Revolutionary Recipes

It doesn’t seem to matter how far back your go, gramma always cooked better in the past. I’ve got recent cookbooks, 100 year old cookbooks and I’ve seen 200 year old cook books, and no matter what they always speak longingly of recapturing some mythical magic that our foremothers had in the kitchen that we are now too busy, too sophisticated, or too ignorant to possess. We’ve always lost something ephemeral that that particular book will help us recapture.

Here Stokely-Van Camp gives us a pastoral Colonial setting (Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement, Noblesville, Indiana, 1977) to set us back on the wholesome path of our ancestors and make us buy more canned green beans. This is probably the tail end of the bicentennial craze too. Ohmygosh, my brain goes strange places sometimes, anyone remember the Saturday morning cartoon The Funky Phantom? The Spirit of 1776.

Back to my theme. The first recipe I read in this book was far from promising. Something about canned green beans entombed in lemon jello makes me think they'd be more likely to incite rebellion than feed a revolution.

Green Bean Crunchers

1 can [1 lb] French style green beans

1 pkg [3 oz.] lemon gelatin

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup coarsely chopped nuts

Drain beans, reserving liquid. Add enough water to bean liquid to make 2 cups. Bring liquid to a boil and add lemon gelatin, stirring until dissolved. Dissolve unflavored gelatin in ¼ cup cold water and add to lemon gelatin mixture. Cool until slightly thickened. Fold in remaining ingredients. Pour into a 6-cup mold or 8 individual molds and chill until firm. Unmold on crisp greens and serve with Tangy Dressing.

That means we have to take a look at the Tangy Dressing recipe too. This is a little more appealing, though definitely on some other substance.

½ c unpeeled cucumber, grated and drained

1 cup mayonnaise

½ cup finely chopped green pepper

2 t white vinegar

½ t salt

Dash pepper

Stir all ingredients together and chill before serving. Makes about 1 pint dressing.

The following recipes, while not noteworthy on their own, have a whole new spin when juxtaposed with the lovely colonial women posed serving up the family dinner.  

Beans and Franks

(“It’s a tradition.” We are reassured. I’m sure that Betsy Ross had a big bowl beside her rocking chair as she sewed the first flag. They rise to the level of haute cuisine by reason of sautéing.)

3 T chopped onion

2 T butter

1 can [1 lb. 15 oz.] pork and beans

6 wieners, sliced penny style

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 t prepared mustard

1 t celery salt

Saute onion in butter until tender. Combine onion with remaining ingredients in a 2 quart casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Polynesian Chicken

(May be served over rice. I have it on great authority that Paul Revere preferred his Polynesian chicken over mashed rutabagas.)

2 whole chicken breasts, halved

2 T shortening

1 can [15 oz.] tomato sauce

1 cup peach preserves

2 T chopped onion

1 ½ T soy sauce

¼ t ginger

½ cup toasted sliced almonds

In skillet, brown chicken in shortening, pour off fat. Combine next 5 ingredients and pour over chicken. Bring to simmer; cover and simmer 1 ½ hours, turning chicken after 30 minutes. Sauce should thicken. Garnish with toasted almonds.

I'll leave you with one more picture of the kind of spread so dear to the hearts of our founding fathers.