Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 130

No Recipe Soup

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I had a friend, with whom I used to cook quite often, who would never stray from a recipe. If a specified ingredient were unavailable, he preferred to change the menu. When I would make a substitution or try a variation, the results were always viewed with deep suspicion.  It was as though there were to be a final exam one day and he wanted a perfect score. Yet this was someone who often said that he would only consider himself an accomplished cook when he could go into any kitchen, see what was on hand and make a tasty meal with whatever there was. With that in mind, I would wager that your kitchen contains everything you need to throw together a good soup.

Soup, is a good place to begin a discussion of cooking without recipes.  It is easy but immensely satisfying to make, no commercial product compares to a homemade soup and one can make excellent soup from almost anything. Your choice of the main ingredient may depend on several factors. Is there a particularly beautiful something in the market that you want to use? Did a friend who has a garden give you a huge pile of watercress? Or is there a no longer beautiful something in the fridge that you want to use before it can't be used at all?

Take Stock

First, there is the issue of stock. There are several kinds of stock but for home cooks, the only one you really need on a regular basis is chicken.  If you absolutely must have demi-glace — a highly concentrated veal stock used to enrich sauces — it can be bought, ready made, in gourmet shops or, if you ask very nicely, I'm sure a local French restaurant would sell you a quart or two.  If you find out that they don't make their own, I would think twice about dining there again.

Although you can make a decent soup with commercial  chicken stock, I urge you to make your own. It's very easy, especially if you ignore anything you may have heard about careful skimming and never letting the stock boil. I have worked in two of the most prestigious kitchens in New York City, and in neither did I ever see anyone waste time skimming.

Chicken stock is best made with the wings, necks and backs of the birds. There is more flavor in bones than in flesh, so these scraps are far better for stock than the meatier parts. They are cheaper too. OK, Ready?

Rinse the chicken pieces and put them in a large pot; I wouldn't bother making stock in anything that holds less than eight quarts. I don't know how large your pot is but you ought to have enough chicken pieces to fill it half way or a little more.  Rinse a stalk or two of celery, a few carrots two or three onions. Cut the carrots into large chunks, cut the onions in half  (don't bother peeling them), and add the vegetables to the pot. Throw in a few sprigs of parsley, a few peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves, a few sprigs of thyme and a two or three cloves. If you are in doubt about how much of any of these things to use, err on the side of less rather than more. A stock is not a finished soup and you can ad more flavors later. Some people add a sprig of rosemary; some add a clove or two of garlic but do not add salt. If you salt it now, it may become too salty when boiled down to a more concentrated form in a finished dish.

Fill the pot with cold water, leaving only enough room at the top to allow the stock to boil without spilling over.  Put the pot over moderate heat, and let it come to a boil. Do not rush this process. You are not merely extracting flavor but causing proteins from the bones to dissolve in the water. It is the proteins that give a homemade stock its rich texture, a texture that no commercial broth can reproduce. Different proteins dissolve at different temperatures take your time. When the stock comes to a boil, reduce the heat so the liquid stays at a gentle simmer or low boil. A violent boil will evaporate too much water too quickly and will cause some of the proteins to coagulate, making the finished product cloudier than necessary. And, by all means, skim off any scum that forms at the top if you enjoy doing so, but don't worry about removing the fat; it will be much easier to remove when the stock is cold.

Let the stock simmer for about three hours, adding more water if the liquid level gets down below the top of the solids. Taste it from time to time. At first it will be quite watery but, after some time, it should feels distinctly rich in your mouth.  When the stock is done, remove the larger pieces of chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon and discard them. Strain the stock into another pot or container (for the clearest results you can line your strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth, but I never bother) and cool it as quickly as possible. Warm stocks — especially chicken stock — are excellent breeding grounds for bacteria and you want to minimize any risk; three hours or less is perfectly safe. If you can get the container into a sink full of cold water, this is excellent method for fast cooling. Stir the stock now and then to make sure it is cooling evenly, and replace the water in the sink from time to time as it warms up. When the stock is lukewarm, divide it into containers of a manageable size and refrigerate it or freeze it for future use. Once it is chilled you can remove the solidified fat from the top. The stock ought to have a semi-solid, gelatinous consistency. If it does not, you may want to boil it down a bit more before using it.

Stir the Pot

Now that you have stock you can turn it into soup. The simplest way to so this is to simmer some sliced vegetables in some chicken stock until the vegetables are tender. If you like, you can add some cooked rice or pasta. (This good use for last nights spaghetti or the extra rice from take-out Chinese food. Taste the soup, add salt to your own taste, sprinkle with some chopped parsley or dill and go visit a sick friend. Marlene Dietrich was known to take homemade soup to attractive people with colds (including Maria Callas and Maximilian Schell) as the first step in an attempted seduction as soon as they felt better.

But there are more interesting soups.  So, chop some tomatoes (if tomatoes are not in season, canned tomatoes will give excellent results), or cut up some carrots and some ginger root, or break up a cauliflower, or chop up some or cut up that brunch of asparagus or spinach that is wilting in the fridge, or clean that watercress your friend with the garden dropped off and put whatever you are using in a big pot. Cut some potatoes into largish pieces (I'd say something like good sized potato for each pint or so of your basic vegetable, more for leafy veggies, less for anything starchy) and throw them in as well.  If you feel like it you might peel an onion, cut it in quarters and put that in as well.  Add about three times more stock than you have solid matter.  Put the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil over moderate heat; then adjust the heat so that your soup will bubble gently. Cover it if you like but it really makes no difference. When the potatoes are tender (when you can stick a fork in them and meet no resistance) the soup is done. Let it cool for a few minutes and then whirl it, a little at a time, in a blender or put it though a food mill. If you have an emersion blender this is a good use for it. All of these give better results than a foods processor.

If the soup looks like it is becoming too thick, don't blend in all the potatoes (if it is too late, add a bit more stock).  If too thin, put it back over low heat to cook for a few more minutes, the potato starch will thicken it. If it is still too thin, cook another potato and re-blend the soup; or just use more potatoes next time. Whatever the thickness, taste your creation and season it with salt and pepper. If you are using a stringy vegetable you may want to strain the soup. If you do this often, you may find it worth investing in one of those very fine, conical strainers (called a "Chinois" because some French cook thought it looked like a Chinese hat), which give the smoothest results.

You may think your soup is fine but if you want it a bit richer, add a little heavy cream. Return the whole thing to the stove for a few minutes over low heat to let the flavors marry, taste for salt and pepper and you're done. Garnish it with a chopped, fresh green herb. Any herb will do, but parsley is always safe. Chives or dill are pretty good for most soups. Basil goes well with tomatoes and cilantro is good with beans. And if your soup leaves anything to be desired, chalk it up to experience and put in more of something or less of something else next time.  For example, curry powder will enliven a dullish cauliflower soup, a chunk of slab bacon gives a soup a subtly smoky flavor, and a few drops of Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce are usually good in any thick soup, but use your own imagination here. The point is not for the soup to be perfect but for it to be entirely your own.

Leading up to the publication of the first Beekman 1802 cookbook, Heirloom Recipes, we've asked one of the best cooks we know to offer up some cooking lessons, so that you'll be able to cook up some heirloom recipes on your own (and share them with the rest of us).

Mary Meets Jack Frost

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Mary Beekman is a four-year-old ghost who resides in The Beekman Mansion, and considers Brent and Josh her "imaginary friends." Follow Mary Beekman's Diary each week to learn what it's like to be a young child in early 19th century America

Against the frost covered window pane, the sun seems magnified and most beautiful.  We are all happy to see the sun shine today and know that the falling snow has stopped.  Father came inside and declared the sun did not carry much warmth to it  though and blew on his hands to warm them.  He stamped his feet in front of the fire.  He said his toes tingled.

I hope the frost on my bedroom window does not melt too soon.  I pretend that I can walk among the ice ferns and snowflake crystal patterns on the pane and look for Josh and Brent in this glistening white forest.   The pane in the kitchen will melt much quicker than the pane in my room.

Father told me that Jack Frost is the one who paints the beautiful ice pictures on my window.  Sometimes he is called Father Winter.  I  find new pictures in the mornings.   I am the only one who can see Josh and Brent in our family and yet I have never seen Jack Frost.  Mother said he looks like an elf.   Sister sighed and wished she could have a veil with lace as  beautiful as the patterns on the window pane.  She is always sighing ……  I think Jack Frost must also crisp the leaves and blades of grass in late fall and hang the ice cycles in winter.

I asked Josh if he has ever seen Jack and he has not. Brent said he knew a little poem about Jack Frost:



Jack Frost by Cecily Pike

Look out! Look out!

Jack Frost is about!

He's after our fingers and toes;

And all through the night,

The gay little sprite

Is working where nobody knows.

He'll climb each tree,

So nimble is he,

His silvery powder he'll shake.

To windows he'll creep

And while we're asleep

Such wonderful pictures he'll make.

Across the grass

He'll merrily pass,

And change all its greenness to white.

Then home he will go

And laugh ho, ho, ho!

What fun I have had in the night.

Mary and Epiphany

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Mary Beekman is a four-year-old ghost who resides in The Beekman Mansion, and considers Brent and Josh her "imaginary friends." Follow Mary Beekman's Diary each week to learn what it's like to be a young child in early 19th century America

Father said it is bitterly cold this morning with a wind that causes the windows to shudder.  If it were not so cold, I would go to the attic to feel the gusts moan between the eaves.  It sounds very sad.  I wonder if it is seeking comfort in the midst of our family.  The sound is soft and smooth but the air passing by is as sharp as the cracking noise of  the roof in the cold.  The ends of the nails that poke down through the roof are white with frost.  I would not go if Josh and Brent did not come with me.   I am always  glad when they come to be with me.  I dearly wish Mother and Father to be able to see them and speak with them. But I am the only one that can see or hear them…..

Josh asked if Mother was going to be taking the greens from our house.  They were placed about our house to honor Christmas.  There is something magic about having a bit of the forest inside.  I did not see any signs  of Mother, or the women who help her, readying to remove the greens.  I asked Mother if the boughs and berries  were going to be removed and placed outside today.  She laughed and said "Oh my, not yet".  I believe she told me February 1 was the proper time to do that.  That is the eve of Candlemas.   Josh was listening carefully. Brent said his mother would take down their tree and put things away on Epiphany, January 6.

Mother could not hear them so she continued to speak to me about February 1.  She recited a poem by Robert Herrick.  I do not remember hearing it before.

Down with the rosemary, and so.

Down with the bays and mistletoe;

Down with the holly, ivy, all,

Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall

Grandmere, who was visiting, warned Mother and I that if there was even one berry or bough that escaped removal, there would be a death in the congregation before the end of the year.  I hope I can help in February. Brent said he would watch and follow the removal of each bough.  He is worried that one single pine needle may slip between the floor boards.  Many people in our congregation ARE old already.  Josh said he was not worried because Brent is very thorough and then he rolled his eyes.

It is good Father and Mother CANNOT see him.

Resolution Solutions

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A new day. A new year. Same old resolution?

We decided to turn over this guest blog to not just one writer, but to everyone. We asked you how you felt about New Years Resolutions, and you surprised us with some very insightful words. In fact, we were so impressed that we resolve to have you all as guest bloggers more often. And we'll keep that resolution. Promise.

Some entries have been edited for space, and we've highlighted in green the passages from each that we felt were particularly helpful. However you feel about resolutions, we think there's something to learn from each of the below submissions. Happy New Year.

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Dr. Dawn S Holt, Fayetteville, NC

A Clammy Resolution: I've never been one to make New Year's Resolutions, but something about the past year has changed for me. In 1998, my oldest son died of leukemia at the age of 18. Since that year, I have not put up a Christmas tree, celebrated my birthday, or been able to feel the happiness that seems to come so easily to others.

This year, I decided to put up my 1964 aluminum Christmas tree, "just for the grandchildren". I baked cookies with my 6 yr old granddaughter Isabella, visiting from Georgia. I tried a Reuben sandwich, which was quite tasty (I was sure it would taste like sour cabbage). I decided to try to MAKE myself feel some happiness, mostly by deciding to do things that used to make me happy…and maybe trying a few new things. Not quite a "bucket list"…more of a "try it, you might like it" list.

So….this year, I resolve to try Clams. I've seen them on lots of fancy menus. My friend George makes them in a great wine sauce over linguine. I always figured they would taste…clammy…or like chewy boogers. I'm going to try it. Maybe just a bite…I don't have to eat it all if I don't like it, that's the great thing about being an adult. But I'm drawing the line at calamari …because I'm pretty sure that tastes like squid.

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The Rev. Kenny Miller, Rector, St. Boniface Episcopal Church, Mequon, WI

New Year's resolutions on January 1 haven't formally been a tradition in our house for several years.  However, as we walk by one another throughout the house, you may hear one of us say, "That should be one of my New Year's resolutions." Then we laugh, knowing that we are not likely to actually take on this "resolution"…at all. Usually, these are moments of self realization where one of us is in need of a change!

As I read the Huffington Posts' "New Year's Resolutions for 2011" article today, there were even more self revelations taking place.  I noticed that each of the 70 plus resolutions were concerned with personal care, personal interactions, or care for our environment.  All moments where someone was in need of a change.

New Year's resolutions are our attempts to respond to these moments of self revelation of something that needs to be changed or adapted in our life.  If we have taken time to reflect on our lives and our relationships with one another, and if we take our resolutions seriously, then we may actually have a chance to keep these resolutions. For all our sakes, I hope we all can make these resolutions a way of life.

If we can make them a way of life, our planet will be a cleaner place, our relationships will be friendlier, we will be loving our neighbor as much, if not more than our self, and we all will be living a healthier lifestyle…for more than just a week or two.

What are your New Year's resolutions? Are you going to improve your personal health, the health of your relationships, or try to preserve this Island Home that we all share?  For me, it is about the relationships: relationships with our God, relationships with our family, relationships with our neighbor and relationships with our selves whether they are made on January 1 or July 31.

Happy New Year and may your resolutions survive the next couple of weeks and for all of our sakes, become your new way of life!

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Renee Hirschberg

There are two ways to look at this. On the one hand, you shouldn't put all of your hopes and dreams on a calendar date, that is just ridiculous. The 1st of January is a man made date, just as good as the 18th of April, or the 20th of July. So why wait for this specific date? On the other hand, people need motivation. If a date can motivate you to put your dreams into action, why not?

Personally, I use the New Year to review what I have accomplished in the past year, and recommit to the goals I would like to accomplish. Plus, the days are starting to get longer now, so it is easier to get my butt in the gym at 5:20 am.

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Kelly Ann Carpentier

I do not make resolutions because I never keep them. I make short term and long term goals instead.

School: goals for the semester

Business and personal: 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years. Medium-to- large goals get broken down into steps needed to accomplish them.

I also use the vision boards technique to accomplish what I would like to out of life. It's about manifesting your own destiny. When all is said and done I can see all that I've accomplished right in front of me. It's very gratifying. New Years Resolutions are like diets and budgets – nobody ever really sticks to them. And if they do, it isn't anything long term enough to really make a difference.

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Chris Fields

Every December 31st, I scramble to recap the previous year's ups and downs, in an attempt to find what worked and what didn't. I inevitably end up with a laundry list of faults and failures, and hang my head in shame… until I remember that the next day, January 1st, is ready for a fresh resolution for the fresh new year, and is a new chance to repair what's broken and sure up what's teetering. And  then, instead of lamenting, I take the list as a challenge and begin to make resolutions.

New Year's resolutions are promises to ourselves – oftentimes, the most important and most overlooked promises we'll make all year. They're easy to forget about and easy to break. But, they're also the most rewarding to work towards, because they can reap the richest rewards, both for ourselves and those around us.

This year, my personal theme for a New Year's resolution is The Search. I will spend 2011 searching for many things: peace at work, peace for my psyche as I continue to hash out making my house a home, a healthier me and, most of all, I will search for the right person for me. None of these will be easy feats, but it's the self-motivation provided by the promise I make to myself this January 1st that will force me to do my best, and keep making progress, however small.

At a year's end, so many people reflect on their faults and failures. And while the wishes from friends and family for a "happy" and "blessed" new year are kind, they are simply not enough to guarantee that anything will be better than what has come before. However, with a  resolution we make to ourselves – and the kicking, biting, scratching and clawing our ways forward, fighting for everything we deserve, in an attempt to keep this resolution –  we slowly start to transform into better people and, in turn, make ourselves (and the world at large) have happier and more blessed years.

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Ms. J.B. Bittner, editor, Stillwater NewsPress, Stillwater, OK

I've not been a loyal resolver.

There have been years I made some hollow vow about eating less or exercising more. I've promised now and then to organize, unclutter and to finally use myriad possessions long tucked away.

One new year sparks an urge to nest. Another carries with it a determination to streamline.

One late December brought a fleeting thought of public service. Jan. 1 often arrives accompanied by a hunger for a greater understanding of spirituality.

But to say I jog headlong down the path of New Year's Resolutions each time the calendar spins its annual 365? No.

Yet as 2011 struggles to stand on its wobbly legs like a day-old colt, an eyebrow arches.

I can lose that weight. I can change that habit. I can organize. I can reach out to others. I can open my heart to a world larger than my own.

I can find zen and straighten out my income tax receipts. I can slow down and give that still small voice a chance to be heard above a racing heart. I can read the classics and be more diligent in my battle with that soap scum on the shower stall tile.

I can do the things my soul whispers. A day at a time I can be smarter, healthier, more caring, more spiritual – more.

And if it lasts a month, a week, a day – then for a month, a week, a day I offered the world, and myself,  a better me.

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Chris A. Sutton

Resolution Buddies: New Year's Resolutions – we all make them, whether we admit it or not. I will eat better, I will save more, I will quit smoking, something every year is decided in conjunction with January 1st of every year. The question is what is the point? In fact, does a New Year's resolution do anything? My answer, yes, they do. I say this however, as someone who has never, not once actually kept their resolution. This year however, I think I have found the answer to this – accountability. We make resolutions, life changes, whatever, and they are entirely ours, no one else is normally affected by our attempted changes. Instead however, of doing the normal write a list on the dry erase board and check them off as I go, I chose to partner with a friend, make a list of accomplishments, not changes necessarily, we wanted for the next year, rate their significance to one another and a plan of action on how we will implement the changes or "resolutions' we have instituted for ourselves, and hold each other accountable for them. If I slip, my resolution buddy will nudge me in the right direction, and I the same. It functions the same as a workout partner at a gym, when someone else is depending on you, and holding you accountable, you work for the changes you want not necessarily for the best reason, but you have a much better chance of success. Everyone needs a little bit of improvement, some of us more than others, and in this day and age, where we open up so many aspects of our lives via social networking, the internet, etc. there is no reason why we cannot allow our resolutions to be an open book as well.

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Heather Kulper

New Years Resolutions:  No Thank You

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it." – W.C. Fields

I'm fairly certain Mr. Fields was being tongue in cheek regarding knowing when to give up, but he illustrates why I hate New Years Resolutions:  people don't keep them.  Then they feel guilty about not keeping them.  So they make new resolutions…which they don't keep.  It's a vicious cycle that needs to stop.

Every year in late December, when people are in the warm, fuzzy afterglow of the holidays, they naturally look forward to the new year.  They romanticize how amazing it will be, what fantastic things are in store for them, & how they will reinvent themselves anew.  The stark reality is that for most people, life in the new year will continue on exactly the same as it did last year.  And the year before that.  Then around, say late February, they are struck with an epiphany that oops…..that New Year's Resolution didn't exactly turn out the way they had planned.   Depression sets in & many people spend the rest of the winter feeling like a failure.  Spring not only brings sunshine & blooms, but a blessed amnesia where New Year's Resolutions are forgotten entirely.

Now don't get me wrong; I'm not advocating complacency.  I firmly believe we should all set goals & strive to improve ourselves.  However, I feel like the notion of doing this at New Years often leads us to make unrealistic goals. Call me crazy, but I think waiting until the egg nog & fudge is out of our systems makes a bit more sense.

There's a reason so many people only set goals at New Years.  It's because it's expected.  It's what everyone does.  I choose to march to the beat of my own drum.  I don't need society telling me when I should set a goal for myself.  I can take a look at my life in April…or September…& realize when change needs to happen.

So for all of you that do make New Years Resolutions this year, & fall short on them, take Mr. Fields' advice:  Know when to say enough.  Move on.  Because life is too short to beat yourself up over a silly New Years Resolution.

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Greg Smith, Houston

2011 brings a fresh start for me and hope that this 45 year old gay man still has possibility in his life. Putting it all out there, I ended a 5 year relationship this year with someone I loved but was completely wrong for. The consistent thing in my life has been my friends who are always there. One good friend gave me a book to read last year that changed my life and it happened  to be titled I Am Not Myself These Days. All of 2010 I felt like I was not myself that something was missing, that I wasn't on the right road. There was a core message that I was blessed to receive from the book and that was to say fuck it! Be yourself no matter what! I was thrilled when I found out that the person that wrote this book had a successful business and partner with another wonderful person and there was going to be a reality TV Show about it. Of course I immediately became obsessed with the Fabulous Beekman Boys. Watching the show helped me to understand that even though life is not always perfect,  two men can be happy together and that is what I hope for myself. You both have given me tremendous hope for my life in 2011 by setting a positive example for other gay men. Thank you.

I was watching Kinky Boots with my friends over the New Years Holiday and the song at the end of the movie, "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" made me smile and I said to myself, "You know what Greg, Yes Sir you can still boogie, I can boogie woogie all night long". Having done a little drag myself (ask me about BB Belvedere sometime) I grabbed my cocktail, stood up and danced. My new years resolution is to keep dancing to my own beat and believe in myself.

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Megan McCoy Dellecese

A New Look at Resolutions: Every year, with the inevitable changing of the calendar, a word gets tossed around even more than the confetti and streamers of celebration. To some, the term strikes fear and elicits a cold sweat. For others, they see an opportunity to right wrongs and a tangible chance to make good in their lives. For still others, a cynical pessimism (or, perhaps, a realistic optimism) makes them snicker or ignore the expression altogether, going about their normal lives while simply writing a different year when making out their checks.

The term "resolution," in fact, holds many other less infamous meanings. Some are completely irrelevant to what we see it as when the new year rolls around, such as its mathematical or computer science references. Others, I find, speak to the different ways that people make, and go about keeping or breaking, their resolutions.

My preferred use of "resolution" is when it is the finding of a solution to a problem. While many resolutions are a basic statement of what someone wants to do, such as losing 10 pounds or quitting smoking, we tend not to say a word about how we're going to go about accomplishing it, pretty much spoiling our odds of following through, right off the bat. Perhaps this is why so many have such a difficult time keeping their resolutions, creating a vicious cycle of resolve, break, bitterness, and so forth.

If we analyzed our resolutions more closely, and built a "how to" and maybe even a "why" into the statement (ie I will work to lose ten pounds by cooking out of *such and such* cookbook and walking four times a week so that I will lower my cholesterol) or even just take an honest look at our lives and what we'd like to change, making a sincere effort to do so thanks to the excuse of a new calendar year, conceivably our society may be less apt to sneer when folks start chatting about their resolutions around the water cooler.

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Brad Bova

I don't do resolutions nor do I believe they are needed.  If I want to make a resolution or a change in how I am doing something, I make them any time I feel the need to make one, not because it's the New Year.  If I do make a resolution and don't stick to it then I made the summit too hard to reach.  I just do what I feel is right at that moment and run with it and hope the decision I made is good.  If not I change it again!  I guess you call that our human right. Make no commitment that is out of reach just strive to commit to something you believe in and you'll feel right.

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Linda

I think New Year's resolutions rank right up there with Valentine's Day and late night infomercials.  They don't really serve a purpose and are just created to lull us into great expections and then nosedive into reality.  A resolution is usually thought of a day or two before January 1st and forgotten by February 14th.  Gym memberships swell on New Year's Day and by the end of the month, the gym looks like a virtual wasteland.  I think New Year's resolutions should be retermed  "Positive affirmations for the coming year" and people should have to contribute to mankind during the year. We should be required to make something, grow something or take charge of something that helps another.  Violators could be assigned to clean the goat home and groom Ms. Polkaspot!

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Erin Grant

I make it a point NEVER to make a New Year's resolution. What's the big deal? And why should the pressure of beginning a new year constitute a resolution that will be broken within 24 hours?  If I had to make an honest attempt at a New Year's Resolution, it would be to finally quit smoking.  I realize that's an oldie, but I think I can accomplish it with some will power and self-control.  Lose weight?  Yep, I would like to, but I won't feel bad if I only lose 10 pounds; which realistically, is the easier goal. If I lose five, I won't be underwhelmed. I like one I read today from a friend, "to be a better friend."; This is one I would love to try.  Honestly, I have one resolution, and it's to be happy again.  I've lost joy in the past three, almost four years.  Where did go?  I'm not sure.  Happiness is simple and it's never overrated. Who's with me?

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Finally, check out this blog entry by Cindy Petters. It has a great idea for making New Years Resolution Books.

2010 Beekman Holiday Video Card

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Decorating the Beekman for Christmas in 60 seconds:

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Model Walking

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Are you Pretty Like You Mean It?

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Mary's Favorite Books

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Mary Beekman is a four-year-old ghost who resides in The Beekman Mansion, and considers Brent and Josh her "imaginary friends." Follow Mary Beekman's Diary each week to learn what it's like to be a young child in early 19th century America.

Yesterday Brent decided he wished to read.  I know how to read some words also.  I had to complete my sewing and I could not sit and read with Brent or Josh.  But today, the sun is not out, and it is notreally bright enough to see the tiny stitches well.  Perhaps we can go to our books.  Everyone in our family has their own bookshelf with their own books on it.  Father likes to read Robinson Crusoe and Gullvier's Travels to us.  I like the stories, but I like the pictures best.  I close my eyes and pretend I am inside the picture.  I can make the story end any way I wish to then.

My favorite story is about Tom Thumb.  I want to know how to read it by myself someday.  It is about a boy named Tom Thumb who is no bigger than his father's thumb.  I always laugh when Father reads about Tom falling into a bowl.  Then he gets baked inside a pudding!!!  And then his mother becomes frightened and jumps when she sees the pudding move.  I hop around when Father gets to that part of the tale.  I think Tom sleeps in a walnut shell.  Next time Mother cracks walnuts for a cake, I am going to save a shell and see if Tom will come to my house to sleep in it.

Josh and Brent told me they DO NOT like stories about Goody Twoshoes.  It is about a poor orphan  girl who only has one shoe.  A rich man gives her two shoes and she is very happy and tells everyone.  She is a very good girl and is most  kind to everyone.  She grows up to be a teacher.  I think she marries a very rich man.  Brent wants me to ask for some books about a boy name Harry Potter.  I don't think even Father knows about him.  I wonder if a peddler would have one?

Josh seems to know about this Harry Potter……………

A Glass House

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Since childhood, I have been fascinated with terrariums.

Even though the worlds that were created between those 4 glass walls were finite and small, the corners and bends around which I couldn't see left room for the imagination to create a universe of immense proportions.

There are many reasons that a glass house was a symbolic Christmas gift to give Josh this year.

Of course, neither Josh nor I are really stone-throwers (truth-be-told, we aren't even that good at skipping rocks on the pond), but we've learned other things by living in a glass house.

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So much of life is focused on exteriors: what clothes we wear, what cars we drive, our hairstyle, the height of the grass in the yard.  With so many superficial distractions, modern culture provides precious little time for introspection.

Imagine for a moment what your life would be like if a camera caught your every move.  Odds are that in the instant-replay, you wouldn't always like the things you hear yourself say, the things you see yourself do, and ESPECIALLY not the way you look in what you thought was your favorite outfit.

Having a video mirror image of your life makes self-examination (of both the exterior and the interior variety) a lot easier.  But it's not necessary.   Five minutes a day of contemplation about what was said and what was done, would make anyone a better person.

As beautiful as this glass work of art is, with all of its precise angles and transparency, what's lacking is crystal clear.  I cannot wait until we start filling it up, bringing it alive, creating corners, bends…universes.

After all, the most important lesson from a glass house is that it's what's inside that matters.

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This terrarium is a scale replica of the Beekman Farm.  Michael McCarthy, our B. 1802 blacksmith, worked on the project for over a year, forging each spindle and column and cutting each piece of glass.  To see more of Michael's work, click here.

The terrarium now rests atop The Table.

In the comments section below, share with us what YOU find when you look inside.

Gingerbread Men Sandwiches with Frozen Orange Custard

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These delicious little frozen treats are a new spin on two classics - gingerbread men and ice cream sandwiches.

Everyone thinks that Holiday Desserts should be warm and cozy, but these frozen gingerbread men sandwiches can be a refreshing treat following a heavy winter meal. We made an Orange Frozen Custard to fill ours. The citrus flavor brightens the spicy cookies.

To make these icy treats, simply make small to medium sized gingerbread men and frozen custard (recipes below.) After making your custard in your ice cream maker, while it's still in the soft serve stage, spread it on a foil lined baking pan. It can be a thick layer or thin, depending on how "stuffed" you want your finished gingerbread men to be.

Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap, keeping the top as smooth as possible, and freeze overnight till it's frozen solid.  Using the same cookie cutter that you used for your gingerbread men, cut out "ice cream gingerbread men." Assemble the cookies with the cut out ice cream shape between two cookies (flat side of cookies facing inward.)

Work quickly, of course so that the frozen filling keeps its shape, and keep assembled cookie sandwiches in the freezer till ready to serve. The cookies and frozen custard can be made ahead of time, but it's best to assemble them right before serving so that the cookies don't get too soft.

(If you don't have time to make your own ice cream/custard filling, purchase ice cream from the store, allow to soften, and spread in baking pan according to above directions.)

HARD GINGER BREAD

(from The Presidential Cookbook, 1896)

"Stir to a cream one cupful of butter and a half a cupful of brown sugar; add to this two cupfuls of cooking molasses, a cupful of sweet milk, a tablespoonful of ginger, a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon; beat all thoroughly together. Beat into this two cups of sifted flour, then a teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in a spoonful of water, and last, two more cupfuls of sifted flour."

Roll to a thickness of ¼" on a lightly floured surface. Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes.

ORANGE FROZEN CUSTARD

(This recipe uses raw eggs. Pregnant women, the elderly, children and those with compromised immune systems should use all safety precautions.)

7 eggs

2 C milk

1 C sugar

2T honey

½ t salt

2 C heavy Cream

¼ C orange juice

zest of two oranges

In room temperature medium saucepan, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, honey and salt. Slowly heat to no more than 155. Eggs begin to curdle at 160-170 and the trick is to get them right up to this point, but no further. Cool quickly by setting pain in ice water. (We do this in the sink.) Whisk in cream and orange juice. Do not add zest. Chill for several hours. Freeze according to the directions on your ice cream maker. Add the zest in the last minutes of churning so that it doesn't clump at the bottom.

Spread soft serve mixture in foil lined baking pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze.

Mary's Snowglobe

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It is snowing here and the wind is blowing every where…………..even down the chimney. Mother told us father will not be able to get home tonight. Even the sleigh bells would not be heard above the howling wind. Brother tied a rope from the edge of the house to the corner of the barn. No one will lose their way while doing the chores and caring for our animals. It is beautiful to see the trees and posts covered in this white powder. Josh and Brent came into the hallway downstairs stamping their feet and shaking wiping the snow from their eyebrows. Before Josh swiped at his eyebrows, he wiggled them. I giggled because he reminded me of father. I wish mother could see my dear ones, Josh and Brent. No one can see or hear them but me. They love being in our house, no matter what time of year it is. I wish they could live there. We have no room now. Father told me about a waterglobe. It is a transparent sphere made of glass. Inside is a tiny scene. There is water inside and when you gently shake it, magical "snow" comes down from the top to the bottom. He said the snow is not snow at all but very wee pieces of bone chips or porcelain. It is made in France and it very new. I know he would like to be able to acquire one for his mercantile and maybe have a second one to give to Mother. He loves to surprise Mother with new things so she can show all her friends. Mother has many friends from her charity work and travelers that stop here along their way to somewhere else. We have a big road that is right out in front of our house. I would love to see one of those waterglobes. Perhaps, there will be one with a miniature of our house inside. I would wave from the window of my room. Josh and Brent know about them. I am not certain how they know of many things. They said their mothers always had one placed on a table for Christmas. Josh said his mother had one with a tiny tree inside. He would roll the globe round and round and make the snow swirl around the tree and not just fall from the bottom to the top. Brent's waterglobe had a music box too. That would be so wonderful to both see and hear Christmas whenever you wished. I hope Father finds one from France before Christmas. I wonder where the bones come from? I wonder, too, if holding the waterglobe will make my hands cold?