Stocking stuffers for the Gilded Age and now

 

Mark Twain coined the phrase "The Gilded Age" and encouraged Americans to copy his list of foods he was homesick for when he traveled Europe. Hot biscuits, frog, fried chicken and hot buckwheat cakes made that list. As railways allowed culinary access, Americans became acquainted with pottage puree, spinach a la creme blueberry cake. I'm getting this from the elegant "The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from America's Golden Era." Becky Libourel Diamond reports patrons would have expected oysters on their menus. By chance, I recently heard that Arthur Stilwell, Port Arthur's rails man, came up with car to get oysters to diners in a fresher state. So fried, scalloped stewed and half shell oysters noted in this book would be perfect for observing Port Arthur's Quasquicentennial. It was another time, where monkey's were the guest of honor and lobsters were elevated from fertilizer and inmate food. Holiday menus included steamed halibut with egg sauce and peas served in turnip cups. If you are concerned your crystal, silver and linens do not meet these gilded standards, the author suggests that plates, etc., gleaned from second-hand stores will make a festive arrangement. Here, here. A toast....

Here are some other gift-worthy items to slip into a stocking or something bigger:

 

·       Don’t tease vegans when you know they are enjoying Jenkins Jellies little jars of Sweet Heat with varieties such as Hell Fire, Fiery Figs and Passion Fire. Pepper jellies with notes including smoky caramel are a favorite fusion of mine. These come packaged in little jars, so fill your stocking first and share with your gluten-free foodies as well. A backyard of pepper vines and fruit trees inspired this California treat. www.jenkinsjellies.com

 

·       I’d been enjoying “scrub-dub,” a loofah alternative, in Glacier Blue for some time without fulling enjoying its full superpowers. The little nubbins that clean and exfoliate your skin in the shower are on a palm-sized palate of not silicone, but Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). That’s a step up and keeps the nasty mildew away from this tool. Flip it over and the taller nubs massage your scalp for additional body benefits. Pump your body wash on it, flex, squeeze and feel like you’re getting the salon treatment. www.scrub-dub.com

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who has already addressed most of her holiday cards. darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Gratitude Now!

 

                             Gratitude is a daily endeavor, and worth it. Even finding pennies make my day. This year Thanksgiving will be at a new place to our family. A relative has downsized into a complex and she’s cooking dinner. My assignment is cranberries, and I’m recreating my mom’s relish with orange peel, jalapenos and nuts. The turkey salt and pepper shakers at my aunts’ and uncle’s house that used to intimidate as a child are proudly displayed on my own table. With gratitude, I’m appreciating all the blessings that come to me in the way of people I know.

 

                             Now, let’s plan some holiday flavors:

 

Squashed - Go out of your gourd with a jar of butternut squash Zoup! I had some creamy, golden savory vegetable broth with brown butter and sage for breakfast and bam, I was in the holiday spirit. Fall leaf colors would make a fitting centerpiece with a bowl of this, or any other prepared soup or broth. www.zoupbroth.com delivers big jars of beef bone, chicken bone and seafood broth as a complete meal or a starter for other recipes. Bone broth is as trendy as it is ancient. A pantry full of their finished soups, such as chicken pot pie or portabella bisque, would look as fetching as decades-past display of Mason jars.

 

Small Batch – Pop Quiz: What small-batch, big taste red spread in a cute recyclable jar goes as good with porkchops and burgers as it does brownies? I wouldn’t have thought of this myself, but I’m on board with the suggested uses of Small Batch Kitchen’s Cherry Bourbon Chipotle Fruit Spread. Picture this: Brunch, and you impressing guests with the sweet, smokey “je nais sais quoi” on their French toast. However, their paring of Beet & Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce must be announced to the taster beforehand. I’m on the record for loving heat. A warning stiff from the bottle screams “beware.” Earthy, sweet and spicy are the notes, and they are LOUD. Labeling suggests chili or breakfast sandwiches. Next time I’m adding a few drops to Greek yogurt so I’ll have a dip with cooling dairy reinforcements built right in. www.thesmallbatchkitchen.com uses organic, close-by products to mix their magic, and they’re cutting down on shipping waste.

 

 “101 Things to Do With An Air Fryer” offers Sheet Pan Breakfast Hash as No. 1 and Air Fryer Banana Boats as No, 101. In between Donna Kelly suggests twists and fresh ideas for this trendy appliance. Black Bean Melts is an intriguing hoagie. Try healthy options such as cheesy kale chips and some indulgences like Mexican Street Corn Dip. Temptations, yes, but remember why you bought this air fryer. I used to dread brussels sprouts at holidays, as a kid. Now Kelly guides me through a spicy-sweet version with honey, red wine vinegar and gochujang or other thick, spicy sauce.

 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie planning a gumbo with soon-to-be-leftover turkey. Tell her why you’re grateful at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Plant Moms, native gardeners, unite!

My ideal garden would draw birds and bees to native plants, keep me in constant supply of oregano and chives and include playful focal points to gaze upon from shady seating. But, I’ll take what I actually have… a flourish of container plants that make me happy. This week’s subject is all about plants, from single desk plants to tucked-in cottage gardens. Let’s play in the dirt:

Don’t hate Alocasia Polly if she ghosts during cutting seasons. She goes dormant. But after a season in a warm spot with reduced watering, she’s good to go in spring. Spider Plant is a good tipper with the secret talent of purifying the air. Golden Pathos is into personal growth. We’re reading from “Houseplant Hookups: All the Dirt You Need to Find the Perfect Match.” Funny and practical, Agatha Isabel (through Maily Degnan’s very mod and uplifting art) shares how to match your wants to a houseplant’s needs in date-ap style. So that’s I “get” that Fiddle-Leaf Fig’s three words to describe self is “big, beautiful and bossy.” In addition to cracking up and thinking of friends, you learn some of these guys are very easy to hang with.

“Happy Plants, Happy You”

– Meditation, decoration and friendship are a few ways Kamili Bell Hill uses plants. This is billed as a plant-care an self-care guide for the modern houseplant parent. Plants, you want this mom. The photos of this book show how your little crispy brown nub in a plastic container could shift into creative planting arrangements that can breathe life into a room. Learn how to care for your baby beauties, fill in spaces on bookshelves, gaze at them to focus your energy, propagate them to share with friends and just generally thrive. Water yourself and your plants, writes Hill. She’s learned her lesson on that… and on Boston ferns.

"What Makes a Garden"

- Among glorious images of plants, notions of color and sound play, the high art of age-old vegetable gardens and even a section on dung, is a picture of Dolly Parton. Curious? So is she. The topic is intellectual curiosity, as she and successful gardeners would have. Jinny Blom has approached this book in a unique way and I suggest you peruse this book and plant yourself your own, individual garden, as you wish.

 

You’ll never have that dream garden with cascading ivy, cheery blooms, secluded benches and perhaps even grazing sheep… until you plant the first thing. “The Cottage Garden” will give you photographic inspiration from around the world, thanks to Claus Dalby. Fancy the hen house in Germany or the story behind “chocolate box cottage?” Lose yourself in these pages, then get digging.

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie whose ideal garden would be mainly edible, entirely colorful and seasonally aromatic. Share ideas with her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Is cranberry the new pumpkin?

 

 

 

            If you follow “Friday Night Cocktails” by the page, you must wait until week eight for Pumpkin Pie Cocktail, featuring a puree and maple syrup with a cinnamon stick for garnish. Fall’s fave gourd has been trending for years. Let’s give cranberry some room. Ginger beer and voka gives you a Cranberry Mule, and a cozy feeling, no doubt. A.J. Dean’s handy book offers “52 Drinks to Welcome Your Weekend.” Barkeeps may love this book as well as photographers and those who follow estate sales seeking classic vintage glasses. An image of the cranberry drink resembles an old-world painting rich in color and drapery. Sure cocktails take us back in time. This book shares that some popular ones are actually recent blends.

 “Drink Mixy”  gives adventurous and even “lazy” culinary thrill seekers jars of dried fruits and spices with instructions to fill blend with the prescribed alcohol and to wait three days. Three days? Imbibers will be rewarded. The “Tejas” craft cocktail kit has orange jalapeno, lime and turbinado sugar cube. Add tequila and later make a spicy margarita. Oh, there are other concoctions. But let us skip to “Joy,” for bourbon. Cranberry, orange, rosemary and turbinado sugar will make your Thanksgiving “old fashioned.” See how cranberry is doing that thing? Little red berry? welcome you to pumpkin spice season. www.drinkmixy.com

  Ethics of shopping – I’ve been introduced Purposer.com, a marketplace to shop and sell ethically produced products. You can wear or eat many of them. I felt extra good when I tried these goodies below. Let’s take a peek:

               B’s Gourmet Nuts are labeled “A little bit of perfect,” and I’d add, perfect for all this cocktail talk. Bags of “Decadent Cashews” come in flavors such as black truffle. Consider some for you and some for holiday giving. The endeavor blossomed from a “healthy love” of sharing drinks, food and conversation in a small, intimate setting, their site reads. Does intimate mean “leave me be with these nuts” or must you share? All good. A portion of proceeds benefit cancer wellness, so cheers to good causes.  

            Ground Up – Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Almond, Cashew + Coconut Butter had me mellow with a pretzel stick snack. Then I took the quiz based on my vacation and pastime preferences an learned Ground Up has me pegged as an Oregon Hazelnut fancier. But I’m pretty sure they’d let me in on a Salted eggnog coconut and cashew blend. Their mission is helping women lift up.

Cafetinto – Resembling tiny biscotti or something to carry in a silver Victorian snuff box, Cafetinto is a dainty formation of coffee beans processed with panela sugarcane. Drop one for espresso and two for coffee into a cup and add hot water. Stir and you’ve got an extremely flavorful Columbian favorite. The flavor is unusual for us and the red tint has been said to refer to ink or a common man’s red wine. It’s coffee straight up, easy and exotic all at once. It’s really different and good. A little video of a man simply enjoying is coffee is a soothing watch. This company creates jobs. 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie not ready to let go of the pumpkin spice craze, but still, open…. darraghcastillo@icloud.com