My haberdashery hell and other stories

[susie_flo]

Tsk!  Every day this week I've been expecting a delivery of buttons and fripperies from Bedecked...  but sadly the postman remains trimmingless.  Where has it got to?  I am especially impatient to see what the world's most expensive button looks like in the flesh.  (£6.99 for one button!)  I have no clear plan for it, but it might have to become a piece of bespoke jewellery so that it knows it's special. 


Moving on, I started reading Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management on the tube last night.  She kept me quite entertained with her sage advice for the Mistress of the house, such as

"When a mistress is an early riser, it is almost certain that her house will be orderly and well-managed.  On the contrary, if she remain in bed until a late hour, then the domestics, who invariably partake somewhat of their mistress's character, will surely become sluggards"

She also advises:

"In conversation, trifling occurrences, such as small disappointments, petty annotyances and other everyday incidents should never be mentioned to your friends."    And furthermore...    "If the mistress be a wife, never let an account of her husband's failings pass her lips" 

But anyway, most of the book is made up of recipes, and this has made me wonder whether it might be fun to do a dinner party based entirely on Mrs Beeton recipes.  What think ye, fiends?  Would that be nasty or nice?   She has an extensive list of sauces, soups and fish courses and even a recipe for curry and mushroom ketchup. 

Here is her recipe for Asparagus Pudding (seasonable in May, June and July)

   1/2 pint of asparagus peas (I assume she means spears?)
   4 eggs
   2 Tbs flour
   1tbs finely minced ham
   1oz butter
   salt & pepper
   Milk

Cut up the nice green tender parts of the asparagus, about the size of peas; 

Put them into a basin with the beaten eggs, flour, ham, butter, pepper and salt.  Mix all these ingredients together and moisten with sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of a thick batter;

Put into a buttered pint mould, tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, place in boiling water and let it boil for 2 hours;

Turn it out of the mould on to a hot dish and pour plain melted round, but not over, the pudding.

Green peas pudding may be made in exactly the same manner, substiting peas for the asparagus.


Well I suppose that's enough nonsense from me, so I shall be on my way.  I hope you all have marvellous evenings.  As I go I might be unable to avoid pondering who would win in a celebrity deathmatch between Mrs Beeton and Anthea Turner.


PS - I fear I may be a sluggard.
PPS - As if by magic, LJ has just drawn my attention to this community for vintage recipes.

Comments

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I got a marvellous cookbook from a Cats Protection jumble sale many moons ago that was published between the first and second world wars. Not only does it have a fabulous recipe for lemonade, a stain removal section, recipes that say you should put things in a hot,fast or slow oven but also a section on how to train your staff and if you should be slatternly enough not to embroider your own handkerchiefs and trousseau there are societies for distressed gentlewomen who in return for a reasonable sum will do it very daintily for you.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

That book sounds fab.

Do you think they'd let us into a society for distressed gentlewomen? :-)

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Well I'm sure we can be distressed and gentle and we're both ladies so I don't see why not........

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

And they did let you into the WI...

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

It is this WI and I've heard they're quite lax *grin*

http://www.bunsandroses.co.uk/

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Mrs Beeton is turning in her grave. (Actually I suspect she has spent the last 40 years spinning at high speed and may have drilled her way across to Australia by now)

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

If so it'll be because she was a big hypocrite - she was a right slattern in her private life. Apparently.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Was she really? That makes her a far more interesting character (and also less inherently mad than her modern equivalent, Anthea Turner)
:-)

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I absolutely cannot bear Anthea Turner - there's something about her that makes her come across as unhinged in a deeply sinister and scarey way. For some reason I think she'd be quite good and take great pride in poisoning people.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Lol! She is definitely scary. (I bet she'd decant the poisons into little pink bottles that match her curtain pelmets and store them in a basket.)

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

No doubt the basket would be lined with all manner of Cath Kidston twee-ness as well. There is a new Kidston shop opened in Leeds and I had a brief look in earlier and was overwhelmed by the tweeness.

[kissmeforlonger.livejournal.com]

God almighty, what must asparagus spears taste like after being steamed for two hours!

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Well it IS a pudding... (but yes, I have to confess it's unlikely to have me rushing to the cooker anytime soon)

Some of her other recipes are surprisingly modern sounding.... there is one for cauliflower with parmesan. (I never imagine British Victorians eating parmesan)

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

Oooo! Want pictures of your Bedecked stash when it arrives!

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

It has finally arrived! The trimmings are really lovely. The buttons are quite nice, though "the world's most expensive button" doesn't have as much wow factor as I was hoping for. (Also I think it is v. cheeky to charge me £4.99 for postage that weighs next to nothing... and then have me wait a whole week for it to turn up!)

Still, I would certainly go there again for the lovely edgings and trimings. Will try and post pics over the weekend.