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elizabeth_mnThe Challenge: #6 Seasonal Fruits/Vegetables August 10 - August 23
Concoct a dish based on the fruits and/or vegetables that would have been in season and available to the particular time you wish to interpret. It needn’t be the place you are in at this moment, but it should coincide with the season!
The Recipe: Described in Little Town on The Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, this is really not a recipe as much as a suggestion. I have always loved the passages dealing with Mary's preparations for college. On p. 110 we find this:
"What would you like for supper, Mary?" It would be Mary's last supper at home.
"Anything you put on the table is good, Ma," Mary answered.
"It is so hot," Ma said. "I believe I will have cottage cheese balls with onions in them, and the cold creamed peas. Suppose you bring some lettuce and tomatoes from the garden, Laura."
Elsewhere in the book she refers to eating the tomatoes in dishes with sugar and cream, and sprinkling the lettuce leaves with vinegar and sugar.
The Date/Year and Region: 1880s, Midwestern USA
How Did You Make It: I took two tubs full of cottage cheese and strained the liquid out by placing it in cheesecloth bags and pressing with weights. Here is my makeshift cheese press. From bottom up: a bowl to catch the liquid, a vegetable steamer, cottage cheese in cheesecloth bags, a cork trivet wrapped in a plastic bag, and finally 3 mason jars of water to provide weight. I let it sit all day in the fridge and when I got home from work the consistency was perfect for molding into little balls.
I almost wish I had made my own cottage cheese. It's definitely something I want to do someday, but this week was crazy so I skipped it. They turned out wonderfully anyway! I ended up mashing the curds slightly as I mixed as this helped them form into balls.
I had this lovely bowl of tomatoes from the garden.
Sliced 'em up and dished them out.
Added cream. Yum. Then some sugar. Not so much. I was the only person in my family to try the cream and sugar! Everyone else was icked out.
I sprinkled my lettuce with apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar. There happened to be some homemade bread in the house so we had thick slices with butter. You will notice that I skipped the cold creamed peas. This ended up being quite enough!
Time to Complete: The cottage cheese had to drain all day, but actual work time was more like half an hour.
Total Cost: Probably $10.
How Successful Was It?: I am not convinced about cream and sugar on tomatoes. I tried really hard to like it, but it was just a little weird. The cottage cheese balls were delish, perfectly oniony. The lettuce with vinegar and sugar tasted good; I didn't add enough sugar to make it sweet, just enough to balance the vinegar. Overall it is definitely something I would want to prepare and eat when it's hot outside!
How Accurate Is It?: Ma Ingalls made her own cottage cheese, and her lettuce and tomatoes probably would have been different varieties than mine, but otherwise accurate to the book.
Concoct a dish based on the fruits and/or vegetables that would have been in season and available to the particular time you wish to interpret. It needn’t be the place you are in at this moment, but it should coincide with the season!
The Recipe: Described in Little Town on The Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, this is really not a recipe as much as a suggestion. I have always loved the passages dealing with Mary's preparations for college. On p. 110 we find this:
"What would you like for supper, Mary?" It would be Mary's last supper at home.
"Anything you put on the table is good, Ma," Mary answered.
"It is so hot," Ma said. "I believe I will have cottage cheese balls with onions in them, and the cold creamed peas. Suppose you bring some lettuce and tomatoes from the garden, Laura."
Elsewhere in the book she refers to eating the tomatoes in dishes with sugar and cream, and sprinkling the lettuce leaves with vinegar and sugar.
The Date/Year and Region: 1880s, Midwestern USA
How Did You Make It: I took two tubs full of cottage cheese and strained the liquid out by placing it in cheesecloth bags and pressing with weights. Here is my makeshift cheese press. From bottom up: a bowl to catch the liquid, a vegetable steamer, cottage cheese in cheesecloth bags, a cork trivet wrapped in a plastic bag, and finally 3 mason jars of water to provide weight. I let it sit all day in the fridge and when I got home from work the consistency was perfect for molding into little balls.
I almost wish I had made my own cottage cheese. It's definitely something I want to do someday, but this week was crazy so I skipped it. They turned out wonderfully anyway! I ended up mashing the curds slightly as I mixed as this helped them form into balls.
I had this lovely bowl of tomatoes from the garden.
Sliced 'em up and dished them out.
Added cream. Yum. Then some sugar. Not so much. I was the only person in my family to try the cream and sugar! Everyone else was icked out.
I sprinkled my lettuce with apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar. There happened to be some homemade bread in the house so we had thick slices with butter. You will notice that I skipped the cold creamed peas. This ended up being quite enough!
Time to Complete: The cottage cheese had to drain all day, but actual work time was more like half an hour.
Total Cost: Probably $10.
How Successful Was It?: I am not convinced about cream and sugar on tomatoes. I tried really hard to like it, but it was just a little weird. The cottage cheese balls were delish, perfectly oniony. The lettuce with vinegar and sugar tasted good; I didn't add enough sugar to make it sweet, just enough to balance the vinegar. Overall it is definitely something I would want to prepare and eat when it's hot outside!
How Accurate Is It?: Ma Ingalls made her own cottage cheese, and her lettuce and tomatoes probably would have been different varieties than mine, but otherwise accurate to the book.
