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Author: Nicole Carpenter

Naleśniki: Polish Rolled Pancakes with Fruit Preserves

by Nicole Carpenter

Throughout much of American history, immigrants were encouraged to “assimilate” to life in the United States, putting aside language, dress and social morés from the “old country.” Many retained their ethnic foods as visceral links to home. By the 1960s and 70s Americans were expressing a growing interest in world cultures. As part of this movement there was a renewed sense of celebration of Americans of all ethnicities and food was an egalitarian and popular medium to explore these themes.

Time Life publishing produced a series of recipe-based books about world foods, including American Cooking: The Melting Pot about the American melting pot featuring the Kowalsky family of Westport—Polish immigrants who were successful farmers and then, later, building contractors. 

To make 28 pancakes 

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 
  • 3 eggs 
  • 1 cup milk 
  • 1 cup water 
  • 1 tablespoon sugar 
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • 12 ounces fruit preserves (cherry, raspberry or strawberry) 
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind 
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
  • Confectioners’ sugar 

Directions

To make the pancake batter in an electric blender, combine the flour, eggs, milk, water, sugar and salt in the blender jar and blend them at high speed for a few seconds. Turn off the machine, scrape down the sides of the jar with a rubber spatula, and blend again for 40 seconds. 

To make the batter by hand, stir the eggs and milk together, then beat in the flour, water, sugar and salt with a whisk or a rotary or electric beater. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve set over a bowl. 

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the fruit preserves and grated lemon rind. Set aside. 

Heat a 60 inch crêpe pan or skillet over high heat until a drop of water flicked onto it evaporates instantly. With a pastry brush, lightly grease the bottom of the pan with about ½ teaspoon of the melted butter. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan and tip the pan so that the batter quickly covers the bottom; the batter should cling to the pan and begin to firm up almost immediately.

Cook the pancake for a minute or so, until a rim of brown shows around the edge. Turn it over with a spatula and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes, or until pancake is lightly browned. When the package is done, spread it with 2 heaping tablespoons of a fruit-preserve filling, roll it loosely into a cylinder, and place it in a baking dish in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven to keep warm. Repeat the process with the rest of the pancake batter, adding butter to the skillet as needed. Serve the pancakes warm, sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar. 

Obnoxious Fledglings: Reviews for May 14th

by Nicole Carpenter
Jerks in Connecticut History is an entertaining introduction to some of Connecticut’s most infamous characters, including circus man P. T. Barnum and the treacherous Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Each chapter focuses on a single figure from the Nutmeg state’s past, whose personalities certainly prove themselves to live up to title, and recounts their notorious antics. While the profiles are comical and might be a good first read for casual audiences, those looking to get into the true stories of these individuals would be better served in picking up another piece of writing.
Book Review: Speaking Ill of the Dead: jerks in Connecticut History Nicole Carpenter
I’m an art lover but never counted myself as a person interested in the ins and outs of how art is collected or curated. The Collector’s Apprentice opened up what I soon learned was the fascinating world of artists, agents, collectors for me. 
Set in the 1920s in Paris and Philadelphia, the book makes use of many true facts about the world-renowned Barnes Foundation in Pennsylvania– widely considered one of the most important catalogs of modern art in the world. Barnes was a visionary who saw the value of modern artists we accept as masters today but who were mocked in their hearly careers: Matisse, Picasso and others. —Both a museum and educational institution, the Barnes has also been the focus of controversy over its nearly 100-year history. 
 In B.A. Shapiro’s novel, the Barnes becomes the “Bradley” and Dr. Barnes becomes Dr. Bradley. The institution’s struggles also take the stage while main characters are thinly veiled versions of their real-life counterparts. A good number of the book’s events are only barely altered from life. Real individuals such as Matisse, Gertrude and Leo Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Zelda Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway also make appearances.  
The plotline centers on protagonist Pauline Mertens/Vivienne Gregsby who runs from the scandal and ruin she brought upon her wealthy Belgian family and then reinvents herself as apprentice to Dr. Bradley. But Vivienne finds herself in the midst of more scandal as his right-hand woman. The Collector’s Apprentice has sex, scams and murder all of which make for tantalizing reading but these were not the most thrilling parts of the book. Instead, seeing giants of modern history with all their human foibles rather from behind a velvet museum rope beyond which their work is hung, was exciting and inspired me to read and learn more about their world. The Collector’s Apprentice will appeal to art-lovers, aficionados of the Roaring Twenties, modern art mavens and anyone who likes a good story.
Book Review: The Collector’s Apprentice  Ramin Ganeshram

Focus On: Diane Benke & Family

by Nicole Carpenter

“We have lived in Westport 10 ½ years. I am a stay at home mom & amateur triathlete/swimmer. My husband works in finance in NYC. He is working from home. 

We’ve settled finally into a routine after 5 weeks. My biggest challenge is keeping my two boys 1) academically engaged/challenged with the homeschooling, 2) having them physically active and 3) preventing them from spending too much time on video games! Managing a household and maintaining “order” with everyone home is a challenge – my work has increased in terms of parenting, rule and chore setting but also keeping everyone in good spirits, etc. 

I feel like folks are managing the best they can. Some are giving back by setting up donations to Gillespie Center or making masks and distributing them, collecting for food banks etc. Others are helping their neighbors in need (who are vulnerable and can’t leave their homes). Folks are trying to reach out to one another with zoom calls, and small acts of kindness (just checking in on how we are doing) etc. Like anywhere else, situations like this one can bring out the best and worst in people. I try to look for the good. We’ve participated in birthday drive-by parades for my children’s friends.  

My father is a holocaust survivor and my mother grew up in Slovakia under communism so I try to keep perspective that this situation could be way worse. Seeing bare shelves at the supermarket gives me a sense of what it was like for my mother growing up with limited produce and grocery options. I try not to complain because my father told me he was under house arrest for two years (only able to get out once a week for two hours). I am trying to teach my children resilience, perseverance and gratitude by example. I’ve learned how to dig deep from endurance sports and the long-distance races I’ve participated in. There is a moment in the training or race where it gets tough, and you get through it. Life is a roller coaster. There is hardship and suffering, but experiencing the lows, make the high points that much richer. 

Life is a roller coaster. There is hardship and suffering, but experiencing the lows, make the high points that much richer.  

My fears are that our lives will never be the same – that we won’t be as social or interact with one another as much as we did before. I fear that the new norm will be life behind a computer screen, phone, face mask and closed doors. I mourn less travel and larger group events like concerts or Broadway shows. I don’t want to lose what is special about the human experience – connecting with each other on a personal and deep level. My greatest hope is that we learn from this pandemic in multiple ways. I hope we learn to be more present, to treat the environment and one another better. I hope we practice gratitude and come out of this stronger, better prepared to deal with adversity. 

I am grateful that we have made a home in Westport and it is a true community. During this pandemic and stay at home order, we’ve been able to connect with our local friends, support local restaurants and businesses. I believe that what you put out in the world comes back to you — and the relationships we’ve made in town are helping us get through this together. Westport has so much to offer from its beaches to its cultural and educational resources – much of this still exists but in a different format. I am grateful for my children’s’ teachers and the daily assignments they’ve created (how quickly the Westport education system prepared for this!).” 

Explore More of “Westport In Focus”

To read more of the museums long lens oral histories please visit the Westport In Focus page.

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