared a good time. It’s a very flattering statement to have people who have read my stories want to sit with me, to get to know me better. I count those readers as more than fans, but as friends. A few ladies even squealed and hugged me when they saw me, which was a first for me. What a moment for me, to be “fan-girled” by a reader. Makes me smile even days later to think about.
Brenda Novak’s speech touched on the lasting and universal feelings you’ll find in the Cinderella story. Specifically a desire to overcome obstacles to be a better person, or to reach your true potential, despite the naysayers in our lives. She emphasized the need to have dreams and to work to make them come true. She also shared the reasons for why she became a writer (her family’s financial crisis), where she gets her ideas for her stories (everywhere), and a few humorous anecdotes related to missteps as an author (her skirt hiked in her undies at one event, for example). Through it all, she showed just how human and down-to-earth of a person she is despite her acclaim as an author and her fundraising to benefit diabetes research to the tune of $2.5 million to date.
The biggest surprise though for me was when the president of Heart of Dixie went to the podium to announce this year’s Mentor of the Year recipient and called my name. Who me? I couldn’t believe it, let me tell you. Tears threatened as I made my way to the podium to accept this beautiful award. People congratulated me all the way to the front of the room and back. Chapter mates told me how much I deserved this award, for being there to help them whenever needed. I’m honored and humbled as a result.
In truth, helping others comes naturally to me. One of my mottoes has always been, ever since a little girl, “I’m here to help.” I believe in paying it forward by reaching back to give a helping hand, or a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen. Whatever I can do, I will.
Next year’s luncheon, our 21st, will feature as keynote speaker the NYT-bestselling author Lilliana Hart. So mark your calendars for June 9, 2018, to journey to the Rocket City, home of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, among other fun attractions. Destination: Huntsville, Alabama, my new hometown. See you then!
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for my newsletter, which I only send out when there is news to share. News like new covers, new releases, and upcoming appearances where I love to meet my readers. Also, I’ll be sharing one chapter each month in 2017 of a new historical romance novella, Elizabeth’s Hope, the prequel to my A More Perfect Union historical romance series, with my subscribers. Thanks and happy reading!
Visit my Website for more on my books and upcoming events.
The Touchstone of Raven Hollow (Secrets of Roseville Book 3) is available now! Grab your copy today!
He dug for the truth and found her magic.
Tara Golden has hidden her healing power all her life. But occasionally, she uses her abilities on people passing through town, sure they’d never figure out what saved them. Now a tall, sexy geologist is asking questions she doesn’t want to face, and he isn’t going to take no for an answer. There’s no way she would reveal her abilities and her gifted sisters for a fling.
The latest medical tests divulge geologist Grant Markel’s fatal condition is cured, but the scientist within him won’t accept it’s a miracle. When he meets the sexy, mystical witch who may hold the answer to his quest, he’s determined to prove she’s full of smoke and mirrors despite their mutual attraction.
When they are trapped in an enchanted valley, Tara must choose between her magical truth or his scientific beliefs. Can she step from the shadows to claim her true powers before it’s too late?
To dress Scotch Collops.
In 1782, the fight for independence becomes personal…
Still we can visit the many state and national parks dotted across the area to get a glimpse into what the wilderness might have looked like way back when mankind walked among the towering trees and crossed the many rivers and waterfalls.
He dug for the truth and found her magic…
When you want very strong gravy, take a slice of bacon, lay it in a stew-pan; take a pound of beef, cut it thin, lay it on the bacon, slice a good peace of carrot in, an onion sliced, a good crust of bread, a few sweet herbs, a little mace, cloves, nutmeg, and whole pepper, an anchovy; cover it, and set it on a slow fire five or six minutes, and pour in a quart of the above gravy; cover it close and let it boil softly till half is wasted. This will be a rich, high brown sauce for fish, fowl, or ragoo.
So the first thing I’ll say is that I didn’t want to use veal due to the expense. Instead, I chose another lean meat, ground turkey. I think it most likely has a similar consistency as ground veal. Note that when she says “cut fine” that would end up being very similar I would think to ground meats today. At least, I think it’s close enough.
Last year I made Martha Washington’s sausage and in doing so had done research as to a proper substitute for suet, which is difficult to find in my area. The result proved interesting. Frozen stick butter that you grate/shred and blend in. So that’s what I used in this recipe as well. However, there are 
My intent with these adaptations is to make new doable recipes from the historic ones. Therefore, when she calls for sweet herbs I’m choosing from what I have in my spices and seasonings collection. So this time I thought Italian seasoning would taste good with the turkey and other ingredients. Other possibilities that come to mind are thyme, basil, dill weed, and rosemary.
Instructions
CAUGHT BETWEEN DUTY AND LOVE
I talked about my recent trip to the Russell Cave National Monument before we continued on into Tennessee to visit the state forest. One of the roads we took I wouldn’t recommend even if we did laugh our way along its gravel and sometimes paved surface. Talk about some rough going! I wished we’d had a Jeep or something instead of the Corolla. But we made it without any issues.
We eventually found our way through the winding back country highways into the breathtakingly beautiful forest. We parked near a trail and then started walking. Now mind you, I’m not in the best of shape so I didn’t expect to go very far. We did go quite a ways, even met a trio on horseback enjoying the beautiful day in the woods.
there recently, more recently than at our house farther south. We managed to skirt some of the muddy puddles but ultimately came to a complete stop when the trail ahead and the surrounding woods turned marshy and muddy. The folks on horseback had no problem with that, but for us mere mortals on foot, that was an insurmountable obstacle so we turned back toward the car.
I noted several differences between my fictional forest and Raven Hollow. First, the state forest had no marked trailhead or defined parking lot like my story, so if you go to Franklin-Marion do not expect to find those. The terrain is a bit different but not too much, it was still fairly easy to hike and not too steep. I had hoped to see some wildflowers, but nothing was in bloom. I didn’t see any wildlife, not even birds let alone an unkindness of ravens, so that was rather disappointing. Oh, we did see one lone turtle crossing the road, but no other animals in the forest. But the trees and the contrasts of brown bark and green leaves were soothing and energizing at the same time.
Overall, though, the fictional forest in The Touchstone of Raven Hollow was pretty close to what I had conjured based on the online resources and sites I’d found.
He dug for the truth and found her magic…
Today’s Tasty Tuesday post is about making oyster sauce from scratch. I’ve never had this kind of sauce before, so it was an interesting challenge to make it. Unlike the broth recipe that required a good deal of adjustments, this one proved remarkably simple to tweak into an easier version. Let’s start with the original recipe…
Oyster Sauce is made thus.
The resulting sauce was good and I’m likely to do it again but with a few minor changes. First, we tried it with grilled steak but didn’t like the combination of flavors. The next night we had the remainder over baked salmon and we enjoyed that much more. Second, I think after simmering the oysters the first time, cutting them up a bit would make a more balanced sauce instead of having the whole oysters in it.
Simmer 8 oz oysters in their juices on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Determined to make her own way in the newly independent America and live free of the dictates and demands of another husband, widow Evelyn Hamilton faces soaring post-war inflation as she struggles to provide for herself and her infant son.
The cave is named after a Revolutionary War officer, 
A quick search online revealed the history of the device. According to quart.us, they were first used in Europe (where the Clan books take place) during the Paleolithic or Stone Age around 17,000 BC. People migrating across the Bering Land Bridge brought them around 15,000 BC. The atlatls were used in North America during the Paleo-Indian and Archaic periods. I like to know the linkages between places and times to have a better grasp of the flow of history and how people moved about.
A stream flows into and through the sheltering cave where people lived and worked for thousands of years. That’s a ready supply of water without having to venture out of the cave. There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether people lived in the cave year round or only during the fall and winter, but thousands of artifacts have been 
found. Including the Russell point arrowhead which is a style only found in this cave. Baskets, pottery, spear points and other cutting and scraping tools, jewelry as well as the charcoal remains of fires were found inside during the archeological dig conducted by first the Tennessee Archeological Society and then by the Smithsonian Institution with support by the National Geographic society. Most if not all of the tools were made using limestone, an abundant kind of stone in the Tennessee Valley.
The cave itself seems to have some structural concerns as there are large bolts spaced across the ceiling to keep it from falling. Indeed it appears some erosion and rock fall has occurred. We saw swallows darting in and out of the shelter but no other wildlife. Overall, it’s a very peaceful place with the merry sound of the river flowing gently by and the birds calling to one another.
we later found out is named Scoot and is 17 years old and visits from a neighbor’s property. Scoot looks an awful lot like our Sierra dog, which was rather startling when I first saw him. He kept us company for a time, which was rather sweet of him.
He dug for the truth and found her magic…
To make strong Broth for Soup and Gravy
Betty’s Strong Broth for Soup and Gravy
The resulting broth really smelled yummy! I couldn’t wait to use it to make something like soup or gravy for one of the upcoming recipes I’ll share with you. What I ended up doing is taking four cups of the broth, adding in some garlic and carrots (right?!) and some of the stewed savory veggies. I let that simmer while I diced the lamb, beef, and veal and set it aside. Then I peeled and diced two baking potatoes and added them to the stew. Tossed in a bay leaf or two, some Italian herb seasoning and let it all simmer for about 45 minutes. So very good! Hubby and I both enjoyed dinner that night. And I had enough to spoon into two quart-sized Ziploc bags to freeze for later.
Midwife and healer, Samantha McAlester returns from the front lines to find Charles Town under British siege and the town’s new doctor at war with its citizens.
some stories, and so much more.
readers who shared lunch with us complemented each other. Perhaps we think more alike than I’d realized!
Brenda Novak’s speech touched on the lasting and universal feelings you’ll find in the Cinderella story. Specifically a desire to overcome obstacles to be a better person, or to reach your true potential, despite the naysayers in our lives. She emphasized the need to have dreams and to work to make them come true. She also shared the reasons for why she became a writer (her family’s financial crisis), where she gets her ideas for her stories (everywhere), and a few humorous anecdotes related to missteps as an author (her skirt hiked in her undies at one event, for example). Through it all, she showed just how human and down-to-earth of a person she is despite her acclaim as an author and her fundraising to benefit diabetes research to the tune of $2.5 million to date.
The biggest surprise though for me was when the president of Heart of Dixie went to the podium to announce this year’s Mentor of the Year recipient and called my name. Who me? I couldn’t believe it, let me tell you. Tears threatened as I made my way to the podium to accept this beautiful award. People congratulated me all the way to the front of the room and back. Chapter mates told me how much I deserved this award, for being there to help them whenever needed. I’m honored and humbled as a result.
In truth, helping others comes naturally to me. One of my mottoes has always been, ever since a little girl, “I’m here to help.” I believe in paying it forward by reaching back to give a helping hand, or a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen. Whatever I can do, I will.
He dug for the truth and found her magic.
Betty Bolte's Musings 