Book Report: Our Nig Or Sketches From The Life Of A Free Black by Harriet E. Wilson

 I read this short little book a couple of weeks ago. It was a very sad story. I tend to steer clear of sad stories. But, every once in a while I think I could reap some benefits from reading a true story even though it can be depressing. People really have suffered and are still suffering today. Reading a true account of a mistreated individual can help me to be empathetic and also keep me from getting an unrealistic view that all is sunshine and roses. Of course, it is not good to dwell on these things all of the time. 

Our Nig by Harriet E. Wilson is an autobiography told in the form of a novel. This book was originally published in 1859. My copy is a reprint with the font and typeset true to the original style. 

Harriet Wilson uses the name Frado for the character in the story who represents herself. Frado was abandoned by her mother as a small child. She was left at a neighbors house and her mother never came back. These neighbors took Harriet in as a slave. The family lived in the North but that didn't keep them above treating a human as an animal. Neither did being in the North make Frado free. 

Some of the family members were friendly to Frado. (I use that word lightly. Harriet portrays these family members as friendly, but anyone who can stand by when another person is being abused is not "friendly" in my book.) The family members with the most influence and power were very wicked. They beat and severely mistreated her. 

Thankfully, one of the characters takes the time to share the gospel with Frado. Frado feels the need for a Saviour. She finds it hard to believe that Heaven can be for blacks. Her master thinks that blacks have no soul and that they are no better than animals. Having these lies pushed at her makes it hard for Frado to believe the truth. In the end she is able to speak with a minister who assures her that the gospel is for all races. Frado clings to comfort she finds in the scriptures through her hardships. 

Once she was finally able to leave the oppressive family her health was so broken by the years of abuse that she was unable to support herself. She suffered with poor health for the rest of her life.

Our Nig does not have a happy ending nor can it. At the time it was written slavery was still an institution sanctioned and protected by law. Blacks did not have equal rights, not even in the North. And, just because a household was abolitionist politically didn't mean they would welcome a black person to stay under the same roof as themselves. In many peoples minds black individuals were thought of as second class citizens.

 

Times were bleak for our darker colored brethren during those times. Reading accounts like Our Nig can be depressing. I am glad that we live at a time in our country when the law grants and protects every citizens rights, regardless of race.

Acts 17:26 +27

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

Did You Know, Whales Need Fresh Water?

 

I was surprised to learn that whales can not drink ocean water. What do they do? Drink rain water?

The answer: Whales receive all their hydration through the sea creatures they eat. If they don't eat they will die from thirst before they die from hunger. 

Isn't that a fun little fact? 

I learned it in this video about a Pilot Whale rescue. This story is pretty fascinating! I hope you enjoy watching it, too!

https://youtu.be/wXZio54CSbI

This Pilot Whale became lost close to shore. A research team was sent to investigate. They had to give the whale water because it was severely dehydrated. They tried several times to lead it out to the open ocean, but everytime it came back to the shore area. After some testing the researchers concluded that the whale had a problem with it's sonar system and was unable to locate any prey. Without being able to eat the whale would eventually die. Fortunately, for the whale, Sea World in California was able, and willing to transport the suffering whale to their location. They put this whale on an airplane and flew it to California! Can you believe that? Anyway, that is where the poor Pilot Whale was able to live out his days. He died in 2012.

Genesis 1:21 

 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Further reading:

https://www.nature.com/news/whale dies from dehydration

https://blog.seattlepi.com/candacewhiting/2012/05/28/seaworlds-pilot-whale-sully-dies-a-story-of-successful-rescue-and-early-death/

Try Something New: Japanese Onigiri

Onigiri are eaten in Japan as sandwiches are eaten in The United States. They are easily portable. Onigiri are a great lunch food. 

I learned about Onigiri from the YouTube channel Emmymade. I recommend you search, "Emmymade Onigiri," on YouTube if you want to learn more about Onigiri. There are a lot of details in her videos that I found interesting. 

Onigiri is basically a seasoned rice ball, stuffed with tuna or other ingredients or left unstuffed, and wrapped in Nori (seaweed paper). I really like them. They are great and they are gluten free.

I am so happy that I tried Onigiri. They are really tasty! The seaweed wrapper, Nori, has a very unique flavor that I can't compare to anything that is in my normal American diet. I would describe Nori as tasting like the sea. Both of my boys really like it! They would eat a whole package in one sitting without adding anything if I let them. My youngest son described Nori like this, "It tastes like fish food!" (And he should know,.....) Haha!

I had to go shopping at the local Asian grocery store to buy some of the ingredients for Onigiri. 

This is the isle with Furikake seasoning.

I needed Furikake (rice seasoning). There are a lot of varieties of Furikake. I chose a Kimchi flavored Furikake. I thought is was very tasty. There was a nice kick of horseradish and flakes of Nori, plus sesame seed, anchovy, and other flavors. 

I bought a 50 lb. bag of rice at the Asian grocery store, too. The type of rice that works best for Onigiri is short grained rice, commonly called sushi rice. Short grained rice is very sticky and is sometimes called glutenous rice because it is sticky like glue, not because it contains gluten.

This is a package of small rectangle sheets
of dried seaweed. The larger squares of Nori
are the kind used for sushi. 

I also bought the Nori (seaweed wrapper) at the Asian grocery store. I have seen Nori for sale at some Walmart stores, though, so, if you don't have an Asian grocery store, you may be able to buy some Nori at Walmart. Walmart also carries sticky rice in the Asian section. I buy the Botan brand. At the Asia  grocery store they also carry Botan brown short grained rice, which is probably healthier for you. I haven't tried it yet, though.

 To make Onigiri:

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions.

2. Mix in some Furikake, if you want. This step is optional. I have made Onigiri without Furikake and it tastes fine.

3. Using wet hands, take a hand-full of rice and shape it into a ball.

4. If you are stuffing your Onigiri: Make a dimple in the center of the ball. Put a small spoonful of filling into the dimple. Roll the edges over to cover the filling. (Make sure to keep your hands wet, otherwise, this will be nearly impossible.) I have used tuna mixed with a little mayonnaise for stuffing my Onigiri. 

5. Wrap your rice ball in a sheet of Nori right before you are ready to eat. The Nori will quickly go soggy so don't do this step ahead of time. 

The pictures of Onigiri in this post show a small piece of Nori around the bottom side of the Onigiri. I was running out of Nori so I cut it into smaller pieces. I like to wrap the whole rice ball in a large sheet of Nori if I have enough to do so. But, you can wrap your Onigiri however you like! 

Have you ever tried making some food from a foreign nation? Did you like it? Let me know about your food adventures in the comments section!

Onigiri with some sad looking broccoli
 and carrots. :)

 

Pattern Review: Butterick 6483

 

I am excited to be writing my first ever pattern review! I have sewn several dresses using this pattern. I chose view G&H.

Did I make any changes?

I did make a few changes. 

1. I sewed the trim onto the collar differently. I did not like the way that the pattern instructions require the collar trim to be attached. 

The trim sewn according to the instructions.

It looks terrible from the underside.

I sewed the trim onto the collar seam when I assembled the collar.

This lace is sewn into the collar seam.

It is much cleaner on the underside.

2. I made the sleeve casings a little wider.

The original casings just don't fit a real baby. My babies are not even that chunky and the original sleeve casings are much too tight. I recommend adding 1 inch to the sleeve casings when you cut out the pattern. Your sleeve won't have as many gatherings, but it still has enough.

3. I did not make a placket opening in the skirt. I never like how those gape open, and I thought the bodice back opening provided enough room to put the dress over the head and get the arms in the sleeves.

I installed snaps at the back opening instead of buttons and button holes. 

4. The pattern calls for a 3 inch hem. I only did a 1 inch hem. My little girl needed the extra length.

Is the pattern easy to follow?

Yes, this pattern is easy to follow. The instructions are clear and the construction steps are in a very good order.

This pattern even directs that each seam that is going to be left exposed be finished. It doesn't just say at the end of the pattern, "Oh, by the way, all exposed seams should be finished." No, this pattern puts it right in there when the step is finished, "Now stitch again 1/4" from the seam allowance." I appreciated that.

What material did I use?

I used a few different cotton fabrics from my stash. Some of them were probably quilting cottons.

I was excited to use this vintage material for one of the dresses.
My sister gave it to me years ago.
I have been saving it for a special project.

I didn't have matching bias tape for all the collars. 

I thought it would be fun to use contrasting colors for the bias tape.

Would I recommend this pattern?

I was very happy with this pattern. I plan to use many more times. I definitely recommend it to others!

My Family's Favorite Pizza Crust

This dough is the no-knead artisan bread dough that was really popular about 10 years ago. It is really simple and fast to assemble. This recipe and technique has never failed me. The crust always turns out with a great yeasty flavor and aroma, along with a perfect crunchy on the outside, and chewy on the inside texture. 

Let's get started!

 Dough Recipe

3 cups warm water

1 1/2 TBS. yeast

1 1/2 TBS. course or kosher salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached flour

In a large bowl (at least 4 quarts) combine all the ingredients. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, 5 minutes is all it should take.

Shaggy dough. Stop stirring.

Cover loosely and rest at room temperature for 2-5 hours. 

After the rest you have a bowlful of sticky dough.

At this point the dough can be used for pizza or put into the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Make sure you start preheating your oven well and in advance, like 30 minutes. Set your oven to 500° F. and place an overturned iron skillet on the middle rack. A stoneware pizza pan can be used instead of an iron skillet.

Preheat oven and iron skillet.

Sprinkle flour over the dough. With floured hands pinch off a lump of dough, about the size of a grapefruit. Working quickly, tuck under the raw edges and plop your lump of dough on a little pile of flour.

Lump of dough on pile of flour.

This dough is almost too wet to use a rolling pin to shape. After the dough has been refrigerated it is much easier to manage. Once the dough is chilled you can probably use a rolling pin.

 I use my hands to shape the dough (most of the time) in this manner:

Flatten the lump into a disc. Lift the dough by the edge let the weight of the disc stretch the dough. Rotate the disc so that it starts to make a circle. Lay it down on the flour frequently to solve any stickiness. Continue to stretch and manipulate the dough until you end up with the desired shape. 

It is really easy to stretch a hole in the dough, so just be warned.

Transfer your dough to a pizza pan and add toppings.

Ready to bake!

Place your pizza pan on top of the hot upside down iron skillet in the oven. Bake 7-10 minutes.

Music I Have Been Enjoying Lately

I am a musical person! I have had some musically dry time periods in my life when I either didn't have a piano or radio or didn't take any time to play or at the very least sing. I definitely missed music during those spells. Music just brings light and life to a dimension of my personality. I am sure I am not alone in this feeling. Somethings are just expressed best through music! I thought I would take this opportunity to share some of the piano pieces that I have been enjoying lately. Along with some auditory versions so that you can enjoy them, too.

Raindrop Prelude by Chopin 

Vanished Days by Grieg

Epilogue by Heller

And, Moonlight Sonata mvt. 1 by Beethoven.

I don't really take time to learn new songs these days, but someday I dream of adding a few to my repertoire. I really love Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring by Bach. I chose this piece for my bridal processional when Mr. In The Mid-west and I got married. It would be so nice to play it for myself.

May Sheep Safely Graze, also, by Bach

And, I have always wanted to be able to play Liebestraum by List. It doesn't have the same appeal that it used to for me, but I'd still like to be able to play it someday.

Do enjoy any of these songs? Do you have any favorite songs to share? Maybe we can have a conversation about music in the comments section!

My Favorite Italian Sausage Recipe

 I found this recipe from Sufficient Acres.com back when it was Queen of the Red Double Wide blog. That was years ago! This sausage recipe is one of the best I have tasted. I want to add it to my collection of recipes here on my blog because it is a staple in my kitchen. 

I have mixed this spice blend into ground turkey, ground beef, ground pork, and ground deer. If you want "real" Italian Sausage it is best to use pork with a high percentage of fat.

Italian Sausage Seasoning

1 tsp. Ground Pepper

2 tsp. Dried Parsley

1 1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1/2 tsp. Fennel Seeds

1/2 tsp. Paprika (Smoked Paprika is really good)

1 tsp. Minced, Dried Onions (I used 1/4 c. fresh minced onions if I don't have the dried version)

1 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

Mix all of the ingredients together. Stir into 2 pounds of ground meat. Refrigerate 2-24 hours before cooking.

Some of you may remember that I also shared a Breakfast Sausage Recipe several years ago. It was also a recipe from Sufficient Acres.com. You can see the original recipe for Breakfast Sausage HERE or my version HERE.

New Year's Eve Hats!

 Happy New Year 2021! We wore paper crowns at our celebration. I designed my crown with sewing in mind. I used yarn to make stitches on the border. I glued on some buttons and pictures of quilt blocks.

Why do I make hats for New Year's Eve?  This tradition started 3 years ago when we were home by ourselves for New Year's Eve. We were not going anywhere or having anyone over to our house. On top of that Mr. In The Mid-west was working that night. I wanted our supper to be a little festive. I thought if I made paper party hats for everyone we would have more fun! :) And it was more fun! It is a tradition I would like to keep.

The First New Year's Hats

Last year I learned about fascinators. Fascinator definition: a woman's light, decorative headpiece consisting of feathers, flowers, beads, etc. attached to a comb or hair clip. They are so pretty! I wish I could incorporate them into daily attire. For New Year's Eve 2020 I made a GIGANTIC fascinator out of a paper flower. If anyone would like a good tutorial on how to make paper flowers HERE is one I recommend.

Do you have any fun New Year's traditions? Tell me what they are in the comments section!