Baking Powder, Birthday Buddies and a new Bahamian holiday

The perplexing home question with every woman is "What shall I have for Breakfast, Luncheon, Dinner or Supper?"

The mission of The New Dr. Price Cook Book is to always give the right answer to this question, but the book will not help if it is hidden away in a table drawer and seldom used.  Keep it where it can be seen so you will remember to ask it questions before every meal.  The result will be a surprise in delightful variety, and also in the reduced cost of supplying the table.  When planning a meal, just run your finger down the index and get an answer to the question, "What shall I have?"

The above passage is an excerpt from a cookbook I downloaded for free a couple of days ago via 3G on my Kindle:  The New Dr. Price Cookbook.  It was published by the New York Royal Baking Powder Company in the late 1920s.  Though usually Jamey is the one that answers that perplexing question "What Shall I Have For --?", I am the one using the cookbook today.  I need a good birthday cake recipe and haven't had adequate enough wifi access to browse the internet for one.

The New Dr. Price Cookbook has a couple of obscure recipes like one for Albuminized Orange (under the 'Suggestions for Invalids' section -- Take 1 egg white, juice of 1 orange and sugar -- Beat well together, chill and serve cold). Mostly, however, the recipes are excellent and you'd never know that they were written nearly a century ago.

I used the cookbook's Plain Cake recipe (alas, nothing too elaborate today due to time and ingredient limitations) and baked a cake each for Phoenix and Sage's birthday.

The cookbook was apparently a promotional marketing tool for the New York Royal Baking Powder Company as several times in the book, there are passages such as this:

Dr. Price's Phosphate Baking Powder is made in the same factory in which Dr. Price's Baking Powder Containing Cream of Tartar has been made for nearly seventy years, and embodies all the skill, scientific knowledge and great care used therein.

It perfectly leavens the food and never leaves a bitter taste even if you should happen to use more than the recipe calls for.  With it you can make a delicious angel cake with three eggs instead of  eight, and can economize in other expensive ingredients.

Safety, surety, satisfaction, form a triple guarantee that comes with every can of Dr. Price's Phosphate Baking Powder.  Use it often -- use it always and enjoy the results. 

The low price at which Dr. Price's Phosphate Baking Powder is now sold brings an economy to the home which, when combined with quality, is too important to be overlooked.

Note the comparison that is being made between the phosphate baking powder vs baking powder with cream of tartar.  Baking powder was developed in the 1830s when sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) was used together with sour milk to bake bread.  The lactic acid in the sour milk activated the sodium bicarbonate releasing gaseous carbon dioxide which would get trapped in the dough resulting in leavened dough.

As the amount of acidity in the sour milk was variable leaving the amount of rising unpredictable, cream of tartar (a weak acid that is obtained from the crystals that form during the fermentation process in wine making) was sold partnered with the sodium bicarbonate.  Because the availability and cost of cream of tartar depended on the grape harvest and was therefore unreliable, it was soon replaced with calcium acid phosphate (initially derived from beef bones and later obtained via mining).

Interesting stuff.  I'm going to appreciate cake even more than I do already!

Today was also the first of a new Bahamian holiday, Majority Rule Day, "a celebration of freedom and democracy and a second emancipation for black Bahamians," describes The Freeport News.  It goes on to describe the Bahamians finally obtaining "universal adult suffrage...regardless of property qualifications."  It feels special to be here for this significant day, and we hope that there are real and meaningful changes that result.  

We moved 20 feet across the water to Brown's Marina a few days ago with all our buddy boats from Weech's.  Brown's has a slightly better rate, takes credit cards and has this awesome play area complete with sand, volleyball net, lounging chairs and coconuts. 

Phoenix and Sage are birthday buddies.  Sage came a month before her due date for this privilege. 

I had to go partly up the mast to sand the connections on the steaming light.  I love going up the mast and am hoping something at the very top of the mast will need attention soon!!

The girls of course also love going up. 

It was a birthday full of buddies.  Here is Jane on Romana.  She can often be seen doing yoga on deck. 

The girls' favorite new buddy, Joseph.

Joseph and the girls had a busy morning. 

They spent the morning drinking coconut milk and collecting fresh coconut meat. 

The Joseph Fan Club

Sadly, Windflower left today.  Like the rest of us, they prefer anchoring out.  We hope to meet up with them again soon.

Skye was nearly Indigo's birthday buddy.

My pregnancy with her was high risk, and the maternal fetal medicine team had her scheduled for a C-section coincidentally on December 21, Indigo's birthday. 

As befitting Skye's personality, she decided she would have nothing to do with the birthday buddy thing and came 2.5 months early, ensuring that she would not have to share a birthday with Indy.   

Skye and Indy are still kinda birthday buddies anyways. 

Our beautiful FIVE year old!!

Waiting for our buddies from Hawaii. 

I did the awful thing of telling Gary and Asad to go to Nassau where we would meet them, not realizing that we would get stuck in Bimini for 9 days!

They were awesomely flexible and flew from Nassau to join us in Bimini so as not to miss Phoenix and Sage's birthday. 

Our beautiful DECADE old daughter!! 

I had a mishap with Sage's cake in the oven which swivels in order to keep itself level as the boat heels.  Somehow, the weight of the batter slogged towards one side causing the oven to tip and half the batter ended up baking on the bottom of the oven before I realized.  Luckily Sage is happy with the cake despite it's flatness.  

It takes a village to light candles in the wind.  We love our community!

 

Thank you to the Lius for the five pounds of gummy bears and thanks to the Goodmans for the strawberry Pocky sticks sent all the way from Hawaii.  Decorating a cake has never been so entertaining. 

The birthday party went on till way after sunset.  Most boats are planning on heading out tomorrow morning.  It was a wonderful celebration of so many things: new friends, old friends, birthdays, Bimini, and the right to vote!