Is Recession Preparing a New Breed of Survivalist? [Survival Today

Straw bale house survives violent shaking at earthquake lab

Straw bale homes are environmently freindly, low cost and extremely
energy efficient exceeding the quality of artificial building materials
that are more costly and more health hazardous (reference the recent
sulfur emissions hazards from chinese drywall.)

Now they are shown to be structurally superior in earthquakes when
designed correctly.

Public release date: 2-Apr-2009

Contact: Mike Wolterbeek
awolterbeek@unr.edu
University of Nevada, Reno

Straw bale house survives violent shaking at earthquake lab

Innovative design used in Pakistan withstands experiment at University
of Nevada, Reno

IMAGE: It huffed and puffed, but the 82-ton-force,
earthquake-simulation shake table could not knock down the straw house
designed and built by University of Nevada, Reno alumna and civil
engineer Darcey...

RENO, Nev. – It huffed and puffed, but the 82-ton-force,
earthquake-simulation shake table could not knock down the straw house
designed and built by University of Nevada, Reno alumna and civil
engineer Darcey Donovan.

The full-scale, 14-by-14-foot straw house, complete with gravel
foundation and clay plaster walls, the way she builds them in Pakistan,
was subjected to 200 percent more acceleration/shaking than was recorded
at the 1994 Northridge, Calif. earthquake, the largest measured ground
acceleration in the world. After a series of seven increasingly forceful
tests, in the final powerful test the house shook and swayed violently,
cracked at the seams and sent out a small cloud of dust and straw...and
remained standing.

Donovan oversaw the successful series of seismic tests run March 27 at
the University’s world-renowned Large-Scale Structures Laboratory. She
was testing her innovative design for straw bale houses she has been
building since 2006 throughout the northwest frontier provinces of
Pakistan, in the foothills of the Himalayas between Pakistani tribal
areas and Kashmir. Her design uses bales as structural and load-bearing
components rather than just insulation as in other straw-bale designs.

“We’re very pleased with the results,” said Donovan, founder/CEO of the
non-profit Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building (PAKSBAB)
organization. “The house performed exceptionally well and survived 0.82g
(0.82 times the acceleration of gravity) and twice the acceleration of
the Northridge quake. The Geological Survey of Pakistan estimates the
2005 Kashmir earthquake to have had peak ground accelerations in the
range of 0.3 to 0.6g.

Most people were killed and injured in that October 2005 earthquake as
they slept when their poorly built houses collapsed on top of them. The
magnitude 7.6 earthquake killed 100,000 people and left 3.3 million
homeless or living in tents.

“Our goal is to get the largest number of poor people into
earthquake-safe homes. We want to make it as affordable as possible so
they build a safe home. We want to save lives.”

“Straw bale houses are used around the world, but those have posts and
beams for support and rely on energy-intensive materials, skilled labor
and complex machinery, making it unaffordable for the poor,” Donovan
said. “In our design, the straw bales are the support, and not just for
insulation. Our design is half the cost of conventional earthquake-safe
construction in Pakistan. The materials we use — clay soil, straw and
gravel — are readily available; and we utilize unskilled labor in the
construction.

“We build a small, steel compression box, pack it with straw, which is
readily available from the Punjab District, literally stomp on it to
compress it, add a little more, stomp on it a little more, and then
finally use standard farm-type hand jacks to do the final compressing of
the bales,” Donovan said.

The site-fabricated bales are not as wide as those used in a typical
straw bale building, and the fishing-net reinforcement and gravel-bag
foundation are nonconventional.

“We fill old vegetable sacks with gravel, like sandbags, for the
foundation. The bags are fully encased, or boxed, in a mortar made from
clay soil and cement. It’s as low-tech as possible using indigenous,
affordable materials,” she said. The earthquake-safe buildings are 80
percent more energy efficient than modern conventional buildings at 50
percent of the cost. Her group also trains local residents how to build
the homes.

“Our system is different than anything ever tested,” she said. “We’re
doing seismic research on the house to have data to show its structural
integrity.” While there are no building codes in the region, Donovan and
the organization she founded, PAKSBAB, are pursuing an endorsement from
Pakistan’s newly formed Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation
Authority.

Scientists will analyze the seismic-testing results, and Donovan will
write a detailed report and seismic design and construction
recommendations to be published in the Earthquake Engineering Research
Institute’s World Housing Encyclopedia .

Donovan has been a practicing engineer since 1986. She has a bachelor
of science degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, a
master of science in civil engineering from the University of Nevada,
Reno, and is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer.

The research was conducted at the Network for Earthquake Engineering
Simulation Consortium, Inc. (NEES) shake-table site at the University of
Nevada, Reno as a NEES Management, Operations and Maintenance award
shared-use project.

“I am extremely grateful to EERI, NEES and UNR for their generous
support, and to all the hardworking volunteers who dedicated countless
hours to this project, Donovan said.

###

The non-profit PAKSBAB relies on donations and grants to continue its
work. For more project information, visit www.paksbab.org .

Note to Editor’s: The following link has video with initial comments
from Donovan (the principle investigator for the research project), then
dramatic shots of the shake table test and a follow-up soundbite:
http://imedia.unr.edu/shakertables/straw_bail_house_test_270.mov

www.GlobalBoiling.com for daily earth images.

www.ElectricQuakes.com daily sun and earthquake images.

Yahoo! Groups Links

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiasearthquakeforum/

America ‘Moves Towards Abandonment of Israel’

by IsraelNN Staff

(IsraelNN.com) An unnamed former highly-placed U.S.intelligence official has broken silence and says that America may soon be abandoning Israel in favor of the Arabs. “This is just the beginning”, he said, “Israel could be about to lose the support of the United States.”

The source made these remarks in an exclusive interview with Douglas J. Hagmann, the director of the Northeast Intelligence Network (NIN), which is comprised of veteran licensed professional investigators, analysts, military affairs specialists and researchers. The group has combined their resources to provide accurate and well-sourced information via their website.

Hagmann appeared on Israel National Radio’s Weekend Edition with host Tamar Yonah.

America to Abandon Israel?

When questioned about the possible abandonment of Israel by America, Hagmann told Yonah, “The Obama administration is no friend to Israel, is no friend to the Jews in America and is no friend to democracy or freedom in America. …Just by his very appointments, we can see him filling positions of power with people who are anti-Semitic, who want to see Israel essentially dissolved as a nation, if not by diplomacy, then certainly by war.”

In his report, the unnamed intelligence source told Hagmann, “I have every reason to believe, based on what I’ve seen at my level of [security] clearance especially over the last several years, that Israel will soon be completely on their own… or worse.” He explained this would happen “when our administration provides more support to Arab countries [with] financial and military aid, undercutting Israel’s defense efforts all while pushing Israel to succumb to the pressure of unreasonable demands designed to end with their political annihilation as a nation.”

Haggman told Yonah that this official broke silence because he had already retired from his highly placed position, and because of his knowledge of the NIN’s (Northeast Intelligence Network) position as pro-Israel and the way it valued the relationship between Israel and America. Another reason, he said, was his own perception of the Biblical aspect of this scenario developing.

The intelligence officer explained that the turnover of American policy towards Israel could occur through a manner that he dubbed ‘malicious intelligence,” which Haggman defined as information that is taken from its raw form. It then is morphed into something else to promote different interests, “where intelligence and politics meet and often collide,” he said. A method “that has been molded and massaged to advance the agendas of a select few,” he elaborated.

In the case of the relationship between America and Israel, he noted, malicious intelligence is being used to turn over the U.S. to a more anti-Israel policy and forge ahead with a more pro-PA or pro-Islamist one.

Hagmann told Yonah in the radio interview, “A perfect example of this is when there was a shooting in Seattle a couple of years ago at a Jewish center. The police were ordered by the city officials and by the Federal Government, basically, to not protect the synagogues and other Jewish centers in Seattle, but to have protection details [instead] at the mosques in Seattle.”

U.S. administrations have apparently been following a policy of abandoning Israel for several years, according to Hagmann’s report. His interview with the intelligence official cited “the 2005 surrender of Gush Katif to the Palestinian Authority as one critical example of the slow dismantlement of Israel as a viable nation. Despite critical intelligence outlining in every possible manner imaginable that this would be a disastrous move leading to the events we are seeing today [rocket and missile fire on Israel], it was done anyway,” he stated.

In the report that Hagmann posted on the NIN (Northeast Intelligence Network) he cited one of his sources explaining, “Now you can see where intelligence and politics meet and often collide,… “ the Obama administration is being purposely filled with people who are truly anti-Israel, either because of their own financial interests or a larger globalist agenda that does not include Israel, or for that matter, the United States as a sovereign nation.

“Whatever the reason, the anti-Israel, pro-Islamist policy makers will be appointed or have already infiltrated nearly all levels of the U.S. government. These are the people who place anti-Semitic references in school textbooks, promote revisionist history regarding Islam, 9/11, and are the same people who allow or even promote the Islamic agendas in all aspects of Western society, especially the restrictions on speech against Islam.

“With regard to the latter, note that the United Nations is quite involved in forcing the restriction of “hate speech” and the implementation of global standards, some that have already been adapted by European nations,” noted the source.

Hagmann reports that “the Middle East will be the site of ‘the coming war,’ and Israel will be at its epicenter. If we survive as a nation, the U.S. will not be on the side of righteousness in this war, instead turning our back to - or our guns against - our only true friend in the Middle East - Israel,” he said.

http://www.IsraelNationalRadio.com

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/130501

http://www.archive.org/stream/practicaltreatis00branrich/practicaltreatis00branrich_djvu.txt

1889
PRESERVATION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES BY
CANNING AND EVAPORATION;

PREPARATION OF FRUIT-BUTTERS, JELLIES, MARMALADES,
CATCHUPS, PICKLES, MUSTARDS, ETC.

snipped..........

The volume is divided into three parts, upon each of which a
few observations are offered.

Part I. treats of the Manufacture of Vinegar. It is chiefly
based upon the German works, Die Schnell-Essig Fabrication
und die Fabrication von Weine&dg, by Dr. Josef Bersch, and
Lehrbuch der Essigfabrikation, by Dr. Paul Bronner. Both are
works of acknowledged authority, in which the authors have
brought together the results of their experience of many years.

PREFACE. VI 1

Part II. contains the Manufacture of Cider and Fruit-wines,
and Part III. Canning and Evaporating of Fruit, etc. For in-
formation on these subjects we are indebted to the French work,
Culture du Pommier d Cidre, Fabrication du Cidre, etc., by Jules
Nanot, and to the German works, Die Hebung der Obstverwerth-
ung und des Obstbaues, by Heinrich Semler, and Die Obstwein-
kunde, by Dr. N. Graeger. Wherever required, the information
derived from the above works has been supplemented by Amer-
ican processes.

The editor also acknowledges his indebtedness to numerous
American and English authors for valuable information, due
credit for which has been given whenever possible.

A copious table of contents as well as a very full index will
render reference to any subject in the book prompt and easy,
and the whole treatise is submitted to the public with a feeling
of confidence as to its value and usefulness.

WILLIAM T. BEANNT.

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 26, 1889.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

THE MANUFACTURE OF VINEGAR.
CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

PAGE

Ordinary vinegar, what it is ; The discovery of vinegar ; Use of vinegar
as a medicine by Hippocrates ; Early knowledge of the property of
vinegar of dissolving calcareous earths ; The dissolving of large pearls
in vinegar by Cleopatra . . . . . . . . .17

The use of vinegar by Hannibal for dissolving rocks ; No early definite
knowledge of the cause of the production of vinegar; The process
of increasing the strength of wine-vinegar made known by Gerber in
the eighth century; Other historical data regarding vinegar; The
first preparation of acetic acid in a pure state and the discovery of
the property of very strong acetic acid to crystallize at a low temper-
ature ; Historical data regarding the formation of an acid body in the
dry distillation of wood ; Determination of the exact chemical consti-
tution of acetic acid by Berzelius and that of alcohol by Saussure ;
Historical data relating to the generation of acetic acid . . .18
The introduction of the quick process of manufacturing vinegar, in 1823,
by Schiitzenbach ; A method of manufacturing vinegar from wine
made known by Boerhaave ; ScMitzenbach’s original plan of working
still in use in some localities ; Necessity of progress in the manufac-
ture of vinegar by the quick process; The constantly increasing diffi-
culties in the manufacture of vinegar from alcohol . . . .19

Great purity of the acetic acid at present produced from wood ; Use of
“vinegar essence” for pickling, etc. ; Difference between the acetic
acid produced from wood and vinegar prepared from various sub-
stances ,....... 20

Principal defects in manufacturing vinegar by the quick process in general
use ... 21

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER II.

THEORY OF THE FORMATION OF VINEGAR.

PAGE

Explanation of the chemical processes by which acetic acid in large
quantities is formed ......... 21

Liebig’s theory of the formation of vinegar ; The formation of vinegar
due to a chemico-physiological process ...... 22

Pasteur’s theory of the formation of vinegar; Difference between
Pasteur’s and Nageli’s views; Nomenclature of organisms producing
fermentation ; The vinegar or acetous ferment ; Origin of the acetic
acid formed in alcoholic fermentation ...... 23

Occurrence of acetic acid in nature ; Formation of acetic acid by chemi-
cal processes ; Formation of acetic acid by the action of very finely
divided platinum upon alcohol, illustrated ..... 24

Development of “ mother of vinegar” ...... 25

Pasteur’s examination of the relations of the mother of vinegar to the
formation of vinegar; The botanical nature of the organisms causing
the formation of vinegar ; Disease-causing bacteria ... 26

What constitutes the entire art of the manufacture of vinegar . . 27

CHAPTER III.

THE VINEGAR FERMENT AND ITS CONDITIONS OF LIFE.

The vinegar ferment, its origin and distribution ; Fluid especially
adapted for its nourishment 27

Experiment showing the conversion of wine into vinegar by the vinegar
ferment, with illustration ........ 28

Duration of life of the vinegar ferment ; Difference between the living
and dead ferment as seen under the microscope ; Requirements of
the vinegar ferment for its augmentation . . . . .29

Results of the withdrawal of oxygen from the vinegar ferment ; Ex-
periment showing the great rapidity of the augmentation of the
vinegar bacteria ; Nourishing conditions of the vinegar ferment . 30

Factors required for the settlement of the vinegar bacteria upon a fluid
and for their vigorous augmentation ; Composition of the nourishing
fluid ; A large content of alcohol in the nourishing fluid detrimental
to the vegetation of the vinegar ferment ; Experiment showing that
the vinegar ferment cannot live in dilute alcohol alone . . .31

The preparation of a fluid containing all the substances essential to the
nourishment of the ferment ; Sensitiveness of the vinegar ferment to
sudden changes in the composition of the fluids upon which it lives ;
The process of nourishment of the vinegar ferment . . .32

Supply of air required by the vinegar ferment ; Limits of temperature
at which the augmentation of the ferment and its vinegar-forming

CONTENTS. XI

PAGE

continued..........

http://www.archive.org/stream/vegetables00beatgoog/vegetables00beatgoog_djvu.txt

THE “QUEEN” COOKERY BOOKS.

No. 10.

VEGETABLES.

1902
England

[snipped]

This is a version of fried potatoes

very common abroad, but requiring a little knack
and some practice to ensure success. Gut the potatoes
into the wedge shapes recommended for the fried
potatoes, put them on in the hot fat in the same way,

I 2

116 7EGETABLES.

and cook them till tender and very lightly coloured
shaking them all the time they are cooking ; now
lift the basket out of the fat, and put them aside for a
minute in a warm place, return the frying kettle
to the fire, heat the fat very quipkly, and return the
potatoes to them, stirring them very gently for a
minute or two in it, when they should be puffed up
and swollen ; then drain them well, and serve very
quickly on a hot dish, dusted with salt. The great
secret in cooking these lies in the first frying ; they
should be cooked first till on lifting one and biting
it, it bites quite short and soft, and is only very faintly
coloured on the outside. Be very careful only to
put a few at a time into the pan the second time,
because if they knock together in the frying they
will harden and not puf! out properly. They are
well worth the little trouble they entail. It is
manifestly impossible in a book of this size to give
even a tithe of the almost innumerable methods of
cooking potatoes, but the above may serve to help
an intelUgent cook in the production of variety.

Pumpkin (Poti/ron). — Seldom seen in this country
save as soup, but abroad, in the United States especi-
ally, it is a great favourite, especially as “ pie “ ;
but its normal condition is mashedy for which you
take a good slice from a large pumpkin, remove the
outside peel, and the seeds with the pulpy tissue
adhering to them, and cut the flesh into inch cubes ;
cook these in boiling salted water for twenty minutes
or so, till tender, then drain well, press out every
drop of liquid, and beat the pulp up lightly with a
little butter, ppper, salt, and a little cream if handy.

VEGETABLES. 117

Another (French) method is, after preparing the
pumpkin as before, to dry the cubes in a clean cloth,
dust them with fine dry flour, and place a layer of
these cubes in a fireproof dish brushed over with oil,
dusting this layer well with black pepper, minced
parsley, chives (or shallot), and good salad oil, repeating
these two layers till the dish is full ; bake till tender,
when you pour off any superfluous oil, and serve,
Some cooks add grated Parmesan cheese to the
seasoning.

Pumpkin pie, — ^Prepare the pumpkin as before,
and cook it in a small quantity of water till quite
tender, then sieve it. To each teacupful of this puree
allow one well-beaten whole egg, a teacupful of milk,
and caster sugar to taste. Season this with some
ground ginger and nutmeg, beat it all well together,
and pour a breakfastcupf ul of this into an ordinary
dinner (or, if preferred, soup) plate, previously lined
with puff pastry, and bake. Eat cold.

Purslane (Pourpier), — ^This was formerly much
valued as a garden herb, but nowadays it is seldom
seen, though some old-fashioned cooks still use the
young shoots in salad, and the older ones as potherbs.
Abroad it is still in request, for salads especially, but
even for “ fines herbes “ the French cook considers
purslane, or pourpier as she calls it, indispensable.

Radish (Radis), — ^These in this country are seldom
if ever seen otherwise than raw, yet formerly here,
and still on the Continent, they may be met with
cooked, and very good they are. Well washed and
trimmed, radishes, the round ones especially, form
a favourite hors d’oeuvre.

118 VEGETABLES.

Radish, boiled, — ^Trim the radishes neatly, plunge
them in fast-boiling salted water, and cook till tender
(about thirty minutes), drain, and serve with melted
butter.

leaves, boiled, — ^Pick over the leaves,

removing any old or faded ones and the thickest
of the stalks. Let them steep in cold water for half
an hour, then drain and boil them in fast-boiling
salted water till tender (from twenty-five to thirty-
five minutes). Now lift them out, mince pretty
finely, season with a little butter, pepper, and salt,
and serve. They may also be finished off like spinach.
Specially good with roast ham, pork, &c.

Rampion. — ^A plant of the campanula tribe, formerly
much more in request than at present, though abroad
it is still cultivated and liked. The roots were the part
liked, and were gently boiled till tender, then served
hot with melted butter, or cold with oil, vinegar,
pepper, and salt.

Ravigotte, — ^This is a name apphed to minced herbs
served abroad for a garnish, either to ^salads, savoury
butter, or sauce. The commonest form is green
tarragon, chervil, chives, and burnet, but almost every
cook has his or her special blend of herbs for this pur-
pose. In France, where the salad is often prepared at
the dining table, the herbs are chopped and dished in
separate little heaps to allow the mixer to make
his own proportions.

Saffron, or Saffem (Safran). — ^The dried stigmas
of the winter crocus, much used formerly as a flavour-
ing for cakes, hashes, <&c., and still used in the Levant
in pilaffs, &c. Its use probably died out in this

TEGETABLES. 119

country from the difficulty <rf buying it pure. It is
sold as “ hay saffron “ and “ cake saffron.” Where
the flavour is liked, it is well worth keeping as an
extract, made thus : Put a small amount of saffron
in a }ar, say half an ounce or so, and pour on to it a
full gill of boiUng water, leave till all the colour is
extracted, then use or bottle.

Sage (Sauge). — ^This is a kind of Salvia, much used
in the preparation of stuffing for duck, goose, or pork.
The leaves are used fresh or powdered, but in the
former case any cook who respects her art will care-
fully blanch the sage leaves for five minutes in boiling
water, and dry them carefully, before mincing them
for stuffing, to which they give a strong, crude flavour
if this precaution is omitted.

Salad (Saiade), — ^This is a mixture of either raw
or cooked vegetables, served cold, tossed in either
a French salad dressing or in mayonnaise sauce.
In this country we have an evil habit of mixing raw
vegetables to an almost infinite extent, but abroad,
where delicacy of flavour is more studied, one or
at most two, vegetables are tossed in the dressing,
and served with a fourniture of minced herbs chosen
from the following list : Parsley, chives or onion
threads, tarragon, chervil, purslane, pimpernel, &c.
Salad is a most wholesome companion to meat of
every kind, and should be seen almost daily on our
tables. Lettuce of either kind is not the only founda-
tion necessary, for endive, tomatoes, onions, &c.,
may be served alone or in combination, or with cold
cooked vegetables as you please. This, needless to
say, refers to plain salads simply; fancy salaSs

190 YEGETABLES.

(previoudy described in No. IX. of this series), may l?e
composed of almost everything, fish, flesh, fovl,.
or vegetable. The two following recipes give examples.

Salad Gauloise, — ^Wipe, cleanse, and shce some
raw mushrooms, mixing them with sliced truffles,
cold cooked (waxy) potatoes, and cos lettuce. Serve
with a French or mayonnaise garnish.

Hongroise, — Scald, peel, and slice rather

thickly, some ripe and well-<5oloured tomatoes, dust
them plentifully with freshly-ground black pepper,
salt, a dust of cayenne, and some very finely-minced
shallot or chives; now sprinkle these sUces with oil
and tarragon vinegar, and set them on ice till wanted.
Serve garnished with whipped or clotted cream,
into which you have stirred some coralline pepper
and finely-minced chives or parsley. See that this is
icy cold when served.

For a French salad dressmg, put into a basin a
good pinch of freshly-ground black pepper, half a tea
spoonful of salt, and a scant tablespoonf ul of tarragon
(or plain) vinegar, and stir this well together till
the salt is perfectly dissolved; now work into the
mixture three full tablespoonfuls of good salad oil
(Provence oil is generally the sweetest) ; lay in your
salad, and toss it well over and over in this dressing
till each leaf, &c., has imbibed its proper share, then
lift them out with the salad servers into the salad
bowl, and serve. Never mix salad in the salad bowl
unless you have personally wiped every leaf, &c.,
or you will find a sloppy residuum at the bottom of
the bowl that will quite spoil the flavour. Do not
forget either that salad should only be mixed just

YEGETABLES. 121

as it is wanted. For mayonnaise, put into a basin
one raw ^gg yolk, an eggspoonfnl of mustard (either
French or English, or half of each), and a pinch each
of salt and white pepper; mix this all with a deli-
cately clean wooden spoon (a special spoon should
always be kept for salad-mixing), adding, drop by
drop, enough good oil to bring it all to the consistency
of butter, and, lastly, add a teaspoonful or so of best
vinegar, plain or flavoured. This will make about
half a pint of sauce, and will take up about one-third
of a pint of oil. There are, of course, many different
forms of mayonnaise^ but these have been given with
the fancy salads to which they belong. Never, if
possible, let a mayonnaise salad stand after it is
mixed, or the vegetables will get soppy and sodden ;
whilst exposure to the air will give the dressing a
most unpleasant, rank flavour.

Salsify (Salsifi), — ^This vegetable appears to be
returning to favour again, after being almost forgotten
for many years, and it is certainly well worth culti-
vating and preparing. There are two kinds, the white
salsify and the black or scorzanera ; the former is
eaten in its first year’s growth, but the latter is not
ready under two years. Scorzanera should never be
scraped or peeled till it is cooked, as if cut or scratched
when raw all its flavour and juice exudes.

to boil, — For lib. of the vegetable put into

a pan rather more than a pint of water, half a tea-
spoonful of salt, a dessertspoonful of vinegar or lemon
juice, and about 2oz. of butter or well clarified
‘ dripping, stir this till it boils, then lay in the salsify,
neatly trimmed and cut into three inch lengths.

122 YEOBTABLES.

Let it just reboil, then draw it to the side, and let
it simmer slowly but steadily for half an hour ; now
drain well, and serve with melted butter, drawn
butter, or any nice white sauce to taste. The pot lid
should be kept a Uttle off whilst the salsify is cooking.
Cooked thus the salsify may be drained, floured,
and fried; or dipped in batter, fried in hot fat,
then well drained and served hot, dusted with grated
Parmesan cheese and coraUine pepper. Or it may
be served with marrow, and a rich brown sauce,
after the style of cardes a la moelle, or, indeed, by
any recipe given for celery, cardoons, &c. Delicious
vegetarian patties may be made thus : Prepare a
rather thin puree of salsify (by boiling it till tender
enough to sieve, rubbing it through, moistening it as
you do so with some of the water in which it was
cooked, and seasoning it to taste with white and
coralline pepper, salt, a few drops of lemon, and the
same of essence of anchovy) ; stir into this small,
rather thick slices of previously cooked salsify, let
it all reheat, without actually boiling, stir in an egg
yolk beaten up with a spoonful or two of cream,
or use two or three spoonfuls of thick cream, and pour
this into some small pufl pastry patties, dust with a
little finely-minoed parsley and coralline pepper,
and serve at once. If made with salsify this is a
delicious dish, but if scorzanera is used, and the
flavouring is carefully done, the 03rster taste is unmis-
takeable. For this reason the Americans call scor-
zanera the ** oyster plant.” Cold cooked salsify,
sprinkled with oil and vinegar, and a fourniture
of minced herbs, is very nice with either a French

VEGETABLES. 123

salad dressing or mayonnaise, but perhaps even more
delicate if sprinkled with minced chives, parsley,
coralline pepper, and lemon juice, and served with
plain cream stood on ice till perfectly cold without
being actually frozen. A dainty garnish for cutlets
and fillets of all kinds is made thus : Cleanse and
peel the salsify {not scorzanera), throwing each piece
as trimmed into slightly salted and acidulated water
to preserve the colour. When prepared, put the
salsify into a panful of salted and acidulated water,
with j^z. or so of butter, and cook it for an hour,
then drain, shred it very finely, and use.

Samphire {BacUe or Perce-pierre). — ^This plant
grows wild all along the sea coast, and has been held
in honour as a pickle for generations — to such a
point that other plants somewhat like it have been
substituted for it when the supply of samphire ran
short; but as these substitutes are not as aromatic
as the real plant, this adulteration for some time
brought the original into disrepute. But once the
real samphire has been seen and tasted (the raw
fleshy leaves have a salty, spicy taste), it is easy to
distinguish. It should be gathered in May, or, at
all events, before the flower begins to show, for after
that it becomes hard and stringy. Choose the greenest
samphire, and lay it in a pan with three or four table-
spoonfuls of salt over it, then pour in sufficient
cold water to cover it, and let it steep for twenty^our
hours. Now drain off the water, and lay the samphire
in a large copper pan with a good tablespoonful of
salt, cover the pan down closely, and let it cook over
a very slow fire till it is quite crisp and green ; then

124 VEGETABLES.

lift it o& at once, for if allowed to stay on the fire till
it softens it is spoiled. Pack it at once in a jar, cover
it, and, when cold, fasten this cover down tightly.
Another way is to prepare the samphire as before,
but when drained from the steeping water, dry
carefully in a clean cloth, lay it into jars, and pour
over it sufficient boiUng white wine vinegar (previously
boiled with a small amount of ginger, mace, and
whole pepper) to cover it, let it stand till cold, then
cover down tightly, and store. This will be ready
for use in a fortnight.

Sauercraut

continued

http://www.abbyskitchen.co.uk/recipe_data.asp?Name=Amish+Sourdough+Bread+Starter

Amish Sourdough Bread Starter

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 package yeast.
Add on 5th day:
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
Add on 10th day:
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar

1: Mix all the starter ingredients well and place in medium-sized glass bowl. Cover with dinner plate so as not to cover tightly. Let stand overnight in warm place. Stir down each day for 4 days (Important - do not refrigerate batter at any time) 2: On the fifth day add flour, milk and sugar and stir. Stir down each day until 10th day. 3: On the 10th day add flour, milk and sugar and measure out 3 separate cups of starter. Give one cup starter and a copy of the instructions to each of three friends. 4: Use remaining dough to bake choice of bread or use in streusel recipe as follows: Friendship Starter Streusel: Batter: 2/3 cup cooking oil 1 cup sugar 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 eggs Starter Streusel: 1/3 cup margarine, melted 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup quick oats 1 cup nuts (optional 1: After sharing three cups of starter with friends, mix oil, sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and eggs with remaining starter. Mix well and spoon 1/2 of batter into greased and floured 9 x 13 baking pan. 2: To prepare streusel combine all ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle 1/2 of streusel over batter. Cover with remaining batter and remaining streusel. 3: Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes