Recently, my Mom read that passing down cookbooks from mother to daughter is a way of preserving a family’s history. So in that vein, she gifted me with two cookbooks that my grandmother received as wedding presents in the 1940s: The Settlement Cookbook and the Watkins Salad Book.
Monthly Archive for June, 2009
A sweet preparation of American citron.
For canning, I used an old spaghetti sauce jar and a canning jar that some face cream came in (I washed it). When I opened up the jars the next day, I was surprised to find that the steam had created a tight seal on both jars, including resealing the spaghetti sauce jar. I’ve never canned before, so these things amaze me. I sampled both citron preparations: the preserved citron was soft and almost completely transparent. It tasted like sugar melon and feet. The pickled citron was crunchier, but also a little slimy. I remembered reading some 19th c recipes that warned against the slime, and recommended soaking it in a brine, rinsing it, and brining it again to get rid of it. My bad.
From Scientific American:
Ok, I know what’s on your mind: Why is there a swastika floating in those lemons?
I’m launching a new feature this week: The Gallery! I’ll be featuring images from vintage and historic cookbooks for your enjoyment. Look for it soon!
While I was vacationing at my summer home in Cleveland (I staid with my parents), my mom and I decided to try to grow a yeast culture. Â We were inspired by a book my friend Kristina sent me from Alaska: a little pamphlet about the history of sourdough bread. Â It carried these instructions on making your own starter:
2 cups Flour
Place ingredients in a glass bowl and blend well with a wooden or plastic spoon. Â Cover loosely with a clean towel (this allows air to enter the bowl so your starter can pick up wild yeasts from the environment) and place it in a warm spot. Â Once a day, remove half the starter and throw it away. Â To the remaining starter, add 1 cup flour and 1 cup warm water; stir in well until lumps are gone. Â After 3 or 4 days of replenishing the starter it should be bubbly and have a pleasant sour smell. Â It is then ready to be used immediately or it can be placed in a clean container with a loose cover and refrigerated for later use.
***
We followed the recipe, and place the bowl of flour and water out on the driveway to warm up. Â If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that last time I tried growing yeast in New York, I ended up with something that smelled like cat puke and looked worse. Â I hid it in the back of my refrigerator and eventually threw it away, too scared to make anything from it. Â This time wasn’t much better. Â Although the starter looked like a starter should, it again smelled exactly like cat puke. Â The stink of it made a friend dry heave.
However, having now attempted this operation twice with the same results, I was willing to try to make some cat puke bread. Â Mom, after listening to my father going on about some kind of deadly yeast, decided to throw it out. Â The decision was made for us when, after forgetting to bring the bowl in at night, some creature came along and ate it. Â I imagine the creature looked like this:
Soup Meagre is a great spring recipe from about 1723. Â It’s a sort of catch-all meal made of all types of early season vegetables: onions, peas, and leafy greens. Â
The original recipe can be found in the American History Cookbook; Â in the original, you add a hunk of stale bread and cream the soup together into something I can only imagine resembles baby food. Â In my modernized version, I leave this final step out, and let the vegetables maintain their integrity in the broth.
I made this soup recently at my friend Mark’s house: I had gathered some wild onions from a farmer’s field and brought them over as a gift.  He pointed out some wild greens in his front yard, and we decided to make a batch of soup meagre.
The original recipe features sorrel, a leafy green that is ready in May when it’s cultivated, and June if it’s found wild. Â It’s flavor is tart and distinctly lemony. Â When choosing greens for this soup, I recommend using a combination of mild and tart flavors. Â I also enjoy making this soup heartier with the addition of a hard boiled egg for garnish. Â This recipe can be made your own with the additions of any ingredients you have on hand: mushrooms, white beans, ham; Â be creative. Â We didn’t have cloves, so we used cinnamon and red pepper flakes. Â This recipe can also easily be made vegetarian by using a vegetable broth instead of chicken. Â
The point is: feel free to diverge from this recipe in ingredients and proportions. Â It’s very hard to go wrong.
Inspired by a recipe from a 1723 manuscript as it appears in The American History Cookbook by Mark H. Zanger.
2. Add chicken stock, cloves, and peas. Â Bring to a boil. Â Test peas for doneness (they want to be a little under done at this point). Taste and re-season broth, if necessary.
3. Add greens and cook five more minutes, or until greens are just wilted.
Although not historical, I wanted to make everyone aware of the premiere of Food Party, created by my food friends and colleagues Thu Tran and Zachariah Durr. Food Party’s first season on IFC debuts Tuesday, June 9 11:15pm ET/PT.
From the official press release:
“Food Party is a fantastical, food-centric series created and hosted by Brooklyn fringe artist, Thu Tran, and a motley mix of unruly puppets who serve as her culinary crew. Maybe best described as a psychedelic melding of Pee Wee’s Playhouse and The Rachael Ray Show with a dash of J-Horror vibe, FOOD PARTY is shot on location in a technicolor handmade, cardboard kitchen. Each episode is a new gastronomical adventure as Thu interacts with a cavalcade of puppets, humans, baked goods, vegetables, and other critters, and embarks on journeys to bizarre, unexpected lands. “
Be sure to check it out! And in the meantime, cruise by the official website.