The King is Dead. Long Live the King

As I stated back at the first of the year, one of my goals is to read more in 2011. To that end I made an early trip to the library a couple of weeks ago. I’m sad to say that it took until tonight to finish the first book on the list.

I’ve always been fascinated with British history, and particularly the monarchy. So this time I picked up a copy of The royal Victorians: King Edward VII, his family and friends (Berkley medallion book) by Christopher Hibbert. On the one hand the history is fascinating. On the other, I found the reading particularly dry, thus the two weeks to finish. And as a general literary note, I find it odd that an author would include repeated quotes in French or German, without providing the translation. While the accompanying text gave the general idea of the content, I found it annoying as well as very poor editing.

Edward VII was the oldest son (the second child) of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. What I gathered from this book, which admittedly was sympathetic to Edward, was that neither Albert nor Victoria were very nice people. Edward was constantly berated for not being up to the task, and as you can guess he never failed to live up to their very low expectations. Victoria lived a long time, and as such, Edward didn’t become King until he was 60. He died after nine years on the throne.

Violent rhetoric be darned; I’m warning you groundhog…


All I’m saying is that I’m tired of winter.  True, so far we haven’t has as much snow as last year.  But it’s been cold enough for far too long.  I’m looking forward to spring.

Groundhog Day is a little more than a week away.  So, I’m sending this…um…warning shot if you will…out to Punxsutawney Phil.  Keep your eyes closed.

This year, we’re ready.

Country-Style Groundhog

1 groundhog
1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. cooking oil
1/2 tsp. sugar

Clean and skin as soon as possible. Remove all sent glands. Cut off head, feet and tail. Cure in cool place by suspending from hook approximately 4 days.

When ready to cook, lard according to recipe.

Dress groundhog as you would a rabbit, removing the small sacs in the back and under the forearm. Soak groundhog overnight in salted water to remove wild flavor.

Combine flour, salt and pepper; rub into groundhog pieces. Brown grounhog in hot oil in skillet; sprinkle with sugar. Reduce heat and add 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender. Remove cover and cook for 10 minutes longer.

Oriental Groundhog

Amount Measure Ingredient Preparation Method
1  Ground hog
2 quarts Water
1/4 cup Salt
1/2 cup Soy sauce
2 cloves Garlic whole
3  Hot chili peppers whole
1/4  Onion
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 bunch Parsley whole
4  Beef bouillon cubes
1/4 teaspoon Freshly-ground white pepper
1 cup Beef or chicken broth
  Teriyaki glaze

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

 Cut meat into serving pieces and soak in 1 quart water and salt
for 3 hours.  Transfer meat to 1 quart clear water and soak 4
hours.  Drain and dry meat.  Place meat in a baking pan with beef
broth, soy sauce, garlic cloves, chili pepper, onion, paprika,
parsley, bouillon cubes and white pepper.  Cover and bake at 350
degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Baste frequently.  Brush with
teriyaki glaze while cooking.

GROUNDHOG AND SWEET POTATOES

1 Groundhog
Cold water
Salt
Pepper
Sweet potatoes or white potatoes
Cornbread

The animal should be dressed as soon as possible and well soaked for several hours in cold, salty water. All excess fat may be trimmed off after the meat is cold. Parboil to remove and remaining fat and drain well. Place in a moderate oven and pack sweet potatoes or even white
potatoes all around. Salt and pepper the meat and bake unti brown. Be sure the potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Serve with cornbread and use the heavy gravy that forms during baking.