ONE A PENNY, TWO A PENNY, HOT CROSSED BUNS! by Marisa Masterson

 Easter time! Bring on the traditional foods.

Why ham at Easter? As I researched, I discovered two possible reasons for this traditional Easter meat in the United States.

Traditionally in the past, hogs were butchered in the fall. By the tine spring and Easter arrived, the hams would be ready to enjoy, fully smoked and delicious.

I also learned that in the mid-1800s, Easter was not widely celebrated in the North. But in the southern part of the United States, the religious background was different. Easter was a time for feasting and ham was typically always included on the table of wealthier people. This meat was a good substitute for lamb, as well, because it was larger and more inexpensive.  (https://www.marthastewart.com/1538183/how-easter-ham-became-traditional-easter-dinner#)

Another traditional food came as more of a surprise to me. Hot crossed buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot crossed buns. I remember singing that little ditty as a child. (By the way, that little song goes back to the 1700s when street vendors first used it as a jingle to see the bread.)

My family did not eat these at Easter, but I have heard of many people who do. The spices in the buns are said to represent the spices used for Christ's body, and the cross drawn on top represents his sacrifice. Not only are they delicious, but they are a way to remember the meaning of Easter.

Truly, though, this food goes back further than the celebration of Christian Easter. The buns were made in honor of Esotre, the Saxon goddess. Her name is where we get the word Easter.

So, Christians adapted something they had already learned to enjoy as a part of celebrating the coming of Spring. They retained their tradition but turned it into something that would remind them of their new faith. The same thing was done when eggs became a part of the holiday.

Good or bad, I can understand those new converts hanging on to a tradition they treasured. I also love my holiday traditions.

HAPPY EASTER! MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

She calls herself Elspeth. How long will Liza be able to keep up the ruse? 

If she thought her groom would accept her as herself, she would abandon her sister’s plot. No, he wants her twin. 

Liza desperately needs him to learn to love her before Adam discovers who he really married.

Can liars ever prosper? Will Adam be able to forgive her when he discovers that he mistakenly married the wrong woman?

LESS TIME AND MONEY--Why My Mail-Order Brides Travel after 1869 by Marisa Masterson

I like 1870. Or 1871. Maybe 1872. Those years are better for sending a mail-order bride to the West in my novels. Anything after 1869.

But why the cut off of 1869? Something important happened in 1870 to change how a bride could more easily and cheaply travel. The Transcontinental Railroad. It's why I love sending brides out after June of 1869. 

Here's an interesting fact I found--the cost of a train ticket. "In 1870 it took approximately seven days and cost as little as $65 for a ticket on the transcontinental line from New York to San Francisco; $136 for first class in a Pullman sleeping car; $110 for second class; and $65 for a space on a third- or “emigrant”-class bench." (https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/Transcontinental%20Railroad%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf)  

Compare the ticket price to the cost of a six-month trip to the California by wagon. Traveling across the country in a covered wagon is estimated to have cost $1000. That's equal to about $20,000 today. (https://www.history.com/news/transcontinental-railroad-changed-america) It was a dangerous, uncomfortable, and expensive trip for some families. But also gave them hope. They were promised free land if they survived the journey--and most did. 

Sure a mail-order bride had to sit on a wooden bench for ten days to cross the country from the East. That small bit of discomfort paled next to the idea of cross the country as a part of a wagon train spending six months in travel or by stagecoach for twenty-five days. The $65 ticket helped settle the West.

Of course, the railroad didn't reach each small town in the territories. My character Liza still needs to travel by stagecoach to reach her groom. Let me tell you! After a few days in that coach, she's glad she didn't cross the whole country in it!

Twins as different as the sun from the moon. But which woman arrived in Silver Strike, Colorado to marry Adam Collins?

She calls herself Elspeth. How long will Liza be able to keep up the ruse? If she thought her groom would accept her as herself, she would abandon her sister’s plot. No, he wants her twin. Liza desperately wants him to learn to love her before Adam discovers who he really married.

Can liars ever prosper? Will Adam be able to forgive her when he discovers that he mistakenly married the wrong woman?

CONSIDER THE BREAD by Marisa Masterson

 The stuff of life--bread. While Christ said, "Man cannot live by bread alone," His statement reinforces to me how important and basic that food is to many diets.

Pushing west, many people did not buy stoves, or if they did, those were flat topped potbelly stoves meant to heat the house and usually having one or two burners on top.

Many people who came to the West to mine for silver or gold had nothing so elaborate as even one of those small stoves. Their small, hastily constructed cabins relied on a fireplace for heat and cooking. While a person could make biscuits and such, the tall loaves these people remembered from the East were beyond their ability to make in the fireplace.

Bakeries, even bakeries in a person's kitchen, supplied the bread, cookies, and pies that brought the flavors of home to persons far from what they knew. No wonder someone running a bakery in these small towns that popped up around mines in Colorado was so welcomed by those living there.

The hero in my upcoming release is a baker in just such a town. Adam relies on two things to make his bread and cookies: a large, cast iron range and brick ovens. 

The brick oven from colonial times continued to be used in bakeries through the 1800s. Often these usually rounded ovens had no door on the front. It might be difficult to see in the image, but the man is using a paddle to remove the bread. The flat paddle was an essential baker's tool to put the loaf in and remove it.

Wherever men mined, hand pies were also in demand. (In Wisconsin and Michigan, we call them pasties.) 

From A Bride for Adam--

Long hours spent alone in his bakery meant he made the money needed to prove the business to be a success. Once, he even advertised for an assistant, hoping that would allow him to spend more of his morning baking. No one wanted to work for a baker when they could dig up a fortune in silver on the mountain. 

That left him alone, struggling to keep up with his customer’s demands. Adam knew he could make even more money if he sold hand pies. Miners asked for the meat pies and sweet, fried pies. Perhaps, when Elspeth came, he would have time in his day to also make those. If she took over baking the cookies rather than pies, he could—  

The pies could easily be made in the brick ovens. These savory treats filled with vegetables and meat could be easily wrapped in a handkerchief and stuffed into a pocket. Body heat would keep the meal somewhat warm until the miner stopped for his meal.

So, when you think of a town in the Old West with its livery, mercantile, jail, and saloon, consider one more business. For many such places, a bakery was essential. After all, bread is the stuff of life.

Adam Collins knew his bride. No matter that the women were identical twins, he would know Elspeth at a glance. So why was he sure that he held Elizabeth's hand as they stood before the preacher? Could he still say, "I do," not knowing who he married?

Available for pre-order today!