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Remnants of Roasted Chicken
So, to update you all on my travel situation...I was able to leave work in time to catch my needed train last Friday night. This meant I was able sleep until a normal time on Saturday and wake up to trees, yummy breakfast and hot coffee! Before venturing into new territory with Open-Hearth Cooking at the Buckingham House in Mystic Seaport. Talk about a delicious pursuit for a cold New England day...
Mystic Seaport is my second favorite place to photograph (I think you all can guess the first ;) And I've also always harbored a fascination with history and experiencing life as it might have been back then. I secretly wished I could be one of the workers or volunteers who got to wear the costumes and work in the shops or kitchens...so last year, when I saw that they offered an open hearth cooking class I was elated! Problem was, that I had missed it by a month. This led to me stalking the Mystic Seaport website until I saw the class posted again. This was my year!
We arrived early and, unfortunately, surprised the instructors...but it gave me a chance to catch the house in my favorite light...right before dusk. But they took it all in stride and it gave me time with my camera. So I ran around delighting in every shadow and fading winter sunbeam.
(Click on thumbnails for full images)
Then we began the class! My Mom and I tackled cod fish cakes with fresh chives from the garden. At first I was very conscious of the fact that I was in a museum house/kitchen...but that quickly melted away as we worked and all of a sudden we were in a "normal" (very) warm and buzzing kitchen. I became very comfortable manning the swinging frying pan...moving to and fro so I could get the cod cakes into the light...to tell whether or not they were brown enough. It's amazing the art and effort that went into cooking in a fireplace. It's a whole other animal...but with it's similarities. I loved the trial and error aspect of measuring and creatively cooking. That's the way I like to cook!
Everyone was assigned a different recipe and we all worked in community. Something else I truly love.
Mom and classmates trying to peel some unruly beets
We sipped cider and ate toasted bread with pounded cheese (along with the cod fish cakes) while chickens roasted in a "tin kitchen," cranberries, turnips and beets bubbled in a kettle hanging over head and delicious cornbread baked away in a dutch oven smothered with hot ash. You know, a normal day in the kitchen.
Cooking on the stove just doesn't have the same effect :) I truly felt the
hearth and home as an all consuming thing. It's also a lot of hard
work and you can appreciate how tough the women of the house must have been. I loved every minute of it.
I'm not saying I want to turn in my slow-cooker, blender or toaster but the experience made me realize that this is how I love to cook...at least the spirit of it. It's how I've been thinking and feeling about cooking since I really fell in love with it as a full hearth and home activity. Not creating the fanciest cuisine but good, honest cooking with love and earthiness. Creating a meal with others and then sitting down to share the fruits of our labor. I hope to continue moving in that direction.
The only downside was that our wonderful instructors didn't sit down with us! And, it was really cold in that dining room. New England didn't let us forget that she was outside waiting. We all scuttled back into the kitchen for our dessert as soon as possible...crowding back around the hearth for warmth. It seemed appropriate to gather where everyone always gathers, in the heart of the home.
Another fun aspect of the night was when I was allowed to don a period cloak
to venture out to the bathrooms (with a lantern). I felt the quiet company of the Seaport
town surrounding me and then returned to the warmth of hearth and home with yummy aromas greeting me in the kitchen. How it should always be. It was a wonderful added touch...like a childhood fantasy come true!
We were sent home with so many goodies too! Including a booklet of all the recipes we created, along with a few more, a copy of "The American Frugal Housewife," and a hand set and printed copy of the night's menu from the Seaport's print shop. I want to get it framed.
I've been rolling the experience over and over again in my mind and the basic truth is that I do believe I found a piece of myself in that kitchen. It was one of those times when I felt as if everything fit and made sense that I was there. Nothing felt forced or unnatural...I wasn't searching for my place because I felt like I belonged. How I incorporate this piece into my life right now remains to be seen. It poses a bit of a challenge, but one I'm most happy to take up.
XO
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