Author Archives: edmunsot

Got Pumpkins and a Craving for a Pie? We’ve Got an Idea for Your Crust!

SquashGraham or Whole Wheat Pie Crust

  • 1½ cups Graham flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2½ tablespoons shortening
  • Cold water to mix
  • (1 teaspoon of sweetening is an improvement)
  1. Sift together the dry ingredients.
  2. Mix sifted dry ingredients with shortening.
  3. Mix to dough of proper consistency with cold water in which has the dissolved sweetening.
  4. Roll, cut, and bake as usual.

Farmers’ Bulletin 955 Use of Wheat-Flour Substitutes in Baking March 1918

Recipe for the day: The Alternative to “Traditional” Chips

CCC camp kitchen crew Dasheen Chips

    1. Pare raw dasheens without wetting them.
    2. Slice evenly about one-sixteenth of an inch thick and soak in plenty of water for one to two hours, changing the water at least once.
    3. Dry the slices between cloths and fry in deep fat to a straw color.
    4. Place some chips on paper so that the excess fat may be drawn from them.
    5. Salt immediately when taken from the hot fat.

      Dasheen is a common tuber found all over the world. The root can be used in many foods and was promoted as a crop by the Florida Department of Agriculture and is also known as Taro.

      Farmers’ Bulletin 1396 Dasheen, a Southern Root Crop June 1924

      Recipe for the day: Start your day off right — eggs & greens!

      lettuceBaked Omelet with Greens

      • 1 quart or ½ lb. spinach, kale, Swiss chard, or other greens
      • 1/4 cup butter
      • 1/3 cup flour
      • 1 teaspoon salt
      • 1/8 teaspoon pepper (pinch)
      • ¾ cup liquid (milk, cream, water, soup stock, vegetable juice, or a mixture of two or more of these)
      • 4 eggs
      • 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar
      1. Wash the greens with great care, boil until tender (20 – 25 min.) in the least possible amount of water; drain and chop fine.
      2. Melt the butter, add the flour, and cook for one minute.
      3. Add the milk, stirring constantly, and cook until the mixture is smooth and thick.
      4. Add the chopped greens and the egg yolks, unbeaten.
      5. Beat the whites of the eggs stiff and add them to the other mixture by the cutting and folding process.
      6. Pour into a buttered baking dish and cook in a slow oven for 30 minutes, or until firm and brown.
      7. Serve at once.

      Farmers’ Bulletin 712 School Lunches March 1916

      Recipe for the day: Spice up the comfort food with cayenne pepper!

      whiddy-kitchen1860Macaroni and Cheese

      • 1 cup macaroni, broken into small pieces
      • 2 quarts boiling salted water
      • 1 cup milk
      • 2 tablespoons flour
      • ¼ to ½ pound of cheese
      • ½ teaspoon salt
      • Pinch of cayenne pepper
      1. Cook the macaroni in the boiling salted water, drain in a strainer, and pour cold water over it to prevent the pieces from adhering to each other.
      2. Make sauce with flour, milk, and cheese by thickening the milk with the flour and adding the cheese just before serving, stirring until it is melted.
      3. Put the sauce and macaroni in alternate layers in a buttered baking dish.
      4. Cover with buttered crumbs and heat in oven until crumbs are brown.

      Farmers’ Bulletin 487 Cheese and Its Economical Uses in the Diet February 1912

      What have we pulled off the shelves today?

      kerr-lib-stacksOne of my personal favorites from the Taste of the ‘Chives recipe showcase event! What does it look like? Check out this picture of a lonely leftover piece on our Flickr page!

      Prune Loaf Imperial

      • 2 c rice (cooked)
      • 1 c grated cheese
      • 1 c prune pulp
      • 1 ½ T salt
      • 1 egg
      • 1 c crumbs
      • 1/3 c stained tomatoes
      • 1 small chopped onion
      • 2 T parsley

      Bake in loaf one hour in moderate oven.

      Warm Chowder for a Cool Day

      picking-potatoes-85Potato Chowder

      • 6 Medium sized potatoes, sliced
      • 1 lb. salt pork, diced
      • 1 tablespoon chopped onion
      • 1 tablespoon butter
      • 1 tablespoon flour
      • 1 pint milk (2 cups)
      • 1 pint water (2 cups)
      • 1 teaspoon salt
      1. Fry the pork and onions together until they are a delicate brown.
      2. Put a layer of the sliced potatoes into a kettle, then a layer of the pork and onions, and sprinkle with salt.
      3. Repeat this until all materials are used.
      4. Pour over them the grease from the pan in which the pork and onions were fried and add the water.
      5. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
      6. Thicken the milk with flour mixed with the butter and pour it over the potatoes.
      7. Stir carefully, so as not to break the potatoes.
      8. Serve very hot.

      Farmers’ Bulletin 712 School Lunches March 1916

      Creativity, Cheese, and Whipped Cream?

      202Cheese Jelly Salad

      • ½ cupful of grated cheese.
      • 1 tablespoon of gelatin.
      • 1 cupful of whipped cream.
      • Salt and pepper to taste.
      1. Mix the cheese with the whipped cream, season to taste with salt and pepper, and add to the gelatin dissolved in a scant cupful of water. This may be molded in a large mold or in small molds.
      2. When the jelly begins to harden, cover with grated cheese. The jelly should be served on a lettuce leaf, preferably with a cream dressing or a French dressing, to which a little grated cheese has been added.

      Extension Bulletin 537 Low Cost Menus for One Month December 1939

      And fun was had by all…

      Celery with Cheese & Pimiento Salad SpreadWe had a great time, great food, and great guests!

      In case you missed all my advertising posts, the Archives hosted The Taste of the ‘Chives on Friday afternoon. For those of you who missed the event, you can read about it in the Gazette-Times article “A taste of World War I” (make sure to watch the video clip at the bottom!) and look at the photos on our Flickr site.

      Keep watching this space until the end of the month for more historic recipes.

      Today is the day!

      Rally SquadWash your hands, tie your aprons, put on your bibs — today is the day for the Taste of the ‘Chives. What will you find? Prune Loaf-Imperial, gnocchi, rice cookies, maybe even a recipe or two with vetch …

      The fun starts at noon in the Willamette Rooms on the 3rd floor of The Valley Library.

      It’s like Mac n’ Cheese, only better

      Evaluating SquashBaked Macaroni with Peanut Butter

      • 1 c macaroni
      • 2 c milk
      • 1 t salt
      • cup bread crumbs
      • 3 T peanut butter

      Cook macaroni in boiling salted water. Pour over cold water to separate. Scald the milk and add it gradually to the peanut butter so it will not lump. Turn macaroni into buttered baking dish. Pour over it the milk mixture, cover closely and bake slowly for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with crumbs and brown in hot oven.

      Extension Bulletin 216, October 1, 1917 Substitutes for Meat