Sunday, May 31, 2015

Meals a la Carte

Vintage photo from Pinterest

From the Woman's Home Companion, July 1921 (available on Google Books):

Are you planning a camping trip this summer?  It is well worthwhile to collect the utensils for it with care.  Even to those not intending "camp en route," a thoughtfully planned camp home is a "safety first" precaution, and for those who stay at home, the following suggestions put into realization as permanent summer fixtures on the car make possible daily suppers in the park, or country trips on an hour's notice.

The running-board kitchen is an untold convenience.  By curving the front end slightly the box can extend some distance upon the front fender and give added length.  Five-eight-inch lumber is the proper material for it, solidly joined at the corners, as the continuous jar of travel tests weak places.  Iron right angles, screwed inside as joints, should reinforce the corners.  Two strips of thin iron across the bottom (inside), extending up and screwed to the front and back sides will keep the box from spreading.  These iron pieces are very important, as through the holes in their centers the box is fastened onto the running board.  The bottom of the box should be made of galvanized tin nailed closely from underneath to the under rim.  The advantage of this is that, as it is thin, it gives greater depth than wood and also makes a smooth, sanitary surface to keep clean.

Paint inside of box and underside of cover light gray.  Place this box on right or parking side of the car.  Paint outside of box and cover the same color as your car.

Next week -- some information on equipment, but in the meantime, here is Bettina's idea of a cool-weather motor picnic, from A Thousand Ways To Please A Husband.

Warm Veal Loaf        Cold Potato Salad
Fresh Brown Bread       Butter
Spanish Buns     Bananas
Hot Coffee

Veal Loaf

2 lbs lean veal
1/2 lb salt pork
6 large crackers
2 T lemon juice
4 t onion salt
1 T salt
1/2 t pepper
4 T cream

Put two crackers in the meat grinder, add bits of meat and pork and the rest of the crackers.  The crackers first and last prevent the pork and meat from sticking to the grinder.  Add other ingredients in order named.  Pack in a well-buttered bread-pan.  Smooth evenly on top, brush with white of an egg, and bake one hour in a moderate oven.  Baste frequently.  The meat may be cooked in a fireless cooker between two stones.  It is perfectly satisfactory cooked this way, and requires no basting.

Boston Brown Bread

1 c rye or graham flour
1 c cornmeal
1 c white flour
1 t salt
1 1/2 t soda
3/4 c molasses
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c sour milk or 1 1/4 c sweet milk or water
2/3 c raisins

Mix and sift dry ingredients, add molasses and liquid.  Fill well-buttered moulds two-thirds full, butter the top of mould, and steam three and one-half hours.  Remove from moulds and place in an oven to dry ten minutes before serving.  If sweet milk is used, 1 T vinegar to the 1 1/4 c will sour the milk.  

Baking powder cans, melon moulds, lard pails or any attractively shaped tin cans may be used as a mould.

7 comments:

Lady Anne said...

My grandfather made a box very similar to the one you describe. After the Model-T died, he used it as a tool box, and then my mother used it to store winter clothing, as the tin innards really kept the moths away. I wouldn't be surprised, this family being the hoarders they are, that the box is still serving some purpose or other.

Sam said...

Didn't have a box but my grandmother learned to put the cooler by her feet as my dad was NOT going to stop at any place she wanted to picnic at.No, he preferred getting stuck in the mud on the water company land. But I do ADORE Brown Bread!

Miss Allen said...

Funny to read this after coming back from a long weekend with my Sisters On The Fly group in northern Arizona There is NO roughing it with these gals; they have "glamping" down to a fine art!

Bunnykins said...

Dumb question of the week: steam in a pan of water in the oven as if making baked custard; or, steamed on top of the stove in a pan of water (saucer underneath) like British pudding in a basin? Or does it matter?
I'd love to make the brown bread as the bakeries where I live are all Italian and even getting a loaf of real pumpernickel is impossible.
Your recipes always make me hungry!

Shay said...

I know -- it's annoying when they assume you know what they mean by "steam 3.5 hours."

The King Arthur flour people (and if you can't trust them, who can you trust?) say to put the mold in a kettle or deep pan on the stovetop. The pan must be deep enough for you to be able to put the lid on it after the mold is placed inside. King Arthur also says to put the mold on a rack or some crinkled foil so the bottom doesn't touch the kettle.

"Fill the kettle with boiling water two-thirds of the way up the cans. Cover, bring the water back to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Steam for about 2 hours, adding water if necessary."

Here's the recipe, let us know how it turns out if you decide to make it.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/traditional-boston-brown-bread-recipe

Bunnykins said...

Thanks for that! So, like a plum pudding it is. I have just the pot to steam it in, too. Now all I need is some baked beans to go with.

Shay said...

I was wondering who would have a pot deep enough, particularly with a rack in it, and it dawned on me that that big tall pasta pot I got for Christmas would be perfect.

It's getting to hot here to steam anything, but maybe in October....