I have been busy in the kitchen with projects.  The first was to make bath bombs as we were out.  This is a crisis here so I made as many as I could before my ingredients ran out.

This is the halibut and salmon dinners I had mentioned.  I used our previously frozen cherry tomatoes and our fresh rosemary.  The fish came from the Bellingham docks.  The chorizo was freshly made at our local Haggen’s grocery.  The meal was surprisingly good.

Last night I made a dinner in tribute to Hercules Posey.  I had participated in this zoom about him.  I knew of him and thought he had been lost to history once he fled George Washington’s enslavement, but it turns out he went to New York City, worked as a chef, died of tuberculosis in the early 19th century and was buried there.  His bones are now likely under a building in Manhattan.  It was the 225th anniversary of his fleeing (and also George Washington’s 65th birthday) so I thought it appropriate to help celebrate Black History Month and President’s Day.  I imagined that I was cooking like a slave and eating like a president.  Of course, neither was the truth, but the imagination was fun.

So I dug up Martha Washington’s cookbook online and found recipes that Hercules likely made while in Mount Vernon and in New York and Philadelphia when George was president.  I chose three recipes.  I chose Parsnip Fritters (thanks to Denise’s parsnips).

I also made Fricasseed Rabbits, thanks to leftover frozen rabbit I had from the pre-Christmas cooking adventures.

And I made Potato Puffs.

Here is the dinner assembled. I did not do nearly as well as Hercules, but it was tasty. Tom even loved it.

I also made a tallow candle.  I used the idea that my blog friend Jeanne gave me to use a empty milk carton and ice cubes.  It was supposed to be blue, purple, red, orange and yellow and somewhat psychedelic.  This is what I made.

Tom called it a Sponge Bob candle, not the look I was aiming for.    The purpose was to make a large colorful candle to fill this structure Tom got me for Christmas.  This candle did not quite fill the space.

So back to the drawing board.

Tom smoked the venison bratwursts that I made.

Here is our dinner this evening.  The brauts were really salty, and at this point I realized that I had used salt pork because I couldn’t find pork belly.  The plan was to soak the salt out first, but I had forgotten this detail over the intervening months.  So we have really salty brauts.

I figured I can boil them and put them in sauce.  Also we can cut them thin and use in pizza.  So all is not lost.  Tom liked them, but they were way too salty for me.  At least they will keep well.