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

Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training

I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood

http://civilwarinteractive.com/cooking/?page_id=392

End of article:

Potatoes mashed with Onions

Prepare some boiled onions by putting them through a sieve, and mix them with potatoes. In proportioning the onions to the potatoes, you will be guided by your wish to have more or less of their flavour.

(Nobody likes a smartass, Dr. Kitchiner. )

Colcannon (mashed potatoes with spinach)

Boil potatoes and greens, or spinage, separately; mash the potatoes, squeeze the greens dry; chop them quite fine and mix them with the potatoes, with a little butter, pepper and salt; put it into a mould, buttering it well first; let it stand in a hot oven for ten minutes.

This recipe seems to have fallen pretty universally out of favor. The closest item we can find mention of today, also known as colcannon, calls for cabbage rather than spinach, and may involve additions of kale, leeks or other oniony items, as well as ham, tongue or other meats.

Potato Balls

Mix mashed potatoes with the yelk of an egg; roll them into balls; flour them, or egg and bread-crumb them; and fry them in clean drippings, or brown them in a Dutch oven.

A brief note on Dr. Kitchiner’s spelling: the superfluous “U” in his “flavour,” “savour(y)” &c., reflect the fact that he is simply rewriting an English book, where such spellings were, and are to this day, considered correct. Even in the US they are correct for the period although a tad obsolete. “Yelk” for the yolk of an egg falls into much the same category although the current spelling is also used in much older sources. Spelling was simply not as standardized then as it is today.

“Specky” on the other hand is just a lovely word, apparently now completely obsolete in this usage. It means something that has specks on it, or an imperfection larger than a mote but not big enough to render the whole potato unusable. This is unrelated to a term in Australian rules football which we would explain if it were not so hopelessly off our topic here.

Potato Balls Ragout

Are made by adding to a pound of potatoes a quarter of a pound of grated ham, or some sweet herbs, or chopped parsley, an onion or eschalot, salt, pepper, and a little grated nutmeg or other spice, with the yelk of a couple of eggs: then are then to be dressed as [Potato Balls, above.]

Potatoes and Meat

Beef Cakes (Miss Leslie’s Directions for Cookery, 1851)

Take some cold roast beef that has been under-done, and mince it very fine. Mix with it grated bread crumbs, and a little chopped onion and parsley. Season it with pepper and salt, and moisten it with some beef-dripping and a little walnut or onion pickle. Some scraped cold tongue or ham will be found an improvement. Make it into bread flat cakes, and spread a coat of mashed potato thinly on the top and bottom of each. Lay a small bit of butter on the top of every cake, and set them in an oven to warm and brown. Beef cakes are frequently a breakfast dish.

You know, a restaurant that often had leftover patties of finely minced cold roast beef, and leftover quantities of previously prepared potatoes, could probably come out with this recipe as a completely original new creation and make a fortune, the market being as overcrowded and desperate for innovation as it is. We ask a mere 5% licensing fee, and request that negotiations be done through our legal department.

Other Peculiar Things People Used to Do With Potatoes

Potato Cheese (from Mrs. Child’s American Frugal Housewife, 1833)

Potato cheese is much sought after in various parts of Europe. I do not know whether it is worth seeking after or not. The following is the receipt for making:–Select good white potatoes, boil them, and, when cold, peel and reduce them to a pulp with a rasp or mortar; to five pounds of this pulp, which must be very uniform and homogeneous, add a pint of sour milk and the requisite portion of salt; knead the whole well, cover it, and let it remain three or four days, according to the season; then knead it afresh, and place the cheeses in small baskets, when they will part with their superfluous moisture; dry them in the shade, and place them in layers in large pots or kegs, where they may remain a fortnight. The older they are, the finer they become.

This cheese has the advantage of never engendering worms, and of being preserved fresh for many years, provided it is kept in a dry place, and in well closed vessels.

Wow, Lydia, you think you could make this sound any less attractive? One gets the impression that Mrs. Child either had a page count to fill up, without which she would not get paid for the book and her children would starve, or an editor holding her at gunpoint to include a treasured recipe from said editor’s mother. Often the travails of widow-women are lost to history.

Potato Starch (Dr. Kitchiner again)

Peel and wash a pound of full-grown potatoes, grate them on a bread-grater into a deep dish, containing a quart of clear water; stir it well up, and then pour it through a hair-sieve, and leave it ten minutes to settle, till the water is quite clear: then pour off the water, and put a quart of fresh water to it, stir it up, let it settle, and repeat this till the water is quite clear; you will at last find a fine white powder at the bottom of the vessel. (The criterion of this process being completed, is the purity of the water that comes from it after stirring it up.) Lay this [powder] on a sheet of paper in a hair-sieve to dry, either in the sun or before the fire, and it is ready for use, and in a well-stopped bottle will keep good for many months.

If this be well-made, half an ounce, (i.e. a table-spoonful) of it mixed with two table-spoonfuls of cold water, and stirred into a soup or sauce, just before you take it up, will thicken a pint of it to the consistence of cream.

Obs.–This preparation much resembles the “Indian arrow root,” and is a good substitute for it; it gives a fullness on the palate to gravies and sauces at hardly any expense, and by some is used to thicken melted butter instead of flour. Potatoes, in whatever condition, whether spoiled by frost, germination, &c., provided they are raw, constantly afford starch, differing only in quality, the round gray ones the most.

Potato starch has rather fallen out of favor today, replaced by cornstarch which is easily and cheaply made by mechanical means, and arrowroot which is making a comeback.

Potato Pudding (from “The Good Housekeeper” by Sarah Josepha Hale, 1841)

Boil three large mealy potatoes, mash them very smoothly, with one ounce of butter, and two or three table-spoonfuls of thick cream; add three well-beaten eggs, a little salt, grated nutmeg, and a table-spoonful of brown sugar. Beat all well together, and bake it in a buttered dish, for half or three quarters of an hour in a Dutch oven. A few currants may be added to the pudding.

Currants were very popular ingredients in puddings, pies, even beer in Civil War times. As they propagate easily, frequently growing wild nearly everywhere, they were easily obtained even by the poor. Unlike raisins in the days before seedless varieties were bred, they did not have to be “stoned” before use. Whether they make an ideal partner with potatoes is a subject left to the discretion, and digestion, of the reader.

Irish Stew (Dr. K, who credits it to “Mr. Morrison of the Leinster hotel, Dublin”)

Take part of a neck of mutton, cut it into chops, season it well, put it into a stew-pan, let it brase for half an hour, take two dozen of potatoes, boil them, mash them, and season them, butter your mould, and line it with the potatoes, put in the mutton, bake it for half an hour, then it will be done, cut a hole in the top, and add some good gravy to it.

Onions, frequently in massive quantities, are a frequent addition to Irish Stew. The direction about “cutting a hole in the top” and adding things (gravy) through it implies that a layer of either pie crust or, more likely, mashed potatoes is used as a covering for this dish. It is certainly not a stew in the sense we know it today!

Potato Pie (Dr. Kitchiner again)

Peel and slice your potatoes very thin into a pie-dish; between each layer of potatoes put a little chopped onion (three-quarters of an ounce of onion is sufficient for a pound of potatoes); between each layer sprinkle a little pepper and salt; put in a little water, and cut about two ounces of fresh butter into little bits, and lay them on the top: cover it close with puff paste. It will take about an hour and a half to bake it. N. B.: The yelks of four eggs (boiled hard) may be added; and when baked, a table-spoonful of good mushroom catchup poured in through a funnel.

And what the devil, you may well be wondering, is a “mushroom catchup” supposed to be? Our Civil War Ketchup page should fill you in nicely.

http://civilwarinteractive.com/cooking/?cat=18

COMMON YEAST
Posted by Xan on Wednesday May 13, 2009 Filed under :Breads, Misc.

Hops, 1 “large handful”
2 qts water, boiling
3 pints flour, sifted
1/2 pint brewer’s yeast, straight from brewery
4-5 teaspoons brown sugar OR 4-5 tablespoons molasses (optional)

yeastPut a large handful of hops into two quarts of boiling water, which must then be set on the fire again, and boiled twenty minutes with the hops. Have ready in a pan three pints of sifted flour; strain the liquid, and pour half of it on the flour. Let the other half stand till it becomes cool, and then mix it gradually into the pan with the flour &c. Then stir into it half a pint of good strong yeast, fresh from the brewery if possible; if not, use some that was left of the last making [of yeast]. You may increase the strength by stirring into your yeast before you bottle it, four or five large tea-spoonfuls of brown sugar, or as many table-spoonfuls of molasses.

Put it into clean bottles, and cork them loosely till the fermentation is over. Next morning put in the corks tightly, and set the bottles in a cold place. When you are going to bottle the yeast it will be an improvement to place two or three raisins at the bottom of each bottle. It is best to make yeast very frequently; as, with every precaution, it will scarcely keep good a week, even in cold weather. If you are apprehensive ot its becoming sour, put into each bottle a lump of pearl-ash the size of a hazle-nut.

From Miss Leslie’s Directions for Cookery, Eliza Leslie, Philadelphia, 1851

Comment: Yeast is a living organism. You cannot “create” yeast if you have none to start with, you can only provide the food a little yeast needs to reproduce and become a lot of yeast. If lack of nearby breweries, shortage of neighbors or utter destitution keeps you from obtaining a sample of existing yeast your only hope is to combine the listed ingredients and put them in an open bowl in the windowsill in hopes of attracting a wild yeast to settle in and take up housekeeping. This is how sourdough starter is obtained, and its name should give you a hint as to the usual results.

Following Miss Leslie’s instructions, even if you must start with a packet of dehydrated yeast as commonly sold in stores, will set you on the path to having your own fresh yeast in the form it was used from the start of recorded history up to very recent times. This explains the instructions common in period recipes for baked goods to use yeast in quantities ranging from a teacup to multiple pints. What you are really starting with is what is today known as a “sponge” so if you are attempting to duplicate modern recipes in the historic style, start at that point of the recipe and carry on from there.

All the suggested additions–sugar or molasses, and raisins–are essentially boosters. Yeast will feed directly on the sugars in each, and raisins (of that time) would probably have added a bit of additonal yeast of the wild sort to the mixture, which adhered to the grapes while they were in the process of being dried.

NAPLES BISCUITS
Posted by Xan on Wednesday May 6, 2009 Filed under :Breads

3/4 lb. flour
1 lb. sugar
6 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. rose water

biscuit13Put three-quarters of a pound of fine flour to a pound of fine sifted sugar; sift both together three times, then add six eggs beaten well, and a spoonful of rose-water; when the oven is nearly hot, bake them, but not too wet.

From The Cook’s Own Book: Being a Complete Culinary Encyclopedia by “a Boston Housekeeper” (Mrs. N. K. M. Lee) Boston 1832.

Comment: Rose-water was a common ingredient in fancy cooking of the 19th century, made by soaking large amounts of rose petals in a small amount of water over a period of days or even weeks. It is most commonly found today in markets catering to fans of Middle Eastern cuisine. If completely unobtainable a possible substitute would be a quarter-teaspoon or so of vanilla or almond extract.

Baked goods are some of the most difficult items to reproduce from recipes which date to the period before ovens came with thermostats. Various charts can be found which suggest equivalents for a “brisk” oven, a “hot” one, a “nearly hot” one as in this case, and other terms common in the day. The default for most baking is 350 degrees, so adjust upwards or downwards as the recipe suggests. Or try cooking with a wood-fired appliance and learn the distinctions first-hand.

http://civilwarinteractive.com/cooking/?cat=9

CABBAGE PUDDING
Posted by admin on Thursday May 14, 2009 Filed under :Vegetable

cabbage11 head of cabbage
Stuffing or dressing
Butter

Get a fine head of cabbage, not too large; pour boiling water on [it], and cover it till you can turn the leaves back, which you must do carefully; take some of those in the middle of the head off, chop them fine, and mix them with rich forcemeat; put this in, and replace the leaves to confine the stuffing; tie it in a cloth, and boil it. Serve it up whole, with a little melted butter in the dish.

From The Virginia Housewife, or Methodical Cook, by Mary Randolph, 1824.

Comment: It is a testimony to the scientific notion of “convergent evolution” that we find nearly identical recipes to this one in the ethnic traditions of nearly every part of the world in which cabbage is grown. The only variants are the specifics of the stuffing–and recipes can be found for forcemeats based on everything from ham to veal to rabbit and beyond–and what if any sauce or liquid is used to surround the dish at serving. The act of wrapping this item in a cloth and boiling it is what conveys the status of “pudding,” a word whose meaning has clearly evolved from that time to this.

COLD POTATOES FRIED
Posted by Xan on Tuesday May 12, 2009 Filed under :Vegetable

fried_potatoesBoiled potatoes
Clean meat drippings, butter or grease
Salt
Pepper

Put a bit of clean dripping into a frying-pan; when it is melted, slice in your potatoes with a little pepper and salt; put them on the fire; keep stirring them; when they are quite hot, they are ready.

The Cook’s Oracle by William Kitchiner, MD, New York, 1829

Comment: This is a classic method of using up leftover boiled or baked potatoes from the previous night’s dinner. If cubed or grated they become hash browns, but when sliced apparently do not merit a name of their own.

While bacon drippings are still occasionally saved by frugal cooks today, mostly for use in flavoring boiled greens or other vegetables, it was in the past more common to save the fat which cooked off of beef, ham or chicken as well. It became “clean” after it was poured through a strainer or piece of cheesecloth to remove any bits of meat which might have fallen into it. Many books recommend beef drippings for use in making pie crusts or other rough pastry, as well as its use as a direct frying agent as in the recipe above.

The only commercially available oil was that of the olive, frequently refered to as “sweet oil” in recipes of the time. This was often imported and in any case expensive, so was saved for uses in delicate settings such as salad dressings. Oil from pressed seeds like corn, sunflowers etc. lay in the future. Fats were considered valuable resources for people who lived much more in the out of doors, in the elements and the seasons, than we do today.

TO PICKLE GREEN PEPPERS
Posted by Xan on Tuesday May 12, 2009 Filed under :Vegetable

green_peppers1Green bell peppers
Salt
Water
Vinegar
Alum (solid piece if available; about 1 tbs. powdered if not)

The bell pepper is the best for pickling, and should be gathered when quite young. Slit one side, and carefully take out the core, so as not to injure the shell of the pepper. Then put them into boiling salt and water, changing the water every day for one week, and keeping them closely covered in a warm place near the fire. Stir them several times a day. They will first become yellow, and then green. When they are a fine green put them into a jar, and pour cold vinegar over them, adding a small piece of alum. They require no spice. You may stuff the peppers as you do mangoes.

From Miss Leslie’s Directions for Cookery by Eliza Leslie, 1851

Comment: The coring procedure called for here seems both unexpected and unnecessarily complicated. Since the core runs directly from the underside of the stem to the bottom, it would seem more logical to cut carefully around the stem end and just pull outward–any core left inside can be reached, snapped off, and shaken out with ease. Then again it is possible that it was desired to keep the stem end in place and intact, although we can think of no reason why. Do as you will.

Plain vinegar is about the simplest “pickle” there is. The pickle, of course, is the preserving liquid, not the product being processed.

GREEN CORN PUDDING
Posted by Xan on Tuesday May 12, 2009 Filed under :Vegetable

corn_pudding12 dozen ears corn
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. sugar
1 qt. milk
2 eggs, beaten
2-3 tbs. butter

Grease a deep earthen baking dish with butter; grate with a coarse grater 2 dozen ears of corn, selecting such as are of equal ripeness; add tea-spoonful of salt, tablespoonful white sugar, a quart of milk, and lastly, 2 eggs well beaten; lay a piece of butter rather larger than an egg on top of all, put it into a slow oven, bake 4 hours; if the oven is too quick [hot] it will make the pudding curdle; when done it should be nicely brown all over, and the consistency of warm mush. Good for tea or dinner; may be eaten with sugar, but a little butter is better.

From The Economical Cook-Book by Elizabeth Nicholson, 1865.

******
Comment: Here we see a clear indication of the complete change that has come over the corn-growing process since the advent of large commercial agribusiness. In the 19th century corn was simply corn, without the distinction that exists today between “sweet corn” intended for human consumption and “field corn” grown to be fed to animals. (We will leave varieties intended for industrial uses like corn syrup or biofuels out of the discussion entirely.)

So “green corn” here is not intended to mean that which is under-ripe, which would produce nothing but an inedible mess if cooked and severe indigestion if eaten. The ears should be fully grown, fresh and full of juice. The longer they age after ripening the harder and more dried out the kernels become, setting it on a path which would lead to the grist mill and a future as corn meal, hominy, grits, or dried cracked corn.

CORN AND TOMATOES
Posted by Xan on Tuesday May 12, 2009 Filed under :Vegetable

corn_and_tomatoFresh corn
Tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Butter

Take equal quantities of green corn cut from the cob, and tomatoes sliced and peeled. Stew together half an hour; season with pepper, salt, and a very little sugar. Stew fifteen minutes longer, and stir in a great lump of butter. Five minutes later, pour out and serve.

Common Sense in the Household by Marion Harland, New York, 1871:

Comment: Do not be confused by the term “green corn.” This recipe dates to the time when corn was simply corn, before different varieties were bred of which some were fed to animals and others known as “sweet corn” were intended for human tables. When corn was just fully ripened, fresh and juicy, it was used in recipes like this. That which was left on the stalk past this point began to dry out and could be either taken to the mill for grinding into corn meal or preserved in the form of hominy. When fully dried it was then considered winter food for either people or livestock.

This is something of an oddity in that we know of no recipes today that are simply corn and tomatoes cooked together. Corn and lima beans, yes; this we know as succotash. Tomatoes and, well, nearly everything else, sure. Corn and tomatoes? Not so much. While these recipes are found in books intended for civilian life, we have no doubt that something very much like this would have been eaten by troops in the field who passed through an area at the right time of year for vegetables to be ripe or close to it. Farmers did not like to see armies of either side passing anywhere nearby for precisely this reason.

http://personal.my180.net/thesmiths/oregontrailrecipes.html

Snipped from: Oregon Wagon Train recipes:

Bacon n’ Biscuits

“Had us a fine Trail breakfast this here mornin’... not too fussy neither! Fried up some bacon real crispy and served it up with cold soda biscuits to dip in the grease. Made the morning a little special since it’s been 2 months, today!, since we left our home in Wisconsin - a little celebration - I warmed up a bit of maple syrup to dip the biscuits in also. Was good for a smile all ‘round the fire and a good start to the day.”

[This one was enjoyed so much in our house that it’s been asked for since. Very filling!]

Johnnycakes

1 beaten egg
3/8 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon melted lard (vegetable oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Drop by tablespoon onto hot greased griddle or skillet. Fry on each side until browned, about 2 minutes. Serve with butter and syrup. Makes about 12 small cakes.

[This is a variation of our regular pancake, but has the cornbread taste. Has that little aftertaste of cornmeal. Pioneers used what they had to fill bellies... this is good.]

Bacon Pancakes

Fry up sum diced bacon to crispy and mix it into yer pancake batter and fry them up right. Serve with yer regular fixin’s.

[This is downright yummy!]

Evening Meal Fixin’s

Trail Beans

Prepare 4 cups of beans by rinsing and placing in large pot, covering with water and letting stand overnight for at least 12 hours. Drain, then place in pot with 1/2 lb. ham hock or 1/2 lb. bacon, covering with fresh water to simmer on low fire for 3 hours. At start of 4th hour add these ingredients: 1/4 cup dark molasses, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. cayenne, 1/2 tsp. ground pepper. Optional ingredients to add if you have them, and according to taste: 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp. mustard, can chopped tomatoes. Stir and let simmer an additional hour, then serve. If additional liquid is needed, use the water beans soaked in.

[This recipe is from a cowboy cookbook, and everyone in the family enjoyed them! Served it up with the following biscuits from the Resource Guide from Baker City.]

Soda Biscuits

Take 1 lb. of flour, and mix it with milk enough to make a stiff dough; dissolve in a little milk 1 tsp. carbonate of soda; add this to the paste with a teaspoon of salt. Work it well together and roll it out thin; cut into round biscuits, and bake them in a moderate oven. The yolk of an egg is sometimes added. (Sarah J. Jale, Mrs. Hales New Cookbook 1857)

[Different in texture (heavier) than today’s biscuits, but good with the beans! I baked them at 350*]

Sweetnesses

Molasses Pudding

1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
raisins, optional

Blend molasses and milk. Add in butter, baking soda, salt and mix well - butter will be chunky. Add in flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Add raisins of you like. Pour this thick dough into a buttered deep bread pan, spreading evenly. Put pan on top of pebbles in a large kettle of slow-boiling, shallow water. Liquid should only go half way up the sides of the pan. Cover and steam for 1 1/4 hours. Serve sliced, as is, or drizzled with syrup.

[This boiled pudding has the texture of cake. The boys ate it plain and enjoyed it, without knowing that the recipe said to top with syrup. The syrup adds sweetness. Although the pioneers didn’t have ice cream on the trail, we thought a scoop of ice cream over the cake with a little syrup on top, would be mighty tasty!]

Apple Dumpling Soup

1 fresh apple or 1 apple’s worth of rehydrated dried apple pieces
2 1/2 cups water
3/8 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Quarter fresh apple, core and slice thinly. Cut rehydrated apple pieces to bite-size. Combine apple slices with other ingredients into 2 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and cook for additional 5 minutes. While apple mixture is simmering, prepare dumpling mixture:
1/2 cup flour
1/8 cup cornmeal
1/8 cup sugar
pinch salt 1 egg
1/4 cup water

In a small bowl combine flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt. Add egg and mixture thoroughly, add water in gradually, stirring sparingly as over-working the dough will make it tough.

Drop dough onto simmering apple mixture by teaspoon. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15 additional minutes. Do not remove cover during cooking. To serve, spoon some apple slices, juice and a couple dumplings into each bowl. Will serve 4 to 6.

[The recipe which this is from had 1 teaspoon of baking powder added to the dumplings, but since nothing I have read indicates that the emigrants had baking powder, I omitted it. This “soup” would have been a fun dish to serve for a special occassion on the trail, if apples and eggs were available. We enjoyed this very much.]

Other Miscellany

Vinegar Lemonade

Mix 1 to 2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar into a 12 oz. glass of water. Stir in 2 Tablespoons of sugar or to taste, and Drink Up!

[Miss Virgina at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon told me that pioneers used vinegar for numerous reasons, one of which was to bring Vitamin C into their diets and that they would make “lemonade” with it. The boys, despite the sugar, still had trouble with the smell, but I actually found it a bit refreshing.]

Links on page, many pages of molasses recipes:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/flavor/molasses

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Molasses Bran Muffins
Submitted by chefmeow 2 years, 1 month ago. 4199 views. 7 comments.

Flavors: bran sweet molasses yogurt
Tags: muffins breads breakfast brunch bran molasses
5

Molasses Cookies
Submitted by doodleruby 2 years ago. 1907 views. 3 comments.
Flavors: molasses spicy
Tags: easy
5

Soft And Chewy Molasses Cookies
Submitted by jaeleepoms 1 year, 12 months ago. 5949 views. 4 comments.
Flavors: spicy cinnamon sweet molasses
Tags: cookies molasses ginger spicy soft chewy
5

Gingersnap Cookies
Submitted by askksk 1 year, 12 months ago. 417 views. 1 comments.
Flavors: ginger molasses
Tags: ginger molasses
5

Blueberry Gingerbread
Submitted by chefmeow 1 year, 11 months ago. 853 views. 2 comments.
Flavors: blueberry herby cinnamony clovey molasses sweet
Tags: bread sweet gingerbread blueberry breakfast brunch
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Mashed Sweet Potatoes With Molasses
Submitted by erin 1 year, 11 months ago. 1062 views. 1 comments.
Flavors: sweet creamy sweet potatoes carrots parsnips
Tags: thanksgiving sweet potatoes carrots parsnips molasses
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Golden Lassie Soda
Submitted by chefmeow 1 year, 11 months ago. 524 views. 1 comments.
Flavors: sweet creamy molasses chocoalte cream soda
Tags: easy beverage dessert soda ice cream
5

Peanut Brittle From Microwave
Submitted by shirleyoma 1 year, 10 months ago. 2324 views. 11 comments.
Flavors: molasses
Tags: great for parties or snacks
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Old-fashion Chewy Molasses Cookies
Submitted by jaie 1 year, 9 months ago. 1107 views. 1 comments.
Flavors: sweet molasses cinnamon
Tags: chewy moist
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Dark Moist Bran Muffins
Submitted by chefmeow 1 year, 9 months ago. 1735 views. 4 comments.
Flavors: branny sweet molasses
Tags: easy side bread breakfast brunch muffins

http://www.grouprecipes.com/flavor/cornmeal

Kwanza Cornbread
Submitted by chefmeow 2 years ago. 515 views. 2 comments.
Flavors: corny buttery cornmeal herby creamy
Tags: side bread vegetable cornbread butter sugar
5

Sunshine Bread
Submitted by gumby 1 year, 9 months ago. 779 views. 1 comments.
Flavors: herb-cornmeal
Tags: differentamptasty
5

French Chicken In Vinegar Sauce With Pepper-spiked Polenta
Submitted by pointsevenout 1 year, 8 months ago. 425 views. 1 comments.
Flavors: cornmeal vinegar chicken
Tags: chicken
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Hush Puppies From My Home Away From Home
Submitted by lor 1 year, 6 months ago. 1250 views. 3 comments.
Flavors: cornmeal onion garlic
Tags: southern and easy
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Pepper Jack Muffins
Submitted by crossfire 1 year, 6 months ago. 207 views. 1 comments.
Flavors: pepper jalapeno cornmeal
Tags: pepper jalapeno cornmeal
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Corn Meal Griddle Cakes
Submitted by jones2888 1 year, 6 months ago. 1474 views. 2 comments.
Flavors: cornmeal
Tags: old southern cornbread pancake
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Blackberry Cornmeal Cake
Submitted by helewes 1 year, 5 months ago. 274 views. 1 comments.
Flavors: cornmeal cake
Tags: cake
5

Triple Grain Peanut Bread
Submitted by notyourmomma 1 year, 5 months ago. 1211 views. 2 comments.
Flavors: peanutty oaty cornmeal slightly-sweet
Tags: quick bread peanutflavored
5

Little Thin Cornmeal Pancakes
Submitted by notyourmomma 1 year, 5 months ago. 334 views. 3 comments.
Flavors: savory bacony fried cornmeal cakes
Tags: savory little basefortoppings mini southern blini
5

Southern Fried Cornbread
Submitted by laadeedaa 1 year, 4 months ago. 2203 views. 5 comments.
Flavors: cornmeal bacon fat buttermilk
Tags: easy skillet

[says 110 recipes]

http://www.theausteritykitchen.com/search/label/bread

Clostridium Capers: The Wonders of Salt Rising Bread

Salt rising bread is a natural marvel. A bit of cornmeal, a splash of milk and a few cups of flour result in beautiful loaves of delicious bread.

While its exact origins are unknown, salt rising bread was first popular in Ireland and Scotland during the seventeenth century. Its popularity continued well into the twentieth century, especially during times of rationing and dearth, as the bread has an earthy, cheesy flavor that precludes the need for additional toppings. This cheesy flavor comes from Clostridium, the bacteria that leavens the bread.

A Loaf of Salt Rising Bread A loaf of salt rising bread

Naturally present on coarse-grind cornmeal, Clostridium just needs some milk (or water), potatoes and salt to leaven this unique bread. And it will only cost you a $1.50 per loaf!

Amishrecipes.net has a fantastic salt rising bread recipe:

Amish Salt Rising Bread Recipe

2 1/2 cups potatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 quart boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon shortening, melted
11 cups flour

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt and the cornmeal over potatoes. Add boiling water and stir until salt has dissolved. Cover and keep warm from noon to the following morning.

Drain off liquid into a large bowl. Add the baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and 5 cups flour to the liquid. Stir until ingredients are well blended. This sponge should be the consistency of cake batter. Set mixture in a warm place, and let rise until light and full of bubbles. This requires about 1 1/2 hours.

Scald milk and cool to lukewarm. Add shortening. Add milk and remaining flour to sponge. Knead for 10 to 12 minutes and shape into loaves. Makes 3 medium-size loaves. Let rise until light - about 1 1/2 hours.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

Lefse: A Norwegian Staple

The northernmost regions of Norway simultaneously enchant and terrify. In winter darkness reigns over the land; in summer, the sun never sets. Vast, craggy forests of pine stretch as far as the eye can see, and high-walled, icy fjords cut into the coastline. It is a landscape that, in centuries past, bred belief in fairies and trolls, evil creatures that supposedly made their homes among the towering pines.

For the human inhabitants of this strange and sometimes hostile land, life was difficult. The steep, rocky coastline hindered the transportation of goods to the inland towns. The mountains made it impossible to harvest cereal grains and cultivate orchards. Of Norway’s 125,000 square miles of country, little more than 5,000 are arable.

Lefse

But the people of northern Norway found great comfort in food. They did their best with what staples they could procure, developing an impressive repertoire of rye breads, reindeer stews and rice puddings — vigorous dishes that could provide warmth and sustenance during the cold winters. Lefse, a popular flatbread, frequently accompanied these meals. Here’s a traditional recipe for lefse from RecipeZaar:

Norwegian Lefse

2 cups of plain mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup flour
vegetable oil

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl mix potatoes, milk, butter, salt and 3/4 cup of flour.

Knead briefly on lightly floured board, adding additional flour to keep the dough from sticking.

Divide dough into 12 equal balls; roll each on lightly floured board into a circle paper thin.

Lightly oil a heavy skillet or crepe pan; set over medium heat.

Cook one at a time, until lightly browned, about one minute on each side.

Stack on a plate with a paper towel in between each one.

Freeze leftovers, and thaw throughout the year and enjoy a favorite anytime.

Serve lefse with butter for savory dishes, or sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar for a breakfast treat.

Wheatless and Sugarless Wartime Cooking: Oat Flour Muffins

During the winter of 1917-1918, The Mrs. Farmer’s School of Cookery developed a collection of recipes to aid the American housewife in conserving meat, wheat, sugar and fats. These austerity recipes were tested in the school’s “Wartime Cookery” class.

The Mrs. Farmer’s School of Cookery was started in 1902 in Boston, Massachusetts. It offered classes to both gentlewomen and housewives on the rudiments of cooking and household management. The Wartime Cookery class was just one of many classes offered at the school, which later came to specialize in convalescent diets.

Mrs. Fanny Farmer testing wartime recipes

Here’s a recipe for oat flour muffins from Mrs. Farmer’s Wartime Cookery class. Oat flour produces a delightfully light texture in baked goods. Should you not find oat flour in your area, grind oatmeal in a coffee grinder until fine.

Oat Flour Muffins

2 1/2 cups oat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon melted shortening

Mix dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add milk, the egg, molasses and shortening. Bake in buttered gem [muffin] pans twenty-five minutes [in a medium oven]. This may be baked in a bread pan and sliced when cold.

The following recipe for wartime Boston brown bread is a perfect example of a recipe that proves more nutritious and delicious than its peacetime counterpart—Rose even makes a special point of mentioning that this recipe has “two and one half times the food value of a twelve-ounce loaf of white bread.” If desired, serve this bread with butter and honey, or with Mystic Baked Beans.

Wartime Boston Brown Bread

1 cup rye meal
1 cup corn meal
1 cup finely ground oatmeal
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup molasses
2 teaspoons baking powder

Mix and sift dry ingredients, add molasses and milk, stir until well mixed, turn into a well-greased mold, and steam three and one-half hours. The cover should be greased before being placed on the mold. The mold should never be filled more than two-thirds full. A one-pound baking powder box makes the most attractive shaped loaf for steaming; place mold on a trivet in kettle containing boiling water, allowing water to come half-way up around mold; cover closely and steam, adding as needed more boiling water. One cup chopped peanuts and one cup dates may be added.

http://www.theausteritykitchen.com/search/label/great%20depression%20cooking

Below is a recipe from The Food of a Younger Land for “Depression Cake.” In a delightful and engaging vignette, a correspondent describes the plight of a young woman named Ethel who, when faced with a cupboard bare of butter and milk on the Fourth of July, developed a recipe for a cake that used what few ingredients were available. She was, at first, trepidatious—the batter seemed “a volcanic mass in her mixing bowl.” But once out of the oven, the cake proved a success, smelling of “Old World spices” and baked a perfect brown.

Depression Cake

1 cup raisin juice, from stewed raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
A pinch of cloves, ginger and allspice
1 tablespoon drippings (or other fat)
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
A pinch salt

In a large bowl mix the raisin juice, baking soda, spices and drippings. In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add to the raisin juice mixture. Mix together and then add vanilla. Place in a greased loaf pan and bake for an hour at 350 degrees F.

The following recipe for caramels comes from an old Hermann farming family. Dated 1938, it was found handwritten in a cookbook. Made from readily available ingredients, the caramels were a simple delight during the dark days of the Depression.

Hermann Caramels

2 cups sugar
1 can (1 cup) corn syrup
1 can (1 cup) milk
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
Nuts, if desired

Put sugar, syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan. Cook into a clear, thick consistency. Add milk gradually so as to not stop the boiling. Cook until a firm ball forms. Add vanilla and nuts. Place in a buttered pan until cool. Put on a marble slab or oiled paper [wax paper] and cut into 1-inch squares. Wrap in oiled paper.

There are hundreds of hermit recipes out there. Here’s a hermit recipe based on the original recipe from Miss Fanny Farmer’s cookbook, published in 1896. It was supposedly the first hermit recipe to appear in print.

Hermits

1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
2 Tbs milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup raisins, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup nut meats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream the butter, then add sugar gradually. Once the sugar and butter are creamed together, add the raisins, nutmeats, egg, and milk. Mix dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Dough should be firm, but pliable. Roll dough into long strips lengthwise on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for about 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cut each strip into 2-inch bars while still warm.

The hermit’s spicy nature ensures that it will last for weeks in a tightly closed tin.

http://www.coon-n-crockett.org/cookbook.htm

Quick and EZ Peach Cobbler

Dump a large can of peaches or any other canned fruit into the dutch oven. Cover this with one box of white cake mix or whatever flavor you prefer and throw on a few dollops of butter. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar, put on the lid and cook until bubbly. Sometimes you have to drain some of the juice off of the fruit before you dump it in the pot just so it won’t be too runny. Excellent hot or save the leftovers (if there are any) for breakfast. Enjoy.

Diana Keune “Sews The Clothes” DKeune1030@aol.com

Kentucky Burgoo Stew (1850)

600 lbs. lean soup meat (no fat, no bacon) Squirrels - 1 doz.to each 100 gals.
200 lbs. fat hens, plucked
2,000 lbs. potatoes, peeled and diced
200 lbs. onion, peeled and diced
5 bushels of cabbage, chopped
60 lbs.of tomatoes, deskinned & chopped
24 lbs. of tomatoes - pureed
24 lbs. of corn, cut from cob
Red pepper and salt to taste and Worcestershire by the pint.

Mix the ingredients, a little at a time and cook coutdoors in huge iron kettles over wood for 20 hour, stirring constantly.

The name burgoo literally means a soup composed of many vegetables and meats delectably fused together in an enormous caldron, over which, at the exact moment, a rabbit’s foot at the end of a yarn string is properly waved by a black preacher whose salary has been paid to date. These are the good omens by which the burgoo is fortified.

Makes 1200 gallons of stew and was used for the Kentucky Derby Day celebration

This recipe is from a very old southern cookbook entitled “322 Old Dixie Recipes”(1939)

Walks Far Women(Karen Jahns) bud@ptw.com

NOOKICK
by Swanny

Nookick, also called “noocake, nocake, and mealcake”, consists of ground parched corn mixed with enough sugar that the resulting meal is almost, but not quite, too sweet to eat from the bag. Nookick is almost 100 % carbohydrates, the sugar providing simple carbohydrate for quick energy, and the parched corn meal providing complex carbs for the longer term. It’s an extremely concentrated source of the very nutrients the human body needs to produce energy and has become a mainstay of my trail diet.

Historically, nookick was very well known, and was considered by many colonial frontiersmen to be the most nourishing food known, and in the smallest and most condensed form. Nookick was described in Woods 1642 New England’s Prospect:- as follows:

“It is Indian corn parched in the hot ashes, the ashes being sifted from it; it is afterwards beaten to powder and put into a leatherne bag trussed at the Indian’s backe like a knapsacke, out of which they take three spoonsful a day.”

My own nookick is made just a bit differently. Here’s the receipe:

1. Dry and parch your corn. Though historically authentic varieties of corn are probably preferable, I usually end up using frozen sweet corn which I dry in a food dehydrator (you can use an oven at it’s lowest temperature setting and the door propped slightly open). To parch my corn, I spray a light coating of cooking spray on a skillet, heat it until a drop of water dances across the bottom, and spill in one thin layer of the dried kernels. I thin stir and shake the corn in the skillet until it cooks to a golden brown, just slightly lighter in color than ground coffee. Move quick, it’s easy to burn the corn.

2. Grind the parched corn into a fine meal. Mark Baker uses a linen bag and the back of a belt axe to pound parched corn into meal. I prefer to use a coffee mill (or electric grinder) for this job as it goes more quickly and makes a finer grind.

3. Mix in ground maple or muscavado sugar until the mix is almost too sweet to eat dry.

4. Store the nookick in a water resistant bag. I use a bag of waxed muslin.

Nookick can be eaten out of the bag, but if you do, be sure to wash it down with plenty of water. Once that ground parched corn hits your meat basket, it will absorb water and can form a sort of doughy mass that may bind your bowels for a while. At that point, you’ll be wishing you’d tucked some laxative into your knapsack.

I prefer to make nookick into a high-energy beverage by cooking it in boiling water. Generally, one measure of nookick to three or four measures of water works about right. Stir the pot or cup often to keep the cornmeal suspended in the water, or drink it down then eat the cooked meal in the bottom of the cup with a spoon, stick, or other tool.

When cooked in this manner I find nookick to be mighty tasty and great fuel for a tired body.

Swanny

[I am posting this without I.D. or url, because I agree with him, it is from one of my Yahoo Groups [for California] and as I recall it, he is a retired Fire Chief or Fireman.....granny]

Cross posted to the discussion group in case this thread continues.

I’ll submit that the Jesusita fire was a warning of things to come (early in the season, yet potent), but more to the point, it was only ONE fire instead of the over 1100 fires we got hit with this time last year. What was more significant (to me) were changes in the annual fire patterns. In ‘normal’ years, one end of the state OR the other would have significant fire activity throughout the year (it tended to alternate). Last year it was across the ENTIRE state, at the same time. That hadn’t happened in a VERY long time. (Neither had the type of lightning siege that caused it.) I don’t think it is an aberration, I feel it is a sign of the changes in the patterns.

I’m not making light of the losses of Jesusita, nor are they inconsequential (the loss of a home IS a big deal and firefighters HATE to see it happen, they understand all too well). But look at the bigger picture and you’ll see that fire events are becoming more frequent and larger (more damaging) and not just in CA. Blame it on La Nina or global warming or the phase of the orbits on Martian moons, but things are changing and we need to be better prepared (including staffing, equipment AND the average education level of the members of the public). Get educated, prepare and become active in the planning process in your area (is it really smart to build there?). Joining CERT is a good start too. If you have the time, attend Fire Technology classes at your local JC. Education doesn’t hurt, but being ignorant can kill you.

I’ll put it in simple language (though it might be offensive to some): The folks you pay to protect you from fires don’t have enough resources (across the board) and need your help (and the current budget cuts make that more imperative). They do an amazing job with what they are given, but it isn’t enough when it hits the fan. Last year was an excellent example of that since firefighters were brought in from halfway across planet to assist us. The fire service isn’t allowed to be PROactive very often, but are REactive because they don’t have enough resources (primarily money, staffing and political power). Trust me, in general you’re getting a lot of ‘bang for the buck’ in most fire agencies.

Fire agencies have been trying to educate you for years with limited success (people don’t like change and being told what to do on THEIR property, even if puts them at risk). They don’t have the time and resources to do everything required of them AND fight the stoopids who want things THEIR way because they have more money than sense. It’s up to YOU to participate in the building/planning processes in your area. You DO have a voice and it IS heard. The losses we see every year are in MANY cases, preventable (but to be blunt, many of the homes shouldn’t be there in the first place because of poor access, limited water and conditions prime for burning annually; greed won).

For those areas that have volunteer fire agencies, YOU can attend the pancake breakfasts or spaghetti feeds and give MORE than what is asked for a donation. Join them if you are physically able (though there are still jobs to manage for those that can’t ‘hump hose’ up a hill). Attend the local board meetings when they discuss the budget and offer your voice in support (that really carries a lot of weight, the board members realize you hold a ballot). And finally, in addition to becoming politically active (to the point of being a PITA with your support) DO take the time to vote (it matters). Yes, it might cost more in taxes, but it is a darned sight cheaper than having to replace homes every year. The house they save might be yours (if you follow what they advised you to do in addition to the 4291 requirements).

You pay them to be the best, why ignore what they tell you?

(/moderate level rant off)

[They look so much alike, that I missed noticing they were boy and girl, assumed they were 2 boys. Cute kids, see the site for the photo....granny]

Adam Shurati, left, and Hadas Maor in the picture chosen for Suter’s project
Last update - 19:23 30/05/2009
Can you tell the difference between an Israeli and a Palestinian?
By Dalia Karpel, Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1089016.html

The advertisement published in Haaretz in March read “Wanted: people who look alike,” and promised NIS 8,000 to anyone that could locate someone who looked like one of the eight people featured in the advertisement.

What the advertisement didn’t say, was that the eight people pictured were Palestinians.

The ad was made by Swiss artist Olivier Suter, as part of his project ‘Enemies’, which focused on the absurd ways people identify “the other”.
The advertisement is similar to a project Suter performed in Belgium, which asked viewers if they could dfferentiate between Flemish and French speakers.

Out of the dozens of photos he received, Suter picked a photo of an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy who liked alike. The girl is one Hadas Maor, whose photo was sent in by her father, geography professor Yehuda Keidar.

Keidar, a long-time supporter of a two-state solution said “[David] Ben-Gurion was right when he said ‘The Palestinians are not our cousins, they’re our brothers. Turns out, they could be twins.”

The Palestinian boy is named Adam Shurati and he was none too pleased about his likeness to a girl, according to his mother Nancy. Adam was further dismayed when his mother took him to have his hair cut to look like Hadas’.

Nancy, who lives in Bet Hanina, called the project “amazing” and said that her son’s resemblance to an Israel girl surprised her.

“The project is a work of art meant for all of us, not just for the sake of art,” Suter said.

Suter’s next “Enemies” project will take place in Rwanda and the Congo

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