Requests From Our Readers
Smokehouse
I’m looking for information on old smokehouses. How were they built, what type of floor? How was meat smoked?
Guest
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I too am looking for information on building a smokehouse. Also how to smoke meat.
Guest
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Save Our Soup!
I don’t believe this is a history questions, but could use some suggestions just the same. I wasn’t thinking when I decided to make chicken noodle soup in the crockpot. After returning home from work and testing the soup, I discovered that my noodles had almost disintegrated, becoming extremely soggy. What can I do to salvage the soup?
My son says it feels like you have a mouth full of fat (although the soup tastes really good, it’s just the texture of the noodles that makes it gross).
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Connie
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Replies
The only thing you can do is strain the soup through a colander, save the broth, and pick through what’s left to get the chicken and vegetables. That can be put back in the broth. If you really want the noodles in the soup, you can cook up some more and just add it to the soup. That’s the best you can do!
Kim
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I would use a bit of cream, add some cornstarch as a thickener and make it a cream of chicken type soup. If the noodles are really bothersome, strain them off. Otherwise the noodles should blend in fairly well with the cream thickener.
Connie
Editor, Genealogy Corner
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Garbage Disposal
I can remember my Grandmother, Marion Hostetter, having a little triangle shaped metal object attached to the inside of her sink, with holes in the bottom and sides. It looked a lot like the silverware strainers that are now used for wet silverware. As she cleaned the dinner plates, she would place any table scraps or garbage in that container. She also kept a 5-gallon metal bucket for larger pieces of garbage such as watermelon rind, etc. Then when my grandfather would go out to feed the animals on the farm, he would dump the garbage on the manure pile or feed it to the pigs.
My questions is what did city folks do with their food scraps or garbage before the days of city garbage pickup?
Thanks,
Frank Wike
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There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way, and not to give others absurd maddening claims upon it
~ Christopher Darlington
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Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of us; but simplicity and straight forwardness are. Write much as you would speak; speak as you think. If with your inferior, speak no coarser than usual; if with your superiors, no finer. Be what you say; and, within the rules of prudence, say what you are.
~ Alford
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Easy To Make Beef Taco Casserole
Contributed by jeff2005
12 thinly sliced sandwich steaks
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
11 oz can tomato soup
14 oz can chili beans
1/3 cup sliced olives
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup grated cheddar
bag of corn chips
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Break 12 thinly sliced sandwich steaks into a skillet, cook and toss until browned without overcooking.
Season with 1/4 tsp. of salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp. of chili powder.
Add one (11 oz.) can of tomato soup and one (14 oz.) can of chili beans.
Cook slowly for a few minutes to heat and blend the flavors.
Spread a (10-1/2 oz.) package of corn chips in a baking dish, pour the steak mixture over the chips,
top with 1/3 cup of sliced ripe olives, 1/2 cup of chopped onions and one cup of grated cheddar cheese.
Bake in the oven until the cheese melts, and serve piping hot. I usually use Philly-Gourmet Sandwich Steaks for this because they are conveniently sliced and 100% pure beef.
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Batter for Frying Fish or Vegetables
Contributed by Mrs. Smith from Dubois County, IN
3/4 cup corn starch
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup water
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Jelly Roll
Legacy of: Ruth Beebe nee ?
From Huntingburg, IN
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
5 T. water
1 cup sifted flour
2 T melted butter
1tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup jelly or jam
Directions:
Beat eggs until very light.
Add sugar, beating all the while.
Add water and beat well.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and add egg mixture.
Beat quickly until well mixed.
Add vanilla and pour into greased pan and bake for 15 minutes. at 375.
Notes: This recipe was given to my grandmother by her Home Ec. teacher, Miss Irene Schaaf, April 8,1936.
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Cherry Jam
Legacy of: Lizzie Fink Hostetter nee Long
From South Annville, PA
Born 1881
4 lbs seeded sour cherries
4 lbs sugar
1 1/2 cups water
Directions: let water and sugar boil 10 minutes, then put cherries in. Let boil 30 minutes
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Angel Food Cake
Legacy of: Lizzie Fink Hostetter nee Long
From Annville, PA
Born 1881
Contributed by Franklin T. Wike, Jr.
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 tea spoon cream tarter
1 pinch salt
Sift flour and sugar 4 times
White of 9 eggs. First beat eggs with salt in it. When it is about ready to beat the eggs stiff, lets say half done, then put in cream of tarter. Then beat till you can turn the platter upside down. Do it quick, and then put in sugar and flour.
Notes: This recipe came from a collection of over 200 handwritten recipes inherited from my great-grandmother, who was PA Dutch and spent over 40 years as a cook for the United Christian Church Camp meetings in Lebanon County, PA
Senders Notes: great-grandson
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Mrs. Sellers Dandelion Wine
4 qts. Dandelion Flowers
4 qts. cold water
Let stand 3 days and 3 nights.
Drain,
Then cut:
3 oranges
2 lemons
3 lbs sugar
Let stand in the warm 4 days
Remove fruit, oranges and lemons and put into jugs
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Delicious PA Dutch Fudge
Dated 1936
1 cup brown granulated sugar
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup condensed milk
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup nutmeats, chopped
Directions: Cut chocolate in small pieces and cook with brown and white sugar, milk and corn syrup.
Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Then cook stirring occasionally until fudge forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water.
Notes: Remove from fire, add butter and let stand until cool.
Then beat until it begins to lose its glossy appearance.
Add vanilla and nutmeats and pour on greased pan to cool.
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Published in U S Legacies Magazine June 2003
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