Charm of the Carolines

Wild Violet Blossom Jelly Recipe

PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Smith

Wild Violet Blossom Jelly

• 3 cups boiling water
• 1 package (1-3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup homemade Wild Violet Syrup (recipe here)

Pour all ingredients into a large and tall stainless steel saucepan; bring to a rolling boil and stir constantly. Boil 1 minute. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot liquid into sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. air between the top of the liquid and the sterilzed lids. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and allow to cool. No need to put through the canning process. The sugar content will prevent it from spoiling. 

Plantation vs. Farm vs. Estate

Nearly a decade ago I had the pleasure to meet Robert Grede, a charming and creative gentleman from Milwaukee who traveled to Columbia, TN, to spend hours in our local county archives conducting research for his book The Spur and the Sash, a historical fiction book based on the US Civil War experiences of one of his ancestors Sergeant George Van Norman and the time he spent convalescing in Maury county.  We met at the Maury County Archives where Grede was scheduled to speak about his research and his soon to be released book. 

One thing in particular really stuck with me from that presentation. Robert Grede said that as a far northern resident, he and his friends were curious about the seemingly romantic notion of the "old south plantation." He went on to say he was a bit disappointed to learn that a plantation is simply a farm. 

A farm? I never really thought about it. Born and raised in a southern border state, I've always taken for granted the word "plantation."  What is a plantation?  Is is simply a farm? Is it defined by historical era? Architectural style? Size? Crop? Activity? Way of life?

Growing up in Franklin, Tennessee, we passed antebellum plantation home after plantation home on the school bus each morning going to school. It was just somebody's big, old house. Most were still residents, even if a bit dilapidated. Carnton Plantation, though fully restored and open to the public, was a rental house adjacent to the Carnton Golf and Swim Club (now a part of the Battle of Franklin Trust.)  Some homes, I'm sorry to say, housed hay bales and smoked country hams. It's expensive to maintain a big, 150+ year old structure. 

But what make large, old houses plantation homes verses just farm houses?  I needed to know, so I went on a quest. 

What I discovered is typically a Plantation home is a large house in a tropical or subtropical climate on a farm that concentrates on one crop, i.e. a cotton plantation, a sugarcane plantation, a pineapple plantation, a thoroughbred plantation.  If a plantation had more than one main crop, like cotton, corn, and tobacco, then it was a farm, albeit a large one and could boast a large house. 

Rippavilla Plantation, where I serve on the board of Directors, is really a misnomer. Rippavilla was not a plantation or a farm, but an estate.  An Estate is different from a plantation and a farm in that it also hosts a business or activity either outside or adjacent to agriculture such as milling, ginning, or blacksmithing. What Rippavilla's additional businesses were, I'm not certain. I've heard it had it's on mill, but was that for use on the estate only or was it a business open to the public? I've heard it had it's own kiln, and the slaves were skilled brick masons and carpenters. But was it located at Rippavilla or at Susan McKissack Cheairs' father's home? It's quite possible Rippavilla was simply a large farm. 

Are all large, old, southern homes called Plantations?  The simple answer is No. But no one will point out the mistake if you make it. It does seem that the word "plantation" has become a generic word for large, old, southern home, many simply go by their name or are called farm, hall, estate, home or place. Just look at some of the beauties in Maury County. 

The William McKissack Home (privately owned)

Antrim Farm (now a special events venue)

Elm Springs  (Open to the Public for Tours and home to the SCV Headquarters)

Ferguson Hall  (Open to the Public)

Haynes Haven on the site previously known as Woodlawn (Owned by GM and available to rent for special events)

Mayes-Frierson-Fuston Home  (Privately owned)

Rattle and Snap Plantation  (Privately owned, but Open to the public by appointment only)

Rippavilla Plantation (Open to the Public)

Athenaeum Rectory (Open on weekends and by appointment)

So whether they are Plantations, Farm Houses, or Estates, Maury county is home to more than 1500 structures that pre-date the American Civil War. I have no idea how many exist within middle Tennessee. Each is beautiful and rich with history and stories of the residents and those who worked the land. 

Honeysuckle Tea

Last Friday I was walking the property at Rippavilla with a group of ladies when one woman, new to middle Tennessee, asked if privet was honeysuckle. Bless her heart!

Both Privet and Honeysuckle smell heavenly, but honeysuckle has an added bonus.... it's delicious and good for you.  Since I was a child, my friends in the neighborhood would ride our bikes to the antebellum stone walls lining Berry's Chapel Road that had honeysuckle growing on them. Simply pick a blossom and from the branch end, pull out the long, middle pistil. With it comes a drop of "honey."

Or, as I learned this week, you can pick the flowers to brew a tea. 

Honeysuckle Tea can help as an anti-inflammatory, reducing fever, infections, and as a detox. 

Honeysuckle Tea benefits….

Reducing Inflammation – honeysuckle is used medicinally for treating inflammation in the body. Reducing inflammation helps:

·       “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis)

·       high cholesterol

·       heart disease and circulation problems

·       insulin resistance and diabetes

·       eye-related disorders, including cataracts

·       allergies, asthma and hay fever

·       stomach ulcers

·       cognitive impairment

·       gout

·       viral infections

·       inflammation of the prostate, bladder and ovaries

·       chronic fatigue syndrome

·       cancer

·       chronic infections of the prostate

·       skin disorders, including dermatitis and hives

 

Reducing Headaches – honeysuckle is used medicinally for relieving headaches and migraines.

Reducing Nausea, Stomachache and Digestive Disorders – honeysuckle lowers inflammation and soothes the stomach.

 

Detoxing Toxins – Chinese Medicine considers honeysuckle one of the best whole body detoxifiers, especially for the blood and liver.

 

Boosting Immune System – honeysuckle contains powerful antioxidants, it’s rich in Vitamin C and it’s a great source of Quercetin, which is an acid that fights free radicals in the body.

 

Reducing Cold and Flu Symptoms – not only is honeysuckle an expectorant, but it’s known as a natural antibiotic that protects against a broad spectrum of bacteria and viruses including strep, staph, salmonella, pneumonia, tuberculosis and more.  

 

Reducing Fever – Chinese Medicine uses honeysuckle to treat fevers.

 And it is easy to make!

Gather a cup of fresh honeysuckle blossoms that are free from pesticides, herbicides, or any chemical residue. I gathered mine from my own yard. This is the white and butter-yellow variety, but the pink ones are good, too. 

Press the petals to get more flowers in your cup. 

Remove any leaves. I left a couple of flowers intact with a leaf for garnish. 

Give them a rinse to remove any dust or stray ant that may be in your blossoms. 

Depending on how strong you like your Honeysuckle Tea, you can use a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio of water to blossoms. Add a cloth napkin to the top of your pitcher and tie it on to keep little critters from spoiling you tea, and set it in the sun for 4-6 hours. If you prefer to pour warm water over the blossoms to steep, make sure it is not boiling. Boiling, even very hot, water will leach out bitterness in your blossoms. Sun brewing is best.

Once tea has steeped for 4-6 hours, remove blossoms and pour over ice. I add a squeeze of fresh lemon, a couple of mint leaves and a few drops of organic Stevia to enhance the flavor. What can I say, Southerners love their Sweet Tea!!

If all this is too complicated or if you don't have access to fresh honeysuckle vines, the dried variety is sold online and in health food stores.  

Cameos and Tassies

I only own one antique cameo, one that belonged to my grandmother. It's beautiful, yet unremarkable. As so many cameos, it is a woman's profile carved out of white shell against a coral background. Wish I knew it's history or even where or when my grandmother acquired it. But no, this little lady's history is a mystery.

From Collectors Weekly I learned, Victorian women on the Grand Tour—a traveling rite of passage for upper-class Europeans—sought out cameos on their travels. 

In the salons of 18th-century Europe, carved gemstones were all the rage with high-society ladies. Cameo makers of the time would take Plaster of Paris molds of these carved gemstones as records of notable cameo collections. At the time, cameos were a sign of wealth and privilege, but glass paste brought cameos to the mainstream. Scottish artisan James Tassie began making molds of esteemed cameo collections to recreate the images as glass-plate cameos that could pass as carved jewels.

The copy of the cameo from it's plaster of Paris mold is called a "Tassie."  I had never heard of Tassies, but while shopping the Nashville Antiques and Garden Show this past weekend, I discovered them in one of the vendor stalls. 

Now I want to take a Grand Tour and collect my own. But there is more!

I never really thought about it, but gathered the Grand Tour was simply a vacation after college for the elite. However, I've come to learn it was more than that... it was a continuation of education. The Grand Tour was meant to enrich education in art, architecture, history, languages, and culture. With virtually unlimited funds, young aristocrats traveled throughout Europe commissioning paintings, purchasing antiques, and taking lessons in riding, fencing, music, history, culture, the classics and languages.

In my dreams the perfect grand tour would include painting workshops in Provence and Tuscany, castle snooping in England, Scotland and Ireland, market and farmhouse cooking lessons throughout France and Italy, and maybe a lesson or two on winemaking and sommeliering. I would love to be able to say "notes of Oak" with confidence and possibly in French. Without giggling. 

I want to learn the finer points of goat cheese production. And to tour the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. I want to wave at HRH Price Harry and the lovely Ms. Markle from the top of a double-decker bus and smell the flowers at Monet's garden at Giverny. And since I will be close by, I must pay homage to my American heroes at Normandy. 

I want to shop in flea markets and flower markets and dine at an outdoor bistro. I want to paint lavender fields. And design a new perfume. I want to go on a millinery tour of London. 

And why not? I would love to travel Europe taking lessons in riding, fencing, music, history, culture and languages, too.

I want to learn. I want to be inspired. 

I've been looking for a new goal. I may have just found it.  

 

 

Windy Acre Cottage

This morning Jane Pauley shared with us her "simple pleasures" summer vacation on CBS Sunday Morning. I don't want to make her jealous, but her description is just another day at Windy Acre Cottage.

Plus we have the joy of listening to the Courthouse clock tower chime in every hour along with church bells. We pick figs from the backyard tree and bike to the neighborhood farmers market to purchase fresh eggs, veggies, and honey. Supper is served on Grandma's china and many times using her recipes.

We can catch our own fish at the dam, and catch lightning bugs in the evening. Here we know our neighbors' names and which pet belongs to which family. The Sheriff encourages his deputies to watch the "Andy Griffith Show" in the evenings.

And for a little excitement there is a honky-tonk or two within walking distance down by the river. I've never been, but enjoy the house band's versions of "Freebird" and "Rocky Top" wafting through the neighborhood on Mule Day. Or walk the other direction to the neighborhood micro-brewery and enjoy an ale with friends by the bonfire.

  

At Windy Acre Cottage, Sunday morning is spent at church. Coffee is percolated. And women wear pearls. We read big books in the porch swing every afternoon, and old dogs nap at our feet.

 

Laundry is hung on the line to dry in the sun and the gentle breeze. And zinnias are clipped for a bouquet on the dining room table, the bedside table, the bathtub, the living room. The interior of Windy Acre Cottage pretty much resembles a funeral parlor in the spring and summer with all the bouquets of fresh flowers.

And most days I paint... RC Colas and Moon-pies, hydrangeas, old barns, cows, chickens, a historic home or church, maybe a tomato or two.

      

Is it idealistic? Not really. A snake lives in the hedgerow, but he's small and doesn't bother anyone. Last winter, a baby possum fell out of the attic in the middle of the night and scared us half to death, but he was just looking for warmth and was relocated to Walden's Puddle, his secret entrance-way patched. A wacky, eccentric neighbor likes to shoot his gun out his backdoor occasionally, but neighbors simply call the authorities or his Momma, and life gets pretty much back to normal.

 

If your breakfast consists of avocado toast, you're out of luck unless you make your own. You won't find it on any nearby menu. You're more likely to find country ham, biscuits, gravy.

And up the street on the square, between the American Flag and the Crepe Myrtle, there is a public monument honoring those who served in the Civil War from our county, listing them by name. I know that is considered backward and uncouth, but it does list everyone who served whether it be for the Union or the Confederacy, whether they were white, black, indian, or latino, native-born or immigrant. History is revered, because its our ancestors and our story.

 

You may call it a vacation, Mrs. Pauley. I simply call it home. And you are welcome to come visit any time. I've got a pitcher of sweet tea waiting for you and a bowl of October beans that need shelling.

 

 

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