So, I'm sure at least one person here on FR has wondered what happened to me, maybe two of you. Before I really really stopped posting, many of us had discussed the possibility, and or the desire, to get out of the city to our own little homesteads and try to grow some food, for security, for peace of mind, for whatever reason.
Well, my family did it.
Two years ago we made the jump. We bought a place in the country, and have spent the past couple of years setting up our little homestead. We have a big garden, many chickens, some ducks, some guineas, some sheep, some goats, and a barn for all of them. A woodstove, a hand pump well, even a solar chicken coop.
Any of my old pals, and any new ones, come check us out! Would be pleased to hear from you, and share what we are learning.
Please ping any of my old buddies that you know of; I seem to have misplaced my old ping list!
Odd, Strange, Weird, Scary, and Unusual Recipes
(These might taste good; but I find them pretty peculiar.)
Fried Cat
1 cat, 2 to 3 pounds
1/2 GI canteen cup flour
2 GI mess kit spoons paprika
1-1/2 GI mess kit spoons salt
1/4 GI mess kit spoon pepper
1 GI canteen cup shortening
Cut cat in serving pieces. Blend flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a clean container. Shake 2 or 3 pieces of the cat at a time until well coated with flour. Save any left over flour for gravy. Heat shortening in a heavy pan. Place cat pieces in pan and brown slowly on all sides. Cover and cook slowly until cat is tender. Uncover about 15 minutes to crisp cat.
- From Emergency Food Preparation
http://www.netside.com/~lcoble/dir6/food.htm
Cold Jellied Tongue
1 medium-size tongue, about 3 lbs.
2 Tablespoons plain gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
2 cups broth from boiling tongue
Scrub tongue, and rinse well. Then fit tongue into a 3 or 4-qt. kettle. Add enough water to cover, then simmer until tender - 2 to 3 hours for a beef tongue. Take from the kettle, place in cold water and as soon as it can be handled comfortably, remove skin and roots; then return to the cooking water to cool. Press cooled tongue into mold, either round glass casserole or loaf-shaped pan. Soak gelatin in the cold water for 5 minutes, then stir it into the tongue broth which has been re-heated to boiling. When dissolved, season to suit taste with salt and pepper, and pour over the tongue in the mold. Chill until firm. Slice tongue thin, leaving the gelatin adhering. Garnish with cress, lettuce or parsley and serve very cold. 8 to 10 servings.
- From “The Modern Family Cook Book” by Meta Given (1953)
Yellow Jacket Soup
(Traditional Cherokee Recipe)
Ground-dwelling yellow jackets
Although the mention of “yellowjacket soup” immediately raises an eyebrow on those unaccustomed to such a food, it is actually a delicacy and should not be criticized until tried. Only the bravest should dare to try this dish!! Secure an entire nest of ground dwelling yellowjackets when it is full of grubs. Loosen all the uncovered grubs by heating and removing them. Heat the nest with the remaining grubs over a fire until the thin, paper-like covering parches. Pick out the yellowjackets and brown them over the fire. Cooked the browned yellowjackets in boiling water to make soup and season to taste.
Note: Yellow jackets are easily angered and swarm. Obtaining a nest of these insects should only be done under the most stringent of safety precautions and by people who are experienced in collecting insects. Those people with above average levels of allergy to stinging insects should not attempt this at all.
- From Native Way - The Grandmother’s Cookbook
http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/nativeway/
Roast Rabbit or Hare
Use young rabbits and hares, weighing 2 to 3 pounds. Do not eat those with unpleasant odors. They should be drawn and cleaned as soon as possible after killing but need not be skinned until time to cook. If purchased they are skinned by butcher. To skin, hang up by hind legs. Slit skin around first joint of hind legs. Insert knife and slit and loosen skin around legs and rump. With fingers pull tail and skin down over body until free. Cut off head and feet. Slit down front and remove entrails, reserving heart and liver. When ready to cook, wash thoroughly and dry. Boil heart and liver until tender. Chop fine and mix with poultry stuffing, dampened with water in which giblets were cooked. Stuff rabbit. Sew opening. Tie or fasten legs close to body with skewers. Place on side in roaster. Roast in hot oven (450 degrees F.) 15 minutes, turning once and basting frequently with melted butter or drippings. Reduce heat and continue cooking in moderate oven (350 degrees F.) 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, basting every 15 minutes. Make gravy by adding a little flour, mixed to a smooth paste with cold water, to drippings, blending well. Allow 3/4 pound of rabbit per serving.
- From “The Lily Wallace New American Cook Book” Editor-in-Chief, Lily Haxworth Wallace (1958)
Rat Roulade
2 medium rats, dressed (cut off heads, paws and tails)
4 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, chopped
1-1/2 cups toasted bread cubes
2 tbsp. minced parsley
1/2 tsp. celery seeds
1/4 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup bouillon (1 cup water, 1 bouillon cube)
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
Saute bacon with onion until onion is tender. Mix in bread cubes, parsley, celery seeds and sage. Season rats with salt and pepper. Stuff each rat with stuffing. Tie rats closed with strings by wrapping around bodies. Place in pan and pour bouillon over roulades. Cover pan and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour or until rats are tender. Add tomato sauce and cover pan again. Cook for 30 minutes more.
- From Emergency Food Preparation
http://www.netside.com/~lcoble/dir6/food.htm
Horseradish
Horseradish roots
Salt
White vinegar
Scrape the outside of the horseradish roots until clean and drop them into cold water to prevent discoloration. Drain and chop in a food processor or in a blender with a little vinegar. Spoon into clean pint jars, filling them about two-thirds full. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to each jar, then fill with white vinegar. Close the jars and refrigerate.
- From “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook” (12th Edition) Revised by Marion Cunningham with Jeri Laber ISBN: 0-553-23488-9 (1979) (Published originally in 1896 under the title, “The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book” by Fannie Merritt Farmer.)
Prickly Pear Syrup
12 Prickly pears
1/4 c Honey
Wash and cut each prickly pear into quarters, leaving the skins on. Place the fruit in a food processor and process until pulpy and thoroughly blended. Press the liquid through a fine sieve; discard skin and seeds. Put the prickly pear juice into a saucepan with the honey and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and let simmer 10 minutes, until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool. The syrup will thicken further as it cools. The syrup may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Prickly pears have a sweet, tangy flavor that makes a delicious sryrp, excellent with the Pinon and Blue Cornmeal Hotcakes and also a wonderful topping for the Corn and Honey Pastel Ice or Picuris Indian Bread Pudding.
From “Native American Cooking,” by Lois Ellen Frank
- From Just Recipes
http://www.melborponsti.com/index.htm
Sweet and Sour Spam
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T corn starch
1 can pineapple chunks
1 cup of water
2 T vinegar (I like it with about 3 or 4)
1 can of Spam
Combine sugar, corn starch, pineapple juice ,water and vinegar in a saucepan. Stir over heat until it boils and thickens. Add Spam and pineapple and heat through. Serve over cooked rice. Serves 4-6
from Y2K Kitchen
http://www.y2kKitchen.com/
Seal Spine
Boil the spine meat with garlic and onions, salt and pepper. until meat is tender. Boil approximately 45 minutes. Safe for consumption if the seal is fresh and properly prepared.
- From Chuda’s Kitchen (Ethnic Native American Food)
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/4414/recipe.htm
Barbecued Dog
Dress dog, removing any glands from under the legs. Take off all fat, if any. Cut into serving pieces and parboil in salt water for several hours until tender. Place on spit or grill and pour your favorite sauce recipe over the pieces. Grill, turning as needed to brown evenly. Baste with sauce throughout cooking. (improvised sauce: mix a GI canteen cup of tomato sauce or juice with a GI mess kit spoon of garlic powder, two GI mess kit spoons of worcestershire sauce and a dash of pepper)
- From Emergency Food Preparation
http://www.netside.com/~lcoble/dir6/food.htm
Chicken Pudding
Cut up one chicken and stew it a little, after which lay the pieces in a buttered dish with a few bits of butter, a little pepper and salt and a little of the water in which the chicken was stewed. Make a batter of one quart milk, five eggs, a little salt. Pour this batter over the chicken, and bake half an hour. (Or till done)
- From Old Time Recipes
http://64.66.168.65/old_time_recipes.htm
Raw Cactus Recipe
Ingredients: raw cactus, fresh from the garden
Yeah, I know that this sounds kinda odd, it did to me also, to eat raw the pads of the plants. But there are some varieties that are actually pretty tasty when harvested very young, tender and succulent. They have an interesting snap and crunch to them, much more than one would expect. Sliced into one inch strips they are an intriguing item on the dinner plate. These must be freshly harvested leaves for this, not canned. For fresh eating I cannot more highly recommend Nopalea Grande Freshly picked organic cactus leaves.
- From Rivenrock Gardens Cactus Recipe Page
http://www.rivenrock.com/recipes.html
Clear FINE Orange Jelly
Take four large calves feet, singed, but not skinned. Boil them in a gallon of clear, soft water until the liquid is reduced to one quart and the meat has dropped from the bones. Strain it into a pan, cover it, and set it stand until the next morning. It should be a firm cake. Take a knife and carefully remove the fat from the top of the cake and all the sediment from the bottom. Press some clean, soft blotting paper upon it to remove all remains of greasiness. Then cut the cake of jelly into slices and put them in a porcelain-lined preserving kettle. Add to them a pound and a half of loaf sugar, broken up, a pint of strained orange juice, and the yellow rind of four oranges, pared thin and cut into strips. Beat slightly the whites of six eggs and add them to the mixture along with the shells of three of them, crushed small. Set the kettle over a clear fire and stir until you see all indications of scum beginning to rise. Then quit stirring immediately or the jelly will be cloudy. After it has come to a boil, simmer it ten minutes and pour the whole into a clean jelly bag; place a white pan beneath for the jelly to drip into. Take care not to squeeze the bag or the clearness of the jelly will be irrevocably destroyed. If it is not clear after the first running through, empty the bag, wash it clean, return the jelly to it, and let it drip again. Repeat this, if necessary, until it is quite bright and transparent. When it has congealed and become firm, put it in a glass bowl and break it up. If you wish to put it in molds, put the jelly in them, but not until it is quite clear. The oranges should be ripe, highly colored, and rolled under the hand to increase the juice.
- From Oddible Edibles
http://www.ioa.com/~stanner/oddcook.htm
Bug Blox
2 large packages gelatin
2 1/2 cups boiling water (do not add cold water)
Stir boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely. Stir in dry-roasted leafhoppers. Pour mixture slowly into 13 x 9 inch pan. Chill at least 3 hours. BLOX will be firm after 1 hour, but may be difficult to remove from pan. Cutting blox: dip bottom pan in warm water 15 seconds to loosen gelatin. Cut shapes with cookie cutters all the way through gelatin. Lift with index finger or metal spatula. If blox stick, dip pan again for a few seconds.
- From Iowa State University’s Tasty Insect Recipes
http://www.ent.iastate.edu/misc/insectsasfood.html
Pigs Ears (Schweinsohren), Germany
Simmer the presoaked ears in clean water for 2 hours and then dry them. Brush with melted butter; season with nutmeg, chopped marjoram, salt, and pepper. Coat with bread crumbs and fry until golden brown in hot lard. Serve with caper sauce.
- From Julie’s Favorite Recipes
http://www.eskimo.com/~baubo/jreci.html
Grape Catsup
Five pounds grapes (cooked and rubbed through a seive)
Two pints of vinegar
Three pounds of sugar
One tablespoon ground cinnamon
One teaspoon cloves
One teaspoon allspice
One teaspoon pepper
Half (1/2) teaspoon salt
Boil ingredients until thick
- From Planet Ketchup
http://www.ketchup.wonderland.org/
Scrapple
1 hog’s head
4 to 5 quarts cold water
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons powdered sage
yellow corn meal (about 3 cups)
Separate one hog’s head into halves. Remove eyes and brains. Scrape head and clean thoroughly. Place in large kettle and cover with 4-5 quarts of cold water. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 hours, or until meat falls from the bones. Skimm grease carefully from the surface; remove meat. chop fine, and turn liquor. Season with salt, pepper, and sage to taste. Sift in corn meal, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened to the consistency of mush. Cook slowly for 1 hour over low heat. When sufficiently cooked, pour into greased oblong pans and store in a cool place until ready to use. Cut in thin slices and fry until crisp and brown. Makes 6 pounds.
- From Utterly Outrageous Recipes - The Gross But Tasty Food Page
http://www.zapitalism.com/zap/food.html
Mealworms “Natural Style”
As many mealworms as you can sanely eat
Open mouth. Insert live mealworms. Chew. Swallow.
- From Edible Insects
http://www.eatbug.com/
Genuine Haggis
1 sheep’s stomach bag plus the pluck (lights, liver and heart)
1 lb Lean mutton
6 oz Fine oatmeal
8 oz Shredded suet
2 large Onions, chopped
Salt and pepper about 1/4 pint beef stock. Soak the stomach bag in salted water overnight. Place the pluck (lights, liver and heart) in a saucepan with the windpipe hanging over the edge. Cover with water and boil for 1 1/2 hours. Impurities will pass out through the windpipe and it is advisable to place a basin under it to catch any drips. Drain well and cool. Remove the windpipe and any gristle or skin. Mince the liver and heart with the mutton. (Add some of the lights before mincing if you wish.) Toast the oatmeal gently until pale golden brown and crisp. Combine with minced mixture, suet and onion. Season well and add sufficient stock to moisten well. Pack into the stomach bag, filling it just over half-full as the stuffing will swell during cooking. Sew up the bag tightly or secure each end with string. Put an upturned plate in the base of a saucepan of boiling water, stand the haggis on this and bring back to the boil. Prick the haggis all over with a large needle to avoid bursting and boil steadily for 3 to 4 hours. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
- From Haggis Recipes
http://www.smart.net/~tak/haggis.html
Fresh Halibut Heads and Backbone
(An old Kwakuitl recipe, as narrated in the Kwakuitl language by Elie Hunt and translated into English by her husband, George Hunt, circa 1908.)
Sometimes the woman boils the heads (of halibut) and invites the friends of her husband. When the men are invited, his wife takes the halibut heads and puts them on a log on the floor. Then she takes an ax and chops them in pieces. The pieces are not very small. Then she puts them into a kettle. Then she takes the backbone and breaks it to pieces. Then she also puts it into the kettle. As soon as the kettle is full, she takes a bucket of water and empties it into it. The water hardly shows among them when she puts it on the fire. She does not touch it; but when it has been boiling a long time, she takes it off. Then she takes here large ladle and also dishes, and she dips it out into the dishes with her large ladle. As soon as all the dishes are full, she takes her spoons and gives one to each guest, an she spreads a food-mat in front of them. As last she takes up the dish and puts it down in front of her guests. Immediately they all eat with spoons; and after they have eaten with spoons, the wife of the host takes other small dishes and puts them down between the men and the food-dish. This is called “receptacle for the bones.” As soon as the guests find a bone, they throw it into the small dish; and they keep on doing this while they are eating. After they have finished eating with
spoons, they put their spoons into the dish from which they have been eating. Then they take the small dish in which the bones are, and put it down where the large dish had been, and they pickup the bones with their hands and put them into their mouths and chew them. Therefore this is called “chewed;” namely, boiled halibut-head. They chew it for a long time and suck at it; and after they finish sucking out the fat, they blow out the sucked bones; and they do not stop until all the bones have been sucked out. They the woman takes the small dishes and washes them out, and she pours some water into them down again before the guests. Then they wash their hands. As soon as they have done so, they drink; and after they have finished drinking, they go out. Then they finish eating the halibut-heads. Halibut-heads are not food for the morning, for they are too fat. They only eat them at noon and in the evening, because they are very fat; that is the reason why they are afraid to eat them, that it makes one sleepy.
- From Kwakuitl Recipes (Genuine Kwakuitl Indian recipes from NW Coast circa 1914.)
http://www.hallman.org/indian/recipe.html
Deep Fried Field Rat
4 mature rats or 8 small rats
10-15 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Skin and gut the rats, removing the head and toes. Mix garlic, salt, and pepper into a paste, spread on the meat, then place in direct sunlight for 6 to 8 hours, until dry. Fry in deep vegetable oil for about 6-7 minutes, until crispy and yellow in color. Serve with sticky rice, sweet-sour sauce, fish sauce, or a hot chili paste, and raw vegetables.
From “Strange Foods: Bush Meat, Bats, and Butterflies, an Epicurean Adventure Around the World” by Jerry Hopkins; photos by Michael Freeman, North Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 1999
- From Recipes of the Damned (Real scary recipes from real scary vintage cookbooks.)
http://www.batemania.com/recipes/
Papaya Peach Kudzu Pudding
1-2 fresh peaches, blanched*, and sliced
3 cups of peach juice
1/2 cup papaya concentrate
2 cups of soy milk
5 Tbsp. Kudzu
*Blanching: Skins can be removed from peaches by boiling some water. Turn water off and put peaches in. Let them stand about 5 minutes...skin should easily peel off.
1.Dissolve kudzu in a small amount of the peach juice or water.
2.Combine in a saucepan with other ingredients and cook over a medium flame till the pudding thickens.
3.Stir well so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Pudding will thicken more when cool.
- From MightyNatural.com
http://www.mightynatural.com/
Parrot Pie
12 Parakeets *
6 Thin slices of lean beef, 4
4 Rashers of bacon, 3
3 Hard-boiled eggs
1/2 tsp. Finely chopped parsley
1/4 tsp. Dried parsley
Finely grated lemon peel
Salt & pepper
Puff paste
Flour
* Parakeets are a small, long-tailed tropical parrot.
Prepare the birds, and truss them like a quail or any other small bird. Line a pie-dish with the beef, over it place 6 of the paraquets, intersperse slices of egg, parsley and lemon-rind, dredge lightly with flour, and season with salt and pepper. Cover with the bacon cut into strips, lay the rest of the birds on the top, intersperse slices of egg, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with parsley and lemon-rind as before; three-quarter fill the dish with cold water, cover with puff-paste, and bake in a quick oven.
Time: About 2-1/2 hours. SUFFICIENT for about 12 persons.
From Mrs. Beeton’s All About Cookery, Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, date unknown.
- From SOAR
http://soar.Berkeley.EDU/recipes/weird/recipe5.rec
Kangaroo Tail, Curried
1 Tail
2 oz. Butter
1 Tbs. Flour
1 Tbs.Curry powder
2 Onions, sliced
1 Sour apple cut into dice
1 Tbs. Lemon juice
3/4 pt. Stock
Salt
Wash, blanch and dry the tail thoroughly, and divide it at the joints. Fry the tail lightly in hot butter, take it up, put in the sliced onions, and fry them for a few minutes without browning. Sprinkle in the flour and curry-powder, and cook gently for at least 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the stock, bring to the boil, stirring meanwhile, and replace the tail in the stewpan. Cover closely, and cook gently until tender, then add the lemon-juice and more seasoning if necessary. Arrange the pieces of tail on a hot dish, strain the sauce over, and serve with boiled rice.
Time: from 2 to 3 hours. Yield: 6 servings.
From “Mrs. Beeton’s All About Cookery”, Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, date unknown.
http://www.interlog.com/~rosewood
- From Astray.com Recipes
http://www.astray.com/recipes/
Rocky Mountain Oysters (Montana Tendergroin)
2 pounds bull testicles (lamb/sheep, calf or turkey testicles can also be used)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup red wine
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
Louisiana Hot Sauce
hog lard (cooking oil can be substituted)
Split the tough skin-like muscle that surrounds each “oyster.” (use a sharp knife) You can also remove the skin easily if the “oysters” are frozen and then peeled while thawing. Set into a pan with enough salt water to cover them for one hour to remove some of the blood and drain. Transfer to large pot. Add enough water to float “oysters” and a generous tablespoon of vinegar. Parboil, drain and rinse. Let cool and slice each “oyster” into 1/4 inch thick ovals. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of sliced “oyster” to taste. Mix flour, cornmeal and some garlic powder to taste in a bowl. Roll each slice into this dry mixture. Dip into milk. Dip into dry mixture. Dip into wine quickly (repeat the procedure for a thicker crust). Place into hot cooking oil. Add Louisiana Hot Sauce to cooking oil (it’ll sizzle some, so be careful!). Cook until golden brown or tender, and remove with a strainer (the longer they cook, the tougher they get).
- From Testicle recipes, montana tendergroin, rocky mountain oysters and fries
http://www.funlinked.com/testicle/recipe.html
Frozen Ramen on a Stick
Cook ramens. Drain and mix in flavor packet. Transfer to paper or plastic cups and add a popsicle stick to each. Freeze. Makes a great after-school snack.
- From Ramen Recipe Page
http://www.mattfischer.com/ramen/recipe.html
Boiled Reindeer Head
Skin and wash the head. Then chop it in quarters, splitting it between the eyes with an axe. Cover with cold water and boil until soft. It can also be roasted in an open pan in an oven very slowly.
- From Axe-Woodsman Cookbook
http://www.visi.com/~wick/axe/cookbook.html
French Fried Skunk
If you want to surprise folks here is how to do it. The meat is darker than rabbit so tell guests it’s wild turkey.
2 skunks,skinned and cleaned
1 tablespoon salt
water to cover
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
2 egg yolks,beaten
3 cups milk or cream
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
Clean and wash the skunks, making sure that the scent glands are removed. Cut up into small serving pieces. Place a soup kettle on the stove and add the meat. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and boil until meat is tender, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove all the scum that rises to the surface. Make a batter by Mixing together the egg yolks, milk, flour, salt and baking powder. Mix thoroughly until batter has the consistency of cake batter. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep fryer at 360 degrees F. Dip the pieces of skunk in the batter, then fry them in the deep fryer until golden brown. Drain well and serve.
- From Buckskinner Cookbook
http://www.coon-n-crockett.org/cookbook.htm
Sheep’s Head Soup
Head, liver and lungs of 1 sheep
4 qts. water
Onion
Carrots
Turnips
1/2 lb. pearl barley
Pepper and salt
Cloves
Marjoram
Parsley
Thyme
Butter
Flour
1/2 c. sherry
Sheep’s heart (optional)
Cut the liver and lights [lungs] into pieces, and stew them in four quarts of water, with some onion, carrots and turnips; half a pound of pearl barley, pepper and salt, cloves, a little marjoram, parsley, and thyme. Stew all these until nearly sufficiently cooked, then put in the head, and boil it until quite tender. Take it out, and strain everything from the liquor, and let it stand until cold, them remove the fat from the top. Before serving it must be thickened with flour and butter, as though it were mock turtle. A wine glassful of sherry should be put into the tureen before the soup is poured in. The heart cut into small pieces with rump steak makes an excellent pudding.
- From Godey’s Lady’s Book, 1863
- From The Civil War Cookbook Online
http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/cookbooksoups.htm
NOW - I’ll stand by for the yuks and other ‘How Could You’ comments.. :)
Gotta be prepared for anything.....
