Tuesday, August 20, 2013

An Appetite for Cookbook Research




Hi, all! I’m delighted to be a Stitches Thru Time author and blogger. Thanks so much for joining me here.

You’re not likely to find me flipping channels looking for the Food Network. Fact is my hubby does most of the cooking and baking at our house. But don’t ask me to write about a new setting without a cookbook from the time period and location.
I turned to The Oregon Trail Cookbook, A Historical View of Cooking, Traveling, and Surviving on the Trail and Frontier Chuckwagon Cookin’ for culinary inspiration and cultural tidbits for my new Hearts Seeking Home Series.
Here’s a sample from The Oregon Trail Cookbook, A Historical View of Cooking, Traveling, and Surviving on the Trail:
“Originally called ‘The Emigrant Road’ by the early pioneers, the route commonly became known as ‘The Oregon Trail’ and later as ‘The Overland Trail.’ Regardless of its name, emigrants always referred to it as ‘the road’ and not a ‘trail.’”

Sourdough Griddle Cakes
2 c. sourdough starter
4 c. warm water

4 T. oil
1 tsp. salt
4 T. sugar
5 c. flour
2 eggs
½ c. condensed milk
2 tsp. baking soda

Mix starter, flour and warm water the night before. Reserve 2-3 cups to replenish starter. To what is left, add eggs, oil and milk; over dough and gently fold in. Let rise 3-4 minutes. Fry on hot griddle. Serve immediately.
I can almost smell the griddle cakes Caroline Milburn cooked over the coals of a campfire in Prairie Song.

And here's a sampling from Frontier Chuckwagon Cookin’ by L. Baxter Lane . . .
Hiccough Cure for Children
Many children are subject to this distressing complaint. A lump of sugar saturated with vinegar and given to the little one to suck will relieve it instantly. This is the recipe of a French physician. “

I thought that last tidbit was especially fun because Dr. Le Beau, the physician on the trail in Prairie Song, is a Frenchman.

I also found a pie recipe that someone in the Boone’s Lick Wagon Train Company is sure to adapt and make in the next book in the series.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup light corn syrup
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
 
Melt chocolate and butter over boiling water. Boil syrup and sugar together for 2 minutes, add chocolate mixture. Pour slowly over eggs, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and nuts. Turn into unbaked pie shell. Bake in 375 degree oven for 45-50 minutes. Cool. Top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Are you ready to hit the Oregon Trail with your covered wagon and a cooking-over-a-campfire cookbook? Do you have a favorite cookbook you’d take along for the journey?

 

17 comments:

  1. Mona, I just have to say Yum, I have to print this off just so I can make the recipes and eat some. Well, I don't know that need the hiccough remedy. But my grandmother used to make sourdough pancakes all the time. And that pecan pie. Hubby's from Georgia, and that's a staple there I believe.

    thank you so much for the recipes.

    As for a cookbook, I have one with recipes from some older ladies in Colorado and a cookbook with old trail chili recipes. That might work.


    Tina Pinson

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    1. Hi Tina! Great to see you here. Happy recipe making! And blessings. Mona

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  2. What a wonderful way to research a setting and time period! I love cookbooks, especially community cookbooks. They are always full of wonderful recipes and other interesting tidbits. One of my favorite cookbooks is a community cookbook my mother gave me years ago.

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    1. Thanks, Britney. A FUN way too. I have a cookbook from the church we attended when I was in high school. So many favorite recipes in there. Blessings to you! Mona

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  3. I often read cookbooks like novels. I enjoy reading the wonderful names of the dishes, the ingredients and who submitted the recipes. I have been a recipe collector for years. Those old standby cookbooks that you keep going back to are my favorites.

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    1. Good to see you here, Melanie. I'm with you...I love the added details. Blessings! Mona

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  4. Cookbooks are a great way to preserve history. I've been surprised at how similar the recipes form the past are to today except that they weren't concerned with calories back then, but didn't have to be since they did so much physical labor. Also, food preservation was a much bigger problem before refrigeration.

    Enjoyed your post.

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    1. Hi Elaine! Agreed--a wonderful way to visit and preserve history. So glad you enjoyed the post. Mona

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  5. What a great way to research! I think I might get distracted, though, with all the food. :-) Love this angle. Since I write more contemporary things, I'm thinking regional cookbooks would also be good to check out - especially for an area I'm unfamiliar with. Thanks!

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    1. And a fun way too, Jennifer! Happy cookbook research. Mona

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  6. Those sourdough pancakes sound wonderful. I love looking through old recipe books. Great post.

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    1. Hi, Patricia. Yes, a nice lazy Saturday morning breakfast recipe. Would you eat yours with coffee or tea?

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  7. Interesting post, and I love the new blog! I have a few of my mom's old cookbooks and they're fun to look through - like the Spry Cookbook from the 50s ("Just what every new bride needs!")

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    1. Thanks for joining us here, Peggy! So glad you enjoyed the post. Mona

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  8. I'm a cookbook fan(atic), too. At one time I took 200 cookbooks to the Goodwill. I think I've almost replenished my stock, though! Hadn't really thought about them in terms of research for writing. It makes perfect sense. Thanks, Mona!

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    1. Hi, Jan. Good to see you here. Glad you enjoyed the post. Blessings! Mona

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