DNA and Ancestry – Addendum

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Do you want to know what activities there are at the library? You can go to our website and see a listing of "Today's Events". Also our calendar is listed on our website with activities for the month.

Got questions about your e-reader? Computer Classes every Sat. mornings 10-12. "Open House" Whatever you need. Drop in anytime during those two hours. We’ll help you with everything from how to turn it off and on, to downloading ebooks or navigating your device.

Summer Reading Program will be starting soon. Watch for announcements on that and registration information. This is for ages Adults through young children! Come Join Us and explore new worlds.

Have you read “everything” we have? Come check out our new book display, now in the Main Hallway for easy access.

Check out our new blog on movies and music by Robert Finch at: RPL's Movies and Music

You can find our website at rogerspubliclibrary.org 

  

Genealogy tip for the day: DNA and Ancestry – Addendum

Well, what do I know?  In all actuality, not much! Yesterday we summarized the DNA results that Ancestry gives you and how to navigate.  One thing that surprised me as I was going back and forth between writing the post and checking their webpage (gotta get it right), I discovered the ‘green leaf’ was gone and in its place was an asterisk! Okay, so maybe they changed or made an update.

When I got home and went on line (different computer), the green leaf was back! So folks – just FYI – either way, the leaf or the asterisk is what is most important in finding connections. I have no idea what was going on, if it was computers, or lack of downloading the icon, or who knows what. So, either way, whichever you find – this one is where you’ll find the gold. I love it. Just last night I connected with two more cousins.

Next week we’ll start a whole new topic. Come see what I can dig up this time. If you have something you would like to read about, leave us a comment below.

“History is who we are; Genealogy is who I am” sg

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

Today in History

February 28

1066		Westminster Abbey, the most famous church in England, opens its doors.
1574		On the orders of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, two Englishmen and an Irishman are burnt for heresy.
1610		Thomas West is appointed governor of Virginia.
1704		Indians attack Deerfield, Mass. killing 40 and kidnapping 100.
1847		Colonel Alexander Doniphan and his ragtag Missouri Mounted Volunteers ride to victory at the Battle of Sacramento, during the Mexican War.
1861		The territory of Colorado is established.
1900		After a 119-day siege by the Boers, the surrounded British troops in Ladysmith, South Africa, are relieved.
1863		Four Union gunboats destroy the CSS Nashville near Fort McAllister, Georgia.
1916		Haiti becomes the first U.S. protectorate.
1924		U.S. troops are sent to Honduras to protect American interests during an election conflict.
1936		The Japanese Army restores order in Tokyo and arrests officers involved in a coup.
1945		U.S. tanks break the natural defense line west of the Rhine and cross the Erft River.
1946		The U.S. Army declares that it will use V-2 rocket to test radar as an atomic rocket defense system.
1953		Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia sign a 5-year defense pact in Ankara.
1967		In Mississippi, 19 are indicted in the slayings of three civil rights workers.
1969		A Los Angeles court refuses Robert Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan's request to be executed.
1971		The male electorate in Lichtenstein refuses to give voting rights to women.
1994		U.S. warplanes shoot down four Serb aircraft over Bosnia in the first NATO use of force in the troubled area.
Born on February 28
1533		Michel de Montaigne, French moralist who created the personal essay.
1820		John Tenniel, illustrator of various books (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland).
1824		Charles Blondin, tightrope walker.
1894		Ben Hecht, writer.
1901		Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize-winning American chemist.
1909		Stephen Spender, English poet, critic.
1911		Denis Burkitt, British medical researcher.
1926		Svetlana Stalin, daughter of Josef Stalin.

John Tenniel 

 

Word for  the Day

palmer

PRONUNCIATION:

(PAH-muhr)

MEANING:

noun:	1. A pilgrim.
	2. An itinerant monk.
	3. One who conceals a card or another object in a magic trick or in cheating in a game.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin palma (palm tree, palm of the hand). The name of the palm tree derives from the resemblance of the shape of its frond to the palm of a hand. In Medieval Europe, a pilgrim brought back a palm branch as a token of his pilgrimage. Earliest documented use: 1300. Also see palmy & palmary.

USAGE:

"For the profane palmer the tour might indeed have been little more than a grand debauch, but for a devoted pilgrim like Jefferson it was something more."
Michael Knox Beran; Jefferson's Demons; Free Press; 2003.

"That was magic -- not the apparent magic of the silk-hatted card-palmer, or the bold, brute trickery of the escape artist, but the genuine magic of art."
Michael Chabon; The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; Random House; 2000.

Explore "palmer" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second. -John Steinbeck, novelist, Nobel laureate (1902-1968)

Today’s Recipe

February - Chocolate Lover’s Month

Chocolate Mint Meltaways

 

The original recipe from the Culinary Institute of America called for both professional techniques and equipment and it made rather a large amount. So we found an adaptation for a smaller batch at Seriouseats.com where the author also explains the startling transformation that takes place when two different fats are combined, in this case the cocoa butter in the chocolate and the coconut oil. The term for this transformation is eutectics, which basically results in that fantastic melt-in-your-mouth sensation that makes meltaways so yummy. The Culinary Institute of America's online recipe collection, by the way, offers an extensive assortment of recipes suitable for nearly any occasion. The original meltaway recipe is from the CIA's Chocolates & Confections, 2nd Edition by Peter Greweling.

Yield: about 60 pieces

Ingredients

12 oz. good quality dark (65%) chocolate, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp. mint extract or oil (to taste)
Confectioner's or icing sugar, sifted as needed

Method

Cut a piece of waxed or parchment paper to line the bottom of an 8"x8" baking pan, and set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water; or in the microwave in 10-second bursts. Add the salt and stir with a flexible rubber spatula for about a minute to incorporate the salt.

Add the coconut oil to the warm chocolate and stir to combine. (If the coconut oil is very cold, warm it briefly in the microwave.)

Add the extract and stir to combine; it will take 2-3 minutes if the extract is alcohol-based, only a few stirs if it's oil-based. Pour into the prepared pan and allow to set until firm, at least 3 hours.

When the mixture is set, dust the top with sifted confectioner's sugar and invert onto a parchment- or waxed paper-lined cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1" x 1/2" pieces. Dredge pieces in confectioner's sugar.

These will keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the fridge for two weeks.

February’s Recipes – here’s the complete list for February.

3^rd Molten Chocolate cake

4^th Chocolate Chip cookies – Alton Brown’s

5^th Chocolate Truffles

6^th Slow Cooker Chocolate Fondue

8^th Chocolate Sheet cake

10^th Brownie Tart

11^th Gooey, Decadent Chocolate cake

12^th Chocolate Covered Strawberries

13^th Chocolate Baklava

18^th Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

19^th Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

20^th Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

22^nd Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

24^th Classic Fudge-Walnut Brownie

25^th Texas Sheet Cake

26^th Chocolate Bark

27^th Fleur de Sel Soft Caramels

28^th Chocolate Mint Meltaways

Here are some more chocolate recipes that I found …

Cookie Dough Truffles

Burnt Caramel Sauce

Chocolate Coconut Bar

Extra-Bitter Chocolate Ice Cream

Strawberry-Rhubarb White Chocolate Truffle

Passion Fruit, Coconut and Cardamom Ganache

Chocolate-Covered Caramel Popcorn
Port Pralines (more advanced skill required)

Homemade Rocky Road

Caramel and Walnut Chocolate Lollipops

ENJOY!

Now You Know!

DNA and Ancestry - Summary

Announcements

Do you want to know what activities there are at the library? You can go to our website and see a listing of "Today's Events". Also our calendar is listed on our website with activities for the month.

Got questions about your e-reader? Computer Classes every Sat. mornings 10-12. "Open House" Whatever you need. Drop in anytime during those two hours. We’ll help you with everything from how to turn it off and on, to downloading ebooks or navigating your device.

Summer Reading Program will be starting soon. Watch for announcements on that and registration information. This is for ages Adults through young children! Come Join Us and explore new worlds.

Have you read “everything” we have? Come check out our new book display, now in the Main Hallway for easy access.

Check out our new blog on movies and music at: RPL's Movies and Music by Robert Finch

You can find our website at  rogerspubliclibrary.org 

Genealogy tip for the day: DNA and Ancestry – Summary

DNA is a new and growing aspect to genealogy. There are at least three places you can have this done: Ancestry, 23andMe, and National Geographic. There probably are others, but these are the primary ones. The costs range from $100 to over $600 (maybe even more) depending on what you want tested.  From time to time you will see sales offered and you would be able to get these cheaper. I chose Ancestry for my testing, more because of economics and the fact that I have a tree on Ancestry. This is probably a selling point for many people.

When you go with Ancestry, you receive an email notice in about 2 months telling you the results are in. From there you research it all on Ancestry.  The results vary from very general results to specific matches to other people in Ancestry.

The Ethnic Estimate gives you a general response, showing to what part of the world your DNA traces. Of course broadly speaking there are not many choices – basically Europe, Africa or Asia. In my case it was all Europe. But within that designation it does show what countries, of varying degrees, is in your background. Here it may give you a specific country or a broader designation. In my case it indicated Great Britain with the largest percentage, the next largest was “West Europe” which took in more than one country. The Ethnic Estimate has been a popular result that Ancestry offers. In some cases I can imagine it might be a surprise what it tells you, especially if it turns out to show a mixed race of which you were not aware.

The other 'half' of the results gives the Matches. Here you actually find a variety of things, but all are within the matches Ancestry lists for you. One, of course, is the full list. It will start out with various levels of kinship, starting with the ones that are closest to you. These will all start with a blue dot which goes away when you've looked at it.

After you have looked at some and have clicked on the yellow star to track, then on this first page, called the DNA homepage, you can click on it and go straight to a list of just the “stars.” 

The ‘High Confidence Matches’ are the ones where Ancestry has suggested you may be related. This list appears to have everyone that Ancestry believes there is a common ancestor. When I initially started this series of posts, Ancestry used a green leaf to indicate a match to someone else. Now today, I see they have an asterisk icon instead of a leaf. So I don’t know if this is a recent update, or temporary change. But nevertheless, the results should be the same. This list is probably the most valuable list. 

  

When you go to the list of matches there are even more ways to go through your list, with indications/icons pertaining to the entries to help guide you through the list. My results provided a few third cousins who are the closest related to me. Next level was the 4^th cousin level, and last was the 5^th-8^th cousins. I’m sure this varies to some degree depending on the individual’s situation. I assume there could be cases where siblings might even be found using this method.  Apparently, they do not go beyond the 8^th cousin level. But at that point you are 2-3 centuries back. Here, I would say even “shirt tail” relation doesn't even apply. J

Regarding the icons, I see today also, on an individual’s page, there is an “x” where you can remove that entry from your list instead of a trashcan.

All in all this has been an interesting experience for me and it is on-going. Today, I received a new response from a possible cousin that I am anxious to pursue. So, let me encourage you to try this and see what you can come up with on your genealogy map! With genealogy, the fun never stops. Literally!

“History is who we are; Genealogy is who I am” sg

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

Today in History

February 27

425		Theodosius effectively founds a university in Constantinople.
1531		German Protestants form the League of Schmalkalden to resist the power of the emperor.
1700		The Pacific Island of New Britain is discovered.
1814		Napoleon's Marshal Nicholas Oudinot is pushed back at Barsur-Aube by the Emperor's allied enemies shortly before his abdication.
1827		The first Mardi-Gras celebration is held in New Orleans.
1864		The first Union prisoners arrive at Andersonville Prison in Georgia.
1865		Confederate raider William Quantrill and his bushwackers attack Hickman, Kentucky, shooting women and children.
1905		The Japanese push Russians back in Manchuria and cross the Sha River.
1908		The forty-sixth star is added to the U.S. flag, signifying Oklahoma's admission to statehood.
1920		The United States rejects a Soviet peace offer as propaganda.
1925		Glacier Bay National Monument is dedicated in Alaska.
1933		The burning down of the Reichstag building in Berlin gives the Nazis the opportunity to suspend personal liberty with increased power.
1939		The Supreme Court outlaws sit-down strikes.
1942		British Commandos raid a German radar station at Bruneval on the French coast.
1953		F-84 Thunderjets raid North Korean base on Yalu River.
1962		South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem is unharmed as two planes bomb the presidential palace in Saigon.
1963		The Soviet Union says that 10,000 troops will remain in Cuba.
1969		Thousands of students protest President Richard Nixon's arrival in Rome.
1973		U.S. Supreme Court rules that a Virginia pool club can't bar residents because of color.
1988		Debi Thomas becomes the first African American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.
1991		Coalition forces liberate Kuwait after seven months of occupation by the Iraqi army.
Born on February 27
1807		Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet.
1886		Hugo Black, U.S. Supreme Court justice.
1888		Lotte Lehmann, German opera singer.
1891		David Sarnoff, RCA board chairman and a pioneer of U.S. television
1897		Marian Anderson, singer.
1902		John Steinbeck, American novelist (The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men).
1904		James T. Farrel, author (Young Lonigan).
1910		Peter De Vries, writer, poetry editor (Poetry Magazine, The New Yorker).
1912		Lawrence Durrell, novelist (The Alexandria Quartet).
1917		John Connally, Texas Governor, wounded in the assassination of President John Kennedy.
1930		Joanne Woodward, actress (Rachel, Rachel, The Three Faces of Eve).
1932		Elizabeth Taylor, actress (Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?).
1934		Ralph Nader, consumer advocate.

Joanne Woodward

Word for the Day

mano a mano

PRONUNCIATION:

(MA-no a MA-no)

MEANING:

adverb:	In direct competition; head-to-head.
adjective:	One-on-one; face-to-face.
noun:	1. A bullfight where two matadors compete in turn, fighting several bulls. 2. A direct or face-to-face confrontation.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Spanish mano a mano (hand to hand). Earliest documented use: 1950.

USAGE:

"Today, the editorial board of The Denver Post will go mano a mano with our colleagues at The Seattle Times over which city is better."
It Just Wouldn't Be Fair to Bring These Things Up; Denver Post; Feb 2, 2014.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Every man has his secret sorrows, which the world knows not; and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

Today’s Recipe

February - Chocolate Lover’s Month

Fleur de Sel Soft Caramels

Ingredients

1 cup (250ml) whipping cream
5 tbsps.(75g) salted butter
1 tsp. (5ml) fleur de sel (definition)
1 3/4 cup + 2 tbsps. (380g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60g) corn syrup
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1 tsp. (5ml) fresh lemon juice
Tempered dark or milk chocolate for enrobing (see instructions)

Method

Line and 8-inch (20cm) square pan with plastic wrap. Combine whipping cream, butter and fleur de sel in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In another saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water and cook on high heat (without stirring) until a candy thermometer reads 360°F (185°C) or mixture turns a dark caramel color. This can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your stove and the kind of saucepan you are using.

Remove from the heat and, standing back in case mixture splatters, stir in cream mixture with a long-handled spoon. Return saucepan to high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer reaches 250°F (120°C). Remove from the heat. Add lemon juice and stir until well combined. Pour into prepared pan and let set overnight.

Unmold caramel from pan, peel off plastic wrap, and cut into desired shapes using a lightly oiled knife. Place caramels on a tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Using a fork, dip caramels into tempered chocolate and slide on another tray lined with a silicone mat. Optionally while chocolate is still wet, finish with a few grains of fleur de sel. Let set for about 4 hours, then store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 3 weeks.

February’s Recipes:

3^rd Molten Chocolate cake

4^th Chocolate Chip cookies – Alton Brown’s

5^th Chocolate Truffles

6^th Slow Cooker Chocolate Fondue

8^th Chocolate Sheet cake

10^th Brownie Tart

11^th Gooey, Decadent Chocolate cake

12^th Chocolate Covered Strawberries

13^th Chocolate Baklava

18^th Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

19^th Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

20^th Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

22^nd Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

24^th Classic Fudge-Walnut Brownie

25^th Texas Sheet Cake

26^th Chocolate Bark

27^th Fleur de Sel Soft Caramels

ENJOY!

Now You Know!

DNA and Ancestry – The Green Leaf!

Announcements

 

Do you have extra books at home and need to downsize? You can bring your donations to the library or take them to the Used Friendly Books store. If there are certain titles we are looking for, the book store helps us snag them when they come in. By donating you can help us and you can help yourself.

 

Got questions about your e-reader? Computer Classes every Sat. mornings 10-12. "Open House" Whatever you need. Drop in anytime during those two hours. We’ll help you with everything from how to turn it off and on, to downloading ebooks or navigating your device.

 

Summer Reading Program will be starting soon. Watch for announcements on that and registration information. This is for ages Adults through young children! Come Join Us and explore new worlds.

 

Have you read “everything” we have? Come check out our new book display, now in the Main Hallway for easy access.

 

Check out our new blog on movies and music at: RPL's Movies and Music by Robert Finch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genealogy tip for the day: DNA and Ancestry – The Green Leaf!

 

We’ve looking at DNA results on Ancestry and learning how to navigate through the information. Today we are going to talk about “the Green Leaf” and what it means for you.

 

You may have already discovered the little waving leaf on some of your ancestors already, when Ancestry has found a potential record that may be about your person. This same leaf is also used in the DNA reports.

 

We talk yesterday about the List of Matches having three icons at the top of the page that you can use as filters: Blue Dot, Yellow Star, and Green Leaf! The Blue Dot as we mentioned before gives you a list of only matches you haven’t looked at yet. The Yellow Star would list those that you have marked by clicking on the star in each entry and turning it yellow.

The Green Leaf is the one with the gold. Regardless of what level of cousin it may be, the leaf indicates that Ancestry has found a common ancestor between you and the person listed.

 

On the potential cousin's page, the ancestor will be listed at the top with your line and the other person’s line going down parallel. Each are designated as to what the relationship is to you: Self, (parent), (grandparent), back to the common ancestor. The other line is marked as related to you: bottom one nearest could be 8^th cousin, then 7^th cousin once removed, 6^th cousin, twice removed, etc back again to that common ancestor.

 

Below this diagram will be the other person’s ancestor chart. What shows on the page may or may not list the common ancestor. But you will see that each name is hyperlinked for further information. As you experiment with this you will see how you can find additional information. This way you will be able to go beyond the Pedigree Chart on the screen.

 

What I have found in some cases is that you or the other person may have more information than the other. In this case you will definitely want to contact them to see about sharing info. I had one line on my dad’s side that I could not get past the wife who married into the family. I was unable to find out anything about her own family, beyond that of her father. Being on Ancestry alone has helped that line. One of my DNA matches also has information, going back several generations.  This is one thing you hope you do find through this means.  It can possibly help you break through those brick walls.

 

Another feature I have found useful is the ‘page’ icon. It looks like a dogeared page with a corner turned down. You have the opportunity to make comments or write notes on each person’s page. You can record what you connection is with this person, keep track of correspondence, anything that you wish. And it is a large field that allows a lot of writing. When you have made any comments on their page, then go back to the list, you will see a page icon appear by their entry. As you scroll or hover of each icon what you wrote will pop up. This way you can easily track the information you recorded.

 

What I chose to do was enter the common line or ancestor and what relation the match is to me: Kingsley/Adams, 8^th cousin, for example. The surnames refer to the husband’s name and the wife’s maiden name. What I discovered as I went through these was I had several matches in various lines. So for example, you could have 5 on the Bowers line, 3 on the Adams line, 4 on the Spear line, and possible one here and one there. This does help you sort and track your matches. I thank Ancestry for having the insight to allow a place where the user can add his own notes and comments.

So in the end I received a ton of information for the price I paid to have the DNA tested. I am, even, learning and finding more bells and whistles as I play with this product.  Maybe this will encourage you to try the same, if you haven't already. Gross as this may sound - get to spittin' and let the relatives roll in! It is quite exciting!

  

“History is who we are; Genealogy is who I am” sg

 

 

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is beneficial in anyway.

 

Today in History

 

Jovian

February 26

364		On the death of Jovian, a conference at Nicaea chooses Valentinan, an army officer who was born in the central European region of Pannania, to succeed him in Asia Minor.
1154		William the Bad succeeds his father, Roger the II, in Sicily.
1790		As a result of the Revolution, France is divided into 83 departments.
1815		Napoleon and 1,200 of his men leave Elba to start the 100-day re-conquest of France.
1848		Karl Marx and Frederick Engels publish The Communist Manifesto in London.
1871		France and Prussia sign a preliminary peace treaty at Versailles.
1901		Boxer Rebellion leaders Chi-Hsin and Hsu-Cheng-Yu are publicly executed in Peking.
1914		Russian aviator Igor Sikorsky carries 17 passengers in a twin engine plane in St. Petersburg.
1916		General Henri Philippe Petain takes command of the French forces at Verdun.
1917		President Wilson publicly asks congress for the power to arm merchant ships.
1924		U.S. steel industry finds claims an eight-hour day increases efficiency and employee relations.
1933		Ground is broken for the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
1936		Japanese military troops march into Tokyo to conduct a coup and assassinate political leaders.
1941		British take the Somali capital in East Africa.
1943		U.S. Flying Fortresses and Liberators pound German docks and U-boat lairs at Wilhelmshaven.
1945		Syria declares war on Germany and Japan.
1951		The 22nd Amendment is added to the Constitution limiting the Presidency to two terms.
1964		Lyndon B. Johnson signs a tax bill with $11.5 billion in cuts.
1965		Norman Butler is arrested for the murder of Malcom X.
1968		Thirty-two African nations agree to boycott the Olympics because of the presence of South Africa.
1970		Five Marines are arrested on charges of murdering 11 South Vietnamese women and children.
1972		Soviets recover Luna 20 with a cargo of moon rocks.
1973		A publisher and 10 reporters are subpoenaed to testify on Watergate.
1990		Daniel Ortega, communist president of Nicaragua, suffers a shocking election defeat at the hands of Violeta Chamorro.
1993		A bomb rocks the World Trade Center in New York City. Five people are killed and hundreds suffer from smoke inhalation.
Born on February 26
1802		Victor Hugo, French novelist and poet (Les Misérables).
1829		Levi Strauss, creator of blue jeans.
1832		John George Nicolay, private secretary to Abraham Lincoln
1846		William Frederick Cody, aka "Buffalo Bill".
1877		Rudolph Dirks, cartoonist, creator of the "Katzenjammer Kids."
1879		Mabel Dodge Luhan, American biographer.
1893		I(vor) A(rmstrong) Richards, writer, critic and teacher.
1928		Antoine "Fats" Domino, American singer.

 

Buffalo Bill

 

 

Word for the Day

handsel or hansel

PRONUNCIATION:

(HAN-sel)

 

MEANING:

noun:	1. A gift for good luck given at the beginning of the new year or a new venture. 2. A first payment or installment.
verb tr.:	1. To give a handsel to. 2. To inaugurate or to do something for the first time.

 

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English handselen (giving into hand), from hand + selen (the action of giving, gift). Earliest documented use: 1450.

 

USAGE:

"Suddenly she thrusts something at him. A small paper packet tied with string. 'A handsel.' she says. 'For Miss Whyte.'"
Joan Thomas; Curiosity; McClelland & Stewart; 2010.

"The School was handselled with two unique archival gifts."
Margaret A. Mackay; Hamish Scott Henderson; Folklore (London, UK); Oct 2002.

 

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

He who opens a school door, closes a prison. -Victor Hugo, poet, novelist, and dramatist (1802-1885)

Today’s Recipe

February - Chocolate Lover’s Month

 

 

Peanut butter and chocolate are great partners and here they combine into a creamy confection similar to a peanut butter cup, though in appearance it resembles chocolate bark. It's too soft to eat at room temperature so keep and serve chilled.

Yield: About 2 1/2 pounds

Ingredients

l lb. plus 2 oz. good quality white chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups super-chunky peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)
8 oz. good quality bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Method

Butter 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan. Line with waxed paper or parchment. Melt 1 lb. white chocolate with peanut butter in large bowl in the microwave at 1/2 power, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate and peanut mixture is melted and smooth. You want the mixture warm not hot.

Meanwhile, melt bittersweet chocolate in medium bowl in microwave on 1/2 power, stopping and stirring every 30 seconds, until 2/3 is melted. Take bowl out of microwave and stir until the rest of the chocolate is melted. You may have to put back in the microwave for a few seconds to get the last bit of chocolate melted but make sure you don't heat the chocolate too much. Set aside in a warm place.

Melt remaining 2 ounces of white chocolate in small bowl in microwave on 1/2 power, stopping and stirring every 10 seconds as white chocolate burns easily, until 2/3 is melted. Take out of microwave and stir until the rest of the white chocolate is melted. Again, you may have to put back in the microwave for a few seconds to get the last bit of chocolate melted but make sure you don't heat the chocolate too much. Set aside in a warm place.

Pour peanut butter/chocolate mixture onto prepared pan, spreading to cover surface completely. Using spoon, drizzle melted bittersweet chocolate in lines over peanut butter mixture. Draw tip of small sharp knife through chocolate-drizzled mixture to marbleize. Using spoon, drizzle melted white chocolate over the mixture. Draw tip of knife through chocolates to marbleize. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight. Cut into 2-inch triangles or other shapes. Cover and chill. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Keep chilled.) Serve cold.

 

February’s Recipes:

 

3^rd Molten Chocolate cake

4^th Chocolate Chip cookies – Alton Brown’s

5^th Chocolate Truffles

6^th Slow Cooker Chocolate Fondue

8^th Chocolate Sheet cake

10^th Brownie Tart

11^th Gooey, Decadent Chocolate cake

12^th Chocolate Covered Strawberries

13^th Chocolate Baklava

18^th Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

19^th Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

20^th Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

22^nd Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

24^th Classic Fudge-Walnut Brownie

25^th Texas Sheet Cake

26^th Chocolate Bark

 

 

 

ENJOY!

Now You Know!