Cardinals: The South’s Colorful Songster

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cardinal

This past weekend I found a bird nest in one of my climbing rose bushes and carefully watched to see what sort of bird had laid the three eggs in it.  Wild birds are Nature’s adornment for the farmstead and it turned out my visiting nester is a female cardinal.  I wish her great success in hatching the eggs although her choice of nesting site is going to make caring for the roses a little difficult for a few weeks.  I really hope a snake doesn’t make a meal of her babies and we can enjoy their beauty and song as they discover their wings and take flight.  Its song is so pleasing as to have earned it the nickname Virginia Nightingale as early as 1834 and likely much earlier.   Let’s see what our forebears had to say about this lovely songster.

“The Cardinals are noted singers.  Both sexes sing, but the song of the male is more frequent and a louder and clearer whistle. . .To the young in the nest he [the male] is an untiring provider of worms and grubs, and thus most useful in the garden.  Nothing can be more comical than his behavior when he first conducts his young family out into the world while his mate is engaged with her second sitting.  He is as fussy as any young mother, hopping about in great excitement, and appearing to think the whole world thirsting for the life of his pretty little ones”.  – “Birds & Nature Magazine”.  June 1904.

“After the robin the cardinal’s nest is the easiest to find, and perhaps the most common.  Nests are usually placed low in bushes, or at moderate heights in thickets and saplings.  Grape-vine tangles and porch trellises are favorite places and occasionally nests are saddled upon horizontal limbs of trees.

In construction the nest varies from tidy to disreputable, according to skill and season.  A typical one is composed externally of long stiff weeds and leaf stems, and measures roughly seven inches across, with an extreme of thirteen inches.  Next comes a mat of dead leaves, mostly beech [no beech near us].  Inside this in turn is a tough basket work of grape-vine bark and a lining of fine fresh grass cured in the nest.  It measures, inside, three and a quarter inches in width and two and a half in depth.

The eggs are quite variable; even those in the same nest are hard to reconcile, both as to shape and markings.  Because of the similarity in appearance, cowbirds’ eggs are easily imposed upon the cardinal.  Professor Jones and I once found a nest with the bird on whose three eggs were to the best of our judgement the combined products of as many cowbirds.

The young hatch out in about fourteen days, and are ready to leave the nest in ten days more.  The father is especially devoted to his offspring, and often cares for them while the female is busy with another nest. “   Have a delightful summer, gentle reader, and visit often.  “Birds and Nature in Natural Colors”.   1914.

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American Beauty Berry

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Beautyberry

Either I just never paid attention to it or the native American Beautyberry bush was not common in my niche of southern middle Tennessee and Northwest Alabama because one of the first things I noticed when I moved farther South was a bush with the most remarkably striking purple berries.  The small berries grow in a ball shape around the ends of the limbs so that while the berries are small from a distance the purple is quite striking against a green backdrop.

I quickly purchased a bush which I promptly transplanted when we moved to the farm only to find them growing wild anywhere the guineas or wild birds dropped seed.  I have let most of them grow wherever they decide to volunteer.  It is a large sprawling shrub if left to its own devices or it can be pruned in winter to control its size.  There is a white berried variety, however, in my opinion it can’t compare with the purple.

Beauty bush is native to the southeastern U.S. and is referred to as American beautyberry, sourbush, bunchberry, and falsely as French mulberry by some.  It is not a mulberry nor is it French.

It can be propagated from seed or softwood cuttings.  If preferred, it can be grown in a container.

It looks quite nice in fresh flower arrangements.  Berries are also edible.  While they don’t impress me much in flavor fresh off the bush they can be used to make jelly, tea, and wine.

Many sources indicate they repel mosquitoes and biting insects.  Charles T. Bryson, botanist in Stoneville, Miss. reported that his grandfather cut branches with the leaves still on and crushed the leaves then put them between the horse and the harness to repel deerflies, horseflies, and mosquitoes.  Forty years later he still crushes leaves and rubs them on his skin to repel insects.  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060703091932.htm

The USDA Agricultural Research Service at the University of Mississippi conducted experiments and concluded that infusions of leaves and stems did, in fact, repel ticks, mosquitoes, and possibly fire ants.  The naturally occurring compounds in beautyberry that repel insects are callicarpenal, intermedeol, and spathulenol.  All three chemicals repulsed mosquitoes that carry malaria and yellow fever.  Mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus were not tested in the study.  The USDA-ARS has since filed for a patent using callicarpenal as an anthropod repellent.  Seeing such an insect repellent on the market is not likely to happen any time soon, however, as it can take years to register a product with the EPA and conduct the exhaustive tests required.  In the meantime I recommend planting your own beautyberries and either rubbing the crushed leaves on the skin or trying a recipe for making beautyberry spray or cream.  Don’t forget to whip up a snack while you’re at it – perhaps pound cake with a little beautyberry jelly and whipped cream on top.   https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/download/3640/PDF

BEAUTY BERRY JELLY.

1 ½ quarts of berries, washed and cleaned.  Put in a heavy pot and cover with 2 quarts of water.  Boil 15 to 20 minutes and strain.  Bring 3 cups of the juice to a boil.  Add 1 package of Sure-Jell, 4 ½ cups sugar, and the juice of one lemon.  Bring to a second boil and boil for two minutes.  Remove from the heat, skim off any foam and then pour the jelly into sterilized jars and put on flats and rings.

BEAUTYBERRY INSECT REPELLENT.

Use a combination of chopped stems and bark and leaves.  Put 1 to 2 cups of chopped leaves and stems in a quart jar and fill with boiling water.  Let set at least 4 hours or overnight.  Strain.  Fill an 8 ounce spray bottle half full of the infusion.  Add witch hazel almost to the top – leave a 2 ounce space. Add essential oil of your choice.  Shake before using.

BEAUTYBERRY INSECT REPELLENT CREAM.

Make the infusion as in the previous recipe.  Put 1 ½ cups of infusion in the blender.  Put 1 cup neem oil and 1 ounce of beeswax in a small pot and heat until melted.  Turn on the blender and slowly pour in the oil mixture.  It will thicken and become a cream.

Croquettes: Tasty Pockets of Goodness©

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Croquettes

Photo:  Wikipedia

Salmon comes to mind when one thinks about croquettes, however, croquettes can be made out of any chopped meat – with or without potato and parsley, rice, pasta, grain, vegetable, fruit and even nuts.  They were, and remain, an economical way to turn left-overs into a tasty new dish.

Croquettes were were either made by hand shaping the meat mixture into a cone or flat cake or shaped in a croquette mold.  They were then dipped in egg, rolled in crumbs, and fried brown.  “The ideal croquette should be soft and creamy inside when served, and yet keep its shape, and be crisp and brown outside . . .The derivation of the word croquette hints at something crisp or crackling.”  Molds were first buttered then sprinkled with crumbs for the first croquette then subsequently sprinkled with crumbs before molding the remaining mixture.

“MYSTERY” CROQUETTES.  “Mrs. Owens’ New Cook Book”.  [This is an excellent recipe which can be used to make any sort of croquette.]  Take any bits of cold fish, flesh, or fowl, any or all, chop fine with 2 hard boiled eggs and ½ cup cold potatoes.  To a pint of the mixture add a raw egg, a scant tablespoon flour and a teaspoon of melted butter.  Form into croquettes; dip in egg and sifted crumbs and fry in hot fat.

CHICKEN CROQUETTES.  “Southern Cooking”.  1912.  For Chicken Croquettes.  To make one dozen croquettes.  Select three and one half pounds of chicken and boil well done, take the meat and chop very fine, use one pint of flour, 2 raw eggs, parsley, salt and pepper.  [Shape into patties and fry in butter.]

TURKEY CROQUETTES SEASONED WITH POTATO AND EGGS.  “Palatable Dishes”.  1891.  Cut the meat from one turkey, removing all fat, skin, gristle, and bones.  Mash about eight cold boiled potatoes.  Chop finely six hard-boiled eggs.  Mix these ingredients well together; add a gill of white wine, salt and pepper to taste.  Make into croquettes, and brown them nicely in butter, serving them very hot.

CROQUETTES OF CRABS.  “Palatable Dishes”.  1891.  One pint of solid meat.  After the crabs are boiled and the meat is picked out, measure it.  Put in a double saucepan, half a pint of cream.  Rub to a cream one heaping tablespoonful of butter and three heaping tablespoonfuls of sifted flour, then stir this into the hot cream gradually; stir rapidly until you have a thick, smooth paste.  Now add the beaten yolks of two eggs; take from the fire, then add one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful of onion juice, a pinch of cayenne pepper, one even teaspoonful of salt, and two hard-boiled eggs chopped very fine; mix thoroughly.  Now add the crab meat and set aside to cool; then form into little cones or pyramids, dip in egg and fine bread-crumbs.  Fry a rich brown in boiling hot fat, garnish with parsley or water-cress.  Serve hot with cream sauce.  Hard-shell crabs are the best for croquettes; it will take one dozen to make a pint of meat.

SAUSAGE CROQUETTES.  “Palatable Dishes”.  Take one pound of nicely seasoned sausage meat, two raw potatoes grated fine, half a cupful of grated bread-crumbs, one egg beaten light, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley or celery, three tablespoonfuls of milk, salt, and pepper to taste.  Mix all well together.  Make into little patties or rolls; fry in the spider [skillet] in a little half butter and lard.  Serve hot, garnished with parsley.

SALMON CROQUETTES:  “Mrs. Owens’ New Cook Book”.  1897.  One can salmon, an equal quantity of mashed potatoes.  Make into little cakes, roll in white of egg and rolled cracker and fry.

SALMON CROQUETTES:  “Mrs. Owens”.  #2:  One cup picked up salmon, ½ cup mashed potatoes and ½ cup bread crumbs.  Heat a cup of milk to boiling and stir into it 1 tablespoon butter made smooth with 2 tablespoons flour.  Add to this 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, the salmon, potato, and bread crumbs.  Season palatably with pepper and salt and pour into a buttered platter to cool.  Form into shapes, dip in egg and crumbs and fry in hot fat until brown.

GREEN [FRESH] CORN CROQUETTES.  “Mrs. Owens”.  1 quart young, tender, grated green corn, 1 cup sifted flour, 1 cup sweet milk, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 eggs, 1 saltspoon salt [to taste], and same of pepper.  Grate the corn [cut from the cob] as fine as possible, and mix with the flour, pepper and salt.  Warm the milk and melt the butter in it.  Add the corn, stir hard, and let cool.  Then stir the eggs beaten very light, the whites added last.  Work into small oval balls, and fry in hot fat.  Drain and serve hot.

SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES.  “Palatable Dishes”.  When boiled and mashed, take one pint and a half of the potato, mash them smooth, and beat into them three-quarters of a cupful of hot milk, one teaspoonful of salt, and three heaping gablespoonfuls of butter.  Beat two eggs light and add them to the mixture, beating in thoroughly.  Now form into croquettes.  Dip into egg, then bread-crumbs, and fry in hot fat until a rich brown.  Serve immediately.

POTATO CROQUETTES.  Season cold mashed potato with pepper, salt, and nutmeg.  Beat to a cream with a tablespoon of melted butter to every cup of potato.  Bind with 2 beaten eggs, and add 1 teaspoon minced parsley.  Roll into oval balls, dip in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs, and fry.

HOMINY CROQUETTES.  “Housekeeper’s and Mothers’ Manual”.  1895.  Soften a cupful of cold, boiled hominy or hominy grits, with a cupful of sweet milk and a well beaten egg.  Mix thoroughly and season with salt and butter and a dash of pepper.  Form into croquettes, dip in beaten egg and cracker dust and fry in boiling lard.

CHEESE CROQUETTES.  “The Warren Cook Book.”  1920.  2 cups grated cheese, 1 cup fine bread crumbs, salt and cayenne to taste; form into small balls; dip into beaten eggs and fine cracker crumbs; fry in boiling fat; serve with salads.

HAM CROQUETTES.  “How We Cook in Tennessee”.  1906.  Run cold boiled ham through meat chopper, also one hard boiled egg.  To every cup of ground meat put one cup rolled bread crumbs and one hard boiled egg.  Add pepper and nutmeg to taste.  When ready to use, wet up with sweet cream, make out in croquettes and fry.

BRAIN CROQUETTES.  “How We Cook in Tennessee”.  Two sets hog brains, two eggs, cracker crumbs.  Parboil the brains, allow them to cool, chop fine, beating in the eggs and a few crumbs with salt and pepper to taste.  Make into shapes, roll in crumbs and fry in hot lard.