| Cooking on the River Hush puppies 3/4 cup white cornmeal 1/4 cup sifted flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 egg beaten 1/4 cup onion finely chopped fat or oil for deep frying Sift together first 6 ingrediants in a bowl. Add next 3 ingrediants and stir until blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls in hot deep fry fat or oil (350 F) 2 to 3minutes turning as need to brown evenly. Drain on a paper towel. Note: Self- rising cornmeal may be substituted and baking powder and soda omitted. Mexican Cornbread 1 cup yellow or white cornmeal 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 (8 oz) can of cream-style corn 1 cup milk 1/2 cup bacon drippings 2 eggs beaten 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1 or 2 Jalapeano peppers chopped 1 cup (1/4lb) shredded sharp cheddar cheese Combine first 3 ingrediants. Mix together next 6 ingrediants in a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingrediants and just stir until they are moistened. Pour batter into a hot well greased 10-inch skillet with heat proof or removeable handle. Top with remaining batter. Bake in a hot oven (400 F) for 45 minutes or until done. cut into wedges and serve hot. Virginia Spoon Bread 1 cup white cornmeal 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 3 cups milk 2 tablespoons butter 3 eggs, seperated 2 teaspoons baking powder Combine cornmeal, sugar, and salt in heavy saucepan. Stir in 2 cups of milk. Cook over low heat sti5rring constantly until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Beat in rfemaining cup of milk , well beaten egg yolks, and baking powder. Beat egg whites until they hold soft peaks and carefully fold into cornmeal mixture, Pour into greased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake (350 F) for 50 minutes or until puffed and brown. Serve at once with butter and jam. Note: Spoon Bread was derived from an Indian dish called sappawn which was a porridge made from cornmeal and water which was cooked until it was thick enough to eat with hands or implements they fashioned for eating. Virginia settlers added eggs and milk to give it a richer flavor 100 year old wisdom Exceerpt from American Agriculturist, Jan. 16, 1904 A simple cold remedy This simple remedy for an ordinary cold rarely fails of giving relief if taken at the start. The prescription was given us a number of years ago by a well-known physician who had used it in his practice with much success. In a tumbler, put a teaspoon of ginger, the same amount of cream of tarter and three teaspoons suger. Fill the glass three fourths full of water, stir untill all ingredients are well mixed, then drink just before retiring. In most cases, the cold will disappear by morning Newt Nectar
(NB Makes 1 US quart, but you can scale it up if you want) 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon ordinary table salt
8 teaspoons sugar
1 cup fruit juice (or the equivalent in juice powder)
Enough clean water to make up a quart You also need a bottle that will hold one quart (or one liter �?the difference between them is negligible). Put the salt and the sugar in the bottom of the empty bottle (but see WARNING below first). Then pour in the fruit juice. I prefer orange juice, but you can use whatever you like: grape, apple, mango, apricot, or.�?Anything that takes your fancy, in other words. Now fill the bottle with clean water, stopper tightly, and shake. That's it! You're done. At home, I mix up Newt Nectar in advance and store it in the fridge till I'm ready to go. It keeps about as long as any other refrigerated juice. Be sure to shake it up again before you pour it out into your trail bottle, though. Sugar and salt dissolve, but real fruit juice has solids that settle out over time. Want to ring the changes? Feel free. Experiment. Adjust Newt Nectar to your own taste, altering the amounts of salt, sugar, and juice as needed. Going out for more than a day? No problem. While you probably won't have too many oranges in your pack, you can use an equivalent amount of powdered drink mix, instead. (But watch out for added sugar and salt.) The taste won't always be great, but it's at least as good as Berry Red or Very Violet. WARNING! Salt (sodium chloride) is essential for life, but too much can kill you. And just how much is too much? That depends. The 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon in my Newt Nectar works for me, but it may not work for you. If you have any doubts �?and maybe even if you don't �?ask your doctor. This is especially important if you have, or think you might have, hypertension or heart disease. Diabetics also need to watch their sugar intake carefully. Sport drinks like Newt Nectar probably aren't a good bet for them. Questions? Once again, ask your doctor.
Magnum Oatmeal Bars
(makes approximately 24 bars) 1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
(either light or dark brown)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda (baking soda,
NOT baking powder)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups uncooked old-fashioned OR quick-cooking
oatmeal (NOT instant oatmeal)
1 cup chopped mixed dried fruits (see Note below)
1/2 cup chopped walnut meats NB You'll also need two large mixing bowls and a 9" x 13" baking pan that's at least 2" deep. An hour or more before you plan to start baking, place the margarine in a large bowl and leave it on the kitchen counter to come to room temperature. While you're waiting, assemble the other ingredients. When all is in readiness, move one rack to the center of your oven, and pre-heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. As the oven warms, use a big wooden spoon to combine ("beat") the softened margarine, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in one of the two bowls. After this mixture has been beaten to the consistency of a sandy paste, beat in the eggs and vanilla extract and blend thoroughly. Then set the first bowl aside. Now place the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in the second bowl, and stir with a clean fork. Once the contents are well mixed, pour them into the first bowl, and beat thoroughly. Next, stir in the oatmeal, dried fruit, and walnut pieces. Again, beat well. Soon you'll have a thick batter. Spoon this out into your baking pan—there's no need to grease the pan—and spread it as evenly as you can, being sure that there are no gaps between the batter and the walls of the pan. Use the back of a wetted soup spoon to shove the batter around. Finally, place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Check after 15 minutes. If the batter's not browning evenly, rotate the pan 180 degrees. Then check again at 30 minutes, and every five minutes thereafter. As soon as the top is a uniform golden brown, you're done. Turn off the oven and remove the pan, setting it on top of the stove to cool. (Use pot-holders or oven mitts!) After the pan has cooled for a few minutes, cut your dessert into bars with a sharp knife. Run the blade of the knife around the perimeter, too. Now let your newly-baked oatmeal bars cool completely. Keep a weather eye out for Sweetie while the bars are cooling. He's not just a backcountry menace. Once the bars have cooled down to room temperature, remove them from the pan with a spatula, and stack them on a cookie rack (if you have one) or on paper-towel-covered plates. Separate the individual bars and allow them to cool some more. If you pack oatmeal bars when they're even a little bit warm, they'll soon become soggy. When you're certain that they're as cool as they're going to get, store the bars in sturdy plastic bags, being sure to expel all the air before closing up. Later, when it's time to pack your food bag, protect the bars from crushing if you can, but don't worry too much about it—the bars will taste great even if they're bent out of shape. If you won't be heading out in the next few days, freeze the bars to keep them fresh. Note You can use whatever dried fruit you like, provided that it's not too large (a quarter of an inch is about right). I sometimes use raisins or chopped dried apricots, and sometimes mix different dried fruits together. If you're feeling adventurous, use chocolate chips instead of—or in addition to—fruit. This is too much of a good thing for my taste, but Sweet Tooth will probably like it! He thinks too much of a good thing is wonderful.
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