Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1722) of Christopher Smart, also known as “Kit Smart,” “Kitty Smart,” and “Jack Smart,” a major English poet and social commentator (although much of his best work lay buried for a long time). He was a regular contributor to two popular magazines and a friend to influential cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fielding. Smart, a high church Anglican, was widely known throughout London. He was infamous both as the pseudonymous midwife “Mrs. Mary Midnight” and for widespread accounts of his father-in-law, John Newbery, who locked Smart away in a mental asylum for many years over his supposed religious mania. Even after Smart’s eventual release, a negative reputation continued to pursue him because he was known for incurring more debt than he could pay off and which ultimately led to his confinement in debtors’ prison until his death.

Smart’s  “Jubilate Agno” (Praise the Lamb) is divided into four fragments labeled “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D.” The whole work consists of over 1,200 lines (and there is evidence that it was intended to be twice that length). All the lines in half the sections begin with the word “Let” and those in the other sections begin with “For.” Those in the series beginning with the word “Let,” are associated with names of human beings, mainly biblical, with various natural objects; and those beginning with the word “For” are a series of aphoristic verses.  The section “For I will consider my Cat Jeoffrey” is part of a “For” segment of Fragment B. I adore these verses, and, yes, I am a cat lover.  Dog lovers can skip to the recipe.  A sample:

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.

For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him.

For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.

For is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.

For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.

For he rolls upon prank to work it in.

For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself. . . . .

Because Smart was born and raised in Kent I have chosen an old Kentish recipe for a Lenten pie (that is, meatless) usually called Kentish Pudding Pie. Smart was born after Easter (yes, you can figure out the date of Easter for any year), but this pie is wonderful any time of year.

Kentish Pudding Pie

Ingredients

6 oz/175 g wholemeal or plain flour
pinch of salt
5 ozs/150 g unsalted butter
½ pint/300 ml milk
1 oz/25 g ground rice or rice flour
2 oz/50 g sugar
2 eggs
grated rind of 1 lemon
¼ tsp/1.25 ml grated nutmeg
1 oz/25 g currants

Instructions

Make the pastry by sifting the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in 3 oz/75 g of the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor and pulse 8-10 times. Add 3-4 tbsps/45 – 60 ml of cold water to make a dough. Add only enough water slowly so as to barely bind the mix.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and then use it to line a greased 8in/20 cm fluted flan dish. Bake blind at 400°F/200°C 10 – 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

While the crust is baking, put the milk and rice in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.

When the mixture is cold, cream the remaining butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the lemon rind, salt, nutmeg and the rice mixture. Mix thoroughly together and pour into the flan case. Sprinkle the currants on top. (Some people use more currants and fold some of them into the filling before baking).

Bake at 375°F/190°C  40 – 45 minutes, until the filling is firm to the touch and golden brown.

Serve warm.