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Johnny Cakes
Slapjacks
Mush (Grits)
Pickled Cucumbers
Pickled Onions
Kale & Onions
Okra
Boiled Potatoes
Fried Potatoes
Pea Soup
Apple Dumplings
Apple Pie
Onion Pie
Egg Pie
Pastry (for pie crusts)
Rock Candy
These recipes are modified
from original Colonial ones to meet today’s ingredients,
terminology and cooking styles.
Johnny
Cakes- for about 8 large cakes
(Good for grades 3 and up)
2 cups Cornmeal
1 cup hot water
pinch of salt
1.Mix cornmeal and water together until the
dough stays in a moist ball.
2.Let sit for up to 30 minutes.
3.Make dough into patties.
4.Cook with butter or oil in frying pan over medium heat.
5. Flip when bottom gets golden brown.
6.Serve warm with butter, honey, salt or other toppings.
Adapted from The first American Cookbook, p. 34
Slapjacks-
(Good for grades 3 and up)
1 cup milk
2 cups cornmeal
4 eggs
4 tbsp of flour.
1.Mix all ingredients together. (Batter should
be about same thickness as pancake batter.)
2.Cook on buttered griddle over medium heat.
3.Flip when bubbles show on top.
Serve warm with butter, salt, honey etc. Makes about 25 little
pancakes.
Adapted from The First American Cookbook
Mush
(Grits)- Makes about 4 medium sized portions
(Good for all ages although younger children will need supervision)
3 cups Water
1 cup Grits
Salt
Milk or molasses
1. Boil a pot of water, according to the quantity
you wish to make
2. Stir in the meal till it becomes quite thick
3. Stir it all the time to keep out the lumps.
4. Season with salt, and eat it with milk or molasses.
Adapted from Hannah Glasse, Art of Cookery p. 137.
Pickled
Cucumbers-
(good for grades 5 and up)
Young cucumbers
Salt
Water
Fresh egg
Vinegar
Cloves
Mace
Nutmeg
Whole pepper
Ginger
Grape leaves
1. Make a pickle of salt and water, strong enough
to bear an egg. (Fresh eggs will float in salt water if the
brine is strong enough).
2. Boil the salt pickle and pour it over the cucumbers in
a bowl.
3. Let the cucumbers sit overnight
4. Strain them, cut into slices and drain or dry on paper
towel or dish towel. (You can also leave them whole if they
are small.)
5. Boil vinegar with cloves, mace, nutmeg, pepper, and ginger.
(Ratio of spices to vinegar is about 1 tsp each spice to 1
cup vinegar.) You may increase the spices and use apple cider
vinegar if preferred.
6. Put the cucumbers in the pot with the hot vinegar. (Add
some grape leaves if you want to)
7. Let the cucumbers sit in the pot several minutes.
8. Transfer the cucumbers to a jar.
9. Pour the vinegar/spice mixture over the pickles.
10. After they have cooled completely, put the lid on the
jar. The longer they sit, the more they will taste like pickles.
Eat too soon and they taste like vinegar. Suggested time to
sit in brine is at least 48 hours.
11. Enjoy the Pickles
Adapted from Amelia Simmons, American Cookery, 1796, p.
44
Pickled
Onions-
(Good for grades 5 and up)
Small onions
Spring water
Pinch of Nutmeg
Pinch of Mace
Pinch of Whole Cloves
Vinegar
Salt
1. Put the small onions in a pot.
2. Cover them with spring water and a handful of salt.
3. Boil them.
4. Strain off the water
5. Take off three layers from the onions.
6. Dry the onions well. (cont.)
7. Put them in a jar with nutmeg, mace and cloves.
8. Boil enough vinegar with a pinch of salt to fill the jar.
9. When vinegar mixture has cooled, pour it over the onions.
10. Put the lid on the jar.
11. Let sit for at least 24 hours. The longer they sit, the
more flavor.
Adapted from Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery, p. 302
Kale
and Onions-
(Good for grades 3 and up.)
1 lb fresh Kale, stemmed and torn in large pieces
½ medium onion sliced thin
olive oil to cover bottom of pan
1.wash kale.
2.Saute onions in olive oil over medium heat until soft.
3.Add kale and cook until kale is soft and has turned darker
than it was when you put it in the pan.
4.Add salt to taste.
Serves 3 or 4 people as a side dish.
Note: when you first put the kale in the pan it will look
like a lot, but as it cooks it shrinks up.
Okra-
(Good for grades 3 and up)
Fresh okra- 1 or 2 per person
Cornmeal
Hot Water
Butter
Onions (Optional)
1. Slice the okra.
2. 2.Mix some cornmeal with hot water to make a dough that
can be made into balls easily.
3. Put a piece of okra in middle of cornmeal and form small
ball around it.
4. fry in skillet with butter over medium heat.
5. It is done when the cornmeal is golden brown.
Note: Fry the okra with onions if you want to.
Boiled
Potatoes
(Good for grades 4 and up)
1 potato per person – cut in chunks
water
1. Boil the water
2. Put the potato chunks in a pot of boiling water.
3. Boil until easily poked with a fork
4. Drain water.
5. Add parsley, thyme, sage or other herbs, salt and butter.
Enjoy!
Fried
Potatoes-
(Good for grade 5 and up- lots of cutting and working with
hot oil.)
1 Potato per person
oil or butter
salt
onions (Optional)
1. Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces.
2. The best way to fry potatoes is to boil them until slightly
soft.
3. Then transfer to frying pan.
4. Fry in olive oil or butter (about 3 Tb of oil per potato)
over medium heat.
5. They are done when golden brown or slightly crispy.
6. Salt them and Enjoy!
Note: If you want to, fry them with onions.
Pea Soup
(Good for grades 5 and up)
Ingredients:
4 c. dried English peas
4 quarts water
6 peppercorns
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 or 3 potatoes, chopped into small pieces
salt as needed
1 T. sage (optional)
1 T. thyme (optional)
2 T. lovage (Optional)
Maple Syrup (optional)
1. Place the peas in the water and add the seasonings.
2. Put the pot on a brisk fire until it boils and skim off
any foam which rises to the top.
3. Simmer until almost done, possibly several hours depending
upon the age of the peas.
4. Add potatoes.
5.Cook until potatoes are soft.
6.Add more water if the peas start to stick to the pot.
7.Serve with Johnny Cakes or Slapjacks.
Note that this soup can be made with peas that
have gotten woody at the end of the season and that it is
also much improved by the addition of a quart of good ale
in place of a quart of water.
Apple
Dumplings-
(Good for grades 5 and up)
Make the puff pastry first.
Puff pastry Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 - 1 c. ice water
2 cups butter, chilled
1. Divide the butter into three parts.
2. Pat each part of butter into a thin oblong pat. Set aside
two pats in the refrigerator.
3. Work one pat of butter into the flour with a fork or pastry
blender.
4. Add the ice water using a little water as possible to make
a smooth paste.
5. Toss the paste on a floured board, knead just enough to
form a ball shape.
6. Pat and roll out 1/4 inch thick, keeping the pastry a little
wider than longer and the corners square.
7. Lay one pat of butter on the pastry; dredge very slightly
with flour.
8. Fold the pastry so as to enclose the butter and roll up
like a jelly roll.
9. Pat and roll out 1/4 inch thick again. Roll with gentle
strokes, out from the center. The idea is to spread and combine
the butter evenly.
10. Repeat steps 7, 8 and 9 with remaining pats added to the
dough.
11. Fold the pastry in thirds, turn and roll again.
Dumpling Recipe: Ingredients:
6 peeled and cored baking apples
1/2 c. sugar, either white or brown
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. lemon juice or 1/2 tsp. lemon rind
Puff pastry
1. Roll out puff pastry about 1/4 " thick.
2. Cut into 6 squares approximately 8 inches square.
3. Place an apple in the center of each square.
4. Fill the core cavities with cinnamon and sugar.
5. Sprinkle each apple with a little lemon juice or rind.
6. Wet the edges of the dough.
7. Draw up the dough over and around the apples, pinching
together the edges so that it will not open while cooking.
8. Colonists dropped the dumplings into boiling water and
cooked for about 20-30 minutes until they rose to the top.
(some would wrap them in a clean cloth tied at the top –
then boil them) However, you may bake them at 350 until crust
is golden. Try both ways and see which you like better.
Adapted from the Wise Encyclopedia of Cookery
Apple
Pie
5-6 c. sliced apples
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter
Pastry for a 9-inch double crust
Pastry
Ingredients:
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening – ( can include up to 1/4 c. butter)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. very cold water
1. Combine the flour and salt.
2. Cut in the shortening with knives or a pastry blender until
the mixture is mealy.
3. Add the beaten egg and 1/4 c. cold water.
4. Gradually add the remaining water if necessary to make
a soft pastry.
5. Chill well.
6. Divide dough in half. Roll out each half 1/8 inch thick
on floured surface.
Adapted from the Recipes from the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop
Pie Recipe-
1.Place one-half of unbaked pastry in pie pan. Arrange apples
pie shell.
2.Combine flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon.
3.Sprinkle this mixture over apples.
4.Dot with butter.
5.Cover with top crust, seal and flute edges.
6.Slash crust to permit steam to escape.
7.Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until crust
is
brown and apples are tender.
Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie.
Adapted from Cookbooks.com
Onion
Pie- (Good for grades 6 and up)
½ lb. Potatoes
½ lb Apples
½ lb. Onions
6 eggs
½ lb. Butter
Pastry Ingredients:
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening – (can include up to 1/4 c. butter)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. very cold water
1. Combine the flour and salt.
2. Cut in the shortening with knives or a pastry blender until
the mixture is mealy.
3. Add the beaten egg and 1/4 c. cold water.
4. Gradually add the remaining water if necessary to make
a soft pastry.
5. Chill well.
6. Divide pastry in half. Roll out each half of pastry to
no more than 1/8 inch thick on floured surface.
Pie Recipe
1.Cut the onions, potatoes, and apples into thin slices.
2.Lay half of the pastry in a pie pan.
3.Spread ½ cup butter pats over crust.
4. Beat two eggs. Combine separately,1/4 tsp each Nutmeg,
pepper, salt, mace.
4.Add layers of apples, onions, and potatoes until pie is
filled, putting some beaten egg and spices between each layer.
6.Spread the left-over butter on top and cover with crust.
7.Cut a few slits in top for steam.
8.Cook in preheated 350 degree oven for l to l ½ hours
or until golden brown.
9. Let cool then enjoy.
(Be sure to slice the apples and potatoes thin, no more than
1/8”, to be sure they cook through.)
Adapted from the Recipes from the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop
Egg
Pie-
(Good for grades 4 and up)
24 egg yolks
12 egg whites
Beef suet (optional)
½ lb. Apples
Currants
½ lb. Sugar
salt
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup water.
1.Beat the egg yolks and whites together. (remaining
egg whites can be used in another recipe)
2. add sugar, apples and currants.
3.Slowly stir in the water and lemon juice.
4.Mix everything together.
5.Fill in pie pans.
6.Bake for 45 minutes at moderate oven temp.(350?)
Adapted from A Colonial Plantation Cookbook: The Receipt
Book of Harriott Pinkney Horry, 1770, p. 75
Rock
Candy-
(Good for any age; adult supervision required, as hot liquid
is involved)
4 ½ c. sugar
2 c. water
4 (12-oz.) glass jars
4 (7-inch) pieces clean string
4 wooden skewers or pencils
1.Arrange the jars in the bottom of a large
pan, and fill with enough water to cover the jars by 1 inch.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; boil for 2 minutes
(to sterilize). Remove jars, cool completely, and dry.
2. Tie the strings around centers of wooden skewers or pencils.
Place 1 string in each jar, resting skewer or pencil across
the rim of the jar, and making sure the strings do not touch
the bottoms of the jars.
3.Bring sugar and water to a boil in a large saucepan over
medium-high heat, stirring occasionally; boil, stirring occasionally,
for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes.
4.Pour about 1 cup syrup mixture carefully around skewer into
each jar. Loosely cover with aluminum foil (including skewer);
pierce aluminum foil several times with a skewer or knife.
Let stand 10 to 14 days or until crystals form on strings.
(Occasionally break up hard sugar layer on surface using a
wooden skewer.)
5.Remove strings from jars, and suspend strings between jars
until crystals are dry (about 1 hour). Remove strings from
skewers or pencils.
Note: If you wish, you can also add food coloring and
flavored oils such as cinnamon oil at the end of step #3,
after you remove from the heat but before you allow the mixture
to stand 5 minutes.
Adapted from Southern Living
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