House of Fire

Unless I've missed some significant advances in quantum mechanics, it is not yet possible for the average historic home-owner to travel back in time and take digital photographs of the past, but last Saturday we did the next best thing. We invited Mercy Ingraham, The Open Hearth Cook to visit us here at Howard Hall Farm. Completely clothed in Federal garb, Mercy Ingraham arrived on the steps of our Federal Home looking like she had just emerged from a Vermeer painting to teach us how to cook on our recently restored historic hearth. *Note the similarity: Wearing Dutch linens and bearing an armload of iron and brass cookware, she lit a roaring fire, and proceeded to charm the hell out of all of us. She is a fascinating and intelligent woman, and one of the most incredible teachers we've ever had here. The workshop was filled with people from vastly differing fields, yet they all had some strange tie to historic buildings, so we all had plenty to talk about. We met a lot of incredible people. Clothed by references to rare films and literature, historic images, and odd chemistry facts (ex: ash+ saliva= lye, which I almost learned the hard way), Mercy gave us a treasure-trove of information....and as far as I'm concerned, it was the very best kind of knowledge: The sort you can eat afterward! ******************************************************************* Among other things, we made and had: Shirley Plantation Mushroom Soup (which was so delicious it was gone before I could take a picture), String Roasted Chicken (Literally: it was roasted by hanging from a string), Southall Cabbage Pudding, Ember-Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Yam Pudding, Dover Cake, and more.... **************************************************************** Mercy just finished her latest book, and signed copies for all of us after the class. For all of you who were here, thank you for making this weekend such a scintillating experience. And Mercy, you are truly a wonder. I can't think of a better way to have brought the light and life back to our hearth. For the first time in probably a century, this house had a blazing, open fire and good company to enjoy it. I hope you'll all come back soon. ******************************************* *********************************************************** If you participated in this workshop, and have pictures, please send them to us! We'd love to add them to our collection... howardhall.farm@gmail.com To view a complete listing of our 2008 classes and workshops: CLICK HERE