Sweet Americana Sweethearts: #BakerCityBrides

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Baked Apple Pudding

by Shanna Hatfield

In my recently released sweet romance Dumplings and Dynamite, the heroine is working (in disguise!) as a camp cook at a gold mine in eastern Oregon during the 1890s gold rush.

Since I love to bake and collect recipes, it was fun to think about and research the foods she would have been serving a camp full of miners. While most of the offerings were basic (meat, potatoes, bread), when the manager of the mine leaves for a few days, she makes all kinds of treats for the men, endearing herself to them all.

One recipe I found came from a cookbook published in 1883 called Clayton's Quaker Cook Book, Being a Practical Treatise on the Culinary Art Adapted to the Tastes and Wants of All Classes. Clayton was an acclaimed caterer who lived and worked in San Francisco during the late 19th century.

The recipe for Baked Apple Pudding seemed perfect for something Hollin, my heroine, would serve the hungry miners. She serves it to them for breakfast, but you could make this to enjoy anytime. Here is a modernized version of the recipe.

Baked Apple Pudding

Ingredients:
2 cups oat flour
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cups milk
3 apples
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel and core apples then chop into small pieces.
Beat sugar, eggs, butter, and milk together on medium speed. Stir in the oat flour and cinnamon then add the apples. Spoon into a greased casserole dish and bake for one hour, until set.
Serve warm with a sprinkling of cinnamon or a dusting of powdered sugar on top or syrup on the side, if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

Seth had held babies before, including Thane Jordan’s son who would be close to the same age as this little one.

Without waiting for permission, he gingerly lifted the baby. The cries ceased and the baby seemed content to have someone hold her. While he swayed from side to side, he studied the little one. Wispy curls of hair shared the same bright hue as ripe carrots. The baby’s eyes were blue, but Jemma Jordan had told him the eye color of a baby could change significantly by their first birthday. A small nose looked perfect on her pretty face. And the teeny girl he held had the sweetest little mouth, shaped like a rosebud. Her lips worked, as if she wanted something to suck.

A flash of pity swept through him for the baby’s mother who lost her husband and was now working for the contemptible Eustace Gilford. He had no doubt the woman had to rise in the wee hours of the morning to be able to cook a big breakfast for a camp full of miners. It had to be challenging to cook and care for such a newly-born child.

Mrs. Parrish hurried back into the kitchen, saw him holding the baby, and her pale skin blanched white.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a harsh, quiet tone. She moved across the room and took the baby from him with such haste, he had no idea how she’d managed to reach him in so few steps. He couldn’t be certain, but he thought maybe she’d forgotten about her limp.

“I hoped if I held her, she’d stop crying. It worked,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, although he moved a step closer to the widow. “What’s her name?”

“Keeva.”

“I’ve never met anyone named Keeva. Is it a family name?” he asked.

The woman merely nodded. “It was her great-grandmother’s name.”

“Then I’m sure she’d be proud to have a beautiful little granddaughter to share it with.”

The woman looked at him over her shoulder with an uncertain glare, as though she couldn’t quite figure him out, before she turned back to the baby. “Breakfast is on the table. The men will be in soon. If you want something to eat, you best get out there. If Mr. Gilford didn’t mention it, the men pack their own lunches from the food on the tables near the door.”

“He did say something about that. Thank you, Mrs. Parrish.” Seth tipped his head to her then made his way to the dining room where men began trickling inside.

Eustace directed Seth to a chair at the far end of the long table. When everyone was seated, he pointed to Seth. “Meet our newest employee, Seth Harter. He’ll be drilling and blasting.”

Mrs. Parrish nearly dropped the pot of coffee she carried at this announcement but quickly recovered. Seth wondered how hard he’d have to work to charm the truth out of her.

In spite of her appearance, something about her made him look forward to trying.

Wishing you a wonderful and very Happy Valentine's Day!

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes. When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

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Friday, August 2, 2019

The Denver of Oregon

by Shanna Hatfield

Anyone driving on I-84 through Eastern Oregon will go right past the small town of Baker City. From the freeway, travelers might notice a few restaurants, hotels, and gas stations.

Few visitors realize that Baker City was referred to as the "Denver of Oregon" back in the 1800s, when gold mining drew people to the area and the town boasted any number of luxuries.

Baker City's history goes back to the mid-1800s. The Oregon Trail went through the area (The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center located just a few miles east of town provides a rich and colorful look at life on the trail) and some settlers decided to make Baker County their home.

The city (now the county seat) and Baker County were named in honor of U.S. Senator Edward D. Baker, the only sitting senator to be killed in a military engagement. He died in 1861 while leading a charge of Union Army soldiers up a ridge at Ball's Bluff, Virginia, during the American Civil War.

Gold drew settlers to the area. Auburn, a gold mining boom town located five miles southwest of present Baker City, served as the seat of Baker County in 1862.

In 1864, only three cabins stood within the urban boundaries of present day Baker City. A portion of what would become downtown was platted and by 1865, the main street offered a saloon, a few hotels, a livery stable, a variety store that housed the post office, a blacksmith shop, and a handful of other buildings.

By 1868, as placer mines played out, Baker City became both the county seat and commercial center. Auburn soon became little more than a memory.

In 1874, the legislature approved Baker City’s first charter, which set up a board of five trustees. In 1887, Baker City elected blacksmith and farm implement dealer Syrenus B. McCord as the city’s first mayor along with five councilmen.

Beginning in its earliest days, Baker City had a Chinatown that included several businesses, a Chinese temple, private dwellings, opium dens, and prostitution cribs. Today, visitors can see the Chinese cemetery just off the freeway.

Baker City’s buildings were constructed of wood until 1873, when former Sheriff James W. Virtue, who had established the county’s first bank in 1870, built a stone “fire proof” business structure on the southwest corner of Main and Court. Despite his claims, the building burned down in the 1880s.

Several fires ravaged Main Street buildings over the years. The most disastrous was the 1887 fire that destroyed all structures on the east side of the 1700 block of Main. Before the year was out, all those frame buildings were replaced by brick buildings, and some made of native volcanic tuff stone quarried at Pleasant Valley, south of Baker City.

One of the most impressive brick buildings still standing today is the Geiser Grand Hotel, located on Main Street. The Warshauer brothers, Jake and Harry, constructed the hotel 1889. It went by the name Hotel Warshauer until purchased by the Geiser family about 1900.

You can read a little about the hotel and life in 1890 Baker City in my sweet western romance - Crumpets and Cowpies, the first book in the Baker City Brides series.

In the story, Rancher Thane Jordan reluctantly travels to England to settle his brother’s estate only to find he’s inherited much more than he could possibly have imagined. Lady Jemma Bryan has no desire to spend a single minute in Thane Jordan’s insufferable presence much less live under the same roof with the handsome, arrogant American. Forced to choose between poverty or marriage to the man, she finds herself traveling across an ocean and America to reach his ranch in Oregon.