Raines Realm

Nothing can quite bring people together like cake. And what better way to celebrate our unity as a country during this trying time than with a traditional cake reserved for just this occasion. Historically, election day was a celebratory affair, filled with food and drinks. People would travel to the polls, visiting family and friends along the trip. There were dances and special balls to commemorate the occasion. During this special time, women would bake election cakes and give them to men at the polls to encourage voter turnout. Voting was harolded as an American right and that was something worth celebrating. (And it still is, in my opinion.) This sourdough cake is a cousin to the fruit cake and a batch could feed an entire community. Typical recipes could call for 10 lbs of butter, 13 lbs of sugar, and 3 dozen eggs among other ingredients! Election day was a reminder of the principles that America was founded on. With all of the stress associated with this election...

"Candy!" is generally the first thing that springs to mind when thinking of Halloween, but a traditional Irish fortune-telling cake is more accurate. We all know that Halloween is the modern-day celebration of the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhaim (pronounced Sow-in). It was originally celebrated as the time of year when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. This led to all sorts of fortune-telling and divination methods in hopes of learning about the future. Thus enters the barmbrack. This simple fruit bread is the delicious ancestor of the questionable fruit cakes of today. The fun part about this bread though, has nothing to do with its taste or appearance, but what it has inside. Particular "charms" are wrapped in parchment paper, evenly distributed, and baked inside. Traditionally, the items include a coin, ring, thimble, button, and scrap of cloth. The cake is then divided and whatever charm you had in your piece was you...