Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #9 - Mock Foods

9.  Mock Foods (April 22 - May 5)  Historic cookbooks are full of recipes meant to imitate rare, expensive or impractical ingredients.  It's your turn to help your food pretend it's something that it isn't!

The United States had not officially entered World War I at the time of the 1916 publication of the cookbook I'm using for the Historical Food Fortnightly 2016 Challenges.  War has always impacted the availability and use of ingredients, but stretching a budget and feeding large families is universal both worldwide and in all eras.

Twenty Lessons in Domestic Science by Marian Cole Fisher,  is a condensed home study course copyright 1916.  The Introduction begins with a section on Marketing (Family Budget).  "One essential to proper marketing is a family budget.  The budget for food must be subdivided to establish just how much money can be expended for various provisions.  In this respect the value of the knowledge of a balanced ration is apparent.  Without such knowledge the dispenser of the budget is like a ship without a rudder."  The Lessons then continue with learning about The Function and Composition of Foods.  Ultimately, the course and recipes are designed for proper nutrition within an appropriate budget.

Mock foods and food substitutes are covered in general in the book but one recipe made complete sense to me when looking for a way to stretch a budget and use ingredients that might otherwise go to waste.  Marian's  Bread Crumb Griddle Cakes.  Is this the author Marian?  While I still haven't been able to uncover who Marian Cole Fisher was, I believe is might be the same Marian, and I believe this recipe is an ingenious way to use some old bread.  Bread crumbs in a pancake batter?  Should be interesting!

Easy ingredients!

Eggs beaten with my newest kitchen acquisition - an OXO hand beater.  I love this little tool!

 

Add all ingredients except the bread crumbs.

I have Panko bread crumbs always on hand in my cupboard.  They have a wonderful nutty flavor because they are toasted twice.

 

A nice smooth batter.

Since the shortening is already in the batter the griddle is pre-heated and ready for the first griddle cakes.

They brown beautifully, don't stick to the pan, and rise to a fabulous height!

A couple more griddle cakes....

... some butter, strawberries, blueberries, and breakfast is served!

 

Enough photos!  Someone is ready to eat!

Of course I was thinking that the bread crumbs would create a crunchy texture in the griddle cakes, but they were smooth and tasty.  They were different than a normal pancake batter in that they were heavier, heartier, and very satisfying.  Two pancakes were filling for me and four for hubby kept us going all morning.  Delicious!

Enjoy!

Jeanette

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #10 - Breakfast Foods

10.  Breakfast Foods (May 6 - May 19)  It's simple - make a breakfast dish.  Get creative, but make sure to provide our documentation for its place at the breakfast table!

 

 

Still using my 100-year-old Twenty Lessons in Domestic Science by Marian Cole Fisher, I find in Lesson Number Five - Proteins, a most unusual recipe for a Puff Omelet.

 

 

 

Never having heard of whipping egg whites for an omelet this is a must-try recipe!

 

Easy ingredients.

 



No parsley in the herb bed, but there are some lovely chives.

The eggs are separated and the yolks beaten until stiff and lemon colored.  I have a beautiful new OXO manual rotary beater and it seriously beats my electric mixer.

The egg whites are whipped until very stiff which with the hand beater takes just a minute.

Warm water and salt and pepper added to the yolks and blended.

And lastly the whipped egg whites added to the yolk mixture and folded to blend.

The butter has melted in the skillet over a medium-low heat.

The egg mixture is added to the pan and allowed to cook until the sides are set up well.

Then the pan is put under the broiler for just minutes until the center is cooked through.

The omelet lifts easily from the pan to fold but I think I cooked it just a bit too long and the underneath breaks before the omelet folds.  So I just turn it over onto a plate and act like that is exactly what I wanted to happen.  (Hubby is sitting there waiting for breakfast already.)

A sprinkling of fresh chives and we are ready to eat!

We grilled pork chops yesterday and I think the leftovers are perfect for a hearty breakfast.  The 4 eggs could easily have fed 4 people with the volume created with the egg beating and whipping.  So light and fluffy and delicious!

Enjoy!

Jeanette

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge #8 - Literary Foods

The Proud Little Apple Blossom, adapted from a story by Hans Christian Andersen

It was the month of May, but the wind still blew cool, for the sun was not yet ready to shed his warmest rays on the waiting earth.

Yet some of the birds had come, and more were on their way, and many beautiful blossoms were already showing their pink and white blooms, so that from bush and tree, field and flower, came the glad cry, "Spring is here! Spring is here." Now, it happened that a young princess rode by a beautiful orchard in full bloom, and she stopped to pick a branch of apple blossoms to take to her palace. All who saw the apple blossom praised its beauty and fragrance until the blossom became proud, and thought that beauty was the only valuable thing in the world. But as the apple blossom looked out upon the field she thought: "Not all of the plants are rich and beautiful, as I am, some seem poor and plain." And she noticed a little, common, yellow flower, which seemed to lift up its sunny head and grow everywhere.

The apple blossom said to the plain little flower, "What is your name?"

"I am called the dandelion," replied the little flower.

"Poor little plant," said the apple blossom. "It is not your fault; but how sad you must feel to be so plain and to bear such an ugly name."

Before the little plant could reply a lovely little sunbeam came dancing along and said: "I see no ugly flowers. They are all beautiful alike to me." And he kissed the apple blossom; but he stooped low and lingered long to kiss the little yellow dandelion in the field.

And then some little children came tripping across the field. The youngest laughed when they saw the dandelions and kissed them with delight. The older children made wreaths and dainty chains of them. They picked carefully those that had gone to seed, and tried to blow the feathery down off with one breath, making joyous wishes.

"Do you see," said the sunbeam, "the beauty of the dandelion?"

"Only to children are they beautiful," said the proud apple blossom.

By and by an old woman came into the field. She gathered the roots of the dandelions, out of which she made tea for the sick, and she sold others for money to buy milk for the children.

"But beauty is better than all this," still said the proud little apple blossom. Just then the princess came along. In her hand she carried something that seemed like a beautiful flower. She covered it carefully from the wind. What do you think it was? It was the feathery crown of the dandelion. "See!" she said, "how beautiful it is! I will paint it in a picture with the apple blossoms."

Then the sunbeam kissed the apple blossom, and as he stooped low to kiss the dandelion the apple blossom blushed with shame.

Source: "A Child's Story Garden," Compiled by Elizabeth Heber

Historical Food Fortnightly - Challenge #8 - Literary Foods (April 8 - April 21)  Food is described in great detail in much of the literature of the past.  Make a dish that has been mentioned in a work of literature based on historical documentation about that food item.

It is spring here in North Carolina and both the apple blossoms and the dandelions are in full bloom.  The book I'm using for all the 2016 Historical Food Fortnightly Challenges is Twenty Lessons in Domestic Science by Marian Cole Fisher Copyright 1916.

Lesson Number Fourteen in the book is Edible Weeds with a nice description of dandelions.

With colander and trowel in hand I walk the property to find the nicest stands of dandelions and find the first along the roadside slope.   While some have gone to seed there are still many young with a few just beginning to bloom.

 

 

When I dig these dandelions I find their root system deeply intertwined with the surrounding grass and the main root is quite small.

My recipe book states that the dandelions will be "in much finer condition when found in sheltered places" and that is exactly the case in my yard.  Under a stand of pines I find this nice grouping of larger and very nice looking dandelions.

 

These plants have larger leaves, larger roots, and are easily harvested.

In no time I have a nice colander full of my edible weeds.

 

The dandelions are washed under cold water and allowed to dry slightly on a cloth.

First, I try the dandelions with flower, leaves, and root sprinkled with salt and pepper, and then a few with some drops of lemon.

The flavor is a bit sharp and I can imagine they would be an excellent addition to a more bland green such as iceberg lettuce.  The flowers are slightly sweet, especially those that have not yet opened.  The root is softer than a radish but has some of the flavor of a white radish.  I quite enjoy them!

Then I cook a few clusters and serve them with a light dressing.  Excellent!  This would be my preferred way to eat them.  I also taste the water from the cooking and can understand that it would be a very soothing tea.

A green in plentiful supply, free for the taking, and very much considered a weed in 1916 as it still is in 2016.  But the acceptance of this little plant may be changing.  Some research indicates that the 1916 book stating that "These form one of the most wholesome of all greens." is very correct.  Dandelions have at least 10 health benefits:

1.  Cancer prevention
2.  High in antioxidants
3.  Diuretic
4.  Diabetes
5.  Liver health
6.  Bone health
7.  Digestive aide
8.  Skin health
9.  Weight loss
10.  Lowers blood pressure

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-dandelion.html

Perhaps this lowly little blossom is more of a beauty than even Hans Christian Andersen knew!!

Love always,

Jeanette