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Post by woodyz on Jun 13, 2015 18:44:23 GMT -7
CAMPFIRE COBBLER From Brian Pruiett, Basin, WY:
"You need a seasoned Dutch oven, greased to be safe. A lid with raised rim is preferable. Preheat the Dutch oven just until it's warm. While the fire burns to coals (use a type of
wood that makes good coals, e.g., red alder, maple, elm without bark, juniper, etc.),
make about 2 c. piecrust dough and collect about I qt. cobbler 'makins.' (Amounts of dough and makins, of course, vary depending on number coming to supper.)
Makins can be anything from canned fruit cocktail to huckleberries—including sliced apples, blackberries, juneberries,peaches, you name it; sweeten to taste, more for tart fruit like green apples or almost-ripe berries.
Line the oven with the dough on the bottom and about halfway up the sides. Hold back Vi c. dough. Pour in makins. Now, if you have a rollingpin and cutting board, roll out the A cup of dough you held back, cut it into strips, and criss<ross them on top of the makins. Pinching the edges onto the shell is nice, but optional.
In absence of a board, I usually pinch off pieces of dough, roll them into cylinders between my palms, and pat them flat before laying them across the makings.
"Now comes the hardest part cooking.
Experience is the best teacher when different types of wood, altitude, and weather conditions are involved. The way I judge heat is (on calm days) by holding out my palm 18 or 20 inches from the hot coals. If I can hold it there for only 8 or 10 seconds, it's a good bed of coals for cooking.
Nest the oven into a bed of coals, with coals up the sides to the level of the cobbler inside.
Cover the lid on the oven with coals. This is where araised rim is a blessing particularly for keeping coals out of the cobbler when checking on it Check your cobbler after 20 minutes. If the makins are bubbling and the top crust is baked through, it's ready to eat
If not then keep checking at 5-minute intervals until done. Now if you sprinkle some cinnamon
and sugar across the top, you've got a sure-fire crowd pleaser from Sitka to Salinas."
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Post by woodyz on Jun 13, 2015 18:46:35 GMT -7
MAKING BROWN SUGAR:
These instructions come from a farm handbook written in the mid-19th century, The Home and Farm Manual. I haven't tried them, nor do I know of anybody else who has. But that book as a whole is dependable, so here goes:
1. Start out by stripping, cutting, and milling the cane.
2. After the green syrup comes from the mill, filter it through thick, clean cloth fixed into a basket. The filtering is to get out as much fiber, cellulose, and starch as can be thus captured.
3. Add enough milk of lime (meaning lime "slaked and mixed with water") to the green syrup to get a slightly alkaline result (changes red litmus paper to blue). A little too much lime won't hurt the results.
4. Boil the juice and milk of lime mixture a quarter hour. Skim off the scum that rises. It should be a "pale straw color."
5. Filter it again.
6. Evaporate by boiling until the syrup is around half of its starting amount.
7. Turn the heat down low to continue the evaporation and constantly stir because from here on, it is at considerable risk of scorching at the pan bottom.
8. Test the syrup once in a while by removing a little and allowing it to cool to see if it has gotten dense enough for crystallization to occur. It must become "as dense as sugar-house molasses, or tar."
9. When you do have it that dense, take off the heat and put in "tubs or casks" to await the natural granulation.
(Lehman's sells wood barrels and kegs of 10, 22, and 30 gal.)
In 3 -4 days, sugar crystals should start forming.
After the mass solidified, the old-time sugar makers scooped it into canvas or cloth bags that were made in the shape of a cone. These were hung over a container for the molasses—because the only portion of the once-liquid syrup that remains liquid after the crystallization takes place is now true molasses, and it can be obtained by letting the cones hang to drip. Molasses being as it is, it will drip off much better in a warm room, 80-90°F Let the bags hang and drip at least several days.
The residue in the bag should be "good brown sugar."
10. Your brown sugar can be refined, bleached, and recrystallized to make it the familiar white sugar of commerce, but I prefer brown anyway and am going to stop the instructions here.
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Post by woodyz on Jun 13, 2015 18:47:48 GMT -7
POISONOUS PLANTS
Here are some poisonous plants to look out for. This list was sent to me by my dear friend Violet Stewart. She wrote me, "I hope you can find a space for this in your book. I'll feel I may have had a part in saving one life." I did find space—and since then I've learned and added more.
Aconite: All parts.
American False Hellebore
Anemone (wind flower): Nemerosa is poisonous.
Angel's Trumpet (Datura): All parts poisonous.
Arrowgrass
Azalea: All parts very dangerous—nausea and vomiting, depression, hard to breathe, prostration, fatal coma.
Baneberry: Berries, red or white, are poisonous.
Black Locust: Flower is edible; rest is poisonous.
Bleeding Heart: Leaves and roots may be poisonous in large amounts.
Bloodroot
Bouncing Bet
Butterflyweed
Castor Oil Plant (Ricinus communis):
One or two castor bean seeds are a near fatal dose to an adult, let alone a child.
Celadine Poppy
Chokecherry: Leaves and seeds are poisonous.
Christmas Rose (HeWeborus): Seeds and all plant parts are poisonous.
Cockle, Corn or Purple: All parts are poisonous.
Columbine (Aquilega): Seed/all plant parts poisonous.
Crocus: Autumn crocus bulbs can be dangerous.
Daffodil: Bulb causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and may be fatal.
Sap makes your hand swell up if it gets into a cut.
Daphne: A few of the berries can kill a child.
Datura: See "Angel's Trumpet."
Daylily: Roots are poisonous.
Deadly Nightshade
Death Camas
Desert Rose (Adenium): The milky juice may be a heart poison.
Dieffenbachia: All plant parts cause intense burning and irritation of mouth and tongue. If the tongue swells and closes the throat, no air can get through.
Digitalis: See "Foxglove."
Dutchman's Pipe (Aristolochia): All plant parts are poisonous.
English Ivy
European Bittersweet
Foxglove (Digitalis): All plant parts poisonous. Leaves contain digitalis, a heart stimulant. In large amounts it can be fatal.
Frangipani (Plumaria): Poisonous sap.
Garland Flower: Poisonous berries.
Hemlock: Read the story at the end of this chapter.
Horse Chestnut, Horse Nettle, and Horsetail
Hyacinth: Eating the bulb will cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and may be fatal.
Iris: Entire plant is poisonous.
Jack in the Pulpit
Jessamine: Berries are fatal.
Jimson Weed
Larkspur (annual delphinium): Poisonous seeds and leaves.
Larsonia: The seeds can be fatal.
Laurel: All plant parts can be fatal, producing nausea and vomiting, difficulty in breathing, prostration, and coma.
Leafy Spurge
Lily, Flame: All plant parts are poisonous.
Lily, Glory: The tubers are highly poisonous.
Lily of the Valley: The leaves and flowers disrupt heartbeat, stomach, and mind.
Lobelia: Poisonous.
Lupine: All plant parts, including seeds, poisonous.
Marsh Marigold
Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis): All plant parts poisonous.
Matrimony Vine
Mayapple: Poisonous; fruit is also poisonous if too much is eaten and must be yellow, totally ripe, and smell sweet.
Meadow Saffron
Mistletoe: Berries can be fatal to children or adults.
Monkshood (Aconitum): All parts, including roots, are poisonous.
Morning Glory (Ipomoea): All plant parts poisonous.
Mountain Laurel
Narcissus: Bulbs are poisonous— cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and may be fatal.
Oleander: Leaves and branches are poisonous—affect heart, cause severe digestive upset, have killed.
Pennyroyal: Poisonous.
Poinsettia: Even one leaf can kill a child.
Poison Ivy
Poison Oak
Pokeweed: Young shoots up to 6 in., if free of purple coloring, are edible if boiled in a sequence of two discarded waters. Rest is poisonous.
Poppy, Horned (Glaucium): Roots are poisonous.
Poppy, Iceland: All plant parts are poisonous.
Poppy, Somniferum: Fruits and sap are poisonous.
Privet
Rhododendron: All parts can be fatal— nausea and vomiting, difficulty in breathing, prostration, coma.
Rhubarb: The leaves, even cooked, can cause convulsions and coma, soon followed by death.
Rosary Pea: A single seed has caused death.
St. Johnswort
Skunk Cabbage
Snowdrops
Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum): The seeds and all plant parts are poisonous.
Star of Bethlehem
Tobacco (Nicotiana): All species/plant parts poison.
Wisteria: Poisonous.
Yew: Berries and leaves (more so) are fatal. Death is sudden—no warning symptoms.
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Post by woodyz on Jun 13, 2015 18:48:47 GMT -7
ACORN MEAL
Fortunately, tannin is very soluble in hot water. So, peel the acorns. Grind them up. Soak the "flour" in very hot water. The water will turn brown, because of the tannin coming out Throw away the water and repeat 4 times.
Another way to do this is to line a colander with a straining cloth, put the ground acorns in, and radually pour a gallon ofwater, as near boiling hot as you can manage, through. There will still be some dark chocolaty color to the paste, but after exposure to a gallon of hot water, you can be confident that enough tannin has been removed to render the acorn meal edible.
Spread the acorn paste on a baking sheet and bake at a low temperature until thoroughly dry. If it has caked, grind again, and you have your acorn flour. You can substitute acorn meal for cornmeal in any recipe, or use part acorn meal and part cornmeal, or 2A acorn meal and 'A oatmeal.
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Post by woodyz on Jun 13, 2015 18:52:24 GMT -7
A DIFFERENT KIND OF PRESERVE »> HOW TO PRESERVE A HUSBAND Be careful in your selection; do not choose too young and take only such as have been reared in a good moral atmosphere. Some wives insist on keeping husbands in a pickle, while others put them in hot water. This only makes them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter. Even poor varieties may be made sweet and good by garnishing them with patience, well-sweetened with smiles and flavored with kisses to taste. Keep warm in a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. When thus preserved, they will keep for years. <PRESERVED CHILDREN Take I large field, a dozen children, 2-3 small dogs, a pinch of brook, and some pebbles. Mix together children and dogs; sprinkle the field with flowers; spread over all a sky of deep blue and bake in the sun. When brown, set away to cool in the bathtub. |
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Post by woodyz on Jun 13, 2015 18:54:04 GMT -7
NUTRITION LOSS IN STORAGE:
But also consider, according to the USDA, that foods lose 60-80 percent of their nutritional value when they are canned, because of the high canning temperatures and water soaking. (Storing canned goods in a dark place minimizes the loss of riboflavin, which is caused by exposure to light.)
Canned goods also lose vitamins from exposure to warmth. Frozen foods lose only vitamins E and B6, but if stored above 0°F, they can also lose a considerable amount of vitamin C and other nutrients, up to 40-60 percent of their food value. Blanching before dehydrating helps hold vitamins. Dehydrating using very low heat levels is less destructive of nutritional value than sun drying. However, dehydration results in more nutrition loss than any other form of food preservation.
Live storage (in a root cellar) is the best of all for holding nutritional value, so long as the food doesn't freeze, the storage is cool, and the food is an appropriate one for this method.
Heat, oxygen presence, and passage of time all cause losses. Nutritionists are most concerned about what happens to vitamins A and C. Vitamin C is totally lost after sun drying foods (80-90 percent is lost after drying in a dehydrator) but is 100 percent retained in freezing.
In canning, 25 percent of C is lost from fruits and 50-90 percent from vegetables. So they recommend that you dry or can high vitamin A foods but freeze high-vitamin C foods.
SUMMING UP NON-FOOD FACTORS: Root cellar storage is cheapest of all and will retain most of the nutritional value.
Of canning, freezing, and drying, freezing is quick and easy, but the most expensive; drying and canning are both cheap, but drying is by far the worst in terms of loss of nutritional value.
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Post by woodyz on Jun 13, 2015 18:57:05 GMT -7
This is a 875 page book on some of everything for the homestead/farm
but I only have it in pdf and do not know how to attach it or post it
I have found it on the intranet but only if paid for, so I have not posted the links
However, I am sure that the intranet is where my pdf copy came from so I will keep looking and if/when found I will post
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Post by angelhelp on Jun 14, 2015 10:08:35 GMT -7
I showed your post, woodyz, to MW and he had the following info to add:
Don't forget Fool's Parsley (Aethusa cynapium) and Fly Poison ( Amianthium muscaetoxicum) one should not confuse the names of Hemlock (Tsuga spp.) with Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) and Water Hemlock (both Cicuta bulbifera and C. maculata). The former is edible and the needles make an outstanding tea when brewed like an Oolong (not a full boil, more like a simmer).
Bittersweet/Climbing Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) another to add. Horse Nettle is actually a Nightshade as well (Solanum carolinese). Of course, not all Nightshades are poisonous, as we eat tomato fruits, potato tubers, and such. Mr Samuel Thayer wrote an interesting arcticle on the subject on his website about Black Nightshades (Solanum nigrum, S. americanum, S. ptychanthum, and S. douglasii).
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Post by hunter63 on Jun 15, 2015 13:05:34 GMT -7
I think I would add a "copy from disclaimer".
Everyone should have a copy of the Carla Emery Encyclopedia of Country Living....In hard print....you know, in, case your files and pfd's get wiped out or batteries go dead.
Out of print....but worth the money....last copy I purchased as a gift, "Good condition, used" was about $13 bucks + shipping.
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Post by woodyz on Jun 15, 2015 18:42:54 GMT -7
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Post by hunter63 on Jun 15, 2015 19:01:09 GMT -7
Looks like they went up about 5 to 10 bucks.....since I bought a used copy.
Thanks for the links.
Should maybe buy another one mine is falling apart, full on notes and recipes written on napkins....LOL
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Post by ColcordMama on Jun 15, 2015 22:19:49 GMT -7
MAKING BROWN SUGAR: These instructions come from a farm handbook written in the mid-19th century, The Home and Farm Manual. I haven't tried them, nor do I know of anybody else who has. But that book as a whole is dependable, so here goes: 1. Start out by stripping, cutting, and milling the cane. 2. After the green syrup comes from the mill, filter it through thick, clean cloth fixed into a basket. The filtering is to get out as much fiber, cellulose, and starch as can be thus captured. 3. Add enough milk of lime (meaning lime "slaked and mixed with water") to the green syrup to get a slightly alkaline result (changes red litmus paper to blue). A little too much lime won't hurt the results. 4. Boil the juice and milk of lime mixture a quarter hour. Skim off the scum that rises. It should be a "pale straw color." 5. Filter it again. 6. Evaporate by boiling until the syrup is around half of its starting amount. 7. Turn the heat down low to continue the evaporation and constantly stir because from here on, it is at considerable risk of scorching at the pan bottom. 8. Test the syrup once in a while by removing a little and allowing it to cool to see if it has gotten dense enough for crystallization to occur. It must become "as dense as sugar-house molasses, or tar." 9. When you do have it that dense, take off the heat and put in "tubs or casks" to await the natural granulation. (Lehman's sells wood barrels and kegs of 10, 22, and 30 gal.) In 3 -4 days, sugar crystals should start forming. After the mass solidified, the old-time sugar makers scooped it into canvas or cloth bags that were made in the shape of a cone. These were hung over a container for the molasses—because the only portion of the once-liquid syrup that remains liquid after the crystallization takes place is now true molasses, and it can be obtained by letting the cones hang to drip. Molasses being as it is, it will drip off much better in a warm room, 80-90°F Let the bags hang and drip at least several days. The residue in the bag should be "good brown sugar." 10. Your brown sugar can be refined, bleached, and recrystallized to make it the familiar white sugar of commerce, but I prefer brown anyway and am going to stop the instructions here. Or stir molasses into ordinary white sugar drop by drop, whisking vigorously and continuously, until you have brown sugar. I've been doing this for decades whenever I run out of brown sugar and need some right now. My recipe is lots easier.  |
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Post by Cwi555 on Jun 16, 2015 5:01:54 GMT -7
My Grandmother did this. I still do it. Or stir molasses into ordinary white sugar drop by drop, whisking vigorously and continuously, until you have brown sugar. I've been doing this for decades whenever I run out of brown sugar and need some right now. My recipe is lots easier. |
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Post by angelhelp on Jun 16, 2015 16:08:59 GMT -7
Same here
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Post by hunter63 on Jun 16, 2015 19:21:26 GMT -7
Wonder if it works for sorghum?
Grew and pressed the juice out and got a green sticky mess.....LOL...but it was sweet and full of "stuff"....LOL.
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