I’m gonna blame Strawbale. The ancient Roman recipes diary might have a tiny bit to do with this diary. But the recipes and the history in that diary were fascinating.
The purpose of The Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, which is an interactive outdoor museum, is to show the 300 years Iowa's agricultural history. From Native Americans to today. The best part however in my opinion, is in the kitchen.
Private opinion: the Native Americans (Sauk & Fox) had better shelters than the early white settlers. The early white settlers had log cabins, caulked. Not very good insulation. The Native American living quarters maintained a 50 degree (Fahrenheit) year round. Warm in the winter time (higher with the added body heat from people in the shelter, and fire in the shelter during the winter time), and cool in the summer time.
The museum offers late Fall and Winter Historic Dinners using actual equipment or replicas from the 1900s. That meant wood stoves. Again think about it. Women did the cooking. Wearing either long sleeve dresses or long sleeve shirts and full skirts. However today, it’s all in the scheduling of the tours.This link is more Nebraska than Iowa. I imagine Living History Farms will do the same thing.
Keeping cool.
www.omaha.com/...
Here is a link to the recipes that The Living History Farms uses.
livinghistoryfarms.wordpress.com/…
And some more information about the method of cooking at Living History Farms.
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A recipe from Thanksgiving directly from The Living History Farms website. I hope I’m not breaking any rules. The recipe is just too good. Yum.
Iowans in the late 19th century prized the holiday as well. They were already filling it with prized traditional recipes and visits from family. As for museum guides at Living History Farms, we love being able to see how that food tradition evolved through historic cookbooks and magazines. By the 1860s, many cookbooks already listed suggested bills of fare for Thanksgiving day laden with pies, roasted vegetables, oyster soups and, of course, turkey. With that in mind we share a favorite adaption of a recipe, for those who are still in need of inspiration for that course of their own Thanksgiving feasts.
Basic Biscuits
Yield: 15 Biscuits
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup lard (Not Crisco)! Not concerned about cholesterol. People back then, worked very hard physically. Bending, pulling, lifting, walking, throwing, etc.
1 1/2 cup milk (buttermilk is good too!) Buttermilk is very good. I recommend it! Love the flavor.
Directions:
Cut shortening into dry ingredients, then add milk. Turn onto floured board and roll 1/4 inch thick. Cut into biscuits and bake until tops are golden brown.
For the Modern Kitchen:
Like I tell people, baking is not an exact science, it is more of an experiment. Experiment with different types of fat (vegetable shortening, butter, etc.) or even different flours. As for mixing the biscuits; Cutting the shortening works well when you use 2 butter knives, but use them kind of like scissors and pull the shortening apart (a pastry knife will work as well!). After you add the milk you can stir with a wooden spoon and make the dough into a ball with your hands, but don’t work it too much or you’ll lose their light fluffiness. Then when it baked on the wood stove there is no time or a temperature, but it is safe to say that the oven most days is about 325 – 350 degrees and takes 15 minutes. If they don’t absolutely brown, but still feel done, they probably are. Just use your best judgment (and your fingers and nose!)
If there are any questions, shoot the Living History Farms an e-mail at www.lhf.org
That is something I learned in the Army as a cook. I used an industrial mixer. Touch and smell. I would create what would be called Mile High Biscuits. I followed the recipe the Army provided. I just let the biscuits rest for about 5-10 minutes. They were tall. I don’t how that happened. It just happened. Maybe, I had the “touch”. Grin. The troops loved them.
And a little something.
livinghistoryfarms.wordpress.com
And this recipe.
1900s Beef Stew
2 pounds beef Stew Meat, cut into 1-inch pieces.
- In a large pot heat oil over medium high heat. In a resealable plastic bag mix together the flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add a small handful of meat at a time and shake until well coated; brown in hot oil, about 1 minute per side. Remove the browned meat and continue until all the meat is browned.
- Lower heat to medium or if it with an wood oven, move it slightly from the heat. and add onions. Brown onions on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, then remove from pot and set aside. Drain excess fat from pot.
- To pot add potatoes, carrots, celery, reserved onions, browned meat and broth. Stir all together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- For a thicker broth: 1/2 hour before stew is done, combine 3 tablespoons flour and water in a small bowl and mix well, then slowly stir mixture into stew.
Now, in the 1900’s they did not have plastic bags. I know the cook had to coat the the meat pieces with seasoned flour with their hands and seared the the meat before slow cooking the dish. I had to do the same. Before plastic zip tops. Today, the slow cooker is a prized instrument. I made some awesome Iowa Pork Chops in a crock pot. With extra gravy. Will add rice and veggies to that mix.
And something from someone who love Living History Farms.
iowagirleats.com/...
And if you have a early copy of this great recipe book, you will have a great insight to the late 19th. century and early 20th century recipes of the time.
I hope you will enjoy.