How many of us, at the end of a holiday dinner, go back in that kitchen and stare at that carcass and just want to throw it straight into the trash.
Yes, there’s still a LOT of food on that thing. But come on, we’re STUFFED. (Insert your own turkey stuffing joke here)

Saving large amounts of food at this point seems like a ridiculous waste of time. A person can convince themselves that it’s the RIGHT thing to do to pitch the whole bird.
Unless you’ve got this recipe. Then you WANT that turkey meat. You’re looking forward to having it on hand.
Maybe not right away, but a week from now you’ll be coming out of your L-Tryptophan induced haze and really be wanting to eat again.
Although, this recipe is so good you might decide not to wait. And you might decide you need to eat it even when you’re not recovering from some major holiday.

Turkey Almond Casserole

6 Cups Cooked Turkey
2 Cups raw Rice
2 Cans Mushroom Soup
1 Cup Mayo
½ Cups sliced Water Chestnuts
1/2 cup slivered Almonds
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 ½ Cup raw Celery
1 small Onion

Mix ingredients together, top with crushed cornflakes and sprinkle with cheddar cheese
Bake in 9 x 13 pan for 1 hour.

Anyone with a great recipe for turkey….here’s your chance. Post it today. And if you’re awake and your head is clear from the feasting….Merry Christmas Everyone! http://maryconnealy.com

I love Thanksgiving! If my mom heard me say that, she’d laugh. Starting in 1960, it became tradition to have Thanksgiving Dinner at my parents’ house.  My mom cooked Thanksgiving Dinner every year for close to 40 years. By the twentieth time or so she’d had enough, but she kept going until I took over.  Considering we always bought the biggest turkey in the store, I’m guessing she baked close to a half-ton of turkey.

That’s a lot of white meat. And a lot of drumsticks! It’s also a tradition I want very much to continue in our new home. My sons love my turkey, a skill that came directly from my mom. She passed away in July and I’m miss her a lot. I also know she’s quite happy to not be baking yet another turkey! 

Here’s how she taught me to do it.  I bake the bird on a rack so the drippings get nice and brown. That makes for wonderful gravy!  I also cover the turkey with a tent made of heavy-duty aluminum foil.  I have no idea what the tent does, but the turkey comes out great.

My stuffing recipe came from my dad’s side of the family.  It includes Farmer John pork sausage, onion, celery, Mrs. Cubison’s stuffing mix (or Pepperidge Farms if I can’t get Mrs. C’s), giblets diced down to powder and–most important of all–a grated green apple.  It all gets mixed together the night before, cooled in the fridge and then baked in the bird. 

Let talk gravy.  Any tips to get rid of lumps?  My trick is to mix the flour in cold water until it’s the consistency of thin pancake batter and lump free. When I add the mix to the drippings, I have a glass of cold water on hand.  If the flour mix sticks, I pour in a bit of water.  It works!  No lumps.

Here’s a Bylin family tradition that usually makes people say, “Huh?”  Does anyone else have rhuttabagas as Thanksgiving?  They’re also called yellow turnips.  They’re good when mashed with lots of butter and a little sugar.

The rest of the menu is pretty standard. Mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Green beans or peas and carrots.  For dessert, though, I switch out pumpin pie for cheesecake. That’s another of my mom’s recipes. She cut it out of a newspaper back in the 1950s.  Here it is.

Mom Bylin’s Cheesecake

 Graham Cracker Crust

My mom use to grind up crackers with a rolling pin. I follow the directions on the box of ready-made crumbs.  Trust me, the box kind is much easier and just as good. I use a 9-inch glass pie plate and follow the directions for the baked crust. You’ll need butter or margerine and sugar.  Be sure to keep out about an 1/8 cup of the butter/sugar/crumb mix for a topping.

Filling

9 oz regular cream cheese (This used to be 3-3 oz squares, but I haven’t seen those in years)

1 8 oz carton of sour cream

1/2 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Soften the cream cheese. (My mom used to let it sit on the counter. I do it in the microwave on the lowest power, being very, very careful not to liquefy it.) Blend the cream cheese and the sour cream in a small bowl until it’s lump free (or as close to lump free as you can get it; tiny lumps will melt when baked.)  Set this bowl aside.

In a bigger bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add the cream cheese / sour cream mix and blend thoroughly.  Pour into the already made graham cracker crust and baked at 325 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the middle looks done.  Let it cool.

Topping

1 8 oz. carton of sour cream

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Blend in a bowl, then spread gently on the baked cheesecake.  Sprinkle with the leftover crumbs from the crust.  Bake for 5 minutes (sometimes less) at 450 degrees.  Refrigerate overnight and enjoy!

What about you having for dinner today?  Are you checking out Petticoats and Pistols after getting your turkey in the oven?  Or maybe you’re going out to eat? That’s fun, too. Either way, Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful time to count our blessings.  Here’s wishing everyone a time full of peace, love and the joy of family and friends.

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ” ~C.S. Lewis

I’m not an expert on types of teas. I just love tea and everything related, like china cups, chintz pots and pretty sugar bowls. We always associate it with the English, but tea originated in China over 5,000 years ago. The Chinese were aware of the health benefits we’re only beginning to recognize today. Later, Buddhist priests carried tea seeds to Japan. The first European to personally encounter tea and write about it was a Portuguese Jesuit Father in1560. The Portuguese developed a trade route by which they shipped their tea to Lisbon, and then Dutch ships transported it to France, Holland, and the Baltic countries. As far back as the 1600s tea was tremendously popular in France.

The first Queen Elizabeth granted permission for the British East India Company to begin trade routes and ports, which later led from spices to tea, cotton and other commodities. Coffee tea and chocolate were exotic beverages, which caused a revolution in drinking habits.

Before tea, beer or ale was the preferred morning drink. At first valued for their curative powers, they were soon counted among the necessities of daily life, and the utensils used in their preparation and service became essential as well. The practice of tea drinking arrived in colonial America with colonists from both England and the Netherlands and was established by the mid-seventeenth century, evidenced by the number of tea wares recorded in household inventories. The earliest of these were undoubtedly imported from abroad, but American silversmiths began producing teapots by the start of the eighteenth century.

In the 1760s, the British imposed that pesky tax on tea, and colonists took to smuggling tea or drinking herbal infusions. Outraged merchants, shippers, and colonists staged demonstrations, culminating in the famous Boston Tea Party. Paul Revere’s ride and the first shots fired at Lexington were but a year and a half away.
Political hostilities were eventually resolved, and Americans once again enjoyed tea time. Moreau de Saint-Méry, a foreign visitor to Philadelphia in the 1790s, noted the warmth and hospitality of these events. “The whole family is united at tea, to which friends, acquaintances, and even strangers are invited.”

Queen Elizabeth II continues a tradition started by Queen Victoria in 1860 and opens the palace gardens once a year to host three afternoon tea parties, each attended by 8,000 people! I’m all for an afternoon tea party, but I usually plan something a little less grand.

In the late 1880’s in both America and England, fine hotels introduced tea rooms and tea courts. Served in the late afternoon, Victorian ladies and their gentlemen friends met for tea and conversation. These tea services became the hallmark of the elegance of the hotel, such as the tea services at the Ritz in Boston and the Plaza in New York.

In 1904 at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, trade exhibitors from around the world brought their products. A tea plantation owner named Richard Blechynden had planned to give away free samples of hot tea to fair visitors, but a heat wave hit. No one was interested. To save his investment of time and travel, he dumped a load of ice into the brewed tea and served the first iced tea.

Four years later, tea merchant Thomas Sullivan of New York developed bagged tea quite by accident as well. He wrapped samples and delivered them to restaurants for their consideration. The restaurants brewed the samples in the bags to avoid the mess of tea leaves, an a marketing opportunity was born. I must agree I much prefer bags over loose tea, too.

It’s difficult to get a good cup of tea while traveling or eating out, because restaurants serve you a cup of hot water and a teabag. Pooh. Real tea is brewed in a pot. True aficionados will even quibble over the type of pot and the blend of leaves.

How to make the perfect pot of tea:

Unless your tap water has a lot of chlorine, use tap rather than filtered water. Tea adheres to the minerals in tap water for a better flavor.

Make sure your teapot is clean and run HOT water in it and put the lid on so the pot is heated. A tea cozy is a good investment, but several insulated hot pads will do in a pinch.

I use an electric kettle to heat water, but for years I used a stovetop kettle or a heavy saucepan. Bring the water to boiling. (Unless you’re steeping green tea. With green tea, you want to extract the nectar, not cook the leaves.)

The rule of thumb is one tea bag per cup of tea or person. You can estimate by measuring how many cups your teapot holds. I buy family size tea bags and I prefer Luzianne brand. To one family size bag I add one or two flavored bags, such as India Spice Chai, Bengal Spice or Apple Cinnamon, depending on how much flavor or spice I want.

When water is hot, pour standing water out of your teapot, place the teabags in and pour the hot water over. Place the lid on your pot and cover with the cozy or insulated pot holders to keep the heat in while the tea is steeping. This process is known as the “agony of the tea” and is quite beautiful to watch if you’ve ever seen it through a glass pot. Let stand for about 4 minutes.

When you pour your first cup, enjoy the aromatic scent. Sweeten if you like or add lemon or milk (not cream). There’s nothing like a steaming cup of fresh hot tea.

I drink three or four pots a day, summer and winter, and I much prefer it over coffee. Scones are my treat of choice when I host a tea party, but biscotti or a cookie will do. If you want to hold a tea party, simply pick up a few pretty cups and a tablecloth at your local thrift store. Set a vase of flowers on the table and enjoy the company of your friends.

CLICK HERE FOR A MAGIC CARPET RIDE TO MY FAVORITE SCONE RECIPE

Years ago a friend from a writer’s listserv sent me a copy of a cookbook her grandmother had given her. Little did she know that all these years and books later, I would still be gleaning helpful tidbits from a booklet titled COOK BOOK compiled by THE LADIES of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Eureka Kansas, 1896.

From this little gem, I have used names, recipes and tips, and created businesses for the fictional towns in my stories. Cookbooks are pieces of history, especially those put together by the women of those early towns and cities. The advertisers who paid for space and thereby funded the ladies’ project were a diverse group. Leedy’s Dry Goods and Clothing House for example boasts the lowest prices guaranteed and quality unexcelled. Their tag line: Good cooking is most appetizing on neat linens. We have them. Chas. A. Leedy sold dry goods, boots and shoes, fancy goods, clothing, and men’s furnishing goods. I have no idea what a men’s furnishing good was, but I am confident Mr. Leedy sold only quality in that line.

Interesting that listed among the directors of the First National Bank was none other than C.A. Leedy. Seems men’s furnishings were making him a tidy profit.

H. C. Hendrick called himself a dealer in pure drugs—my how the times have changed. No one admits to being a drug dealer nowadays. H.C. sold medicines, chemicals, oils, varnishes, glass, putty, fine brushes (my husband swears a little putty and a fine brush can conceal anything; he must have descended from the Kendricks). They also sold a full and complete line of fancy toilet articles, fine stationary, choice perfumes, books, dye stuffs and all other articles usually kept in a first class Drug Store. Prescriptions were accurately compounded.

Then there was H.C. Zilley, dealer in hardware, stoves and tinware who sold agricultural implements and wagons, with sidelines of furniture and undertaking. Why not get into the undertaking business? He already had the shovel and wagon.

Lewis’ Art Studio did photography in all its branches; proofs are shown and all work guaranteed. VIEWING A SPECIALTY. I don’t know what that means either, I’m just telling you how their ad reads. YOUR PATRONAGE SOLICITED. Those printers liked their capitals, and they had all kinds of fancy fonts. This place was opposite the courthouse, FYI.

Now, Frank B. Gregg, he sold Fire,…Lightning and Tornado… Insurance – and he liked effusive punctuation. Okay, this was Kansas, so that tornado insurance probably came in handy. Suppose Aunty Em took out a policy with Frank?

A.Frazer’s Transfer and Bus Line: Meets all Trains, All Calls Carefully Attended

Your guess is as good as mine here.

Miss Nellie Smith was pianist, teacher of piano and organ and a pupil of Rudolf King, Kansas City. Her terms were moderate.

W.W. Morris was another dealer in pure drugs and medicines. Also advertised were paints, oils, varnishes school and  miscellaneous books, stationary, window shades, wall paper, musical merchandise, jewelry, fancy and toilet articles. “We manufacture the following specialties and guarantee them to be the BEST articles for the purposes recommended: Calla Cream, Castole, Excelsior Compound.” They were located NO. 23 OPERA BLOCK

The church ladies who contributed to this publication had wonderful names like Madella Smith, Eva Downard, Katie Addison, Olive Sample, Hattie Kelley, Lydia Thrall, Cornelia Newman, Mabel Mueller, Lulu Kendrick and Lizzie Bell.

A big percent of the recipes contain lard, and many of them, like biscuits and Boston brown bread, ginger cake and ginger snaps  are items we could whip up in our kitchens today, with the exact ingredients and directions. Others—not so much. Like suet as an ingredient. I’ve only fed suet to the birds. And what is black mustard? It’d required to make cucumber catsup. Another example:

Scrapple: Scrape and clean well a pig’s head as directed in pig’s head cheese, put on to boil in plenty of water, cook 4 or 5 hours, until the bones will slip readily from the meat :::are you shuddering yet?:::  take out, remove meat, skim off the grease from the liquor in pot and return the chopped meat to it, season highly with salt and pepper and a little powdered sage if liked, and add corn meal till of the consistency of soft mush; cook slowly 1 hour or more, pour in pans and set in a cool place. This is nice sliced and fried for breakfast in winter and will answer in the place of meat on many occasions.

As you can see the Methodist Episcopal Church Ladies have given me plenty of material for my stories. Since receiving this book, I’ve lost touch with Karen McKee, but Karen, if you get a google alert for your name: THANK YOU!

Tonight I’ll draw names from the comments for THREE advance copies of my December book HER COLORADO MAN – so leave me a comment!

I’m a firm believer that many of the old ways are the best, and with that theory I include cooking. Finding an old cookbook is a treasure, especially those that are collections created by church ladies—the best cooks ever. Many of my grandmother’s and my husband’s grandmother’s recipes are still family favorites.

Anyone who knows me knows that I frequent flea markets and can’t resist a garage or rummage sale. At a garage sale a year or so ago, I unearthed a fat packet of yellowed recipe cards held together by rubber bands. Eureka! I asked the young woman how much they were. She took them and said, “I didn’t know these were here.” Then turned aside. “Mom, do you know what these are?”

“They must have been Grandma’s,” replied the older woman.

My heart sank. They hadn’t meant to toss them out with the junk.

But persistent one that I am, I asked, “How much?”

“Fifty cents,” says the daughter.

“Oh, a quarter,” says her mother.

“Halleluiah,” I say under my breath and snatch them back.

In that bundle I discovered newspaper clippings and recipes from old packages and hand-written recipes in the spidery penmanship of yesteryear. I’ve had a wonderful time testing them out.

My family loves rhubarb, and it has taken my husband and I several years to establish a good patch of our own. Now I’ve made rhubarb in a good many ways over the years, from plain sauces to crunches and crisps and jellies.  But today I’m sharing with you the recipe that made that purchase a gold mine. It’s Rhubarb Cobbler by a lady named Gladys, and while the process seems a little odd, it’s the best cobbler I’ve ever tried.

Back in the day, these ladies weren’t concerned about sugar consumption, but I have experimented with less amounts of sugar and even with substituting part of it for a sugar replacement, and it still comes out great every time.

Rhubarb is a vegetable with a unique taste that makes it a favorite in many pies and desserts. It originated in Asia over 2,000 years ago. It was initially cultivated for its medicinal qualities, and it was not until the 18th century that rhubarb was grown for culinary purposes in Britain and America. In more recent history we heard it referred to as pie plant. Rhubarb is often commonly mistaken to be a fruit but rhubarb is actually a close relative of garden sorrel, and is therefore a member of the vegetable family. Rhubarb is rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber.

Rhubarb is a perennial plant, which forms large fleshy rhizomes and large leaves with long, thick (and tasty) petioles (stalks). Rhubarb stalks are commonly found in supermarkets. Gourmet cooks prize fresh rhubarb. Some folks say the finest quality rhubarb is grown in Michigan, Ontario, Canada, and other northern states in the United States. Fresh rhubarb is available from early winter through early summer. Winter rhubarb is commercially produced in forcing houses in Michigan and Ontario.

RHUBARB COBBLER

From the kitchen of Gladys

4 cups (or more) of cleaned and chopped rhubarb

Place in 9×13 pan (lightly sprayed or not)

Sprinkle with ¼ cup (or less) sugar

Cream together all at once:

¾ cup (or less) sugar

1 cup flour

3 Tbsp melted oleo (margarine)

½ cup milk

1 tsp baking powder

salt

Pour batter over rhubarb.

Mix 1 cup (or less) sugar with 1 Tbsp cornstarch.

Sprinkle over batter.

Pour 1 cup boiling water over all.

Grind cinnamon over the top.

Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I have used as much as 6 cups of rhubarb with the same excellent results.

I have run out of flour and used pancake mix with excellent results.

I’ve added 2 Tbsp of chocolate to the flour mixture and had yummy chocolate cobbler.

I’ve added ginger and cinnamon to the batter for a change.

You can’t mess this up no matter what you do!

My next experiment will be introducing strawberries to the fruit.

Cherries or peaches are also a good combination with rhubarb.

Thank you, Gladys!

 

L-R My husband, Max, Larry, Tim, Del, Marybelle, tiny Sean in front, Tom, the dad and Keith

My mother-in-law turned ninety this year and she had perfected this cake before any of you were even a gleam in your daddy’s eye.

That’s a picture of my husband’s family.

A lot of my book Calico Canyon was inspired by tales told me by my mother-in-law.

 My husband is the tiny blonde one on the far left.

Wow he was cute.

 Grandma Connealy’s Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

2 C. sour cream (I use a boughten container of sour cream)

1 t. vanilla

4 eggs

Beat well and add:

2 ½ C. sifted flour

2 C. sugar

½ C. cocoa

2 t. soda

pinch salt

Beat well. Bake in 9 X 13 pan at 350⁰ about 45 minutes.

I never use real sour cream because I can’t bear to eat the cake after I’ve used the disgusting stuff in the recipe so I use boughten or I ‘sour’ the cream by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to 2 C. of fresh cream and let it sit until it curdles. It takes just a few minutes. BUT I don’t think my cake is as good as Grandma’s when she uses that real sour cream. I still can’t stand to do it. RATS!

Do not bother with layers it’s so delicious all that labor isn’t worth it!

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Delicious but tricky. Easy to overcook.

1 C. sugar

1 heaping T. cocoa

1/3 C. milk

Boil nearly to soft ball stage. That means a candy thermometer which I don’t own. That might be why I always over cook it. Then it turns to a solid, unspreadable chunk of frosting. Add:

1 t. vanilla

1 T. butter

Cool partially. Add:

Powdered sugar to the right consistency.

I always add too much! The only reason I’m including this recipe is because it’s the one my husband’s mother always uses on her Sour Cream Chocolate Cake and, done correctly, it’s about the best in the world. Good luck.

If you’re SCARED, here’s a delicious no fail recipe. Not as good, but still wildly good.

 Chocolate Chip Frosting

The best simple chocolate frosting on the planet! This covers top and sides of 9 x 13 cake. ½ recipe for just top of 9 x 13 cake.

1 ½  C. sugar

6 T. milk

6 T. butter

Bring to boil. Add:

1 C. chocolate chips (don’t use artificial ones)

Spread immediately

Click to buy on Amazon

The women in my family take great pride in their cooking.  They also don’t believe in writing recipes down – that would be much, much too restrictive.  And as for precise measurements – we consider those to be tools of  the unimaginative.  When pressed we will speak in terms of a pinch of this, a dollop of that, a squirt of such-and-such, a smidge of thus-and-so.  Our philosophy of cooking is that you learn by watching, doing and experimenting.   Each person puts their own twists on family dishes.  For instance, my mom learned to make a gumbo from my grandmother, me and my three sisters learned to make gumbo from her, and my daughters are learning from me.  Yet if we all made a gumbo to serve you, none of them would taste the same.  

That said, when I present you with this family recipe for baked beans, you should understand that it is merely my version of a family favorite as I imagine it on this particular day, and the measurements are approximations.  Ask me for this recipe a month from now and you will more than likely see some subtle and perhaps not-so-subtle differences.

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 c. minced onion
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. salsa (may increase to one cup if you like a bit more kick)
3/4 c. ketchup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp prepared mustard
1.5 lb canned pork & beans
1.5 lb canned kidney beans
1.5 lb canned butter beans or navy beans
10 slices bacon, partially cooked

Return cooked beef to skillet and add onions.  Cook until onions are transparent (add small amounts of water as needed to prevent burning).

Remove from heat and add all remaining ingredients except bacon.  Mix thoroughly.

Pour into a 9 X 13 casserole dish.  Top with bacon slices.

Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour (or until bubbly)

Serves a crowd of about 18 hearty eaters

I must confess right off this recipe has nothing to do with the Maverick Saloon. Once Cheryl St. John and I brainstormed the alliterative name for my dish, I just couldn’t resist using this picture of a great little place full of history in Santa Ynez, California. Santa Ynez is a tiny super-Western town once part of a historic stage coach route, now surrounded by ranchland, California live oaks, vineyards and olive groves.  The setting was part of the Livestrong fundraiser my family walked/cycled in recently when I took this picture. 

The saloon itself hosts country singers every weekend, and visitors tack dollar bills on the ceiling. Sure hope the place never burns down. There’s a fortune up thar.

Some years ago, I got this recipe from my friend Nancy, a Nebraska native. I’m worshipped by my family when I serve it and am adored on our cul-de-sac whenever I bring it to block parties. Someday I think I’ll kick things up a notch and use pepperjack cheese. As they say on Top Chef:  Enjoy!

You need:

1 pound elbow macaconi

8 tablespoons (one stick) plus 1 tablespoon (one pat) butter or margarine

1 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese  (or 1/2 cup mild, 1/2 cup Muenster)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (or 1/2 cup sharp, 1/2 cup Jack)

2 cups half-and-half  ( I use fat-free version. Why, I dunno, considering all the cheese.)

1 cup (8 oz) Velveeta, cut into cubes

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper.  (I’m a pepper junkie so I use WAY more than 1/8 teaspoon.)

Optional:   1/2 cup bread crumbs sauteed in butter to scatter over the top before baking.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter or PAM a deep 2 1/2 quart casserole.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook macaroni until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain well and return to pot.

In small saucepan, melt 8 ounces of the butter and stir into the mac. In a large bowl mix the shredded cheeses. To the mac, add the half-and-half, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheeses, the cubed Velveeta, and the eggs.

Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer to the casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheeses and dot with one tablespoon of butter. Add optional bread crumbs which I highly recommend.

Bake until bubbly around the edges, maybe 35 minutes. Serves about 6.

Good Morning!

Well, I’m a little late this morning — doing taxes all day yesterday — hopefully you’ll forgive me and understand that my mind has been a little pre-occupied. 

This is really a Pueblo recipe.  Here goes:

Start with 2 large handfuls of masa organic cornmeal  (to make masa cornmeal, take some dried corn, put it through the grinder — or buy organic cornmeal — and soak for 7 hours with pickling lime water.  To make the water, pour about an inch of pickling lime in a 2 quart jar and add water — shake and let sit for a few hours.  After 7 hours, dry the cornmeal in either the sun or if you have dehydrator, dry in the dehydrator.  If no dehydehydrator and you are in a cool or humid environment — dry in the lowest setting of your oven until all the liquid is gone.)

Native Americans always traditionally soaked their corn in wood ash or lime (the mineral, not the fruit) – but the pickling lime has the same effect as wood ash.

To the 2 large handfuls of cornmeal add 4 eggs, lightly beaten.

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

Lard or butter or coconut oil.

Mix this all together with enough water to form a stiff batter.  Then simply shape into cakes aboaut a half inch thick.  Fry in hot fat and let rest on a paper towel.

These are delicious, by the way and good for you.  The soaking of the oorn changes the amino acid balance of the corn and makes it into a fully balanced protein.  Native Americans were pretty smart.

And hansome!

And here’s another recipe that I thought you might like:

This is from the cookbook Cooking With Spirit, North American INDIAN Food and Fact by Darcy Williamson and Lisa Railsback.

“Pueblo Greens and Beans

Small picese of chopped mutton fat

1 lb. tumbleweed

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups cooked pinto beans

Cook mutton fat until crips.  Add greens, onion, garlic, water and salt.  Cook until greens are wilted and add beans.  Heat through.”

I would add to this recipe to be sure to soak those beans overnight, being very careful to drain all the water before you use them.  All seeds, nuts, grains and beans contain anti-nutrients — called phytates.  These anti-nutrients block your body’s enzymes from working properly.  They are a protective mechanism of all seed, nuts, grains and beans.  Think of it — cows have 3 stomachs — these help to digest these grains.  But we only have one stomach — so the soaking of them overnight — and even fermenting then (using salt and/or whey) for 24 hours, makes them digestible for us (it starts the digestive process).  I’ve noticed that doing this with all beans avoids gas. 

Have a terrific day!

This recipe is at least 120 years old.  It came from a cookbook of pioneer recipes put out by the church ladies in my hometown.  I’ll confess I haven’t tried it.  If you do, I’d love to know how it comes out.  Not sure about how to sour the buttermilk… 

1 cup (scant) white flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup corn meal

1 beaten egg

3 Tablespoons melted shortening

1 cup sour buttermilk

3/4 teaspoon soda

 Sift together flour, sugar and baking powder.  Put in pan with corn meal.  Mix well and add egg, shortening and buttermilk, to which the soda has been added to make it foam.  Mix well and pour into greased muffin tins or 9 inch square pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until it tests done.  Serve with molasses and butter.