👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳2017 March 4, Saturday, Burritt Museum, Cooking on the Mountain Huntsville, Alabama

From 11:00-1:15PM, I was at the Burritt on the Mountain, they were having an event called Fire on the Mountain.

Blacksmiths

Blacksmiths

Demonstrators were engaged in open-hearth cooking throughout the park in different cabins.  

I sampled a biscuit with homemade Apple Butter, & Chocolate cake. 

Other demonstrators were cooking sweet potato pie, roast, and blackberry pie either in open hearths or old cookstoves. 

Demonstrators cooking biscuits on an open hearth

Cooking Chocolate Cake

Cooking on Cook Stove

None of the cabins had utilities, just like our ancestors. 

The Blacksmith demonstrators gave the public a chance to see history in the making. 

A child was asked what happens when the rods get hot? She replied it softens.

The buildings I visited were the Meals Cabin, built-in 1845, the Gardiner Cabin in 1845, the Candler House, the Smoke House, the Bernstein Spring House, the Joel Eddin’s House, the Smith Williams House 1969, the Burritt Barnyard 1890, the BlackSmith Shop 1860, the Sorghum Mill and Furnace, the Balch House and the Madison Church 1884.

Barnyard Animals

The Burritt Mansion was the last building that I toured. 

Two rooms of the mansion were dedicated to Maria Howard Weeden’s, paintings, poems, and art. 

Weeden Art 

Burritt Mansion 

Inside the mansion, I saw a Music Box 

Burritt's Desoto 

I traveled down Monto Santa Mountain to VBCC in Huntsville, where I was going to the home and Garden Show.

I bought my ticket and was given a bag to fill with goodies.

I talked to several vendors, collected a few items, and walked back to my car. 

I had to cross over to Big Spring Park where I saw goldfish swimming. 

GoldFish in Big Spring Pond

Called hubby and they said to meet me in Rogersville for the first Saturday Fish Fry.

Our meal consisted of one piece of fried catfish, four jumbo shrimp, fries, coleslaw, onion, two deep-fried hush puppies, and a drink.

Catfish Meal 

We bought two boxes of Girl Scout Cookies as we were leaving the Fire Department. 

After a full day of driving, walking, and eating I was ready for relaxing. 

A long hot shower stretched out on the sofa. 

Coffee High School "IF these walls could talk" now only a memory!!

Home Economic Fashion Show Features Winter Scene

With strains of Winter wonderland filling the air. The annual Home Economic Fashion Show was held in the Coffee's auditorium on Friday, December 3.
Mrs. Gann and Mrs. Southern, the home economics teachers were presented with corsages in appreciation for their help in arranging the fashion show.

Home Economic Fashion Show

One student walked onto the stage modeling a sports outfit.

She is keeping in step with the latest fashion changes.
For she has chosen black tarpon cloth for her very stylish bell-bottom slacks.
Her slacks are fitted and slightly flared a the bottom.
For her jacket, she has chosen, red, gray, and black plaid cotton.
Her jacket features long set-in sleeves and a very low scooped neckline.

She walks to the edge of the stage, turns, poses, and exits the stage followed by other students.
Fads and Fashions during the 60s were pierced earrings, and paper mache pins for the Coffee girls.
For the boys are paisley shirts, new scrub denim jeans, with initials on the right back pocket, weejum shoes, and no socks.
The mod move is print shirts with London-look collars and cuffs which are paired with hip-slingers pants. The boys also are wearing London Fog Jackets in shades of blue, yellow, and beige.

The first semester was sewing.
The second semester was cooking, baking, how to arrange a table, flower arrangement, and furniture, and how to place furniture in a home.

1. Rich Short Cakes served with strawberries and whipped cream.
2. Waldorf Salad chilled and served on a bed of crisp lettuce and garnished with maraschino cherries
3. Italian Pizza -covered and refrigerated overnight. Brushed with oil added sauce and baked for 15 to 20 minutes at 450.
4. Pizza Sauce topped with, parmesan, mozzarella cheeses, sausage, smoked sausage, weiners, hamburger, and pepperoni.
5. Italian Spaghetti - brown meat in olive oil, drain and add onion, pepper, and garlic cook for 5 minutes and add all other ingredients. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
6. Cherry Dream Whip- Graham Cracker Crumbs for the crust, dream whip mixture, for filling.
7. Refrigerator rolls
8. Types of rolls: Fruit Buns, Cinnamon rolls, Cloverleaf, Parker-House Rolls, Crescents Rolls, Braided Rolls, and Knots.
9. Notes on bread: Thick bread, yeast bread
10. Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes, salad rolls a cracker pie MEAL
11. Sunset Salad - jello salad
12. Baked Macaroni and Cheese
13. Tahitian Delight -Jello Salad
14. Never fail pie crust
15. Lemon Gold Cake
16. Lemon Butter Cream Frosting
17. We learned the difference between custards, pies, and puddings
18. Ribbon Sandwiches
19. Punch made with cool-aid, cold water, sugar, pineapple juice, grapefruit juice, gingerly, and lemon juice.
20. Chili Con Carne

Chili Con Carne

Next, we learned how to set a table and all bout the different types of items that go on the table.
What are the types of eating Utensils?
1. Sterling silver
2. Silver plated
3. Inlaid silver
4. Stainless steel

Silver Wear 

What types of dishes are used?
1. China
2. Porcelain
3. Earthenware
4. Melamine

How the pattern is put in China?
1. Hand Painting
2. Transfers

What determines whether the pattern will be permeant or not?
1. underglaze
2. overgrazed

Crystal fine glassware lead is added to the crystal.
We then learned about the different types of Furniture.
1. Early American Colonial American 17 Century
2. Duncan Phyfe Federal American 19 Century
3. Modern Contemporary 20-century
4. Victorian 19th Century
5. Eighteenth Century English 18 Century
a. Queen Ann
b. Chippendale
c. Sheraton
d. Hipple white
6. French Provincial 19th-Century

Types of Furniture

We learned about Flower arrangement
Finally, we had to draw a room using the furniture styles listed above.
It was a very interesting year and we learned a lot.
I love to cook and sew.

Designing a room 

History of Coffee High School before it was demolished in 2016.

Coffee Gym 

Coffee Front Office 

Back view

🍔🍔🍔2014~ Nov 19, Wednesday Staggs Hamburgers

We are always stopping at places like McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy’s for a hamburger.

Most of their hamburgers are precooked, they are okay if you are hungry, and you are in a hurry. 

Sometimes, it is nice to sit down to a real home-cooked hamburger.

My husband said, If you want a real home-cooked hamburger then let's go to Staggs, they have the best. 

So, for lunch today we went to Staggs in East Florence. 

Staggs is located in an area of Florence that once was home to Sweet Water Mill, and many other industries but now has lots of empty buildings, all industry is gone. 

The train depot that sat empty for many years has been remodeled and is used for parties, wedding dinners, birthday parties, and many other functions. 

Staggs is a small diner that cooks your food on a grill right in front of you 

We watched as the girls patted out the hamburger meat, put them on the grill, and the smell filled the air.  

It was lunchtime and many workers filled the store, many would place their orders to go. 

The dinner was small and filled up fast with customers. 

The workers formed a line and a short-order clerk took their orders, very organized.

One person cooked the hamburgers, another dressed them, another bagged them. 

When their order was complete, they would walk back to the cash register to pay their bills. 

There were only three or four long tables in the cafe, I guess most of there customers were workers that came in groups. 

The table where we were sitting filled up fast. 

We savored every bite of our hamburgers, as we watched the lines of workers getting their food to go. 

When everyone finished the waitress would clear the tables.

We paid at the register when we finished eating. 

On the counter just above where the food was cooked was a tip jar.  Probably everyone shared the tips. 

The food was very good, the people were friendly, you got your food fast, and they were very organized. 

A great restaurant for its size. 

I would give it a thumbs up for a great place to eat good fast food!!!!

Staggs Restaurant East Florence

The Microwave incident

I was running late one Sunday morning when my grandson who had spent the night, said,

” Granny I do not have any clean underwear to put on.”

So, I hand washed the pair of underwear that he had taken off and thrown them in the dryer.

I went to check on them and they were almost dry, but around the waistband, they were still damp so I popped them in the microwave.

I had seen other people dry close that way before, so I decided to do it myself.

I heard my grandson say, 

“Granny I smell something funny.”

I went to check on his underwear they were cooking!

I took them out of the microwave, let them cool, never taking the time to see if they were ok or not and I told my grandson to put them on.

My grandson said,  

“Granny, there is something scratching me.”

Low and behold, the microwave had burnt several holes in his underwear, and the elastics were burned to a crisp.

I tried to cut away all the crisp parts from his underwear, but by the time I finished, there was nothing left for him to wear.

My grandson said, 

“Granny I can wear my thermals (long johns) to church. “

I said,” put them on and off we went to church.”

The moral of this story is a microwave is for cooking food, not UNDERWEAR!!!!!!! LOL

I was having a blond morning!!!!!!!!!!

1/12/12