It has been snowing for the past few days, and with the arctic cold front hovering over our mountain valley, the days have been perfect for writing, baking, and watching the snow fall. Aside from out in nature, home has always been one of my favorite places to spend time, and I looking back at the books I've written, I unintentionally set up many of my characters to feel the same way.
How do you imagine people spent their days during the years when the Gallaghers lived in Montana? The stories are filled with plenty of adventure, action, and of course, romance, but all those things are made possible because of the hard-working people "behind the scenes" taking care of hearth and home.
Elizabeth and Amanda spend more time in Hawk's Peak kitchen than anyone else, though Brenna, Isabelle, Eliza, and even Catie contribute. Feeding a passel of hungry ranch hands and a growing family takes a lot of work, and with three meals a day, that's a lot of time in the kitchen.
The scent of sourdough bread baking in the oven or a hearty stew simmering on the stove would fill the kitchens while the delicious fragrances wafted throughout the house, but where did it all begin?
The Boudin Bakery in San Francisco began producing the first San Francisco sourdough in 1849 using a starter borrowed from local gold miners. 1868 saw the production of the first commercially produced yeast. Baking powder became available in 1869 and a better flour mill was invented in 1873. (Saveur)
This is all before the 1880s during which the Gallagher books take place.
Baking bread would be one of the constant kitchen tasks to ensure there was always enough for everyone. Would they have used the sourdough method or the yeast method? Since I get to make up what they do, I say both. Elizabeth would have held onto skills learned before 1868, and yet they no doubt would have utilized yeast later (when they could get it) to help make kitchen life a little easier.
DID YOU KNOW? Until the time of the development of commercial yeasts, all leavened bread was made using naturally occurring yeasts – i.e. all bread was sourdough, with it’s slower raise. (The Sourdough School)
DID YOU ALSO KNOW? The history of sourdough . . . begins long before miners came to Alaska. Sourdough is the oldest form of leavened bread and was used at least as early as ancient Egypt. It was probably discovered by accident when bread dough was left out and good microorganisms -- wild yeast -- drifted into the mix. The resulting bread had a lighter texture and better taste. (npr.org)
Like Elizabeth and Amanda, I prefer to use old methods with new, sourdough and yeast. I recently started going sourdough crazy (bread, pancakes, pizza dough), and can't get enough. My yeasted breads are now far and few between, and most of that peasant bread. Sure, it takes much longer for sourdough bread to go through the fermentations and rises, but there isn't too much hands-on work to deal with.
Taking the time as they would have done more than a century ago, can help one to remember that life shouldn't always be about convenience. There was a slower pace that helped hard-working people appreciate every dollar earned and every morsel eaten.
Here's wishing you a simpler life and rewarding life.
LASTLY, DID YOU KNOW . . . In 1912, the town of Sourdough, Montana (some accounts refer to it as Sourdough Creek) was established in the Crazy Mountains with homes and a school. That's right, Montana once had a town called Sourdough, though nothing remains of it. Too bad. I would have liked to visit. Furthermore, and according to a thesis a student did at the University of Alaska, "Twenty four place names including Sourdough Creek, Sourdough Island, Sourdough Flat and Sourdough Point, exist in Montana." This author has not researched them all as of yet.
Sourdough Starter & Recipe Link
If you don't already bake with sourdough, and would like to start (it's so worth it), then I recommend the live sourdough starter from Breadtopia. There are many sourdough bread recipes out there that are delicious, but this particular one is courtesy of AlexandraCooks.com, and gets 5 stars from my test kitchen. She is also the author of the best-ever peasant bread recipe I talked about in this post.
Want to make your own sourdough starter from scratch? The Clever Carrot has a great post on how to do that, with a recipe.
I hope you make time every now and then to escape into a good book and relax.
The Book: Gallagher's Pride, book one of the Montana Gallagher series
The Beverage: Forests Tea from Mountain Rose Herbs
From the Kitchen: Simple Sourdough Bread (get the recipe at AlexandraCooks.com).
Thank you for visiting!
Be well, be kind, and stay safe!
—MK
This delicious muffin recipe is a modification of a modification by Cooking Light, and while I changed up the muffins a bit and added some notes, the topping and instructions are from them (I did increase the cinnamon in the topping.). The muffins do not need a spread as they are mouthwatering-good on their own, but they were tested with both butter and cream, with both receiving high marks.
These are light enough to enjoy with breakfast, lunch, or a snack with tea while reading a good book.
Did you know: "English style muffins which are yeast raised and cooked on a griddle, may date back to the 10th or 11th century in Wales. American style muffins are 'quick breads' made in individual molds. Quick breads (chemically leavened as opposed to yeast leavened) were not developed until the end of the 18th century. This took place in America, where pearlash was discovered. Pearlash is a refined form of potash, and it produces carbon dioxide gas in dough." (foodreference.com)
According to missmuffin.de (what a delightful name), "The term "muffin" appeared for the first time in 1851 in a British magazine, the "London Labour". However, this kind of muffin was a sweet yeast-based pastry product that is different than from what we know today."
Excerpt from The Healer of Briarwood
(from somewhere in chapter two)
The subtle jingle of a bell announced the entry of a new arrival, and the storekeeper’s boisterous greeting confirmed it. When Mr. Baker’s voice shifted from jovial to solemn, Katharine looked toward the front of the store. A tall man, broad through the shoulders and chest, stood with his back to her. His thick hair of deepest, darkest brown curled at the edges and appeared almost unruly. He was without a hat or coat, leading Katharine to suppose his visit to the store required a quick journey from another part of town.
It was his voice that intrigued her most, and the pensive expression Mr. Baker wore told her the conversation was not a pleasant one. Something about the man drew her away from the shelf with various ladies’ accoutrements to a table of blankets. She believed listening in on a conversation to which one was not invited showed a level of rudeness she did not think herself capable, and yet she made an exception this time.
“You’ve heard nothing about a missing woman?”
Mr. Baker shook his head. “It sure is a shame. Is she going to make it, Doc?”
“She’s survived the night, so I am hopeful.”
“Tom’ll know what to do. So will Ramsey. He’s found missing folks before.”
Katharine tried to follow the conversation and store each name in her memory. She watched the doctor shift his weight, his discomfort about discussing a patient apparent.
“Joanna said the new bandages were ready.”
The storekeeper nodded. “She wrapped them all up for you.” Mr. Baker disappeared into a back room and returned a few minutes later with a large bundle. “More than usual.”
“There has been an influx of accidents at the mine.”
Katharine leaned a little closer at the mention of the mine.
The storekeeper passed the bundle to the doctor, and Mr. Baker made a note in a logbook. “Don’t they have a doctor up there?”
“They did. He left two weeks ago.”
“Makes no sense. That’s always been a safe place for the miners.”
“Not any longer, it seems.” The doctor started for the door, but Mr. Baker stopped him with one more question.
“You tell Ethan about the doctor leaving the mine?”
The taller man nodded. “As soon as I heard. Thanks, Loren. Please keep the bandage orders steady and in the same quantity for the time being.” He stood below the threshold with one foot outside and stared at Katharine.
She did not know who recognized whom first or even how. Twenty years changed people, and yet she remembered the deep, gray eyes as though she gazed into them yesterday.
“Kate?”
Excerpt from The Healer of Briarwood copyright © MK McClintock.
I hope you make time every now and then to escape into a good book and relax with a pot of tea, or your beverage of choice, and a tasty treat.
The Beverage: Blossoms of Health tea from Mountain Rose Herbs
The Treat: Whole-Wheat Blueberry-Sour Cream Muffins (see below)
The Book: The Healer of Briarwood, book 7 of the Montana Gallagher series.
Whole-Wheat Blueberry-Sour Cream Muffins
You will find a printable PDF for this recipe on my Recipes page, or scroll down to view and print from your browser.
At first I thought I might like more topping, but more would have been too much. The little bit packs a lot of flavor.
This serving has a bit of cream cheese with it, and while scrumptious, it was a bit rich for my personal tastes. I like a little dab of whipped butter.
The batter will be thick! You want to be gentle when combining the wet and dry ingredients, and not mix things up too quickly. Use whatever works best for you to scoop out the batter. I like scoops, and keep a variety of them for different tasks. Whether you call them ice cream scoops, cookie scoops, food scoops, or something else, they are handy, and affordable, kitchen tool.
If you enjoy muffins, I highly recommend you give these a try.
Oh, and the spots in the tea are from the herbs. I like a variety of herbal teas, especially loose-leaf, but when preparing loose-leaf, a little herb dust always escape the tea strainer.
Enjoy!
Thank you for visiting!
Be well, be kind, and stay safe!
—MK
Updated: Mar 12
This decadent cake recipe is from Victoria magazine’s 2018 Holiday Bliss. A great many recipes go through my "test kitchen," but only a few are shared. This Chocolate Cake is one of those easy-to-make and delicious-to-eat recipes that I cannot keep to myself.
The cake recipe can be found on the Victoria website, along with the original peppermint frosting recipe. The cake is delicious, and I followed it to the teaspoon. However, I ended up using one of my frosting recipes because I found theirs to be far too sweet and buttery. I also used a lot less frosting in between the layers to cut down on some of the sugar and calories (every bit helps).
Did you know? Peppermint candies have been popular since the mid-nineteenth century when they were sold on the streets of London, and quickly found popularity throughout Europe. However, centuries earlier, mint was used for medicinal purposes (and still is). Today, the bulk of the US mint supply comes from the Pacific Northwest. It also makes a great ingredient in home-made pest repellents.
I am not personally a fan of candy canes or anything with too much mint flavor (except the occasional chocolate peppermint patty), which is why peppermint is not included in my frosting recipe (printable PDF at end of post). Instead, I sprinkled a few peppermint baking chips in between each layer and a few more on top. It turned out to be just enough flavor without overpowering the cake or frosting.
This cake makes a festive holiday treat, and is not at all difficult to make. The buttermilk keeps it moist and adds extra richness. The recipe is similar to a few others I make, but this one is now in my top-three favorites.
Pair it with tea, coffee, or even sugar-free cocoa.
Did you know that reading a book while eating a delicious treat will cut the calories by 50%? Did you also know that I'm probably making that 100% up . . . but why risk it?
Chocolate Peppermint Cake with Vanilla Cream Frosting
You can print the recipe for the cake from the Victoria website.
The frosting recipe I used is below. You can also find a printable PDF for the full recipe on the Recipes page.
May you have a sweet, safe, and hope-filled holiday season.
—MK
