Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
http://pioneerfoodie.blogspot.com/
My Personal Stash
So here’s a little bit about my methodology. I go to the local university libraries and peruse any diary I can find.
Sometimes I get lucky and find a woman’s diary that talks a lot about what she ate. For example the other day I found a woman who said she ate nothing but fried jack rabbits and boiled wheat for more than a year. Not often do they tell the actual preparation of their food, and NEVER is there a recipe presented in context.
Yesterday a friend gave me his family history, and in it the fellow told how he learned to make smoked jerky from the local Indians. He threw in the added step of dipping the strips of meat in boiling salt water. A nice touch, that...
So after I find some dishes referenced in context, then I have to find a source describing a recipe or preparation. A lot of times this comes from Michigan State University’s Historic Cookbook Project. They have scanned dozens of historic cookbooks and posted them online. The cookbooks are indexed by date, by subject and by author.
http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/
They are all browsable online. There are a half dozen or so within the dates of my study, so I often resort to those for the specific preparations of the dishes I find referenced. I commend this source to you.
Posted by Brock
http://pioneerfoodie.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-04-07T11%3A53%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
You mean... they DRANK???
So in the course of research I sometimes come across something that takes me completely by surprise. The other day I came across this description of pioneers making beer. It surprised me! Particularly, I was intruiged by how detailed the description is. I don’t ever find these kind of detailed descriptions of how to cure a ham or butcher a steer. But look at this detail for yourself. From Anna Madsen Bench:
“For beer making, mother first made the malt. This was done in the summer time. Clean grain was selected, put into a wooden tub that was used only for that purpose, and soaked until it would hold no more water. Then drained and put up in an attic on a scrubbed platform, heaped in a pile, well covered, to make it heat and sprout. When it was well sprouted and matted together it was spread out gradually and thoroughly dried. Then taken to the mill and crushed or ground. A wooden tub with a hole in the bottom near the edge was used in which to brew the beer. Clean straw was scalded, twisted and put in the hole; this served to strain the beer. A stick the size of the opening and as high as the tub was forced into the hole. A portion of the malt was placed in the tub, and boiling water poured over it, in proportion to the malt. When the strength of the malt was well absorbed by the water, the stop was loosened a little, so the beer could filter through the straw. This dripped into another wooden tub, and while at blood heat, yeast saved from the last batch was added. A little flour was sprinkled over the top, the vessel well covered, and the liquid allowed to ferment. When well worked and settled it was put into jugs, stored in a cool place, and was then ready for use. The yeast which had settled in the bottom was carefully stored for breadmaking and for the next batch of beer. Sometimes for the sake of variation part of the malt was put in the oven and slightly browned to make the beer a darker color and sometimes hops were boiled and the liquid added to give it a bitter tang. Beer was made as much to obtain fresh yeast as for the drink.”
I found that all very curious. Now don’t you go trying this at home!
Posted by Brock
“Keep a journal or something, Mrs. Ranger, and you can regale us with your adventures!”
LOL! Well here’s my first entry:
Thank goodness I was sitting down when I started making calls to the local nurseries up here! $75-90 EACH for a 4-5” spruce????
Well, scratch *that* plan. ;) Plan B: Call local nurseries when I go down home and pray the difference in the general “cost of living” applies. Plan C: switch to “seedlings”, which *are* in our price range, but will take a few years longer to grow large enough to provide the privacy we were hoping for.
Thank goodness our expectations are “flexible”. :)
I guess flexibility is the key in survival situations! And you get to practice it already.
I notice you already call Alabama ‘home’ ;)
We’ve planted numerous trees on numerous properties to separate us from neighbors and have always gotten the little ones in 1 gallon containers. With a fast-growing tree, it’ll just take a year or so to catch up. (Our current crop is California Pepper trees and the new baby planted last summer is already half the size of the more mature ones.) I’m frugal first and foremost ;)
I’d love to get some info on Alabama when you have the time. We are looking into retirement/bug out places back east and are considering anywhere with relatively cheap houses on acreage and that’s pretty.
Please note the Pillsbury Bisquits are frozen, not the canned variety. They recently introduced a better one, larger in diameter and not quite as thick. it makes a really good ham biscuit.
The primary advantage over scratch (as in Martha White with Hotrise +) is the ability to make only one or two at a time.
My recipe was provided in response to the several you posted with molasses.
There is one other very good way to partake of biscuits and molasses that is extremely easy..... go to a Cracker Barrel and order biscuits with the meal and ask for molassas on the side.
Of course, the nearest Cracker Barrel to you is probably on I 40 down around Flagstaff. :)
http://www.nps.gov/archive/whmi/educate/ortrtg/ortrtg14.htm
PIONEER AND INDIAN RECIPES
Recipe List
Hardtack
Beef Jerky
Indian Fry Bread
Tea Biscuits
Potato Pudding
Apple Treat
Apple Snow
Cranberry-Nut Muffins
Hardtack
You will need:
2 cups stone ground flour
1 cup water
Combine the flour and water. Knead until smooth. Sprinkle some flour on a smooth surface and roll the dough flat until it is 1/4 inch thick. Cut biscuits out with a can or a glass making each biscuit about 3-4 inches in diameter. Poke holes into each biscuit with a fork. Place on a floured cookie sheet. It should come out hard and dry.
Oven: 400 F
Time: 35-45 minutes
Yield: 12-15 biscuits
Recipes Beef Jerky
You will need:
1 flank or london broil steak (or other very lean cut of meat)
salt and pepper
1 cup soy sauce
aluminum foil
Cut the steak into strips with the grain of the meat. It is very important to cut along the grain or the cooked meat will fall apart into small pieces! Pour the soy sauce into a bowl and dip the meat strips in it. Lay the strips out on a piece of foil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the strips on a metal rack in the oven with foil below to catch the drippings.
Oven: 150 F
Time: 10 hours
** You can put your beef jerky in the oven at bedtime and it will be ready to take out in the morning before school.
Recipes Indian Fry Bread
You will need:
3 cups self-rising flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 cup cold water
corn oil (for frying)
In a bowl, mix sugar and milk. Add flour. Gradually stir in the water until the flour is moistened and the dough forms. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface; knead until dough is well mixed. Roll to a 10 inch square and about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 12 rectangles. In a deep saucepan, heat some oil at 375 F. and fry the dough 2-3 minutes or until medium brown. Turn often as you are frying. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Recipes Tea Biscuits
You will need:
1 cup butter
1 cup milk
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tarter
Mix all ingredients together. Make into a thin loaf and bake in flat, greased pan. Break into chunks. Serve warm with butter and honey.
Oven: 350 F
Time: 30 minutes (check after 20 min.)
Recipes Potato Pudding
You will need:
3 large potatoes
3 eggs (separated)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cream
1/2 fresh lemon (juice squeezed, and rind grated)
Boil, mash and cool the potatoes. Mix with egg yolks. When well blended, add egg whites, (which have been well beaten and combined with sugar) flour, salt, cream, and lemon, juice and grated rind. Bake in a buttered dish until firm. Serve with sugar and cream. Also, they are good when they are topped with fresh berries, sweetened and crushed.
Oven: 350 F
Time: 30 minutes (or until firm)
Recipes Apple Treat
You will need the following:
4-5 slices of buttered bread
1 can sweetened apple sauce
2 eggs
1 pint milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Line the bottom of a pudding dish with buttered bread and cover with apple sauce. Repeat until dish is half-full, finishing the layering with the bread on top. Mix eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Pour this mixture over bread and sauce. Bake until set. Serve cold with cream, sugar, and nutmeg gratings or cinnamon.
Oven: 350 F
Time: Approx. 25 minutes
Recipes Apple Snow
You will need: 10 apples
1 cup water
Grated rind of 1 lemon
10 eggs (separated)
1 cup granulated sugar
Peel and core apples. Simmer in water with lemon rind until tender. Put through colander and cool. Take egg whites, beat to a stiff froth, and fold into apples. Add sugar, and continue beating until stiff. Serve in a glass dish with either custard sauce made with the egg yolks, or whipped cream. This is good enough for a party when served with ladyfingers, snow cake, or sponge cake.
Recipes Cranberry-Nut Muffins
You will need the following:
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup honey
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Cream margarine and honey. Add the eggs, orange juice, and rind. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, add the cranberries and the walnuts. Bake in oiled muffin tin.
Oven: 350 F
Time: 35 minutes
Forgot: It’s called fermenty
“Will you be able to plant a garden this year?”
We debated about that, but in the end decided to go ahead and plant one here, although sticking only with the basics. What can I say? I’m a “gardener”. :) So the potatoes are “in”, and I’ll plant some beans, corn, pumpkins, tomatoes, and marigolds, although not as much as I normally would. I still have quite a pantry full from last year, so we won’t starve either way, but I’m planting mostly heirloom seeds this year and am eager to see how they do.
I’m really looking forward to gardening “down home” as we’ll be moving from a zone 5 to a zone 6 and I’ll have a much longer and warmer growing season. I’ll also have to relearn how to garden in those conditions, but look forward to a great improvement in both yields and varities. :)
“Why do I plant early everyy year? “
LOL! It’s an addiction. We really can’t help ourselves. :)
Your should have a state tree nursery, where $45-50 can buy houndreds of trees. If not order them from a local state....Ours is a couple of miles from our house....as are many farms where produce can be purchased right out of the field.
Our local whole grain grocery, located on the edge of her truck farm, will ship items, if you want to pay for postage.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/whmi/educate/ortrtg/ortrtg4.htm
Pioneer Tidbits:
Interesting facts about pioneers and their way of life.
1.
The pioneers walked the Oregon Trail, but have you ever thought how many shoes were worn out by the time they reached Oregon?
According to the diary of May Ellen Murdock Compton, a 1853 emigrant, she started from Independence with ten brand new pairs of shoes and wore all of them out except the last pair. She saved this pair for the Oregon Country by walking barefoot over the last miles of her journey.
2.
Some wagon trains painted their wagon canvas covers a bright red or blue. This way the individual wagons would know to which group of wagons they belonged.
3.
Pioneers had what they called a “Roadside Telegraph.” Pioneers would write messages on anything that was available to communicate with other wagon trains. “Anything available” meant cloth scraps, animal skulls, rocks, bark, leaves, etc. Some places were “Prairie Post Offices” meaning there were a number of messages that had been left at that spot for others.
4.
1852 was the “Year of the Bloomer,” although few women emigrants wore this new fashion item. The bloomer offered a woman the chance to become more practical in regard to attire during their overland journey. Mariett Foster Cummings chose to wear bloomers to avoid the mud. Eliza Ann McAuley and her sister dressed in the height of fashion as they wore bloomers with light calf-skin top boots for wading through mud and sand. Most women preferred skirts (See #8).
5.
It took roughly $800-$1,000 to obtain a proper outfit (wagon, food, clothing, etc.) and enough supplies to live a whole year without planting or harvesting a crop. Some families saved for three to five years before being able to begin their trip west.
6.
The idiom, “Going off half-cocked,” can be traced back to the safety device on most muzzleloader guns. In theory, the “half cocked” position on the gun would prevent the hammer from falling all the way, causing the gun to shoot. Obviously, this safety device did not always work.
7.
Of the known deaths along the Oregon Trail, cholera was the leading cause. The present day state of Nebraska was the deadliest state for cholera. Ninety-six percent of all cholera deaths occurred by the time the emigrants reached South Pass. The disease “cholera” was first reported in the United States during the years of 1832-1834. St. Louis lost a tenth of its population to this disease. Many pioneers thought that by going west they might be able to escape this disease. But as one emigrant diary read, “The road from Independence to Fort Laramie is a grave-yard. “Another emigrant put the number of burials at 1,500 to 2,000 at this point on the trail, while yet another put the death total at around 5,000.
8.
Toilet facilities were, for the most part, not mentioned in journals written along the Oregon Trail. But, according to emigrant Charlotte Pengra, one trail-side rest area looked more like a communal ditch. There are suggestions that the full skirts worn by most ladies acted as shields or “curtains of modesty” for this purpose. Obviously, bloomers would not provide this advantage.
9.
Fine china was packed in barrels of flour and cornmeal. This packing technique was designed to prevent family heirlooms from being destroyed during the journey. In theory this was a great idea, but there was one serious drawback—usually, the travelers had to eat the flour and cornmeal during the trip, and most of the dishes ended up breaking anyway and had to be discarded along the trail.
10.
It appears that one out of every five overland women were in some stage of pregnancy during the trip and virtually every married woman traveled with small children. This clearly illustrates the physical demands endured by women during their journey.
11.
Women were considered young ladies when they reached the age of 13 or 14, and it was common for a 15 year old woman to be married. The average age for a woman to get married during the mid-1800’s was 20, and the average age for men to be married was 25.
12.
According to author John Faragher, “Children along the trail were pretty much allowed to shift for themselves, to grow as they might, with relatively little parental or maternal involvement in the process.”
13.
Portraits and photographs of dead family members, particularly infants and young children were highly cherished. This became a way of holding onto a life too soon snuffed out. In fact, in was not uncommon for a parent to pose with a dead infant in their arms and later place this picture on their mantle or table.
14.
Over 60 percent of all male heads of households traveling the trail were farmers. Physicians, lawyers, teachers, and other professionals made up about 12 percent, while craftsmen and merchants made up about 20 percent.
15.
In many wagon train groups, once every couple of weeks the women spent a full day doing the wash. As one emigrant woman wrote, “Camilia and I both burnt our arms very badly while washing. They were red and swollen and painful as though scalded with boiling water. I do not see that there is any way of preventing it, for everything has to be done in the wind and sun.”
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=8
Ox-team days on the Oregon Trail
Title Ox-team days on the Oregon Trail, by Ezra Meeker. Rev. and ed. by Howard R. Driggs ... illustrated with drawings by F.N. Wilson and with photographs
Author: Meeker, Ezra, 1830-1928
Contents: Follow a young pioneer family as they set out to build a new life in the Pacific Northwest. Also follow author Ezra Meeker as he retraces the trail many years later to memorialize the Oregon Trail and the pioneers who lived and died on it.
Publication Information: Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y.: World Book Co., 1922
State Library Catalog Information
Notes
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Table of Contents
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Mine will be a lean to next to the corn crib/garage. It will have two doors one to the outside and one to the crib. Crib has large doors and windows to keep the air flowing.
Plan on collecting rain for water that will be connected to water storage in greenhouse and will be erecting a small windmill that will produce electricity to power that structure and the log cabin/guest house.<<<
Sounds like it will work, you will be able to use the air of both and avoid that sudden fall in the temperatures.
LOL, one of these days you will discover that you want one attached to the house, it is wonderful to just walk into it, for a few minutes.
OK, I will admit that I could live in a greenhouse, have no need of a fancy ‘modern’ place.
I’m beginning to think granny gets a commission from Waltons Feed!<<<
Not yet, maybe if I keep working on it....LOL
You will find many lists with folks who shop there and think it is the best place for good and reasonable prices.
I’m rather stuck in a city now, due to hubby’s job. But we are looking at houses on acreage in order to do some gardening and sell our monstrosity that is in a tract neighborhood. It will be nice to get away from neighbors packed in like sardines, that’s for sure!<<<
I couldn’t live in a subdivision like that, did for years and now am willing to skip the fancy house and not have neighbors looking in my windows.
I have a room with windows on the south and west attached to the house. Not enough room so I’m building the greenhouse.
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