Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Old-Fashioned Recipes

Michele Morris here on this amazing Tid-bit Tuesday!

I haven’t lived in Michigan in a long time, but I remember well the anticipation that would easily turn into frustration while we waited for spring to arrive.

Sunny days of sixty degrees followed by two inches of snow falling overnight are not uncommon this time of year.

I often would think of the early settlers and how they dealt with the finicky weather. Their food stores were low by now, and game still scarce. Fresh vegetables and fruit were months away from being available. Folks had to use what they had on hand.  

Here are a few recipes using things people from the 1800’s may have had at the end of a long winter.


Apple Snow Recipe

Makes 6 servings  -  prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
  • 6 good-sized apples
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • Juice of one lemon
  • Whites of six eggs
Pare, core and steam the apples until tender, then press them through a sieve and put aside to cool; when cold, add the sugar and lemon juice. Beat the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth, and add the apples to them by large spoonfuls, beating all the while. Serve immediately, in glasses.

Brown Bread

Into 3 ½ cups of boiling water mix:

1 teaspoon each soda, salt and molasses.
Mix in enough graham flour to make a stiff batter.
When the mixture cools down, stir in one pint of light sponge,
made from a cake of compressed yeast.
Put into buttered bread tins, and set in a warm place until very light.

Then bake in a rather quick oven.

This will make two medium sized loaves.

DOUGHNUTS (TWC Oct 27 1880) –

Heat one quart of new milk, but do not let it boil; add two teacupfuls of lard and three cupfuls the same size of sugar, either white or a light brown; when well melted, stir in one cupful of yeast and enough flour to form a thick sponge. Beat long and well, and when the mass seems light and full of bubbles stir into it the well-beaten yolk and white of one egg. When light, work well and let it rise again; then roll and cut into shape; boil in hot lard until brown.


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While you wait for the inevitable “dog days of summer”, you may want to try something new or in this case something old.

Enjoy, my friends and remember to always choose HaPpY!  



Blessings to you all, 
Michele



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8 comments:

  1. My mother used to make Apple Snow when I was a child. Talk about bringing back memories.

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    1. Mary, I've never heard of Apple Snow before the research for this post. It's amazing how ingenious our moms and grandmas are/were. I love that this post brought back some good memories for you. Have a blessed day... Michele

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  2. Wow. What recipes! And I can imagine how hard things would have been and how strong these people would have had to be. Interesting!

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    1. I agree, Caroline. I admire how folks made do with so little. Thank you for the comment, Michele

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  3. I am going to have to try Apple Snow. Enjoyed the post.

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    1. Thank you, Ann. Apple Snow looks interesting, doesn't it? :)

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  4. These all sound good, especially the doughnuts, with all that lard :) You're so right about signs of spring interrupted by snow! That happened here last week (although I was down in Florida!)

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    1. Peggy, I think the fickle, northern springs are something we Michiganders never forget! It's good hear from you. Thanks for the comment, Michele

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