Rations

[Slouch]

Re: Tabasco Sauce article - Wall Street Journal

sour cream will sooth the burn as well

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Tabasco Sauce article - Wall Street Journal

Wish we had all of the above remedies in Iraq for those PO-ed Iraqis... the hobuz (flat bread) and jibbon (nasty cream cheese from Syria) we had for the Iraqi soldier's rations just didn't seem to cut-it... stuff tasted nasty too- LOL :p

-Johnny

PS- I heard nutria are good eatin' in Louisiana. :confused_

[D Harrelson]

Recipe for hard corn bread

Somewhere recently I read a recipe for a kind of hard cornbread which could be carried for a few days without crumbling. I believe it also included a hit of blackstrap molasses in the recipe. Any out there who can guide me to the source or share a recipe that might fit the bill?

D Harrelson

[Hank Trent]

Re: Recipe for hard corn bread

Somewhere recently I read a recipe for a kind of hard cornbread which could be carried for a few days without crumbling. I believe it also included a hit of blackstrap molasses in the recipe. Any out there who can guide me to the source or share a recipe that might fit the bill?

Well, if I've got indian meal to deal with and need to make something that will last, I usually bake or fry it into corn cakes. Did that last event, and they stood up to be shaken around in a haversack all day, with only maybe half a cup of crumbs at the bottom, which were still good to eat of course.

If all you have is the meal and some lard or grease, you can make them just from water and meal. Mix the meal with water like you're making sandcastles, knead it up as best you can, press them small and thin. I usually have a frying pan for cooking. Depending how much grease you have, you can either sort of bake them in the frying pan or drop them into hot grease, and bake/fry them until one side is brown, then flip and do the other side.

If you have some lard to put in them, they'll hold together much better. That's what I made at the last event. Same thing, only with a small handful of lard for every two or three large handfuls of cornmeal.

If you have molasses or sugar, or salt, you can add that too. Or wheat flour or rye flour. Or boiled potato or sweet potato or pumpkin. Or eggs or milk. They're kind of a repository for anything soft you can't carry with you otherwise. Making them thin and getting a good hard crust on both sides is what makes them hold together best.

For documentation, there are several similar variations in the Kentucky Housewife, 1839, p. 314-315, including Pumpkin Hoe Cakes, Indian Hoe Cakes, Indian Water Cakes (which recipe begins with the encouraging remark, "Indian water cakes, when made of stiff dough, and baked with a hard crust, of all cakes are the most disgusting..." :) , and Johnny Cakes.

The New England Farmer, September 1868, talks about "the hoe cakes of our Southern States, and our Yankee fire-cakes and johnny-cakes; which are made of scalded Indian meal, sometimes of Indian and rye, or of wheat-meal or flour--with occasionally a little saleratus as a slight leavening power, and, for a change, a small quantity of shortening--cream or lard,--and as a luxury a spoonful or two of molasses, when a sweet cake is desired. These are baked--the hoe cakes upon the metal of a clean hoe, in front of blazing pine logs; the johnny cakes before a clear fire, on a piece of board or the gingerbread-tin of the farmer's wife; the fire cakes in the old-fashioned Dutch oven... so that both sides of the cake are baked at once; a great improvement this upon the turning and slipping of hoe and johnny cakes to finish the work."

Much later, the Picayune Creale Cookbook, 1922, at http://books.google.com/books?id=pxYEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA352 reminisces about the various corn cakes made by the "darkies" with recipes for Corn Dodgers, Ash Cake, Fried Corn Cakes, Hoecake, etc., all variations on the theme.

In Recollections of Slavery Times by Frank Alexander Montgomery, 1895, he describes a similar process: "The cooking utensils were few and all of the simplest kind. A long handled shallow iron skillet with long legs did duty as a spider in which to fry our salt pork, bacon and other meat, whenever we could get it. It was also sometimes used to bake “hoe cake” in. These hoe cakes, which formed a large part of the slave's bill of fare, were made of Indian meal, and water with a little salt and sometimes a quantity of pork fat was added. When the skillet was not at hand or was wanted for some other purpose, a “nigger hoe,” that is a hoe used by the slave in the field, was placed handle down upon the floor, so that the under side of the hoe would be next to the fire. The angle that the iron part of the hoe made with the handle was such that when the handle was placed upon the floor the iron part would slant back from the fire, thereby making a resting place for the cake. When one side of the cake was baked the other side was turned to the fire."

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[hernicus]

Re: The whats in season in what state , at what time of year question

If you have access to a quality library (usually a University NOT a local public), then you can always research the Farmers' Almanac for your year. The FA has been in print since Ben Franklin! Finding regional timelines is more difficult, but I have used this source for preparing Subsistence Department Ration issues and has been one of the helpful sources I have found.

Hope that helps!

[Charles Heath]

Re: The whats in season in what state , at what time of year question

Martyn,

It's a great question, but it may be way too broad to adequately address. Instead of working from the big end of the funnel, look at the small end.

Which event(s) are you considering? Hit the books from there. We had a lot of fun this year with the Shiloh and Vicksburg NPS living histories with three of the four subsistence categories, and that would be issued rations, sutler items, and foraged goods. Although, when it comes to victuals, I do believe the rebs had more fun at Vicksburg this summer than we did.

[orngblsm]

In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

Gents,

Sullivan press has apparently fell off the face of the earth. I've tried for nearly a year now to get some of his document cds from him, but the man won't even send me an email back or answer his phone. So my question: Does anyone have the "Household Products and Patent Medicine Labels" cd and/or the "Union and Confederate Stationery" cd? I'm in great need of producing labels and period envelopes in bulk and could really use these cds. Let me know

Thanks,

[Dignann]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

Ryan,

Here's somone who had the stationary CD for sale: http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...ad.php?t=13509

Eric

[Watchdog]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

Sullivan Press was at September Storm. My wife also has had difficulty getting Bob to fill her orders for books in a timely manner. Mr. Sullivan has offered no real explanation and one can only surmise that he has the "slows" more often than not. He does attend Rev War events.

[crabby]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

Ryan,

Welcome to the world of Sullivan Press.

I am still waiting on a bulk order from him for the last 6 months.:baring_te

Crabby

[uhlan53]

Dog pile on the rabbit!

While we're at it, I ordered a dime novel over a month ago, got an e-mail receipt from Paypal that Sullivan was paid, and to date, no merchandise.

I e-mailed twice and left a phone message, and there has been no answer.

Maybe he'll be at Fort #4 tonight, LOL!

Gordon Markiewicz

[Parault]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

While his items are very good quality,his timely shipments to customers are in need of improvement.

[dave81276]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

I have used both his Federal and Confederate documents cd-roms, and both are well-nigh useless, unless you happen to portray the individual to whom the document was issued at the time it was issued. They are almost impossible to edit, and that makes them inapplicable to just about every event.

[fedhead]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

i too have not received a order placed in June .

[KathyBradford]

Re: In Need of what Sullivan Press won't ship me

Ryan,

Michael Schaffner has written and compiled a great amount of research in his "School of the Clerk". It's an amazing amount of knowledge about paperwork and clerking responsibilities in one place. He's also put together some documents that you can access from this link. It's not the labels or stationery, but I hope this helps. Look for an email, too.

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9874