Yep, this historical fiction author has been known to torture her children with Colonial Williamsburg, Civil War re-enactments, and loooong leisurely walks around Revolutionary War battlegrounds at Yorktown. Hey, cool it, we do fun kid stuff, too (which is why I can advise you to never ever attempt a weekend in Colonial Williamsburg immediately after a week in Orlando for reasons that should’ve been obvious to me).

Last spring break we hit a few museums in Chicago. This year we chose to see a very special exhibit in Cincinnati; the Dead Sea Scrolls. Perhaps the world’s greatest archeological treasure, they were first discovered by a Bedouin goat herder near Qumran in 1947. With six hundred artifacts on display, this was the largest collection from the Holy Land ever to go on tour outside Israel. It included a copy of the ten commandments from about thirty BC, the oldest known, which took my breath away.

Even my kids were impressed. Seriously. My daughter even drew highly accurate pictures of the scrolls in art class when we returned. See…

When I asked her for an exact translation, I received a blank stare. However, for readers who may be interested in what I learned about ancient cosmetics during this museum adventure, I have a treat!

These are Iron Age (seventh-ninth century BC) limestone cosmetic bowls from Hazor, Megiddo, and Arad. Ancient Israelites combined kohl or antimony with fat or resin in these, dipped a metal or ivory wand into the mixture, then used it to line their eyes. Sounds like a lot of work to me.

Decorative palmettes are carved into the underside of this bowl of steatite from the same period.

Keep in mind these are Iron Age tools from the middle east. Stay tuned for more about eye cosmetics from other eras.

Tiramisu Trifle

Spring Break 2013 started with a Big Easter Bang and ended with Big Book News. Not much beats a family gathering with lots of delicious food. And what does a historical fiction author take to Easter potluck? Dessert with a history stretching back to seventeenth century Italy; a Tiramisu Trifle! As part of the This Writer’s Life category on my blog, I’m posting the recipe today. I promise it’s easy, because This Writer has kids and a nursing career and a house and there are just limits to what one woman can accomplish in a day!

And the Big Book News? Well, my debut novel has a new title! It’s still about the beautiful Royalist exile who rejected three of the seventeenth century’s most illustrious kings. But she also graced England’s coins for generations as the model for Britannia, which is why I’m proud to announce the new title here for the first time …

Girl on the Golden Coin,

a Novel of Frances Stuart

Now bear with me while I attempt to scrub out all mentions of the old title in previous posts. And update Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, my website, third cousins, and my mail carrier. Whew! All this excitement calls for celebration with another Tiramisu Trifle!

Marci’s Tiramisu Trifle

Ingredients:

packaged lady fingers (enough for 3 layers in your trifle dish)

two 8 ounce packages mascarpone cheese

two cups heavy cream

one cup sugar

one cup espresso

one or two cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips for chocolate curls

Instructions:

Layer the bottom of your trifle dish with lady fingers (I halved mine to get the edges closer to the curve of the dish). Brush espresso over the lady fingers (or use a turkey baster – the spongy cookies absorb liquid well). Stir half of the sugar and mascarpone cheese in a bowl. In a separate, chilled bowl, whisk heavy cream and the other half of the sugar together until stiff peaks form. Fold the cheese mixture into the cream mixture. Proceed to layer this mixture with the lady fingers (adjust according to the size of your dish, mine held three layers of each). Don’t forget to brush each layer of lady fingers with espresso. End with a cream layer and top with chocolate curls. Refrigerate until time to serve. Enjoy!

To make chocolate curls:

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals. Spread into a thin layer on a cookie sheet and allow to harden. Use a metal spatula to scrape the edges of the chocolate away from you to form curls (this takes some practice, but even if it just flakes it will be pretty on top of the cream).

Historical cosmetics lovers, have no fear. My spring break travels took me to a wonderful museum exhibit in Cincinnati that I’ll share with you soon. Photos of ancient cosmetic containers may even be included!