Old timey recipes at Going Home
FROM DAYS OF LONG AGO
Mom put the large garden to good use by canning every type of vegetable imaginable, and from the cherry trees, apple, peaches, strawberries and rhubarb, winter never caught us without a good meal on the table. That is practically a lost art now and this page is dedicated to all the knowledge that has been replaced with store items. Canning time was a time that we all sat on the front porch with our bushels of beans to snap, tomatoes to peel and cabbage to chop for some of the best sauerkraut you ever ate. It was a time for chatting and gallons of coffee as the assembly line of garden goodies were being readied for canning.
Time doesn't allow people the luxury of creating their own winter pantry now,but I hope the following recipes and remembrances will bring pleasure to those people who grew up the same way and just good reading for those who are happy for the modern conveniences. I have a storehouse of really outdated recipes that are still delicious in any era.
I hope you enjoy my scrapbook of memories and submit your own.
2 tbs. lard
1 tsp. salt
2 ears dried corn, shelled
In hot skillet melt lard. Add salt and shelled corn. Stir until dark brown. Remove from skillet and let cool.
This is from their 1977 cookbooklet:
2 squares Baker's
unsweetened
chocolate
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
Dash of salt
3 cups whole milk
Melt chocolate in the
water
over low heat stirring until mixture is well
blended and smooth. Add
sugar
and salt and boil 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Gradually stir in the milk
then heat thoroughly. Just before serving, beat with
a whisk or an electric
beater
until frothy. Makes about 1 quart or 5-6 servings.
Jan
Fri, 27 Sep 2002
"Katy"
Newsgroups:
rec.food.recipes
This recipe comes from
the
1953 "The Encyclopedia of Cooking";
2 oz. (squares) baking
chocolate
1 c. water
3 tbs. sugar
Dash salt
3 c. milk
Cook chocolate and water
over
low heat until chocolate is melted. Add sugar
and salt; boil 5 minutes,
stirring constantly. Add milk gradually, stirring
constantly and heat over
boiling
water. Beat until frothy before serving.
Serves 6
**Place a long stick of
cinnamon
into the hot chocolate and top with whipped
cream.
When I was a child, cocoa
was a big luxury and cinnamon sticks or whipped cream would have been a
luxury we didn't have. We just enjoyed that hot cocoa, especially on a
cold walk from school in the winter snows that fell so heavily at times.
I saw this recipe on the newsgroup as shown below and thought this would stir a remembrance in some of you.Unfortunately,the poster didn't apply their name to the recipe so I am unable to give credit where it is due.Thank you whoever you are !
Date: 17 Jan 2001
Newsgroups: rec.food.historic
Here's the recipe I use for hard tack:
4 - 4.5 c. flour
2 c. water
6 pinches salt
Mix, knead, and roll to
.5"
thick. Cut to shapes and sizes desired.Put on greased cookie sheet and
bake at 425º F for 20 minutes.Turn tack pieces over and bake 10 to
20
minutes
more. If you stop here its fairly edible although
it doesn't keep as well as
finishing it.
To finish it, reduce oven heat to 200º F. and bake 2 to 48 hours more.
A terrific way to eat hard tack, assuming you can cook where you are, make Skilly-Skally.
Skilly-Skally is made by
soaking
hard tack for anywhere from
15 minutes to overnight in
cold water. (The more cured the tack, the longer the soak.) Drain. Fry
the soaked tack in pork fat. Drain, and sprinkle with
sugar.Tastes
rather like pie crust cookies!
Gather tender leaves and
blossoms
when full grown. Dry at room temperature. when dry, rub into small
particles.
Seal in jars. This will help it to retain flavor. One teaspoon to
each cup of boiling water.
Brew in cup or in teapot as you would oriental tea. Sweeten with honey.
corn cobs
Take about a peck of
nice,
clean corn cobs. After the corn has been cut from the cob, put the cobs
in a large kettle of water, enough to cover cobs. Boil for 2 hours,
then
strain
off juice. Make a syrup of
brown sugar (make dark syrup) or white sugar make a light syrup. Both
taste
like maple syrup.
Mix one part sugar to 2
parts
juice. Cook slowly until it becomes slightly thick like syrup. Bottle
tightly.
Can hardly tell from the real pure maple syrup. Good over hot cakes.
Boil 8 medium sized Irish
potatoes
until done and mash
them until there are no
lumps.
Add 1 quart of lukewarm water,
1/2 cup sugar, 1 level
tablespoon
of salt and 1 cake of good
yeast (compressed or dry).
Put this mixture in a bowl. Cover
and set in warm place for
several hours. At the end of that
time, stir thoroughly. Pour
into quart jars, filling them about
2/3 full and put tops in
place
but do not fasten tightly. Keep
in a cold place and use it
when it is 24 hours old.
This yeast is good for
several
days if kept cool. One
cup of yeast will raise one
quart of flour quickly. If there
is to spare, 1/2 cup will
answer the purpose. Before using the
liquid or potato yeast,
always
shake the jar in order that the
potato and the yeast plants
may be distributed evenly. When
making a second quantity of
yeast, you may use a cup of the old
yeast as a starter instead
of a cake of dry or compressed
yeast.
Per Carla Emery:
Select plump, round,
sweet
acorns.Shell and brown in oven. Grind in a
coffee mill and use as
ordinary
coffee.
Hull out a half cup of
small
acorns. Add a half cup cracked wheat.
Mix. Roast in your oven.
Pound
in a mortar. Boil with water to get your
coffee.Add honey, molasses,
or brown sugar to sweeten.
Enjoy.
Pam
posted on:Newsgroups:
rec.food.preserving
1 c. sugar
1 c. milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. paw paws, peeled
and seeded
Place all ingredients
into
stew pan and stir together.
Cook over medium heat until
thickened. Pour into unbaked pie
shell and bake until the
crust
is done, can be topped with
meringue or other topping.
3 c. sugar
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. oil
4 eggs
2/3 c. water
1 c. paw paws
1 c. sweet potatoes
1 c. nutmeats, chopped
Sift dry ingredients. Mix
in
water. Add other ingredients; mix well. Bake in
oiled
pans for 1 hour in 350º oven.
To make pumpkin bread,
substitute
the paw paws and sweet
potatoes for 2 cups of
pumpkin.
Bread may be frozen for
later
use.
3 oz. sassafras bark,
dried
2 oz. sarsaparilla, dried
1 oz. dandelion root, dried
1 oz. burdock root, dried
1/2 oz. ground ginger
1/2 oz. ground cinnamon
1/4 oz. orange peel, dried
Mix together all
ingredients
and store in a tightly closed container. In a large pot combine 1 quart
of water and 4 tablespoons of dry mixture. Bring to a boil, cover and
simmer
for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey or if desired.
From The Wild Foods Cookbook by Cathy Johnson (Pelham)
1 cup violet flowers,
packed
down (remove stems)
Juice of one lemon or 1/2
cup orange juice
1/2 cup water plus 3/4 cup
1/2 cup liquid pectin *or*
1 pkg. powdered pectin
Blend violet blossoms,
lemon
and 1/2 cup water in food processor or
blender, forming a paste.
Boil pectin and 3/4 cup
water
for one minute, then add to blender.
Pack into jars and store in
the freezer.
From BUTTER AND CHEESEMAKING, V. Cheke and A. Sheppard:
"Butter for preservation without deep refrigeration must be made from good flavored cream produced under the most hygienic conditions. The cream should only be ripened to an acidity of 0.25 to 0.3% and should have a clean, slightly acid taste and smell.
"Method: Butter for preservation should be churned to a rather small grain,washed at least twice, and then brined for 20 minutes. The butter should then be removed from the brine, placed on the butter-worker [this is a device like a large rolling pin which is rolled over the butter at great pressure to squeeze the water and buttermilk out], and rolled five or six times in order to remove all superfluous moisture. The butter should be left on the worker if possible for 3-4 hours and then again rolled five or six times. During this second rolling dry salt should be added in the proportion of about 3/4 oz of salt to 1 lb. butter, and worked well into the butter, expelling as much moisture as possible. The texture of the butter is much less important than its required low moisture content.
"After the second working
the
butter was traditionally packed into a dry,
glazed earthenware
crock.
The crock must be free from cracks and be well washed and scalded
before
each use. The butter should be filled into the crock very firmly,
and there should be no air spaces whatsoever -- this can be achieved by
working the butter in the crock if large enough from the center
outwards
with a piece of clean, damp muslin over the closed fist. Finally
the butter should be leveled and covered with a layer of salt two
inches
thick.
The crock should be covered with parchment or greaseproof paper, tied down, and stored in a cool place until the butter is required for use. Butter thus potted should keep for 4-6 months.
"If the butter tastes
excessively
salty when required for use, it should be removed from the crock in
pieces
about the size of a walnut, allowed to stand in clean water for 30 to
40
minutes, and then reworked."
The apples that weren't canned for winter pies and cobblers found their way to the breakfast table to be eaten with fresh made biscuits.
This cake is a lot of work but without a doubt the best one I ever ate.Many years ago,there wasn't money to spend on desserts.At social gatherings,each woman would bring one layer of cake and it would be stacked ,one layer on top of another.In between the layers,jam,preserves or whatever was plentiful was used.Eventually,dried apples became the standard filling.
OLD FASHIONED DRIED APPLE CAKE
Fill
the layers with filling made from 1 1/2
pounds
dried apples, soaked overnight in
plenty
of cold water.
The
next day, run cold water over apples and
drain.
Add
some water to apples and cook on medium
heat
until tender
.
Stir
often
.
When
cooked down until all water is cooked out
of
apples, mash apple with potato masher
Then
add:
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
about 1/2 tsp. allspice
1.
Mix this really well
.
2.
Cook a little, stirring to keep from burning
.
3.
Spread between cake layers and on top of cake
.
4.
This will make 2 four layer cakes or one eight
layer
cake.
We always had a supply of dried apples as well as the ones canned. There wasn't any such thing as food dehydrators. The sun was our appliance.We would peel and cut the apples into thin slices.On clean pieces of window screening,these slices were spread in single layers,covered with cheesecloth to protect them and placed in the hot sun.Depending on the thickness of the apple slices,this process could take up to 24-48 hours,bringing them in at night to keep away from the night dampness.After the drying process,they were put in tight fitting jars or bags and would keep indefinitely.Great in fried pies,too!
Thanks for the visitor who sent this in. I had lost my mother's recipe and really appreciate it.
*The unique flavor of the fruit resembles a blend of various tropical flavors, including banana, pineapple, and mango. The flavor and custard like texture make pawpaws a good substitute for bananas in almost any recipe. The common names, ‘poor man’s banana,’ ‘American custard apple,’ and ‘Kentucky banana’ reflect these qualities.
from the Sept. 27, 1995
Frankfort
State
Journal
1/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. mashed pawpaw pulp
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
Cream 1/4 cup shortening with 1 cup sugar. Add 1 well beaten egg
and 1 cup mashed pawpaw. Sift together flour,baking powder and
baking soda. Stir into the creamed mixture. Add vanilla and
pour into an 8 inch square pan or two round layer cake pans. Bake
at 375º for 50 minutes. When cool, frost with cream cheese
thinned with milk or any simple white frosting. Decorate with
pawpaw slices.
*Kentucky State
University
Cooperative Extension Program
Cooking
with Paw Paws
4
Granny
Smith Apples
2-4
tbs. butter
2-4
tbs. brown sugar
1/4
tsp. cinnamon
Slice and core apples into about 12 slices per apple. Smaller slices cook quicker. Melt butter (Mom used a tad of bacon grease instead and so do I), add apples and cook slowly until they start to look clear. Cook more or less as to your personal preference. Add cinnamon. Cook to your taste, add brown sugar and let butter and brown sugar caramelize.
Grandpa had a huge strawberry patch so we had every strawberry dish known to mankind I believe.
1/2
c.
butter, at room temperature
8
medium
strawberries, cleaned and sliced
3
tbs.
powdered sugar
grated
peel of one lemon
Smash the berries and blend with other ingredients to a fairly smooth consistency.
This recipe fascinates me.Our ancestors were wise in preservation of food.
Prepare cherries or
strawberries
for preserves. Combine with an equal weight of sugar. Heat slowly to
boiling.
Stir frequently. Boil slowly 8
minutes. Let stand
overnight.
Pour into shallow dishes or pans. Cover with glass. Set in hot sun for
several days or until juice has thickened and fruit is plump. the
juice of 1 lemon may be added to each 2 pounds of fruit if desired.
7
lb.
watermelon rind, being sure to avoid the green part of the rind
2 1/2
qt.. water
1/3
c. salt
6 1/2
c. brown sugar
2 c.
vinegar
1 c.
water
1 tbs.
whole cloves
2
cinnamon
cloves
2
lemons
Pare
off the outer green from watermelon rind and cut into 1" cubes.
Put
in a large bowl and pour over them the salt and water mixed. Let
soak for three days. Drain and let stand in fresh water for one
hour.
Make
a syrup of sugar, vinegar, water and spices. Cut the
lemon
(rind and all) paper thin. Put melon and lemon into hot syrup and
boil until watermelon is clear. Seal in jars.
5
c. green tomatoes
4 c.
sugar
6 oz.
raspberry Jell-O (2pkgs.)
In blender, process tomatoes; add sugar. Boil 20 minutes. Skim. Add Jell-O, stir. Pour into sterilized jars. It must be kept refrigerated. Can also be frozen.
Mom never owned a blender in her life and all chopping was done with this little gadget that was created for chopping cabbage but she used it for anything that needed chopping in large amounts.
You can make jam not only out of figs but zucchini that tastes like strawberry jam. It is really good.
6 c. zucchini; peeled & grated
6 c. sugar
3/4 c. crushed pineapple; and juice
1/2 c. lemon juice
2 3 oz boxes strawberry
flavored
Jello
Stir zucchini and sugar together in large pot. Heat, uncovered on medium stirring a few times until it comes to a boil. Boil gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add pineapple with juice and lemon juice. Stir. Return to boil. Boil, uncovered for 6 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Stir in Jell-O until it
dissolves.
Skim off foam. Pour into hot sterilized jars to within 1/4 inch
of
top. Seal.
Mom and Daddy always went into Virginia in the fall to get bushels of their juicy apples to can dozens of quarts for winter.They sure tasted good when there was a big snow on the ground along with a pot of Mom's wonderful vegetable soup.
10 quarts
sliced cooking apples -- peeled
7 c. sugar
juice of 1 or 2 lemons
Place the apples in a
large
crock or bowl. Add the sugar and lemon
juice; stir gently to blend
well. Allow them to stand overnight so the
apples will release their
juices.The next day, lift the apple slices from the juice, using a
slotted
spoon, and fill the quart canning jars 3/4 full. Heat the juice to the
boiling point and pour over the apples to within an inch of the tops of
the jars. Process to can, or use within 2 weeks.
This
recipe
can easily be halved.
4 1/2 apples, washed (but
not
peeled or cored)
3 c. water
red food coloring
4 1/2 c. sugar
Chop apples, core and all
in
a food processor into about 1/2" pieces. Place in pot with water; cover
and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until apples are soft. Let cool
slightly
and mash apples. Pour through a sieve, add few drops of red food
coloring
and add sugar, mix well.
makes about 5 cups
Note:We never owned a food processor,so just chop in small pieces.I also watched Mom make the jelly out of the peelings alone but don't have her recipe.
A winter pantry would always have several quarts of these:
2
c.
white vinegar
2 c.
water
green
peppers
garlic
bay
leaves
salt
Wash green peppers and remove seeds. Slice and pack in pint size canning jars with 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, 2 bay leaves and 1/2 tsp. salt in each jar. Bring water and vinegar (half and half in whatever amount is needed to a boil and pour into jars. Seal immediately.
Linda and Dan--thanks for passing this recipe along.Mom always kept quarts of these on the shelf.
2 lbs. string beans
2½ c. water
2½ c. vinegar
½ c. canning salt
In each jar:
½ clove garlic
sprig of fresh dill
3 or 4 peppercorns
bay leaf or pepper
Bring water, vinegar and
salt
to a boil.
Put green beans in jars.
Pour
hot liquid over beans. Put on lids and
seal in hot water for about
10 minutes.
I used to get into all kinds of trouble for messing with the crock ,wanting this to be ready.
Wash
& dry cabbage then shred into small pieces so salt can penetrate.
Weigh
out about 1 oz. salt per 2 1/2 lbs of cabbage. Mix salt into
cabbage.
Pack salted cabbage in stoneware crock, enamelware or glass. Don't use
metal.
Press
down firmly to help extract juices. Cover with cloth and weight down
with
something.You can use a small plastic garbage bag with water in
it.
Tie top and it forms to the crock so no air gets in side.
Check
after 24 hrs. If brine does not cover cabbage add solution of 1 tsp.
salt
per cup of water. Check fermentation regularly. Remove scum and
change
cloth if dirty. Keep at room temperature until no bubbles rise to
surface
(two to five weeks). Let the cabbage ferment at about 70 degrees F. For
long term storage, can by boiling water bath method.
Any
Ball Canning book can give you instructions.
This
will lock your jaws together and you'll never want store bought kraut
again.
By Elizabeth Malone
I was born in Akins So.
Carolina
way back in the woods. Our family lived in tiny shacks.
There was no inside
plumbing.
We had an outhouse and took baths in big tubs; however,we grew our own
garden, my mother was a very hard worker. She did the chores, milked
the
cows, and made clothes for us "youngins". We canned everything we could
for the winter. It takes a lot of hard work. This has been passed down
from generation to
generation. In addition,
this
Hillbilly Sour Kraut is great with beans and corn bread. I'm sharing my
family's little secret with you. "Hope
you all like it, you hear!"
Ingredients
1 5 gal. crock jar
25 lbs. of cabbage (green)
1 lb. of salt
1 large clean crock
2 white tea towels
Wash cabbage then chop 3 or 4 heads of cabbage at a time. Then pack cabbage down with fist tight into jar. If you're going to use peppers in this, you should use rubber gloves. Then add a little layer of salt on top. Put whole cores from cabbage in.
Keep adding cabbage,
layers
of salt and cores till jar is full. As you pack cabbage into jar you
will
have a lot of water. Save it for later use. When all full, tuck 1 white
tea towel on top of cabbage push down on sides 'til no cabbage is
showing.
Place a large clean rock on top of cabbage, then tie the other white
tea
towel over jar. Let jar set 7 days in hot place, not in the house for
its
going to smell. Check daily to be sure water is on top, as it goes down
use the water you saved. After 7 days pack cabbage into wide mouth jars
and store in refrigerator.
Well,one day,after our
"company"
,who were relatives, came for another visit (which by this time was
about
every other day)my dad decided his girls had been handed a biscuit once
too often and Mom had washed enough dishes for this crowd.The company's
kids were given this biscuit treatment.It wasn't long afterwards,the
"company"
descended on another family member.This was the end of the "old
cold
tater" custom at our house.That fried chicken was shore better than
the cold tater or biscuit let me tell you.
If you've ever raised okra,you know how it is.It seems like you wait for months while the plants just stand there.Suddenly,when one pod is ready for pickin' the kitchen is suddenly overrun with okra pods that have to be picked daily unless you need a vegetable that turns as tough as leather overnight.Here's a good way to use some of the okra.
Of course,there's still
nothin'
better than deep fried okra in my books.
3 1/2 lb. small okra pods
3 c. vinegar
4 cloves garlic
1/3 c. canning salt
2 sm. hot peppers, cut in half
2 tsp. dill seed
3 c. water
Pack okra firmly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Put a garlic clove and half a pepper in each jar. Combine water, vinegar, salt and dill seed and bring to a boil. Pour hot liquid over okra, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: about 4 pints.
Note: When cutting hot
peppers
or seeding, use rubber gloves to prevent burning
hands.
Although Dad grew every
vegetable
possible, tomatoes were his hobby, and he was always trying
different
types and was known for his bumper crops. The man knew
what
fertilizer to use and exactly when to use. I think Mom used to beg
people
to come by for a free bushel before they took over the back porch where
they were placed in the shade after picking.
I still prefer the store
bought
kind,but Mom and Dad liked their homemade version better.
4 qts. tomatoes, peeled,
seeded and chopped very fine, then
mashed
1 pint vinegar
3 red peppers, chopped very
fine then mashed
3 tbs. salt
2 tbs. dry mustard
2 tbs. black pepper, finely
ground
2 tbs. allspice, finely
ground
Put ingredients in pot
and cook slowly (simmered but not boiled),
stirring often. Tomatoes
should disintegrate, making tomato
sauce. Peppers probably will
not fall apart, so if you enjoy chunky
catsup leave them in, if
not, strain them out. When reduced to
preferred consistency,
remove from heat and let cool. Pack in
bottles and refrigerate, or
sterilize as you would other canned
food and keep in pantry.
Ketchup--This version is closer to store bought ketchup. Of course,back then there was no such thing as a food processor.YOU were the processor.
1 gallon tomato juice
2 onions-chopped very fine
in food processor
2 tbs. pickling salt
2 tsp. pickling
spice-wrapped
in a cheese cloth bag
2 c. sugar
3 c. white vinegar
Cook slowly for hours or
until
the right consistency for ketchup. Put in clean pint jars and hot water
bath 15 mins.
5
large
tomatoes, very ripe
3 1/2
c. sugar
2
lemons,
juice and shredded rind
1/2
c. crystallized ginger, chopped
Pour boiling water over tomatoes. Let sit for 30 seconds, then remove to cold water. Gently remove skins. Chop tomatoes into small cubes. Cover with sugar and let stand 1 hour. Combine lemon juice and rind with tomato mixture. Cut up ginger and mix in to tomato mixture. Cook over medium low to medium heat, stirring frequently, 'til thickened -about 30 minutes. Makes 1 1/2 pints.
Isn't it amazing what wonderful things used to grow wild and free?
3
pounds mulberries -- ripe
1/2
cup fresh lemon juice -- strained
7
c. sugar
1 bottle liquid pectin
Measure 3 cups into a very large saucepan. Add lemon juice and sugar, and mix well. Put over high heat and bring to boil, stirring constantly. At once stir in pectin.
Important. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove
from heat, skim off foam with metal spoon, and pour quickly into hot
sterilized
jars. Seal. Makes about eight 1/2 pint jars.
* Careful. The juice easily stains things red.
Of course,Mom and Dad raised their own beets,but I use this recipe with canned beets and can't tell the difference.People who don't usually care for beets like these.Good with a pot of pinto beans and cornbread.
2 can small beets (10 oz
cans)
1/2 c. white vinegar
3/4 c. white sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
In a small saucepan,
bring
the vinegar to boil and add the sugar slowly until
dissolved - stir constantly.
Open the cans of beets and
retain the juice
from one can. Add the beets (whole) to the boiling vinegar/sugar.
Add the retained beet juice
(about 1/4 cup
worth). Add salt & pepper. Boil for about 2 minutes and then
remove from heat.
Sterilize
two sealing jars (about 10 - 12 oz capacity). Put beets into sterilized
jars, cover with the vinegar/sugar solution and seal with
lids. Let stand several days before serving. This is a sweet pickle
best
served cold. Excellent with beef and pork.
Mom and Dad always raised
beets in their garden. Mom would cook the greens and pickle the beets.
Yummy.
These eggs are wonderful.
Pickled Beets
beets
eggs,
hard boiled
1/4
c. brown sugar
1/2
c. vinegar
1/2
c. water, cold
1
small
cinnamon stick
3
cloves
Boil young beets until tender. Skin and cover with liquid made by combining the brown sugar, vinegar, water, a small piece of cinnamon, and 3 or 4 whole cloves. Let beets stand in this mixture for several days. Remove and add whole hard boiled shelled eggs to the liquid and let pickle for 2 days before using.
Long after the good batter fried yellow squash has gone the way of summer and winter snows set in, squash was in the menu a different way. These are really great.
5
lb.
squash
4 c.
onions
2
medium
bell peppers
3/4
c. salt
2 qt.
ice cubes
1 tsp.
black pepper
5 c.
sugar
1 1/2
tsp. turmeric
2
tbs.
mustard
5 c.
vinegar
2
tb..
celery seed
Wash
squash and cut into 1/4x1/8 inch slices. Cut onions and pepper
the
same way. Place in a large container, sprinkle with salt and add
ice. Cover and let stand 3 hours. Drain and rinse.
Mix
sugar, turmeric, mustard, vinegar, celery seed and pepper in a big
pot.
Place on medium heat to below boiling point. Add other
ingredients.
Heat the same and place in jars.
This recipe calls for extra work,but you get a really fine pickle with this recipe.
The term Bread and Butter came from the thought the pickles were good enough to be eaten every day--just like you would bread and butter.
EIGHT DAY BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES
8 qt. cucumbers
4 c. vinegar
2 tsp. pickling spice
8 c. sugar
5 tsp. salt
Place cucumbers in a
crock;
pour boiling water over to cover each day for
four days. Use fresh water
each day. Keep crock covered and cool. On the fifth day, cut cucumbers
into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces. Mix other ingredients and bring to a boil.
Pour
over cut-up cucumbers in crock. Reheat this syrup each day for four
days
and pour over cucumbers. Keep covered and cool at all other times.
Pack cucumbers in jars and fill with heated syrup, leaving 1/2" head space, then seal.
Recently
I fried some green tomatoes for my supper and my daughter-in-law wanted
to try a bite. She fell in love with them and was amazed at their
natural sweetness.Well, as much as I loved fried green tomatoes as a
child,
when I was given Pickled Green Tomatoes, I wasn't too sure. Now ,
you would think I invented them as much as I love their taste.
15
lb..
(2 gal) green tomatoes the fresher, the better)
1 c.
pickling salt
1/2
tbs. powdered alum
2 qt.
boiling water
2 c.
cider vinegar
5 c.
sugar
2
sticks
of cinnamon
1
handful
of whole cloves
Arrange
the tomatoes in layers in a large bowl, unless you have a pickle crock
to use, and sprinkle the layers with salt. Let stand
overnight.
The next days, drain, sprinkle with the alum, and pour the boiling
water
over them. Let stand for 20 minutes.
Drain,
rinse, and drain again. In an enamel or stainless steel
preserving
kettle combine cider vinegar, sugar and the spices, tied in a
cheesecloth
bag. (This bag should be left in the syrup 'til the very
end.)
Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved and boil rapidly for
3 minutes. Pour the syrup over the tomatoes and let stand
overnight.
Next day, drain off syrup and bring to a boil. Pour over tomatoes
and let stand again overnight. On the fourth day, put syrup and
tomatoes
into the kettle, bring to a boil and simmer until the tomatoes are
transparent.
Pack the tomatoes into hot jars.
Boil
the syrup until it becomes very thick or spins a long thread.
Remove
the spice bag and pour the syrup over the fruit, filling the jars and
seal.
Makes 8 qt..
Over thirty years ago, a friend went with me to Kentucky to visit my mother. She had a fit over the "shucky" beans my mother cooked and still mentions them. What I'd give to have a big bowl right now and my mother still on this earth to join me. The name "shucky" comes from the fact they sound like dried corn shucks before cooking.
String
and snap a bushel of the freshest green beans you can get your hands
on.
Do not do the following if you live in a humid area because they'll
never
dry correctly but use a food dehydrator or a slow oven instead.
Get
a large eyed needle and white thread, string this beans on whatever
length
you want and spread on clean screens. Place in the hot sun (bring
in at night) for about three days or until they should like rustling
corn
shucks. You can hang them in a non humid place or store them in
dry
sealed jars. Cook as you would any green bean and please cook
with
a little salt pork. A pot of green beans was never meant to be
cooked
with butter and left half raw. A few new potatoes set on top of
the
green beans a little before they're done gives you a meal cooked for a
king.
Mom would have disagreed with me on this recipe since her fresh green beans were always cooked with salt pork and a little dab of lard,not shortening.They sure were good.However,these beans are also good.
2-3
lb.
ham or ham bone
green
beans
potatoes
onion
salt
and pepper
Place
ham in large pot and cover with water. Cook slowly for a couple hours,
keeping plenty of water on the ham. Clean and break-up the green beans,
put them in with the ham and cook for 25 minutes. Add the
potatoes
which have been pared and cut up and add the onions.Cook slowly until
ready.Season
to taste.Note:Without trying to sound like an expert,cook your green
beans
down dry before serving.Shake the pot until all liquid has
evaporated.You'll
find a better tasting bean.
I grew up on this recipe and still enjoy this with cornbread,especially during cool weather.It's a good stick-to-your-bones meal.
Pick over the contents of a l pound bag of large,dried lima beans to make sure there are no rocks or debris.Place in a large pot with twice more water than beans. Add ham and simmer slowly until beans become tender and broth thickens.Let this simmer,not boil.About twenty minutes before serving,add black pepper to taste and salt if needed.The cooking time depends.Just check for tenderness.A little water may be needed,but don't add any more than you have to.The "soup" needs to be left thick.Serve with hot water cornbread and you're ready to eat.
Note:Sausage links are good used in this dish also. Mom never used anything but salt pork in any of her beans and to be honest, I still think there's no better substitute.
1/2
c. raw rice
3 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
(see note if using
already-cooked rice)
1 1/3 c. condensed milk
2 tbs. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Cook rice with salt
until tender (can also used leftover rice
from
dinner the night before, just omit salt, add a little water
and reheat.) Stir in milk and
vanilla
and heat to a simmer, then lower the heat. Add eggs and stir
constantly for five minutes. Add raisins and stir in. When serving,
sprinkle
top with nutmeg and cinnamon.
1
pkg.
yeast
1/4
c. warm water
2
tbs.
lard (yes, lard)
1/2
c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp.
salt
3 1/2
c. flour
1 c.
warm milk
Soften yeast in warm water. Cream lard and sugar. Beat in eggs and salt. Stir in 1 1/2 c cups flour. Stir in milk and yeast; mix well. Add remaining flour. Let double, punch down and let rise again in a well greased tube pan until doubled. Bake at 325ºfor 10 minutes, then raise oven to 375º for 20 minutes.
Tip:
Make sure eggs are always at room temperature when making bread. In
case
you forget, just place them in a bowl of warm water while you're
gathering
the other ingredients and they will be warm by the time they're needed.
Note:
The few times I ever had any of this bread left over the next day, I
would spread a little butter on it and run it under the toaster.
Delicious with your morning coffee. Of course, a dab of
strawberry preserves would sure taste good on it, too.
As told by Sarah Bean
Romeril
(born 1851)
to Maude Romeril Shurtz
(born
1896) her daughter
We had a wooden barrel
churn
to make butter. The children all took turns in doing the
churning. One day, I got the churning under way and left Vilate and
Maude
to finish it, while I went to
Raymond
with our horse and wagon. The girls must have had the cream too cold as
they churned it for hours and it still it didn't come. They even put
spoons
in the churn, thinking the spoons would help the cream splash around
and hasten the process. When I came home, I could see how hard they had
been working at it, so we put it away for another day.
As we churned the cream it got thick and then it separated into thin buttermilk and little chucks of butter. We'd drain off as much buttermilk as possible. Then it was washed to get all the buttermilk out so it would not go sour. To wash it, it was worked with a wooden pat and clean water. Salt was added, and mixed in, then it was printed with a butter mold into pounds with crosses on top that made it look very nice. Finally, it was wrapped in butter paper and put in the cellar to keep it cool until it could be taken into town and traded at the general store. What was left was made into nice round pats, crossed on top with the butter pat, and this was used for our table.
Before we had a cream separator, I set the milk in milk pans, set them on shelves in the cellar, and marked the pans A.M. or P.M. with chalk. Then in about 24 hours the cream was skimmed off the milk for churning. Maude always liked to lick the skimmer afterwards. She liked cream very much...
Al Durtschi, E-mail: mark@waltonfeed.com
Home Page: http://waltonfeed.com/
1/2 pint water
4 tbs. butter
1 tsp. flour
Heat water to boiling. While
water is heating cream butter with
flour.
(Mash together with fork
until blended smooth.) Drop butter-flour
mix in water and boil until
thickened. Stir to keep smooth.
2 pt Salt
1 Ham
CURING
PROCESS-------------------------------
To salt down a ham you
will
again need a FRESH ham.
If at all possible, find
some
Jefferson Island Salt.
We have less trouble loosing
hams when we use that.
If not, use canning salt --
DO NOT USE IODIZED SALT.
For each ham use two pints
of salt. Rub salt in well to all sides of
ham, filling bone cavity.
I suppose that I
should
have told you prior to this
that you have to have a salt
box constructed of wood -- a very strong salt
box. It may have to
withstand
the assault of neighborhood dogs.
Box should be large enough
to hold hams in a single layer. (Ours is 3'x5'
on the bottom and about 2'
high.) Size doesn't matter much as long as hams don't butt up against
each
other and it's not so small that the dogs can move it. On to curing:
You
will have salt left after rubbing on hams.
Place a thin layer of the
salt
in the bottom of the box. Place ham on this,
skin side down. Pour
the
remaining salt on the ham. Place top on box
and secure. Find a handy
calendar
and mark down three weeks. Okay, ham comes
up then. Wash salt off ham and LIBERALLY coat with black pepper. (Use
dust
mask from workshop if pepper bothers you.) Place in cloth sack (old
pillow
case will do nicely) and hang. Do not cut for at least 6 months, 1 year
is better.
All of this should be done
when the temp is 35 to 50 degrees.
Good luck. No guarantees.
(Sugar cure is better!)
Virginia (KY)
What
else takes you back to yesterday any more than lemonade? When the steam
of summer is rising and the heat makes you long for the cooler days of
fall, you can chase away the grumpies with a glass of real lemonade.
"Too
much trouble you say". Not if you do it this way. The flavor of
this
drink won't be found in the powders you buy at the grocery.
First of all make Sugar Syrup:
In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups sugar and 2 1/2 cups water.Set over moderate heat and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture boils and sugar dissolves completely. Remove Sugar Syrup from heat, cover for 1 or 2 minutes to let the steam dissolve any unmelted crystals on the sides of the pan.
Pour into a quart jar, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator. Use to sweeten iced tea and make other cold drinks. Makes 3 cups.
Lemonade:
To make enough for a dozen servings, combine 2 cups of lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup of Sugar Syrup.Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator. When you are ready to use it, shake the mixture well, pour 1/4 cup into a glass, then add water and ice. For jiffy lemonade, use frozen lemon juice that has thawed, not lemonade concentrate , which can be very sweet.
If using real lemons, be sure to buy lemon that are heavy for their size. Before squeezing, bring them to room temperature or briefly microwave them at high about 30 seconds; then roll the fruit around the counter, pressing firmly with your palm. This will break up the pulp and release the juice.
1
quart
cold water
2 tbs.
tea leaves or 6 regular size tea bags
Sugar
Syrup to taste
In a large saucepan or teakettle, bring 2 cups cold water to a full rolling boil over high heat. Place tea in a teapot that has been rinsed out with boiling water. Slowly pour the 2 cups of boiling water into the teapot, cover, and steep tea 3 to 5 minutes. Stir tea once, strain tea leaves or remove tea bags. Add the remaining 2 cups of cold water and sweeten to taste with Sugar Syrup. To serve, pour into 4 tall ice filled glasses and garnish as desired (lemon wedges or mint leaves are nice.).
Did you know that teas should be brewed only in a glass, porcelain or enameled pot or pitcher; metal gives the tea a metallic taste. To avoid bitter tea, removed the tea bags after only 3 to 5 minutes of brewing time. Never squeeze the tea bags. (Doesn't that remind you of the old Charmin commercial with Mr. Whipple yelling, "Don't squeeze the Charmin"?)Well,don't squeeze the tea bags.
To
keep
iced tea from becoming watery as the ice cubes melt, start with a
strong
brew. As a rule of thumb, double the amount of tea or tea bags
you
would use for hot tea. You can also avoid watery tea by brewing
an
extra pot of tea and making iced tea cubes.
Sweet Tea:In the
South,sweet
tea is the most popular beverage.Put 1 cup of sugar into tea as soon as
the tea bags are removed and stir to dissolve. Stir to dissolve.After
cooling,add
enough water to make one gallon.Refrigerate any leftover tea.The longer
it stands,the sweeter it becomes.
This is still my favorite syrup.So good over biscuits or pancakes.
1 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. water
1 tbs. butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. maple flavoring
In a medium saucepan combine the corn syrup, brown sugar and water; simmer, stirring constantly until all the sugar is dissolved. Add butter, mix well and let cool. Stir in the maple flavoring, taste and add more if desired.
Note:We never bothered with the maple flavoring.The brown sugar gives a wonderful flavor all by itself.
Collect some freshly
fallen
clean snow and put in a bowl. Sprinkle some sugar in, add some vanilla
extract (not too much it's very strong - about 1/4 teaspoon), and milk.
Slush it all together. Add just enough milk to make a nice slushy
texture
and add as much sugar as you get away with! You can use a
dash
of different flavorings if you wish instead of the vanilla
extract.
Note*A
recent alert was put out about the root "sassafras" possibly causing
cancer.I
dearly love this tea and don't have the particulars of the report.With
the scares always being thrown at people,I can't say if a little bit of
the tea or a gallon a day causes the risk.You decide yourself.Just
thought
you'd be thrilled to have another "no-no" from the "experts" to add to
your ten mile long list.So far,getting out of bed in the morning
constitutes
a grave risk and the day goes downhill after that.Gives people a real
nice
attitude doesn't it?
Despite
all this,if you're lucky enough to have sassafras roots,let them
dry,clean
and then place a small amount of the root into a pot and bring to a
boil.Let
steep until desired strength,add a little sugar and enjoy a wonderful
cup
of tea.. Sassafras plants are easily identifiable by their sets of
various
mitten shaped leaves.
Many
years ago at the huge Farmer's Market in Dallas,Texas I came upon some
of these roots.Picking one up and enjoying the fragrance,I turned to
find
the farmer who had rented this space watching me.When he asked me if I
knew what it was,I readily told him and asked the price."Little
lady",he
said,"you're the only person so far who knows what that root is.Let me
fix you a bag to take home and enjoy.No charge".I never forgot his
kindness
nor that cup of tea later.That was to be the last time I ever found any
sassafras.
Follow up to this rantin'
and
ravin'.My buddy,Grey Squirrel ,who writes two of the Mountain Memories
pages must have thought I might "git the shotgun on the government
busybodies"
and decided he'd better send me a whole box full of sassafras.Shore is
good.That's one of the best gifts I've had in a long,long time.Thank
you
my friend.
If you saw a gallon of milk settin' on the counter in our house,you knew it was time to make butter.How I loved helping Mom with the churn.Besides that,I love buttermilk.A reader sent this in so if you would like a taste of yesterday,you may want to try making a dab of butter.
Beat or whisk the
cream
with a steady regularity. Continue beating
until part of it turns
butter like (sudden, hard texture) with
liquid ( buttermilk)
in the bowl. This happens after about 15
minutes. Pour the
buttermilk
out (you can save it to use for
something else) and
add cool water, beat gently some more, drain
again.
When the butter
beads
are completely washed, add a small amount of
salt. (1/4 t. of sea
or kosher salt to lb of butter). If you are
only making a tiny bit
you don't have to salt it because it will
be consumed quickly
with no spoilage. Beat the butter on a flat
surface (marble top
or clean counter) Use a rolling pin or flat
meat tenderizer large
wooden spoon to press out ALL the water you
can. Do not use any
plastic in the above steps. Do not store in
plastic. Use a glass
jar or a wooden box. Plastic will greatly
affect the taste.The
whole process takes about 30 minutes no matter
how much cream you
use.
Nicki
When
I was growing up, there was a custom called "Round Robin". Each
woman
would make a quilt square in her own home and finally everyone would
gather
together to join the random quilt squares to make one whole quilt.
Sometimes
this was done to keep each family warm, a lot of times the quilt was
sold
to earn money for the church or whatever the need was. Well, I
think
people should have a Round Robin in memories. Our lives are
stitched
together whether we realize it or not. We share the same
sky
and the same struggles of life. A lot of memories have passed
with
the death of our older relatives, and I truly believe we can all work
together
to piece together their history. Their history is "us". Please share
your
most precious recollections and stitch them to "my Quilt".
Old
Timey Wildplant recipes can be found here
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