Fourth of July Heroines!

Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone! It's a busy one here with cookouts and such, so I'm leaving you with a few images of favorite early-American heroines (Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dolley Madison)





And if you're looking for something a bit different to take to the potluck picnic, why not try this Martha Washington Cake (from the Mount Vernon website)??

Take 40 eggs and divide the whites from the yolks and beat them to a froth. Then work 4 pounds of butter to a cream and put the whites of eggs to it a Spoon full at a time till it is well work'd. Then put 4 pounds of sugar finely powdered to it in the same manner then put in the Yolks of eggs and 5 pounds of flour and 5 pounds of fruit. 2 hours will bake it. Add to it half an ounce of mace and nutmeg half a pint of wine and some fresh brandy.

Modern adaptation of recipe:

In making Martha Washington's famed cake, Mount Vernon's curatorial staff followed Mrs. Washington's recipe almost exactly. Where the recipe called for 5 pounds of fruit, without specifying which ones, 2 pounds of raisins, 1 pound of currants, and 2 pounds of apples were used. The wine used was cream sherry. Since no pan large enough was available to hold all the batter, two 14 layers were made and stacked (note: the original was one single tall layer). The layers were baked in a 350 degree oven for 1.5 hours. Should be iced with a very stiff egg-white based icing, flavored with rosewater or orange-flower water.

Holiday Party Goodies

So this weekend is the Fourth of July! It feels like summer is Officially On. And to help us get the party started, here are a couple very easy recipes I love for summer cookouts (I'm not much of a cook at all, so if I say it's easy, believe me it's EASY!)

Watermelon Martini:
1 part vodka (or citrus vodka, for an extra tang) to 1 1/2 parts pureed watermelon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass




And for the grill, Veggie Kabobs (I think I got this from the America's Test Kitchen show on PBS, but can't remember for sure! It's got a nice Greek flavor to it)

Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, mashed

Veggies
4 medium-sized red onions, quartered
2 medium-sized green zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium-sized yellow summer squash, 1 inch pieces
12 button mushrooms, stemmed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 package extra-firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 lb crumbled feta cheese

1) Mix marinade, stirring to blend ingredients
2) Place prepped veggies and tofu in 2-gallon ziplock baggie, pour in marinade and turn over to coat everything; marinate in fridge 1-4 hours
3) When ready to cook, remove veggies from marinade and thread onto skewers, leaving a little space between. Grill about 15-20 minutes, until the veggies are golden and tender
4) Serve warm with crumbled feta (and the watermelon martini!)

Add some music (maybe the Marie Antoinette soundtrack? Or the Beatles, or Bob Marley?), some sparklers, and you have a summer party!