3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 c hot cooked rice
2 c cooked, flaked fish
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tblsp melted butter
dash of mace or nutmeg
Mix all ingredients together well in top of double boiler.
Heat over water until heated through. Serve for breakfast (traditional) or lunch. Serves 6-8.
Recipe From: The Old Farmer's Almanac Colonial Cookbook (1982 Reprint)
Steamed Periwinkles
Gather periwinkles from rocks. Put into kettle containing enough boiling salted water to cover the periwinkles by an inch. Simmer for 5-6 minutes. Periwinkles are cooked when the little disc is at the end of the shell - the Periwinkle's doorway, if you will - falls off or can be easily picked off. Drain and pick meat out of each shell with the point of a common pin. Serve with melted butter or lemon butter for dipping. Prepare about 1 cup Periwinkles in the shell per serving.
Recipe From: The Old Farmer's Almanac Colonial Cookbook (1982 Reprint)
Lemon Butter
Cream 1/4 cup of butter with 2 teaspoons lemon juice and grated rind of 1/4 lemon.
Recipe From: Watkins Cook book, 1938
Periwinkles, scientifically known as Littorina scutulata, are little aquatic gastropods which can be found in groups all along rocky shores in the intertidal zones. Periwinkles dimensions vary from two and half millimeters to fifty millimeters and approximately fifty grams. Periwinkles are mobile and they survive by feeding themselves with algae. Periwinkles have thick walled, turban-shaped shells, with a fairly simple operculum. There are two types of periwinkles: flat periwinkles and black periwinkles. Flat periwinkles have wide, pointed shells with three spirals in its spire, light grayish to brown shells. This shell is frequently irregular or eroded and it appears like it is decomposing. Black periwinkles look rather different then other periwinkles. Black periwinkle’s shell is flat, black and thin and has the form of a cone, but is smaller than flat periwinkles shell and it has four spirals instead of three. Periwinkles eat by using their randula which helps them scrap e algae from the rocks. Periwinkle shell’s colors vary from bright yellow to black. Black periwinkles and dark colored periwinkles are often confused with small rocks.
There are over 300 species of this conical, spiral-shelled Univalve Mollusk, but few are edible. Periwinkles, also called bigaros, sea snails or winkles, are found attached to rocks, wharves, pilings, etc. in both fresh and sea water. The most common edible periwinkle is found along the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America. It grows to about 1 inch in size and is gray to dark olive with reddish-brown bands. Periwinkles are popular in Europe but rarely found in the United States. They're usually boiled in their shells, then extracted with a small pick.
Info From: The Cooking Inn, Food Lover's Companion and The Oxford Dictionary.
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup solid shortening
1 cup milk
½ cup raisins
Blend the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut shortening into the dry mix with a pastry blender or use two knives. Keep at it until it has the texture of tiny pebbles. Pour in all the milk and raisins, and stir until stiff. Turn out the whole batch on a lightly floured area, and sprinkle the top with a bit of the flour lying around. Knead lightly, squeezing and compressing about 8-10 times. Now pat out about ½ inch thick. Cut the biscuits with a round cookie cutter or the end of an empty jar the size of your choice. Place on a lightly greased sheet, and bake in a preheated oven until golden brown. Serve piping hot.
Serve immediately, the hotter the better. Keeps fresh for about two days.
Variations:
Raisins can be deleted easily, and other goodies added: grated cheese, orange bits, cinnamon, etc. Use your imagination.
Super-rich biscuits can be fashioned by using cold butter instead of shortening. Assemble the same way.
Serve with a dispenser of honey, a nice alternative to butter.
Recipe From: The Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters, 1996
Potato Starter
3 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Mash cooked potatoes thoroughly, and stir in half each of the flour, water, and sugar. Pour into a clean glass or stainless steel container and cover. Place in a warm area for 24 hours or until the mixture starts to bubble. It may take up to three days, so don't despair. Stir down at least every 12 hours. When mix has fermented (foaming and rising), pour into another container and add an additional cup of flour, water, and a tablespoon of sugar. Let it ferment another 24 hours; then it is ready to use. If desired, strain out any pieces of potato.
Variations:
This recipe also works if cooked potatoes are grated, but they must be strained out before use in a bread recipe.
Recipe From: The Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters, 1996
Water should be at least baby-bottle warm (warm when applied to the inside of the wrist). Add yeast and honey. When dissolved, stir in flour. Since this is activating live yeast from the packet, ensure that the temperature of the starter does not exceed 110 degrees or you'll kill the yeast. Place it in a warm spot for 24-48 hours. It should start fermenting almost immediately. Let it rise and fall a few times to permit a souring process to develop. Stir down at least every 12 hours.
Recipe From: The Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters, 1996
Honey Doings
Although there may be some disagreement as to when honeybees made their first appearance in North America, they inarguably produced a sweetner treasured by both pioneers and Native Americans.
In early days it was said that for Native Americans the mere appearance of honeybees indicated the white man was within seventy-five to one hundred miles of their encampment.
Honey was easily extracted by soaking the comb in water. An interesting by-product was mead. Because honey was virtually all sugar, it fermented with a vengeance and formed a mild liquor within days.
For pioneers, honey presented a wonderful departure from sorghum. Honey had a wholesomeness about it; it took less to sweeten, so everything wasn't overwhelmed by the flavor.
From: The Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters, 1996
Old-Fashioned Boiled Icing
Sugar syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Icing:
3 egg whites, beaten to peaked stage
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
In a saucepan, blend sugar and water with a whisk. Turn heat to medium hot and stir mixture until it boils. When it starts boiling and mixture reaches 240 degrees (on a candy thermometer), stop stirring. Let it cool slightly, then pour a steady, thin stream into egg whites, beating all the while. When icing is thick, add cream of tartar and any flavoring desired.
If the mix does not thicken, cook over a double boiler or pot of simmering water. If it gets too hard, add a tablespoon of hot water to the mix and blend.
Flavoring variations:
Add all flavorings slowly, beating all the while, after the frosting is cooked.
Vanilla: Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Tangy: Add 1 tablespoon fresh orange or lemon bits.
Almond: Add 1 teaspoon almond extract.
Liqueur: Add 1 tablespoon, or more, of a favorite.
Recipe From: The Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters, 1996
Houn' Ears & Whirlups
Frying Time: 1 minute
Frying Temperature: 375°F
Houn' Ears:
2 cups sourdough starter
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1-2 cups flour
Whirlup:
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix first five ingredients together. Add enough flour to make a thick batter. Drop teaspoonfuls into a hot pan of vegetable oil. Remove when brown.
For Whirlup, mix water and sugar together in a saucepan. Boil down until syrup forms. Remove and add cinnamon. Pour over Houn' Ears.
Variation:
Replace Whirlup with a more exotic version: Mix about 1 cup fresh fruit and 2 tablespoons sugar until liquid forms. Pour liquid into pan. Add another cup of water and ¼ cup sugar. Boil down to a syrup and add fruit. When all is warm, pour over fresh Houn' Ears.
Recipe From: The Old West Baking Book by Lon Walters, 1996
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