Martha Washington Cooking in March

No fooling, I did cook from a historical cookbook in March - I just didn't get around to writing the post.  So here it is!  I thought of pulling out Apicius for the Ides of March, then I found the Martha Washington cookbook I'd originally intended to use on President's Day.  So I thought I'd see what she has to offer.  Since I've given up wheaten goods for Lent, I had to ignore all the recipes for baked items, of course, and figure out how to do a balanced meal from the ones included in the cookbook.

As with Thomas Jefferson's cookbook, there were few recipes for vegetables.  Most were how to grow the vegetable, or how to preserve it.

   

Looking at the list, I decided to make "sparragus" (asparagus) which is plentiful in March, and use the Seasonal Pickle from my CSA, which is a lacto-fermented collection of whatever odds and ends they have when they are making that particular batch of pickle.  This one includes carrots, various greens, and some onion.

For the meat I am using fish, and although the recipe is for trout, that's surprisingly expensive, so I went with a filet of tuna from the freezer. Needing a starch, and not being able to bake bread or biscuits, I found a steamed pudding that uses oats instead of wheat flour:

I used steel-cut oats, and instead of letting it simmer all night, pulled out my small crockpot, which I have used to cook steel-cut oatmeal in the past.

I used "high" to heat a pint of milk, then following the 4:1 ratio on the carton of oats, I added a half-cup of steel-cut oats.  After leaving it to cook on low overnight, it was cooked but still milky.

I chopped up a bunch of spinach and about half a bunch of flat-leaved parsley, and stirred them into the oats in the crockpot along with an egg.  I debated whether to use a second egg; it's hard to guess sizes of eggs then versus now, and I generally assume the eggs are smaller, so making a half-recipe meant I could use one large egg instead.

Once this was mixed, I took some muslin and wetted it, then rubbed on cornmeal.  I placed it in a bowl to make filling it with the pudding mixture easier.

 

I tied off the pudding and set it into a pot of simmering water, tying the string to a wooden spoon placed over the top to make it easier to fish out.  Then I went away for an hour or so, checking periodically and adding water once or twice.

The asparagus was just steamed a bit, that was easy.  For the fish, I followed the recipe on "How to Boyle a Trout", although using a single tuna steak instead of a while fish "cut in pieces" - fillets? steaks?  My guess would be the former, but I was working from my freezer.

This is white wine (from a local winery, plus a splash of champagne left from making New Year's celebratory cupcakes), a lump of butter, a bit of minced ginger, and a sprig of rosemary from my kitchen pots.  I thought it might be a bit large, but I like rosemary, so took a chance.

Since the tuna steak was a bit thick, I cooked it for a few minutes, then turned it and cooked the other side until the piece was done to my liking.


At this point, I took out the pudding, unwrapped it, and arranged the plate:

Seasonal pickle is top left, and simply steamed asparagus at top right.  I chose thin stalks and had to cut them in half due to the size of the pan.  The pudding is to the left of the fish, and I thought another egg might have been a good idea because it was somewhat falling apart.  Of course, I'd had to guess at proportions of the "hearbes" to oats, and was trying to not put in too many so the oats would also keep it together.

For the fish, I think next time I will add a bit more ginger and a bit less rosemary.  I love it, but that was definitely too much and starting to overwhelm the dish.  The pickle added a welcome tang to the overall dish.  Definitely a meal I'll try again, with adjustments.

Since there was quite a lot of pudding, I put it into the refrigerator.  Cold, it was much more cohesive.  Warmed, it made a nice breakfast with a bit more pickle on the side.

I've already decided on the April cookbook, and will work on getting that report posted more promptly after cooking.  In the meantime, it's an icy day outside, and I might try the fish again as a nice warming meal.  No fooling!

Presidents Day cookery with Thomas Jefferson

My company gives us Presidents Day off, so I decided it would be a good date for the monthly cooking experiment with old recipes.  I picked a book at random, chose some recipes, and made a shopping list.  I had projects around the house and didn't want to waste time on Monday, so I planned to shop ahead and not need to go out for additional items.

Then I thought that since it was Presidents Day, shouldn't I be cooking from a presidential cookbook?  I knew I had one or two someplace, and first looked for Martha Washington's since it's George's birthday after all.  Instead I found this one:

Since Mr. Jefferson was known as a bit of a gourmet, this seemed perfect, especially in light of the recent news about the discovery of Sally Hemmings' room.  The only problem would be to find recipes that would work with what I have in the house, so I didn't have to go out again!

I'd bought chicken (specifically, skinless boneless breasts, in part because they were on sale, and in part because I didn't feel like dealing with waste, and in part because they are most adaptable to all kinds of recipes, and in part because thighs - my usual preference - were not available, at least not at a good price) so I looked for a recipe using that, with other pantry items, and found:

Other than the meat jelly (a thickened, congealed stock used for seasoning), I was set!  Sadly, the book has almost no vegetable recipes - salsify, parsnips, potatoes, and some that look odd to modern eyes: polenta and macaroni, which we would put into a chapter about starches or grains or otherwise.  I thought about doing polenta with the chicken, but the recipe bakes the polenta with cheese and that was more flavours than I felt like mingling.

So I looked for desserts, and when I saw this one I thought it perfect, since Jefferson is credited with having introduced macaroni to the colonies and newly-born USA:

As you can see, I had everything on hand (eggs were in the refrigerator):

 

Usually I would use fresh cow's milk.  I always have some canned or boxed milk in the pantry in case of emergencies, and on Monday could find only a last container of soymilk from when I used it to bake for a group that contained some lactose- and milk-intolerant persons.  It would have to do.

I halved the amounts, using two large eggs instead of the five indicated, and followed the directions pretty much as written.  First, I simmered the noodles in the milk until done, about twenty minutes:

 

Then I stirred in the sugar (3/8 cup) and some rosewater. Since that's a tricky flavouring, I erred on the side of not much, and ended up with about 3/4 of a teaspoon, which turned out to be not enough.

Following this I beat the eggs and added them to the noodle mixture.  I did this so I would just have to stir them together, and thus not break up the noodles too much.

 

After that, into my handy casserole to bake.  Since no temperature was given, I set my oven at about 350(F), reducing it to 300(F) when I started the chicken.  By the way - is anybody else amused when you see those "like if you remember this" memes on Facebook, and it's an item you own and use regularly?  Yep, something close to this showed up recently, and I have several in different sizes.

Going into the oven.

Halfway cooked, still liquid in the center.

After it had baked about a half-hour (righthand picture), I started on the chicken.  Since one of the essays at the front of the cookbook said that Jefferson was interested in the oils used and worked to get olive oil for Monticello's kitchens, that's what I used in the recipe:

By the way, this was one breast from a package of four very large ones, which I cut apart into more manageable pieces.  The other three breasts went into the freezer for future cooking adventures.  Since a whole chicken would weight three to five pounds, but has a lot of not-edible-for-this-purpose portions such as bones and skin, I estimated that a pound of meat would be about half the recipe.

Since I was pantry-scrounging, and don't keep meat jelly in stock, I used twice as much of the cooked-down tomatoes from a package in my freezer.  I have a winter window garden that includes parsley, so that was fresh, but I seem to have used up the last of my garlic bulbs so had to use jarred.  And since I hadn't purchased mushrooms, because they were not needed for the original recipes, I had to use canned ones.  As I'd done last month, I substituted cider vinegar for the (still expensive) lemon, adding a generous tablespoon.

I chopped the larger mushroom pieces.

Ready to simmer.

 I covered the pan and let the ingredients simmer for about twenty minutes, keeping an eye on it in case it dried out and to keep from overcooking the chicken, which is too easy with the boneless, skinless breasts.  I miss-guessed it slightly but the ingredients made enough juice on their own.

When I cook this again I'll use a smaller pan to keep the chicken more immersed in the juices.  I used a large one to make photography easier.  I plated about half the chicken and sauce with about a third of the pudding, once again happy to have oiled the baking pan:

Overall the result was very tasty.  As I said, the chicken was a bit dry, but the sauce fixed that; I added a bit more after taking this picture, since there was plenty in the pan.  It was a tangy sauce because of the vinegar and garlic, but not overwhelmingly so.  A modern cook might simmer down the sauce to make it a bit thicker, and I am considering making polenta to absorb it the next time.  I plan to make this recipe again in the summer with fresh ingredients, and it's likely to go into regular rotation.

The pudding was mild and sweet, definitely not tasting of rosewater except a vague hint now and again.  When I make it again, I plan to use cow milk (the soy taste may have overwhelmed the others) and increase the rosewater to at least a teaspoon per pint of milk, and maybe a bit more.  The cold leftover noodle pudding made a tasty breakfast the next couple of days.

Frugal Cookery for January (and bonus midcentury cookies)

As I said in my "Resolutions" post, I planned to cook at least one meal per month from one of my historical cookbooks.  We had a sleet/snow storm at the beginning of this week and it seemed the perfect time to try a menu, since I was working from home.

The American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Child, first published in 1829 as The Frugal Housewife, Dedicated to Those Who Are Not Ashamed of Economy, seems a fitting choice for January.  Mine is the commonly-available Dover reprint of the 1844 edition.

The book is not only a cookery book, and the majority is about general household economy, including "Simple Remedies" for various ailments and how to remake bonnets, clean brass, and get rid of ants.  She also tells how to choose meat and store vegetables, and an Appendix at the end includes additional items such as getting rid of ear wax, preserving various fruits, and something appropriate to my current weather:  "Icy Steps - Salt strewed upon the door-steps in winter will cause the ice to crack, so that it can be easily removed."  Two substantial sections are stories (really, moralizing lectures) about living economically, intriguing for their perspectives on the society of the day.

Browsing the main sections, I found this recipe:

A pound of fish per person sounds like quite a lot, but this is fish entire, with the bones and skin and fins and such.  Fillets would be about half that quantity, and I happened to have some salmon in the freezer that I thought would do, once the skin is removed.  In the interest of frugality and using my current pantry, the only item I needed to buy was a potato.

Fish chowder alone isn't a full meal, so I looked for a dessert.  In terms of simplicity, frugality, and midwinter-ness, a pudding seemed the best option.  Given that most of the puddings were boiled, and I've never done a boiled pudding, the one baked pudding was the answer.  Finally, to round out the meal further, some vegetable is in order.  Browsing that section, which speaks more of storage than cooking, I noticed a recipe for stewed tomatoes.  That may not sound practical in January, but I had put tomatoes by in the freezer during the summer when my CSA had them in plenty, and that seemed a nice, easy way to round out the meal.  Plus, the chowder recipe mentioned adding tomato catsup (the recipe she included, not the insipid sweet stuff available commercially today) so it sounded as if the tomatoes would be compatible.

First to be prepared is the pudding, as it takes longest - "three or four hours" - to bake.  I had a pint bottle of milk in the 'fridge from another recipe that didn't get made, so halved the ingredients - and made a few adjustments.

I do not have molasses in the pantry, and my supply of maple syrup (my usual go-to with corn porridges) is running a bit low.  However, preserves and jam can be used as sweetening; I have some recipes that call for it specifically.  After checking what I have, I selected some peach jam as it is on the runny side (no pectin used) and I thought would go well with the ginger.

Although we don't need to scald milk for safety since pasteurization became the norm, I did heat the milk to just below a simmer.  Then I stirred in three and a half tablespoons of cornmeal; a half-teaspoon of salt; and a heaping teaspoon of ground ginger.

How much jam to add?  I estimated that a teacup would hold 4-6 ounces of tea, so I added four tablespoons (two tablespoons to a liquid ounce).  I whisked everything in the pot, and then poured it into the enameled cast-iron casserole, which is a family item that was passed down to me a number of years ago, and seemed appropriate to use.

Stirring in salt and ginger; cornmeal
has already been added to the milk.

The jam fell under the surface quickly!

Oven at 300(F) and I went away for two hours.  I wasn't sure how long the chowder would take, but I guessed it would be about half the time that the pudding requires.  I decided to bake the chowder because of the "don't look" instruction.

Two hours later, beginning the chowder.  This time I was making a one-fourth recipe, since I had about a half-pound fillet, but given that there are no specific amounts in this recipe other than the meats (fish and salt pork) and crackers I went by guesswork.  I skinned the filet and cut it into pieces.  Having been frozen, it was somewhat soft, so I had some slices and some bits.  At least they get hidden in the course of the cooking!

Pantry ingredients, plus potato.

Salmon, thawed, beginning to slice.

For the salt pork I used three slices of bacon.  I fried it in a pot, then poured the grease into the bottom of a Pryex® casserole.  I thought if the layers were pretty, I'd get a side shot.  I followed the layering pretty much as instructed, using all of the onion and about three-quarters of the potato.  I'd guesstimated the packet of crackers would be equal to about one and one-half common crackers.

Fish on the bottom, then sliced onion,
potato slices, and cooked bacon.

Second set of layers, crackers more
visible this time.

Of course there is no quantity or proportion for the "flour and water", just to pour it to the top level of the contents of the dish.  I started with 3/4 cup of water and two tablespoons of flour.  Then I added another half-cup of water to bring it just to the top.

Peeking at the pudding.

Something I didn't photograph was adding a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar just before putting the chowder into the oven.  Why?  If you look at the recipe, she suggests a number of things to add flavour.  Lemons were $1.49 at the store, not very frugal!  I don't have homemade tomato catsup and didn't want to create it when I needed a most a quarter of a cup.  I don't have clams, and I didn't want to use beer since I wasn't doing anything with the rest of the bottle.  But vinegar often stands in when something tangy is wanted, and I do have that, so I thought I would add just a bit, about as much as one-fourth of a lemon.

I took a look at the pudding when I put the chowder into the oven.  It's hard to see in the photograph, but it is still somewhat runny, although medium-thick.  I would eat it at this stage for morning cereal.

A little under two hours later, I put the tomatoes (partially thawed because I had not taken them out very early) in the pot that still had a bit of the bacon grease in it.  Mrs. Child's recipe says to add butter, but I figured I would be frugal and use what there is.

So I heated the tomatoes and cooked off the water that separates out when you freeze and thaw tomatoes.  It's not a problem if you are turning them into sauce or another cooked preparation, and it meant I didn't add the recommended "spoonful of water, to keep them from burning".

After two hours of baking the potato slices in the chowder were soft, so I decided that dinner is ready to serve!

The pudding has an almost cakelike crust on the sides.
I am very glad that I thought to grease that casserole!

My opinion on the meal?  Tasty!  OK, the tomatoes were "meh" because they were just tomatoes.  After a couple of spoonfuls I added some Vulcan Fire Salt to amp the flavour.

The chowder was definitely a good item.  Unlike modern chowders which are soup this is a solid casserole of a dish.  The fish was not prominent, probably because I didn't have much of it.  The vinegar was just barely there, alleviating what could have been pasty-white blandness.  Ditto the bacon, which of course softened but added a bit of smokiness that might not have been present had I used uncured bacon or salt pork.  I could have chopped it into smaller bits and the bacon would have blended in better, but it was pretty good.  The crackers and flour-water dissolved to bind everything together silkily.

As for the pudding?  WOW.  I love Indian pudding and similar things anyway.  I can see why people serve it with thick cream, that would really have made it wonderful.  Even without anything on top it's still very good, with the ginger showing up on about the third spoonful.  There's no distinct taste of peach, the jam just added sweetness.

These left plenty of leftovers.  I heated up some of the pudding for breakfast today, and it's still light, not dense, with the ginger a bit more prominent.  I'm going to top it with some vanilla yoghurt to finish, and will heat up the chowder for lunch.

BONUS RECIPE:  I am in a couple of book clubs, and this month both are reading Hidden Figures.  I decided to make a recipe from a cookbook of about that era to serve as snacks, and selected "Gumdrop Cookies" from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book, Revised Edition © Meredith Publishing Company 1953, 1962:

Because this post is so long already, I am not going to add lots of photos of the process.  It was very straightforward because this is a modern recipe.  I halved the quantities and used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour because one club has some people who need to avoid gluten.  This made the cookies a bit more crumbly that the cookies might have been otherwise.  Also, I used butter because I didn't have shortening.   I used only the green gumdrops, because I thought it would be more palatable to keep to a single flavour, and I don't like green gumdrops.

After baking - firm, brown underneath but still light on top.

Verdict?  Surprisingly better than people anticipated.  The lime gumdrops blended well with the cocoanut in the cookies.  I waited a few minutes before removing the cookies from the baking trays, which helped keep them intact.  Even halved the recipe made a lot of cookies, because the dough was fairly stiff and I rolled balls instead of dropping the dough from a teaspoon.   It's hard to see but I made sure that each had a least one piece of gumdrop, you can see a bit of green in the cooky at the bottom.