The Palisade Volume 6 Issue 2 - Historic Fort Wayne, Inc.

A Taste of the PastBy Souletta SmithMy most loved reenacting memories start with the campfire and the comfort food cooked over it.Once we have the fire established and breakfast sizzling, it means the weekend has officially started,old friendships rekindled, and stories of past events begin.Now, it should be known that the everyday Revolutionary war soldier did notcarry around a kit of cast iron skillets, dutch ovens, kettles, and a spit to set it allupon. Most of the soldier’s cooking would be done by broiling on sticks over thefire or boiled in a lightweight tin cooking pot that could be easily carried. This tinpot does limit the soldier to what he can make, and the soldiers’ diet was alreadylimited to hard breads, heavily salted meat, and foraged vegetables. However it isalways a pleasure to make tasty treats while at our reenactments. Here are a few ofmy favorites. Enjoy!For camp life:Old Virginia Ash CakeAdd a teaspoonful of salt to quart of sifted corn meal. Make up with boiling water and knead well.Make into round, flat cakes. Sweep a clean place on the hottest part of the hearth (or a stone closethat has been in the fire a long while). Put the cake on it and cover it with hot wood ashes.Wash and wipe it dry before eating it. Sometimes a cabbage leaf is placed under it, and one over it,before baking, in which case it need not be washed.-Housekeeping in Old Virginia, printed in 1879And from the homestead:Yorkshire PuddingBeat three eggs very light, add one and a half cups of sweet milk (or one cup of milk and a half cupof chicken stock) and three Tablespoons of melted butter. Beat in one and a half cups of sifted flour.If you do not bake under the meat in a dripping pan, pour it into a well greased shallow baking dishand bake in a hot oven.-The Williamsburg Art of Cookery (Mr. Farley’s Recipe, 1787)Williamsburg Beef Steak & Ham PyeTake one pound of nice steaks and pound well with flour. Brown them in your skillet in a little lard.Pour hot water over them and season your gravy well with salt & pepper. Arrange the steaks in a dishwith one half pound of sliced boiled ham, pour gravy over, put on a lid of pastry and bake aboutforty minutes.-The Williamsburg Art of Cookery (Mrs. Randolph’s Recipe, 1831)Puffs with Forcemeat of VegetablesCombine in a bowl: one pound of veal or beef with one cup each of green beans, asparagus,mushrooms, onion, parsley, all coarsely chopped. Season this with salt and pepper and fry in baconfat. Return mix to bowl, add 1 cup of bread crumbs, allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Add amixture of an egg yolk and ½ cup cream to the meat and vegetable mix.Continued next page88