Victorian Caged Grave

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Although this is a bit different from what I usually post, I came upon this picture on the internet and just had to share. I have read and watched a lot on the subject of the undead and vampires, and even read about this cage over graves before. However, I have never actually seen a picture of one before and found it unique. So, I know what your asking, “so what does this have to do with this site and why is it posted?” Well, it has to do with the Victorian era and all of their superstitions and what we now know of as irrational fears.

The caged grave as seen above was used to prevent one of two things. 1: If you were to come back alive and become a walking undead then you wouldn’t be able to remove yourself from this cage and you could be dealt with. 2: If you were a vampire the same situation would apply to you.

I find death during the Victorian era to be fascinating, they seemed to have a love affair with death at least from an onlooker some 100 years in the future. Did you know that many peoples only photograph was taken AFTER they died. Yes, if you came from a poor family and you died, your family could scrape enough money together to have a memorial photo of you by yourself or your body could be “staged” to be in a family photo. This included babies and older folks and these photos were kept in a memorial album.

A memorial album was basically a scrapbook of photos of the deceased. You see, you would have photos of your loved ones, but you would also have memorial cards sent to you with the photos of the deceased person on the front announcing their death. Since everything delivered was delivered very slowly back then from one area of the country to another it might be weeks before you found out someone related to you died. This would announce their death but would give you a keepsake of their death and it would be added to your memorial photo album.

Many of these photos are sought after by collectors and can go for large sums of money. Especially sought after are entire albums, photos that are metal and those of young children and babies.

A good source of these pictures may be found at http://memorialphotosofthedead.wordpress.com/ and if you venture there please be advised as to what you will see. There are photos from the Victorian era as well as posed photos of gunned down armed robbers and pictures of famous people who have died since the Victorian era.

The Victorian era is filled with mysterious ideals and love for long forgotten traditions, still some we are using today.

Canadian Bacon & Egg Cupcake

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Use cupcake liners and place the Canadian bacon in the bottom to make a bowl. Drop egg on top and bake at 350 until egg is done. I have been told you can use regular pork or turkey bacon but have not tried it. Place several 1/2 pieces in one direction and then a few in the opposite direction to create your bowl. Serve with toast or for s special delight serve besides pancakes, waffles or french toast. Definitely an eye opener for breakfast… or anytime!

 

Carved Fruit

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Nutella Banana Nut Bread

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Banana Bread Recipe

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons Nutella

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour and mix stirring in Nutella. More or less Nutella can be used and small adjustments to cooking times may need to be made. This amount of Nutella makes the bread darker and and gives the bread the aroma and slight taste of Nutella. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour 15minutes (done when a fork can be pressed down through middle and no batter substance sticks to the fork. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Yield: Makes one loaf.

Jeffs Green Chile, Chicken, Bacon, & Rice

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INGREDIENTS:

1 pound chicken
1 half package of bacon (turkey or pork)
2 cups rice
1 pound cheddar cheese
1 half pound mozzarella cheese
10 green chiles (Anaheim or Poblano peppers will also work)
sprinkle of red chile powder
garlic powder
onion powder
sour cream (optional)
guacamole (optional)
small warm tortillas (optional)
crunchy tortilla chips (optional)
salsa (optional)

This is such a simple recipe and is always requested that I make it when bringing food to someones house.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1st:
*2 cup instant rice added to 2 cups boiling water.
*Sprinkle red chile powder to give rice flavor and color. This can be light or heavy depending on the factor of hotness of the end dish that you desire. Cook until rice is tender.

2nd:
*Cut 1 pound of chicken breast into 1″ cubes
*Cut 1 half pound of bacon (pork works best but I have made it with turkey and is still delicious) into 2″ lengths
*Fry and keep stirring until chicken and bacon are done (bacon will need to be crisp)
*While frying you can add: garlic powder, onion powder, a dash of Cajun seasoning or taco seasoning

3rd:
*Blanch or roast green chiles
*Cut the top of and slice them length ways on one side so you can lay them out

4th:
*Spread rice mixture out in a 9 x 13 dish
*Place the sliced open green chiles out on top of rice
*Place chicken and bacon pieces directly over each chile to cover them but leave the rice showing through
*Options at this time: chives, onion, tomato, salsa or leave like it is
*Cover each chile with a mound of cheddar cheese and sprinkle each mound with a little bit of mozzarella cheese

5th:
*Bake at 350 degrees until all cheese is melted

6th:
*Serve with a spatula and top with sour cream
*Serve with some soft warm tortillas or crispy tortilla chips and fresh cilantro salsa and a large cool glass of sweet tea.

Its always gone and I leave with an empty dish…. guess its good when I make one to take I make another to keep for myself…. makes great portions to make lunches with.