American History
Recipes
by Donna Flood

Fried Rabbit

Cut rabbit up. Boil in pan of water until tender. Use two bowls, one for flour and one for milk and eggs whipped together. Indian people use very little salt in their cooking but I prefer to add salt to the flour and to sprinkle a bit on the rabbit.

Dip rabbit first in milk and eggs then roll in flour. Fry in hot oil until browned.

Dried Corn

This recipe will make you appreciate your vegetable dehydrator purchased from a department store.

Materials you will need:
A large pan such as a cold pack canner
Several clean sheets
An outdoor table. Sawhorses with boards for top will do.
Branches cut for fanning flies
A good eye on weather forecast for 2 or 3 hot days.
Several will helpers
6 bushels roasting ears

Shuck and silk corn. Place in large kettle and cover with water. Cook for 10 minutes, definitely no longer. Take corn from kettle and allow to cool. Take out one row of kernels and push out remaining kernels.

Lay corn on sheets on table outdoors. The flies will be a nuisance at first, so keep children busy with branches you have cut and left leaves on to fan. Be vigilant and steady with this, you don't want flies to sit on the corn.

Fold the corn up inside the sheets and bring inside each night. In several days it will be shriveled and dry. Store in clean sterilized mason jars, a new pillow case in a dry place, or in the freezer. The harvest will seem to be small but remember the corn will swell back up when cooked.

Dried Corn Soup

1 small chuck roast
1 or 2 cups dried corn
salt as you like it

Fill large pan with water. In it put washed, cup up roast. Add corn. Cook on low fire for two hours. This is commonly served with fry bread

Fry Bread

You may add to each cup of flour a heaping teaspoon of baking powder. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the whole batch.  You can use "self rising flour" which is what I do.

To one cup self rising flour add 2/3 cup hot water (not so hot as to scald the flour)

Mix flour and water together to form a ball and let rest at least twenty minutes or over night if you desire. Roll out thick like for cinnamon rolls. If the dough seems sticky to you, use floor on board to roll out or spray with pam. Cut into any shape desired, three or four inches in size. Drop into hot deep fat. Tap with a fork as they cook, this will help them to puff up.

Serve with powdered sugar or plain with corn or beef soup.

If you are making a large batch ahead of time, you may store it cooked in an ice chest which you have lined well with first paper towels and then a cloth. This will keep it hot for hours. This is how we do on
feast days.

Baked Acorn Squash

Heat over to 450. Place whole squash in oven. In one hour, remove squash, cut in half. Dip out seeds with a fork. Butter the halves and spread with honey and butter.

The seeds you have removed you may drop into a blender, after they have cooled. Strain the unblended hulls through a fine sieve or a cloth. Put this on and heat to boiling. Add honey, cinnamon, spices to taste for a good hot tea.

Cornmeal Dumplings

l teaspoon salt
3 cups cornmeal
1 nice soup bone

Use a very a large pan to boil the soup bone.  Keep it full of water as you boil it. Cook a good two hours on a low fire.

Scald the cornmeal a little at a time with boiling broth until moist enough and cool enough to mold with hands. Mold into balls about the size of a lemon. With a spoon place in the hot broth and cook about ten minutes. Watch closely, cornmeal will stick and burn.

Meat Pies Modern Way

Ground meat
can of jumbo biscuits
salt

Lightly cook the ground meat, browning it in a skillet until it is only partially cooked.

Roll biscuit out into a circle. Place meat on one half of circle. Flip edges over and pinch them together. Put on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about ten to fifteen minutes, just until the crust of the biscuit is done.

Some folks add different things to the pies these days, such as bell pepper or onion but I like mine the old way, plain.

Yonka Pins - Water Lily Roots

The yonka pin is the root of the water lily. It is rich in B vitamins and protein. They are gathered in late autumn. Find where the flower was, with its seed pod on a stem. The roots will go out from the main stem. Along the root there will be a clump about the size of a small potato. This is what you will gather

Scrap the roots clean as you would carrots. Cut it into thick slices. Cook in boiling meat and  broth until tender.

These can also be strung on a heavy cord to hang and allow to dry. The taste is a little like beans.

Acorn Stew, Seminole 
Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds stew meat, cubed
1 1/2 quarts water, or more as needed
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 pounds acorns (enough to make 1 cup of acorn meal)

Instructions:
Place meat into a pot with water and onions. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours or until meat is very tender. Add more water if necessary. There should be about 3 cups of broth when
meat has been cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste, and keep the stew warm.

Shell the acorns and grind them in food processor or blender into a very fine meal. With a slotted spoon remove the meat and onions from the pot and place into a glass bowl. Add the acorn meal and blend well. Bring the broth to boil; pour it over the meat mixture and blend well. Adjust seasoning by
adding more salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately with Indian Fry Bread.

Alligator Tail Steak, Seminole 
Ingredients:

2 pounds alligator* tail meat
Juice of lemon
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup lard or butter

Instructions:
Cut tail into strips lengthwise, 4 x 2 inches wide. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Blot the alligator pieces, and dip into flour, then into beaten eggs. Let
eggs drip off and dip into flour again. Heat lard or butter in a large skillet and saute the alligator pieces quickly. Do not overcook or they will be tough. Serve immediately.

Variation:
Follow the above recipe and cook the alligator tail as directed. As soon as the meat is browned add 2 cups water and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice to the skillet Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours or until very tender.

Baconed Hominy, Seminole 
Ingredients:

8 strips bacon cut into small pieces
2 pounds cooked hominy
Salt and pepper to taste
3 scallions coarsely chopped

Instructions:
Fry the bacon pieces in a large skillet until well browned and crisp. Add the hominy, salt and pepper and cook stirring continuously for 6-7 minutes. Add scallions and continue cooking for an additional 5
minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 6

Baked Acorn Squash 
Ingredients:

4 medium-sized acorn squash
16 tsp honey
8 Tbs butter or margarine
Fresh ground pepper to season

Instructions:
Slice the squash in half crosswise and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Trim the bottoms, if necessary, so that the quash will stand hollow side up.

Place 2 teaspoons honey in the hollow of each squash, then add 1 tablespoon butter or margarine to each and a twist or two of fresh ground pepper.

Place squash in a large, shallow baking pan and bake, uncovered, in a moderate oven, 350 degrees, for about 2 1/2 hours or until the squash are tender.

Baked Indian Pudding, Oneida 
Ingredients:

3 Cups Milk
4 Teaspoon Salt
4 Tablespoons Corn Meal
2 Teaspoon Ginger
1/3 Cup Molasses
2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Milk
1 Egg Beaten
Butter Size of Walnut

Instructions:
Scald milk. Mix together meal and molasses and stir into hot milk. Cook until it thickens stir constantly. Remove from heat, add sugar, egg, butter, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly. Pour into buttered baking dish and bake 2 hour at 300F. Pour over it one cup of milk and continue baking for 2 hours. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Baked Vegetables of the Vines 
Ingredients:

2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/3 cup salad oil
2 cucumbers, zucchini or yellow crookneck squash, washed and sliced
1 large eggplant, washed and sliced
2 green peppers, washed, cored and cut into strips, about 1" wide
2 tomatoes, washed, cored and sliced
1 Tbs salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin seed
1/4 tsp powdered dill
3 Tbs salad oil

Instructions:
In a flameproof oven casserole, saute the onions and garlic in the 1/3 cup salad oil until golden. Remove half of the onions and set aside. 

Mix together salt, fresh ground black pepper and herbs.

Lay sliced cucumbers on top of the onion mixture in the casserole; sprinkle with one third of the mixed seasonings and 1 Tbs oil.

Add a layer of sliced eggplant; sprinkle with a third of the seasonings and 1 tablespoon oil.

Cover casserole and bake for 1 hour in a moderate oven, 350 degrees.

Remove from oven, add a layer of sliced tomatoes, top with remaining onions, return to oven, and bake uncovered for 15 minutes more. Serve at once.

Bannock 
Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tbs Oil
1 cup Milk
1 Egg
2 tsp Baking powder

Instructions:
Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Mix together milk, egg and oil and add to flour. Mix well. Knead on a floured surface. Pat down the dough until it is about 1 inch thick. Cut into 12 equal pieces.

Bake at 400F until brown, approx 1/2 hour OR heat a frying pan, using 3 tbsp oil to cook the pieces. Serve hot with jam. 

Bear Chops 
Ingredients:

6 med Bear Chops
1 cl Garlic, Halved
2 tbs Bacon Fat
1 lrg Onion, Chopped
4 lrg Carrots, Diced And Cooked
4 tbs Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 tbs Chili Sauce
1/2 Cup Dry Wine
Salt And Pepper To Taste

Instructions:
Rub the chops with the halved clove of garlic. Melt the bacon fat in a skillet and sear the chops on both sides. Place the chops in a lightly grease baking dish. Saute the onions and carrots in the skillet until the onions are transparent but not browned. Mix in the flour, chili sauce and wine. Cook until thickened. On top of each chop, place an equal amount of the carrot mixture. Pour 1 cup of water into the baking dish; cover with foil and bake at 375 Degrees F. for 60 to 70 minutes or until tender.

Berry Corn Cobbler 
Ingredients:
1 qt fresh strawberries or blackberries, washed (if you use strawberries, slice them in half)
1/2 cup sugar

Topping:
1 cup corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour milk
2 Tbs melted butter or margarine

Sauce:
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbs melted butter or margarine
1 Tbs lemon juice

Instructions:
Place berries in a 2-quart baking dish, and sprinkle with sugar. For the topping, mix together all dry ingredients, then quickly stir in the milk and melted butter or margarine. Drop batter by the tablespoon on top of berries, forming a design of rounds. Mix together sauce ingredients, and pour over batter and exposed berries.

Bake in a moderately hot oven, 375 degrees, for 1 hour. Serve at room temperature.

Southern Indian women, being both creative and experimental cooks, sweetened their corn-meal batter, mixed it with wild blackberries or strawberries, and baked the two together in to a kind of cobbler.

Berry Soup, Sioux 
Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb Chuck steak, 1" thick, boned and trimed of excess fat (or optional buffalo)
3 tbs Peanut oil
1 Medium white onion, peeled and sliced
2 cups Beef stock
1 cup Fresh blackberries
1 tbs Light honey
Salt to taste

Instructions:
Broil or grill the meat until browned on both sides, allow to cool. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil and brown the onions. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot. Add the blackberries and
enough beef stock to barely cover the meat. Stir in the honey and simmer the meat, covered, until
it is very tender, about 1 hour. If the berries are too tart, add honey to taste, add salt and serve in bowls.

Raisin Cake
Add two cups of water and one cup of raisins into a saucepan to cook. You will be cooking this until the water is down to 1/2 as much.

Measure together:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
ginger, cinnamon, allspice, as you like it. 1/2 teaspoon of each will do.
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder

To the boiling mixture of raisins which have now cooked to 1/2 the amount of liquid add 2 heaping Tablespoons shortening.

To the whole batch add 1 teaspoon baking Soda.

Immediately pour this bubbling mixture into the dry ingredients and stir well. Add a little more liquid if the mixture is too dry. You will want it to pour out of your bowl into a cake pan you  have sprayed with Pam.

Cook until done in a 375 degree oven, 20 to 30 minutes or until it has pulled away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

This is a quick, very good tasting cake and is excellent to prepare upon short notice.

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