Sourdough Sandwich Bread and the Weekly Menu #LitHappens

This Sourdough Sandwich Bread is simple to make, but it does require an overnight rise so you need to plan ahead.

I was inspired to bake this bread while reading The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.

  

This Historical Fiction Novel was chosen by Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures as our April selection for our Lit Happens Book Club.  Lit Happens is an online book club where we take turns selecting a book and then posting discussion questions on our Facebook Page.  It is not required to make a recipe as in my other group, Cook the Books Book Club, but many of us belong to both groups and are inspired into the kitchen.

I love Historical Fiction.  It is my genre of choice and a great way to learn history while being entertained.  This book follows the story of a Blue Woman from Kentucky who is hired by the Pack Horse Library Project and delivers books into remote areas of the Appalachians.  

While I was listening to this story on an audible app through my local library.  I stopped the audible and went onto a Google search to learn more about the Kentucky Blues and the Pack Library Project.

I learned that the fictional account of Cussie Mary Carter was based on the history of the Blue Fugates, a family born of an immigrant from France, Martin Fugate, who emigrated to the hills of Kentucky and married an American woman, Elizabeth Smith.  Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four of whom were born with a genetic disorder, Methemoglobinemia, causing them to have blue skin.  Due to the remoteness of the area and the limited population, the four families that lived in the area intermarried, resulting in more children being born blue.  

The Pack Horse Library Project was a program that ran from 1935 until 1943.  It was administered and employed mostly by women who would take library materials into the remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains, whose residents would otherwise not have access to reading material.

Cussie was born blue.  Her mother had died of influenza and her father is suffering from black lung, working in the coal mines for 17 hrs. each day.  Life is hard but Cussie feels blessed to have a job.  Her father hopes to marry her off before he dies, having promised her mother he would make sure Cussie was taken care of.  Cussie has no desire to marry and is pleased that no man wants a "blue".  

Thus begins the story that deals with the tough topics of prejudice, racism, ignorance, and poverty prevalent in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky.

The inspiration for this bread comes when Cussie makes a bean sandwich for her father's work lunch using the bread she made that morning.  I did not use my bread for bean sandwiches.  I did use it to make toast, including this Anchovy Pesto Toast that I shared with another book review.

We would love to have you join our Lit Happens group.  If you would like to read and discuss this novel, leave a comment below and I will invite you to our Facebook Page.  I am also linking up with Foodies Read.  Stop by and see what the other foodies are reading this month.

I was complaining to my daughter, Amy, that I was having a very difficult time cutting my bread into even slices.  She told me that she had purchased a bread slicer and was explaining how it worked.  It sounded much like a manual version of my electric meat slicer, so I thought I would give that a try.  It works perfectly!!

I am sharing this post as Frank is driving.  We are traveling to say goodbye to his dear friend, Keith, who passed away from complications resulting from their tours together in Vietnam, where they served in the battle zone while in the Navy.  They remained close friends throughout the years.  We will both miss him terribly.

Tomorrow morning, we will head back to Michigan but not home.  We will go straight to Andiamo Restaurant and Showroom to meet friends for dinner and a Peabo Bryson concert.

The rest of the week is quiet.  We will have a chance to recouperate from our crazy week that just passed.  Here is what we will be eating.  What's on your menu?

Saturday

Dinner and Concert

Sunday Supper

Roast Chicken

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Corn

Meatless Monday

Baleados

Tuesday

Chicken Pot Pie

Wok Wednesday

Beef and Broccoli

Holy Thursday

Out before Mass

Good Friday

Tuna Melt Sandwiches