What’s in a Cup?

When I arrived in America from my native England, I was fascinated by the numerous cookbooks that were available. I bought my first cookbook (Betty Crocker’s Cookbook), opened the pages with excitement, and saw the references to “cup measurements”. I was flummoxed. During my school years, I had had four years of cooking classes, and always used a scale and Imperial Measurements. Later the “grams” idea reared its ugly head in England, and everything was converted. Now in America, I was faced with the “measuring cup” system, and knew I had to change my favorite recipes yet again. I distinctly remember buying a set of cups, holding them in my hands, turning them this way and that, and thinking to myself, “Will these gadgets actually do the job of scales?…” Of course, I didn’t realize at that time how much they would play an integral part of my cooking experience. They were simpler and easier to use – and I’d get good results.

Over the years, I’ve researched the origin of the “cup measurement” system. All evidence leads to the pioneer women who had to adapt their recipes as they travelled to the New World. Imagine these ladies on a wagon trail cooking for their families. They had to use items that were readily available to them, and a cup served the purpose. They took a cup of this and that…modified the recipes until they were happy with the results, and hey presto – recipes began, and were passed through generations.

To be honest, everything was different for me when I arrived in the U.S. and trying to adapt my recipes meant several cooking failures. The flour and the sugar seemed to behave differently in my recipes. Self raising flour is generally used in the U.K. whereas “All purpose flour” is used in American recipes. Trying to get just the right balance of baking soda and salt used with plain (all purpose) became one of the most difficult things for me to master. I’ve tried using (American) self raising flour, but the cakes always seem too salty. I haven’t even mentioned the difficulties that our Mile High City presents to me, the problem of altitude that can arise (no pun intended). I’m still struggling with my favorite Victoria Sandwich recipe. This cake was Queen Victoria’s favorite cake – hence the name.

Following are a few conversions:

English                                           American

1 pound butter of fat                        2 cups

1 pound of flour                               4 cups

1 pound sugar                                 2 cups (granulated or castor)

1 pound brown (moist) sugar             2-2/3 cup

1 pound rice                                    2 cups

1 pound dried fruit                           2 cups

Liquid measurement: One English pint = two American measuring cups

The average tea cup is ¼ pint or one gill = one American cup (roughly speaking)

Butterick Pattern #3230 Glove Puppets

The Players from top left to right: Queen, King & Merlin
Bottom left to right: Princess, Knight & Dragon.

On a recent trip to The Gathering Place, the only women and children's daytime shelter in Denver, one of the staff mentioned that a very kind man had made a "theatre" for the children, but they did not have puppets. Now on a mission, I scoured my old pattern box, and found this pattern from many years ago. They are glove puppets, and stand approximately 10" tall. They are not difficult to make, and took me about 2 hours each.

This a wonderful project to make for children...and encourages "imaginary" play. I highly recommend the pattern/designs. By the way, there is also a McCalls pattern #M4796 with similar designs, but they include a fabric theatre that hangs in a door frame.

Fast Freda

Although almost seventy-five years old, Freda Nieters is still using her very special talents. Here she is coaching a first time skier on the slopes. She is patient, kind and considerate to her students, fills them with a "can do" attitude, and is a wonderful teacher.

Freda hopes to raise money for the SIDS Alliance, an organization dedicated to the research and cure of 
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The following was taken from Freda's web page.

Freda Langell Nieters is staging an event that will both remember her little grandson Zachary, lost to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) about a year ago, and aim to provide a means that others might avoid such a loss. Soon to be 75 years old, Freda has “unretired” to resume her alpine ski-teaching career, now at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, working part-time teaching children. She will use her teaching wages as seed money for a fund-raiser to support research by SIDS Alliance aimed to combat this all-too common condition  The fund-raiser will recognize her 75-year age as she skis down 75,000 vertical feet in one day! Keystone Resort is the locus and it and its parent Vail Resorts is giving their endorsement and support.

Skiing down 75,000 feet in a day is several times more than almost anyone of any age is capable of skiing in one day. Just how much skiing is that? Freda's course will be at Keystone, utilizing its River Run gondola to access her route. She will come down from the 11,640 foot Summit House atop Dercum Mountain to River Run base at 9,300 feet altitude, a difference of 2,340 vertical feet. Thus she will need to make some 32 trips down from the top to add up the 75,000 feet! This is over 14 vertical miles. Of course because she will ski a sloping descent, she will be skiing 3 or 4 times that many miles. And she will also need to take some 32 trips back up the gondola, at about 10 minutes each, consuming about 5 hours there alone. Yet no one who knows Freda doubts she will succeed in her quest, and least of all does Freda doubt she will. For when at age 70 Freda initially retired from teaching alpine skiing at Keystone Resort after 30 years, she did so with a burst of enthusiasm that culminated in her skiing 70,000 vertical feet in one ski day of 8 hours. That event raised $13,000 to fund ski equipment for local school children who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to ski even though they were growing up in ski country. Recently she said about her former 70,000-foot event, “Well, hey that wasn’t too hard to do—I wasn’t any more tired doing that than teaching beginners.” And she says this about her planned 75,000-foot event for SIDS, “God gave me strong legs, and I’ll use someone else’s brain for the research.”

The Tribune Newspaper

Just last week I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Lisa Collacott, a reporter for the Tribune Newspaper. We met in Castle Rock over lunch, and talked for almost two hours about the interesting people we meet through our jobs as writers. We talked about life in general, and writing in particular. Lisa has written an article about me and my experiences which you can read here.

The Judges Meet to Discuss The Unknown Writers' Competition

If you have not already done so, it is not too late to send your submissions to The Unknown Writers’ Competition. There are cash prizes in the following three categories: Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The deadline is just days away (postmarked February 12^th). Please go to www.dwpconline.org to down load an application form. Previous winners have gone to publish their own books, and several have become members of The Denver Woman’s Press Club. This competition is an excellent way for writers to get valuable, positive feedback from professional writers.

Mad Housewife Wines

My friend and I waited for the celebrity of Mad Housewife to arrive at our local shop...but she was caught up in heavy traffic, and we had to leave. Not to be deterred, I took this photograph and my friend, Roxanne, bought a bottle of Mad Housewife wine. She told me later she had thoroughly enjoyed it, and would buy it again. So, I did a little research, and found the following from the Mad Housewife's web page. 

Did You Know That Mad Housewife Is An Award Winning Wine?
We’re more than just a clever and fun label. We’re a great tasting wine, too. Check out the awards our wine has received in blind tastings around the country.

Chardonnay
2007 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2007 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, Cincinnati Wine Festival
2007 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Orange County Fair
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Denver International Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Grand Harvest Awards
2008 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, Riverside International Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, 2010 West Coast Wine Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, National Women's Wine Competition 2010
2008 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2008 Chardonnay: Bronze Medal, Next Gen Wine Competition 2010
2008 Chardonnay: Silver Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Cabernet: Silver Medal, National Women’s Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Silver Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Bronze Medal, Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Bronze Medal, Grand Harvest Awards
2008 Cabernet: Silver Medal, 2010 West Coast Wine Competition
2008 Cabernet: Silver Medal, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2008 Cabernet: Bronze Medal, Next Gen Wine Competition 2010
2009 Cabernet: Silver Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Merlot
2007 Merlot: Silver Medal, Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
2007 Merlot: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, Grand Harvest Awards
2008 Merlot: Silver Medal, Denver International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Silver Medal, Riverside International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Silver Medal, National Women's Wine Competition 2010
2008 Merlot: Silver Medal, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, San Francisco International Wine Competition
2008 Merlot: Bronze Medal, Next Gen Wine Competition 2010
2009 Merlot: Gold Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
White Zinfandel
2008 White Zinfandel: Silver Medal, San Diego International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Bronze Medal, Florida State Fair International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Bronze Medal, Riverside International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Silver Medal, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Silver Medal, Critics Challenge International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Bronze Medal, San Francisco International Wine Competition
2008 White Zinfandel: Bronze Medal, Next Gen Wine Competition 2010

Women from Essex

Photo: Dawn Hyde (nee Vincent) and Carol  (nee Vincent)

Three years ago, I was under contract by The History Press to write a book entitled: Christmas Past in Essex. ISBN: 978 07524 4463 5. I’m glad to report the book is doing extremely well albeit a small window of opportunity for sales. It is however, considered an "Evergreen Book," which obviously means it returns each year.

Yesterday,  I had the pleasure of having afternoon tea with Dawn Hyde and younger sister Carol, both of whom are Essex girls (and very proud of it I might add). They are both mentioned in Christmas Past in Essex (Page 76). Dawn remembers the special Christmases they had in Essex, even during the war years.

Following is an excerpt:

"The War Years

Christmas during the war years was particularly harsh for many families throughout England but particularly in Essex which seemed to take the brunt of the German attacks. Dawn Hyde (nee Vincent) recalls that an uncle lost his life on the Thames which was a frequent target for the German air force. Dawn’s own father worked as a tug captain on the Thames and he and his family knew his life was often in peril. Happily he survived, even though while living with his father in London, with his wife and twin daughters, the house sustained a direct hit. They all survived, but moved to Hullbridge soon after and loved living in Essex.
.

“I know it must have been very difficult for my parents during the war – but I must admit that I never fully appreciated the danger we were in and how hard it must have been for mum and dad. When the sirens went off, we all used to run down to the shelter at the school which was only a matter of yards from our house. We used to cover our heads for protection and carry our gas masks as we ran. I remember that my gas mask had a picture of Mickey Mouse on the outside. Anyhow, we’d all run to the shelter with our dog running alongside us. Then we’d have to wait in the shelter until we heard the ‘all clear’ siren and then we’d come out and go about our normal day.

We moved to Hullbridge in about 1940, just after the war started. It was a lovely place to live, close to the water – everything was fresh and clean. There was only a three room school with outside toilets across the playground that used to freeze up during really cold weather. My teacher, Miss Anderson (she may have been married, I don’t recall) used to make a real effort every Christmas by decorating the class with wonderful pictures of Jesus, the nativity and other symbolic Christmas scenes. The whole feeling was one of happiness and security despite the bombings. Mostly, we were safe living in Hullbridge because London took the brunt of the bombings.

Since I am a twin, we girls always used to dress alike and mum used to have a seamstress in Hullbridge who would make identical clothes for us. It was a good time at Christmas because we always got a new outfit, some toys and lots and lots of sweets. This was because my uncle had a sweet shop in London close to Custom House, so he would bring bags and bags of sweets to us at Christmastime.

As I said, I have a twin sister who was born ten hours later in the day. In fact, that’s how we got our names. Since I was born in the early morning, the named me Dawn. My sister, Eve was born in the evening – hence the name of Eve. We loved Christmas! We played games (no television in those days) and so jigsaws, snakes and ladders and other board games all were played over the holidays. As we were twin sisters, we slept in the same bed and one Christmas Eve, we were sure that ‘Santa’ had just come in to our bedroom and touched our feet. We screamed with excitement! Such happy times!

In 1945, our younger sister Carol Ann was born, so there were now three girls in the family. We often played with those cut-out dolls and dressed them in all sorts of fashions and designs. We always seemed to have a Christmas tree but I remember one year when we had a very small tree that had to be dug out of the garden. Even though it was small, we still decorated it with real candles, little white candles that we lit on Christmas Eve."