A Victorian Christmas Feast

Since Christmas as we celebrate it today was more or less a Victorian invention, the modern steampunk has much historical inspiration to draw on. If you're a daring cook looking for something unusual for your feast this year, why not give some of these recipes a try? Be forewarned that I haven't tested any of these, so I can't give you any info on how easy they would be to cook properly.

As a bonus, here's a most amusing documentary on Victorian food, which includes a Christmas feast. Sorry about it being in parts, but I'm afraid that can't be helped.

I Like Trainz!

At this point I'm mostly just killing time while I wait for my sister, the only halfway skilled photographer between the two of us, to send the photographs she took at Tesla Con. Until then, enjoy this little collection of random crap!

So I woke up this morning thinking about trains for some odd reason, and started to wonder just what a steampunk train would be like. It's really quite embarassing to have to wonder about such a thing, considering the number of trains in my steampunk fiction, but really, why would trains, a symbol of steampower, not be so prominent in steampunk? They may not be as impressive as airships (nor as effective for piracy) but they were the primary form of transportion throughout the Victorian age. Thus, I decided to stop wondering and start putting together a gallery for your time-killing or inspirational purposes.

NOTE TO ARTISTS: Since I stole used these images without permission, which I probably shouldn't do anyways, I will not object if you want your work credited more thoroughly or even removed entirely from the site.

A more or less traditional Victorian design, plus some extra shininess. By Arrarra on Deviantart.

By Peggy Chung Robert Simmons

I couldn't find an artist to credit for this, but I found it here.

According to Wired, this is an early design sketch for a monorail.

From The Paper Wall

To the Moon!

It was an arduous journey, but, after many complications, from stubborn robots to an outer-space collision with Santa Claus, I have at long last arrived on the moon!

Ah, pardon me--I'm afraid I got Tesla Con III confused with reality. It was that immersive. Even the signs for the bathrooms were themed. Likewise, the staff remained in character throughout the event--I was at one point approached by a doctor asking if I had any symtoms of hysteria--and the attendees naturally followed suit.

The voyage itself did not start until late in the evening, but there were plenty of amusements until then. I attended a panel on Victorian music, failed dissmally at a tea duel, (remind me to post on these subjects later on) and had a lovely dinner of fish and chips. At present, due to technical issues, I cannot post any pictures, but I promise to get them up as soon as possible.

Tesla Time!

I announce with great excitement that I will be attending Tesla Con in Madison, Wisconsin next weekend. Rumor has it that an expedition to the previously unexplored surface of the moon is being planned for the event. Naturally, a curious aethernet logger such as myself simply cannot resist the call of such scientific progress.

Having sewn a dress for the event (my first made from scratch!) and gathered a notebook and pen, I am set and ready to go.

Traveling with me is a relative of mine, the scientist Alexia von Linz, who hopes that the moon may contain new species of life yet unknown to mankind. The prospect of such a discovery would be of great excitement to an aether-journalist such as myself.

Naturally, I will be posting as preparations continue, and I shall take careful notes about our extraterrestrial travels. If I fail to do so, please bombard this page with complaints.

Three Tasty Bread Recipes

There are few things sadder about modern life than that spongy, tasteless bread that lines the shelves of grocery stores. The steampunk solution? Bake your own, of course! A few of my favorites are this simple crusty bread, and French bread. If you're feeling ambitious, try some sourdough. 
Let us begin the great bread revolution!

Jam Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

At long last I have returned! I must apologize for my rather long and unexpected absence, so I promise to do extra posts for a little while.
In any case, continuing with my food theme for this month, I have a recipie of my own accidental creation, which actually turned out pretty well. This cake is rich and heavy and simply wonderful with a cup of tea.

Ingredients: 1 cup sugar
                     1.5 cup butter
                     1 cup flour
                     1 cup mixed jams (Currant and lingdonberry are especially good together)
                     1 package cream cheese
                     About 2 cups of powdered sugar
                     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
                      Fresh fruit for decorative purposes
                   
1. Using an electric mixer Dr. Farliegh's Patented Steam Powered Mixing Device, blend the sugar and one cup of the butter. Keeping the mixer on, add in the eggs, jam, and flour, and blend until the batter is smooth.

2. Pour the batter into a well-greased pan and bake it at 350 degrees for about half and hour.

3. To make the frosting, blend the cream cheese and remaining butter until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract, and then gradually mix in the powdered sugar.

4. When the cake is baked and mostly cooled, spread on the frosting and arrange the fruit in a nice pattern on top. A bit of whipped cream around the edges gives it a lovely finished look.

Cookbook Review: Fuel for the Boiler

With Thanksgiving coming up here in the States, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a fair number of this month's posts to the subject of food. The topic of steampunk food is one that I've spent many hours wandering the vast recesses of the aethernet in search of, usually with little luck. Needless to say, I was just about drooling in sheer joy when I discovered the existence of a steampunk cookbook, that is Fuel for the Boiler, compiled by Elizabeth Stockton.

To begin with, this is not going to be the most professionally organized and edited cookbook you'll ever read. Being compiled from an online forum, it contains the best and worst of the aethernet--great ideas, terrible grammar. Likewise, this is the first cookbook I've ever read which includes the phrase "stir the shit out of it."

Some of the recipes require hard-to-find ingredients (do they even sell buttermilk at the grocery store?) or imprecise measurements, which make them rather hard to prepare, while many others are both simple and delicious, and have become staple foods in my home. In fact, I ate macaroni and cheese made using a recipe from this book for breakfast this morning. Mmmmm... Nothing like a little mac and cheese with the morning tea...