Recipe swap (and other food related stuff)

[Róisín]

Never tried it with blueberries, but my dad used to make something very similar with blackberries and apples. I think he had the recipe from his mother. He also made a savoury version, with non-sweetened cheese dumplings in a beef and vegetable stew. Both were delicious.

[JoB]

(sorry about the mixed metric and Imperial measures, such is life in Canada)

Recipes use "cups", "teaspoons", "tablespoons", "pinches" etc. etc. (and "hours" and "minutes") here in strictly-metric-land as well ...

1 t sugar

... unless you meant a non-SI unit here?

[afreude]

It occurred to me that it would be the sort of thing one could make if you were out on the land... like for instance travelling through Silent Finland! I imagine Mikkel might be schlepping some flour and sugar (honey?) along, and if they found a nice patch of blueberries, they could have a beautiful dessert without much effort. Maybe it would even change Lalli's opinion of blueberries. Has anyone ever tried to make anything like this over a camp fire?

Blueberry Grunt (sorry about the mixed metric and Imperial measures, such is life in Canada)

1 litre fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 t sugar
1 tablespoon butter
Milk as required - roughly 1/2 cup

Combine dry ingredients, cut in butter, and add enough milk to dampen dough.
Place berries and sugar in a skillet or pot that has a well-fitting lid. Stir and cook until it just begins to bubble.
Drop dough by large spoonfuls over the bubbling berries.
Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Serve dumplings and sauce with your choice of topping - cream, ice cream, frozen yogurt, etc.

The SSSS crew would have to use water rather than milk, but it would probably still work, especially if they have some butter or lard. Delicious, quick, easy, should be possible to make over a campfire.

They could make boiled potatoes for dinner and use the potato water in place of milk?  (This is something my mother does frequently, although I'm not sure where she came by that.  I think it's something *her* mother did frequently?)


Also, regarding measures: I've really come to love just weighing everything.  I am slowing learning how many grams to a cup for flour, sugar, water, etc.  It's not always practical because it doesn't always make much of a difference, but I think it makes my creations a little more consistent (especially sourdough which can be touchy).

[Vulpes]

Never tried it with blueberries, but my dad used to make something very similar with blackberries and apples. I think he had the recipe from his mother. He also made a savoury version, with non-sweetened cheese dumplings in a beef and vegetable stew. Both were delicious.

Mmm, that savoury one sounds good, I'll have to try that with my next moose stew.

Recipes use "cups", "teaspoons", "tablespoons", "pinches" etc. etc. (and "hours" and "minutes") here in strictly-metric-land as well ...
... unless you meant a non-SI unit here?

Ha, you caught me, I was trying to remember to write out all measures, goodness knows "t" and "T" are sufficiently confusing for tea- and tablespoon, but I missed that one!

They could make boiled potatoes for dinner and use the potato water in place of milk?  (This is something my mother does frequently, although I'm not sure where she came by that.  I think it's something *her* mother did frequently?)


Also, regarding measures: I've really come to love just weighing everything.  I am slowing learning how many grams to a cup for flour, sugar, water, etc.  It's not always practical because it doesn't always make much of a difference, but I think it makes my creations a little more consistent (especially sourdough which can be touchy).

I doubt they're carrying potatoes through the Silent World, but that's an interesting substitution. And agreed, weighing is great! I'm always very pleased to find a recipe with weights. Also learned recently about spooning flour into a dry measure cup and then levelling, rather than scooping with the cup itself - doing the latter compacts the flour to varying degrees, so you may be getting way more than you think. It's made a big difference, that and having things like milk, eggs, and butter at room temperature.

[Jitter]

Probably not carrying, but they could dig potatoes up as they go? Every now and then I mean. They probably wouldn’t be the large round ones after 90 years, but even small potatoes are edible and definitely make a nice addition to soup. It’s fairly common to have a row or two of potatoes in the garden even in the gardens of detached houses near cities and more so in the countryside.

[afreude]

Ha, that's probably true that they wouldn't be carrying them, although they last longer than a lot of other "fresh" foods.  I missed the part about Mikkel carrying the ingredients, I was thinking maybe they were still in the tank or something.

That being said, I think a lot of people who grew up in an outdoorsey family have made things like cobblers in a cast iron over a campfire, so I don't see why they couldn't make something like that, especially if they found a nice heavy pan and a decent fireplace or wood stove at some abandoned building on their trip.  Maybe that's where the potatoes came from too!

[Yastreb]

What follows are recipes used in a LARP that had a North American Native theme in one adventure.

Three Sisters Soup

Tribal Affiliation: Cowasuck Abenaki   
Recipe Region: Northeast - Great Lakes

 2 cans White Hominy Corn (undrained)
1 large can Red Kidney Beans (undrained)
1 pkg. frozen cut Squash
1 yellow Onion (cut up)
2 cloves garlic (coarse chopped)
1 lb. Bacon
Allspice
Black Pepper
 
Best done in cast iron pot, Dutch oven.
 
1.   Fry up bacon until medium crispy, remove and drain off most of the fat.
2.   In hot fat, brown up onion. When onion is golden brown, add garlic, cook for about a minute.
3.   Drain off remaining fat, then add Corn and Beans (juice and all) and the bacon, cut up.
4.   Add cut up squash, add enough water to cover everything by about two inches.
5.   Simmer together, adding Allspice and Black pepper to taste.

Notes
Regular corn works fine
Frozen squash may be hard to find; some pumpkin can be substituted.

Cherokee Yam Cakes (biscuits)

12-18 rounds/30 minutes (10 minutes prep)

 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes or yams
2 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
 
 1. Sift flour, baking soda, sugar and salt into a bowl.
2. Pour oil and milk into a measuring cup (do not stir).
3. Add to yams and blend well.
4. Add to flour mixture and mix lightly with fork (until mixture holds together) Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth (about 12 kneading strokes).
5. Roll dough about 1/4" thick and cut into rounds with floured biscuit cutter (or rim of drinking glass) Place rounds on a baking sheet.
6. Bake at 425º for 10-20 minutes.

Yellow Squash Soup

(30 servings/1 hour)

5 medium yellow squash, diced
20 shallots, chopped (with tops)
20 cups water
10 tablespoons maple syrup (real, not imitation)
25 cucumbers, 1/2 inch thick slices
5 tablespoons salt
1-1/4 teaspoons black pepper
 
1. Place squash, shallots, water and syrup into a large soup pot; simmer for 40 minutes until squash is tender.
2. Add the cucumbers.
3. Pour everything into a large mixing bowl and "mash" until it forms a thick, creamy paste.
4. Pour paste back into soup pot, season with salt and pepper; simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

[Róisín]

That first one sounds nice, Yastreb! Next time you visit me I should try that one with fresh rather than tinned ingredients. If I were making it from fresh I would add a touch of maple syrup, or if it is the right time of year a handful of bayberries. I prefer not to cook with too many tinned ingredients, having spent a whole train trip back to Melbourne throwing up after my first exposure to Star’s bachelor cooking, which mostly came from tins. An occasional tin of fruit, tomato paste, condensed milk or water chestnuts is one thing, but whole meals constructed nearly completely of tinned vegetables...... shudder!

[Keep Looking]

Recipes use "cups", "teaspoons", "tablespoons", "pinches" etc. etc. (and "hours" and "minutes") here in strictly-metric-land as well ...

I've always personally preferred cup and spoon measurements to weight measurements, because it's just easier. Although I do have to admit that my house doesn't actually have any measuring cups, we just use a mug and approximate. Same goes for teaspoons and tablespoons - we just use the spoons we use for eating. I remember when we had cooking classes in school we had to measure everything out in those weird plastic measuring cup sets and I found it very strange.

And wow, Yastreb, those look like good recipes!

[Jitter]

Depends a lot on what you are making - many foods work well with "pinch or two of spice x, add 1-3 onions depending on size" type measurements but not all. Many of the more complicated baking recipes are better followed closely.

[Mirasol]

Oh, we have a food-thread? Awesome! Those recipies sound really good, I already feel like cooking again.

[afreude]

Yastreb, the yam cakes/biscuits sound very interesting.  I love everything sweet potato so I might have to try those!



The NY Times shares this plum torte recipe every year at the beginning of September.  And since I have a couple very productive plum trees I always make it.  Very similar to the blueberry grunt recipe.

[wavewright62]

The Three Sisters Soup sounds very appealing to me.  I'm working with tins more than I used to because I no longer have a garden (failed attempts at growing herbs in pots notwithstanding), nor a compost pile, nor even a greengrocer within cooee.
 
But I am giving the Squash Soup a side-eye, with its requirement for **25** cucumbers (presumably peeled) **and** 20 cups of water, with only 5 squash?  hmmm...

Loving afruede's plums.

[Vulpes]

Probably not carrying, but they could dig potatoes up as they go? Every now and then I mean. They probably wouldn’t be the large round ones after 90 years, but even small potatoes are edible and definitely make a nice addition to soup. It’s fairly common to have a row or two of potatoes in the garden even in the gardens of detached houses near cities and more so in the countryside.

Huh, never thought of that! I suppose they would go feral if left unharvested. If the crew were in certain parts of North America I'd suggest they could dig up Apios americana, which goes by a bunch of names including American groundnut or potato bean. It can be really abundant on sandy riverbanks, I've found it in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. As the name potato bean implies, it produces both tubers and beans. I didn't live near any of the places I found it, and wasn't there at the right time to harvest, so I've never tried it, but I gather the tubers are quite potato-like.

I am experiencing plum envy right now... I moved some years back and left behind a prolific plum tree. The various recipes sound tasty, as if I need any more recipes in my testing queue. 

[Róisín]

I have eaten, and liked, the tubers. So the beans are edible too? I didn’t know that. I was cautious, since the related jicama has edible tubers but the pods are poisonous.