Author Archive
Feed A Cold; Starve A Fever.
Posted by: | Comments03/11/2009
This was a common expression when I was young and helped govern what happened when we got sick. There were different foods given to us depending on the ailment and they were all easy to digest and assimilate. For intestinal ailments that involved nausea and/or diarrhea, ginger ale or mint tea with honey were given first, sometimes by the teaspoonful. Next came chicken broth or beef broth, and then a small amount of milk toast or a very ripe mashed banana was added provided all went well. For babies and young children the pediatrician advised a solution of one quart of distilled or boiled water with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar, or honey if the child was old enough, as often as possible to prevent dehydration. This was all that was given until 24 hours after the last bout of diarrhea, and absolutely nothing else. Giving anything else would cause the diarrhea to commence again which increased the chance of dehydration.
For head colds, all dairy and wheat were eliminated as these caused alot of mucus. Anything with vitamin C was consumed and healing soups were recommended. We could eat most foods provided they were easy to digest (not too fatty or rich). If a fever was present, liquids and broths were the only sustanence until the fever broke since it was believed that the digestive system needed to rest so that the body could use all of it’s resources to fight the illness.
Later I heard that the actual expression (from Hippocrates?) was: If you feed a cold, you will have to starve a fever. This still makes sense to me and since the foods changed even for a cold, it seems my Mother and Grandmother also believed this. Another thought was that you didn’t give kids treats when they were sick because it would make them want to be sick!
Before Paper Towels
Posted by: | Comments03/08/2009
There was a time in my memory when both paper napkins and paper towels were considered a luxury; potentially a handy convienence and also a wasteful expense. Now that this is one of the items to eliminate completely, or greatly reduce to help lower our carbon footprint, I am thinking back to those days and what we did instead.
We had dozens of cloth napkins, the every day ones made from stained, worn out tablecloths or chicken feed sacks. The feed sacks were made out of a yard of gingham or calico and became curtains, aprons, pillow cases, and napkins. Only the company napkins were fine linen or damask. Paper napkins were a special luxury for Birthday Parties and the like.
Instead of paper towels, there was the rag bag for spills and icky cleanups. For draining bacon and other fried foods we used brown paper bags and to peel potatoes newspaper was opened on the table to catch the scraps. Then the whole bundle went into the compost. Under the sink were more t-shirt pieces for dusting and old washcloths for wiping little faces. While cooking we wiped our hands on the apron, which could also be used for emergency clean-ups, little faces, and a temporary potholder to get a pot off the stove quickly.
All of these napkins, rags, aprons and so forth were washed then when full of holes and stains moved down to the next level: tablecloth to napkins to rags; t-shirts and socks to rags; then any that were a natural fiber (cotton, silk, linen, wool) were cut up or torn up and went into the compost since the rag-man no longer came around. This is still a good system once it’s started and it makes me feel wonderful as well.
I’m sure there are other ideas out there and I’d love to hear them!
Cow in the Cellar
Posted by: | Comments03/07/2009
My Mother told us many stories from her childhood, fascinating glimpses of a different world. As a girl, they lived in the Great Smoky Mountains above Gatlinburg and grew or made most of what they used. Here’s a glimpse of this life you might find funny – and interesting.
After Grandmother Watson made new cakes of yeast, she put them on a shelf in the basement to dry. There was an outside entry with doors leading down into the cellar and someone left them open, probably one of the five children. Bessy, the milch cow, wandered down the steps, smelled the yeast drying and ate it all! By the time she was found her stomach(s) had expanded with the gases from the yeast, making her bellow and also making her too big to get out of the cellar! What a mess! I think she had to live in the cellar for about a week until her belly returned to normal. I also seem to remember my Uncle Bob had to milk her, feed her, and muck out the cellar!
My question: Does anyone still know how to make yeast cakes at home?
