Wonderful
March 31, 2021History of the Oval Office Decor
March 24, 2021
The President’s working space in the White House is probably one of the world’s most recognizable offices. But the Oval Office was not always where it is now in the White House – and it was not always oval. The office was moved to its current location in 1934. In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt built a rectangular room on the ground floor of the new West Wing, replacing offices on the second floor of the White House. William Howard Taft made it into an oval in honor of a symbolic feature of George Washington’s Philadelphia residence: a room with a bowed end where the first President would stand surrounded by a circle of guests, allowing him to democratically greet each visitor from the same distance.
Presidents leave their mark on the room by having it decorated according to their individual tastes – except for President Jimmy Carter who kept President Gerald Ford’s decor.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
March 17, 2021
I made Irish Soda Bread for the holiday – I don’t know why I don’t make it more often.
It is difficult to imagine just from the photo how delicious this bread really is.
Here is the recipe:
4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar packed
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
Mix all these ingredients together
Add 6 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter diced
Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or a pastry blender
Make a well in the center and add 1 3/4 cups buttermilk (reserve 1/4 cup)
Add raisins or currants (as many as you desire) and 1-2 Tbsp caraway seeds (if you desire)
Stir together with your hands or a wooden spoon. Add the remaining buttermilk if the mixture is too dry.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of time to bring it all together.
Line the bottom of a seasoned cast iron skittle with with parchment paper.
Shape the bread into a large, round loaf in the skillet
Using a sharp knife or scissors make an X on the top of the loaf
Bake 40 – 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven until the middle of the loaf registers 200 degrees
Allow to cool before cutting
Recipe adapted from Marcy Goldman, via COSTCO magazine
Gunsmoke and Knitting 