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

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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
Access Fort WayneDid you miss one of our events and wish you could have seen all thathappened?Or, maybe you want a chance to relive all the fun and share it withfamily and friends.No Problem!Access Fort Wayne (Comcast 55 & 57 and Frontier 25 & 27) has been showing programs which weretaped at several of our recent weekend events. Our own Bob Jones has been working with them tovideo tape happenings at the Fort. Thus far, you can see highlights from the 2012 Siege andChristmas at the Fort, and 2013 Nouvelle Annee. Other events from this spring are currently inproduction and will air later this summer. We’ll post the air dates on the Fort’s Facebook pagewhen the time comes.And, even better - these programs are also available on YouTube (with a little help from CodyCampbell) at:http://www.youtube.com/user/HistoricFortWayneOur plan is to continue taping future events, with the hope that we’ll eventually have a monthlyprogram on the Public Access Station. In addition to broadcasting reenactments, Bob says he’d liketo “feature personalities and characters involved in living history, both military and civilian, settlerand native, video clips, and stills of what is happening at the Fort each month.”Want to know more, or get involved with this unique way of reaching out to our community andsharing all that’s going on at the Old Fort? Talk with Bob Jones! He’ll fill you in on all the plans.Continued from previous pageRoll out puff pastry doughuntil about 1/8” thick, cutinto 6” squares, and spoonmeat and veggie mix ontomiddle of each pastry square.Brush edges with egg wash,fold square over the meatmix to form triangle, crimpedges closed.In a kettle, preheat lard to 350 degrees (F) and add pasties, 3or 4 at a time, fry for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is goldenbrown. Drain on sheets of paper or on a cloth.-Savoring the Past, Kevin CarterApple TansyTake three pippins (apples), sliced them round in thin slices,and fry them with butter; then beat four eggs, with sixspoonfuls of cream, a little rose-water, nutmeg, and sugar, andstir them together, and pour it over the Apples: Let it fry alittle, and turn it with a Pye-plate. Garnish with lemon andsugar strew’d over it.-Mrs. E. Smith’s Compleat Housewife, Williamsburg, 17429Sign up to receive our quarterlye-newsletterThe Old FortPalisadeSend yourrequest to:publications@oldfortwayne.orgDeadline for submissions to the FallPalisade will be October 1, 2013.9
Page 1 and 2: A Word from the President:July, how
Page 3: All’s NOT Quiet on the Western Fr
Page 6 and 7: Christmas at the Fort:Vendor Opport
Page 10 and 11: News and NotesHave you visited theM

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