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?