Cucumber Melon Salata

Enjoy this refreshing treat with some iced tea on a warm, sunny day outdoors.
Cucumber Melon Salata
Makes 24 servings
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar1 large English cucumber1 (2-pound) seedless watermelon1/4 cup ricotta salata, broken into chunks1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepperGarnish: fresh basil
1. In a small saucepan over low heat, simmer the balsamic vinegar until thick, about 10 minutes. 2. Using a channel knife, score the cucumber; cut into 1/4-inch slices. Cut watermelon into 1/2-inch slices. Using a 1 1/2-inch cutter, cut watermelon into rounds.3. Layer watermelon rounds over cucumber slices. Drizzle a small amount of the balsamic reduction over watermelon, and top with a second slice of cucumber. Add a chunk of ricotta salata on top, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh basil, if desired. Chill until ready to serve.

From Teatime magazine

"Regency" America

The oldest museum in the United States devoted to architecture and design, the Octagon Museum enables the American Architectural Foundation to increase public awareness of the power of architecture and its influence on the quality of our lives. This building was designed by Dr. William Thornton for Col. John Tayloe III, and was constructed between 1799 and 1801.

Silhouettes a fad!

During the 18th century, silhouettes were a big fad. It was a past-time in the evenings in which folks could memorialize a family member or lover in perpetuity with a simple series of cuts.

Carrying your precious items in a silhouetted bag of your own, available at mothology.com

Cake too rich?

Mr. Woodhouse in Emma, may have thought cake was too rich at Mrs. Weston's wedding. What would he think of Woodhouse Chocolate in St. Helena, CA?

http://www.woodhousechocolate.com/

Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Book

Amazon reports: More than a cookbook, the Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Book delineates a lifestyle at the top of English society and intelligentsia at the time. This treasure trove that includes unlikely dishes such as Turnips Cresselly and Penally Pudding contains, even, another cook evident in the work: The recipe for boiling rice is in Charles Darwin's own hand. The image of Darwin standing over a pot of boiling water with his pocket watch in hand, is one to savor, along with every other vestige of a lost kitchen and lifestyle come back to life here.

Preparing for the AGM: Transportation

The pleasure of ". . . a brother or sister in every carriage." Those who live on the east coast will find that the journey to Philadelphia is an easy one made by plane, train, or automobile. Those who live in northerly or westward regions will make travel time more profitable by reading about Jane Austen's brothers and sisters during their voyage.

For assistance with travel arrangements please visit: http://www.jasna.org/agms/philadelphia/travel.html

Average highs at the beginning of October are in the mid-60s and average lows in the high-40s, although lower temperatures are not without precedent. Join your JASNA brothers and sisters in Philadelphia to enjoy Pennsylvania's deep-blue fall skies, complimented by leaves just starting to turn color. Indeed, it is not everyone who shares our passion for dead leaves.

Dancing to the Precipice

Dancing to the Precipice: The Life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin, Eyewitness to an Era By Caroline Moorehead

From Harper-Collins: Her canvases were the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette; the Great Terror; America at the time of Washington and Jefferson; Paris under the Directoire and then under Napoleon; Regency London; the battle of Waterloo; and, for the last years of her life, the Italian ducal courts. Like Saint-Simon at Versailles, Samuel Pepys during the Great Fire of London, or the Goncourt brothers in nineteenth-century France, Lucie Dillon—a daughter of French and British nobility known in France by her married name, Lucie de la Tour du Pin—was the chronicler of her age.

To read the whole review, please visit our book site "For your consideration..." by clicking on the link to the left.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July America!

This reproduction circa 1823 portrait by Rembrandt Peale is known as the “Porthole Portrait” and was painted 24 years after Washington's death. Peale based more than 70 versions of this portrait on a life study done of Washington in 1795, when the artist was only 17 years old and Washington was 63.

Available at: www.mountvernon.org

Get Ready for the AGM Regency Ball by Attending a Special English Country Dance

The Germantown Country Dancers, the organization in charge of the English Country Dance at the AGM, is holding a special Jane Austen dance on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 from 8:00 p.m. until 10:15 p.m. at the Merion Friends Meeting Activities Building, 615 Montgomery Avenue, Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. "Headstart" for newer dancers is at 7:30 p.m. The caller for the July 15, 2009 dance is Joanna Reiner, who will be the Dance Mistress of the AGM. The evening will be very beginner friendly and will feature dances from Jane Austen's lifetime and live music. Check out GCD's website at http://www.germantowncountrydancers.org/ for more details.

July Wallpaper

Looking back at Ackermann's Repository. The original Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c. was published monthly from 1809-1829 and featured a pair of fashion plates in addition to other illustrations and articles covering a variety of topics. These delicate aquatint illustrations and lovely fashions continue to delight and inspire us two hundred years later.

Throughout 2009, new desktop wallpapers will be posted each month showcasing two fashion plates: one from 1809 and the other from a different year during Jane Austen's lifetime. Enjoy a year-long tour through this popular late Georgian-Regency publication!

http://www.solitary-elegance.com/

Fanciful Forks

In getting ready for our Box Hill Picnic on August 15, here is a nod to the Strawberry Fork. Also known as a berry fork, this utensil was designed for the eating and serving of strawberries.

Meet "Fanny Dashwood" with JASNA-NY

Harriet Walter, the distinguished British actress who created the nose-twisting, absolutely infuriating role of Fanny Dashwood in the acclaimed 1995 film adaptation of Sense & Sensibility, has graciously accepted our invitation to come talk with us about her extensive and fascinating preparation for the part.

Currently appearing on Broadway as Queen Elizabeth in the critically lauded production of Schiller's Mary Stuart, her free time is limited and precious. When she learned of our special interest in "her" Fanny Dashwood, she offered to share with us notes she wrote in preparing for her performance. No stranger to Austen's work, Ms Walter has recorded Lady Susan, Mansfield Park and some of the Austen Juvenilia. Fans of the television series based upon Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey novels will recall her fondly as Harriet Vane.

What was it like to play the righteous (and grasping) villainess of an Austen film adaptation? What was her "take" on one of the most memorable conversations of any Austen novel as Fanny talks her husband out of a deathbed pledge to his father to take care of his half sisters?

Date and time: Friday, July 10 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Location: Scandinavia House 58 Park Avenue at 38th Street

Fee: $10 (to cover the cost of room rental)

For more information: click on the JASNA-NY link to the left