100 years ago today...

Dear Diary,

I recently finished reading Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo which recounts the day a molasses tank erupted in Boston's North End killing 22 people and flooding the city with the sticky stuff.  (My uncle, who was a Boston police officer in the North End beginning in 1932, said the molasses could still be smelled on hot days back then.) It was an amazing read that was extremely well researched but also woven together with stories of the people who were affected by the disaster, the best kind of history book. 

I have put together a collage of my great-great grandmother Jane Seaman ,who was born in 1829, and her recipe for Molasses Cookies, a favorite of mine growing up, written by my grandmother.  She is a bit unspecific with her measurements and in case you aren't familiar with the 19th century term saleratus, it is baking soda.  The "shortening" she used was lard but today most people use a vegetable based one.   You just keep adding flour until it "feels right" (my grandmother's words).  Molasses has a rich history in New England and my grandmother used a lot of it in her cooking.  Except for these cookies and ginger bread, the only thing I make with it is Indian Pudding.  (I was talking about corn the other day!)  I've included relevant links below for anyone interested.

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919

My Indian Pudding Recipe A little additional history, this was a favorite dish at the Durgin Park Restaurant in the North End, not far from the molasses disaster, which closed this weekend after nearly 200 years in business.  It opened two years before Grandma Seaman was born.  It was a Boston landmark and its closing is a real loss.