USING FOOD TO TEACH HISTORY AND RELATED SUBJECTS

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USING FOOD TO TEACH HISTORY AND RELATED SUBJECTS

• AMERICAN REGIONAL COOKERY

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INTRODUCTION

• Is there such as thing as American Cuisine?
• And
• Why is that an important question?
• OR
• Who, Who, Who Are You?

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Models of Thought Through Food

• 1. Americans as a mixture of individual
  identities-a cultural stew.
• 2. Americans as a unitary culture-melting pot.
• 3. American identity and food changing over time
  from farm to city/suburb from home cooking to
  industrialized food.

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Basics

• 1. Geography-how the land shapes cultures and
  societies at world, national, regional, and local
  levels.
• 2. Ecology-the importance of the environment in
  human life and history.
• 3. Cultural Ecology-How human beings have changed
  their environments, created new ones, and
  destroyed old ones. The effects on history of
  these processes.
• 4. Economics-raising food (the base of all
  societies), processing, selling, buying-markets
  small and large, economies of scale (modern
  food).
• 5. Social Sciences- Class, social conflict, and
  integration.
• 6. Anthropology-Food customs, celebrations,
  family life, hospitality, folk medicine, myths,
  and identity.
• A. Ethnicity
• B. Gender Roles
• C. Multiculturalism
• D. Languages
• 7. Language Arts-reading and writing recipes and
  about food in general.

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American History Through Recipes.Regionalism
(Geography, Ecology, Cultural Ecology, Ethnicity,
Immigration)

• New England Native Peoples and Regional
  British-Irish-French foodways.
• Land Rocks and Sea
• Ecology Climate and native foods
• corn for wheat-wheat for corn
• Lobster
• Succotash-Native American
• Baked Beans-peas to beans
• Chowder
• Indian Pudding-molasses and honey
• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Dairy-womens work
• Hamburgers on Toast-more meat

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• "DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING A CHOUDER" (1751)
• Yield Serves 12-16
• 4 pounds cod steaks
• 1 pound lean salt pork
• 4 onions
• 10-12 Hardtacks, or a box of Crown Pilot Crackers
• 1/2 teaspoon mace
• 4 sprigs parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon summer savory
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 cup red wine (optional)
• Equipment Tall soup pot, another soup pot
• Slice pork into thin slices. Heat half a pot of
  water in the other soup pot.
• Put 4 or 5 of the thickest slices of the salt
  pork in the bottom of the soup pot and heat
  slowly.
• Halve, peel, and slice the onions. (Wear swim
  goggles to avoid tears.)
• Break up the hardtacks (if using) and soak in
  water to begin softening them.
• When the salt pork is frying nicely, add a layer
  of onions, then put in some of the fish steaks.
• Put on a sprig of parsley and sprinkle on some of
  the spices and a little salt and pepper.

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Middle AtlanticEnglish, Scotch-Irish, Germans,
African-American/Caribbean-then the Great Mix

• Land the Bread Colonies
• Ecology European plants and animals replace
  natives
• Wheat for Corn
• Cattle and pigs for deer
• Bread
• Scrapple-German
• Cream Cheese-Dutch/German
• Hot Pots-Dutch and Afro-Caribbean
• Shoo Fly (Molasses) Pie-Penna Dutch
• Tomatoes-Tomato Soup
• Doughnuts-Dutch
• Bagels and Jewish foods
• Cheese Steak-Italian-American

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• Snitz and Knep
• Recipes Receipts from Godey's Lady's Book,
  edited by Lily May Spaulding and John Spaulding.
  It is an old Pennsylvania Dutch dish, originally
  eaten without the ham for Lent and still enjoyed
  as "Schnitz un Gnepp." For many poor Appalachian
  farm families, dried apples were the only winter
  sweet until maple syrup making.
• Yield Serves 6-10
• 4 cups dried apples
• Inch-thick ham steak or 2 to make an inch of
  thickness
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 medium egg
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons dry yeast, or 1/4 cup Potato Yeast
• Equipment Breadboard, tall soup pot with
• If using dry yeast, dissolve in a little warm
  water with a pinch of sugar.
• Warm the milk to lukewarm.
• Beat the egg, and stir into the milk.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to milk. When the yeast has
  a foam of bubbles on top, add the yeast and one
  cup of the flour to the milk.
• Stir the batter well and cover with kitchen towel
  until bubbly and light throughout.
• Put apples in soup pot with water to cover.
• Arrange ham steaks on top.
• Bring water to a boil, but reduce he to a bare
  simmer.
• Warm more water in a teakettle- the dried apples
  will absorb water and must be kept moist so they
  do n burn.

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The South Native plants and peoples, introduced
plants and animals, immigration (Regional
British-Irish-French-German-Spanish foodways,
multiculturalism, caste and class).

• Land varied, from hot coastal plains to
  Appalachian highlands
• Ecology Foods depend on local ecology and
  climate, native foods supplement foods from
  Europe, Africa and Asia peanuts and corn hogs
  and rice.
• Barbecued ribs-hog and hominy
• Chow Chow-Pickling
• Okra (Gumbos)-Gulf Coast
• Fried Chicken
• Grits
• Greens
• Red-eye Gravy
• Rice-Carolina-low country
• Brunswick Stew-upcountry
• Hush Puppies-fried everything
• Catfish-fried and otherwise
• Peanuts-Americas flexible food
• Coca-Cola/Pepsi-Cola
• Sweetened Tea-
• Fruit Cobblers

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• GROUND-NUT SOUP ( 1847)
• The peanut was developed in South America, but
  was introduced from Brazil to Africa in the early
  1500s. It quickly replaced a native African
  groundnut in seasoning pastes, stews, and soups
  like this one. Slaves brought the peanut plant to
  the United States, where peanuts are still
  sometimes called "goober peas," from the Bantu
  (and Gullah dialect) term, "nguba." The chile
  peppers in the recipe had almost the same
  history. The oysters were locally cheap in
  Charleston, where the recipe was published by
  Sarah Rutledge in The Carolina Housewife. Peanut
  soup is also supposed to have been a favorite
  dish of George Washington, who had a substantial
  oyster fishery at Mount Vernon. Since slaves and
  free African-Americans were active in collecting
  oysters and peddling them door-to-door, this dish
  was probably invented entirely by
  African-Americans and taken up by white planters
  in places like Charleston, where slaves were the
  majority of the population. Significantly, Miss
  Rutledge's next recipe is a nearly identical soup
  substituting "Bennie" (sesame seeds)another
  African import that retained its African name
  locallyfor the groundnuts.
• To a half a pint shelled ground-nuts, well beaten
  up, add two spoonsful of flour, and mix well. Put
  to them a pint of oysters, and a pint and a half
  of water. When boiling, throw on a seed pepper or
  two, if small.
• Yield Serves 6
• 1 cup peanuts
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups oysters
• 1-2 dried red chiles
• Equipment Food processor, spatula, soup pot
• Process peanuts in short bursts about a minute to
  make a rough paste.
• Add the flour and pulse a few more times to
  blend.
• Heat up the peanut butter in a soup pot, and stir
  in 3 cups of water and the oysters with their
  liquor.
• Add the dried pepper and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 10 minutes,
  stirring frequently so soup does not stick and
  burn.
• Remove pepper before serving. Serve hot, perhaps
  with rice.

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Midwest Native plants and peoples, introduced
plants, immigration, ethnicity, food economies
(local economies and industrial production).

• Land From Appalachians on East to the Prairies
  of the trans-Mississippi, from the Ohio River
  Valley to the Great Lakes and Great Plans-highly
  varied.
• Ecology Some native plants and animals
  remain-corn, turkey, deer, persimmons, wild rice,
  cranberries, blueberries. But ecology transformed
  with imported plants and animals-soybeans,
  potatoes, wheat, cattle, sheep, pigs.
• Dairy and Cheese-mainly German, Dutch
• Sausages- German, Jewish, Polish
• Apple or Cherry Pie-English
• Whitefish-smoked, boiled, fried-German,
  Scandinavian
• Dumplings/noodles-German, E. European
• Pirogi
• Toasted Ravioli-St. Louis
• Soybeans-recent transformation
• Persimmons
• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Any creamed dish-Devolved French
• Soul Food

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• MILK GRAVY (1911
• Mrs. Nickey recalls light suppers of biscuits and
  milk gravy, still popular in both the Rocky
  Mountain states and the Ohio-Indiana region from
  which many homesteaders came. Milk gravy was also
  used on boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes,
  cornbread, and pancakes. "An instant milk made
  according to directions makes acceptable gravy."
• Yield Serves 4
• 4 tablespoons bacon grease
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups whole milk (or 11/2 cups canned evaporated
  milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Equipment Large skillet, flat whisk
• .Melt bacon grease and stir in flour.
• Keep stirring carefully until the flour is a
  golden brown (lighter than peanut butter). Don't
  burn the flour and don't burn yourself on the hot
  greasy mix. ture.
• .Remove from heat and stir in one cup of hot
  water and then the milk (or 11/2 cups of water
  and the evaporated milk).
• When well mixed, return to heat and cook,
  stirring constantly, until it is well thickened.
• Season with the salt and pepper.
• "I have seen some people take two of biscuits at
  one time, break them open, them on the plate, and
  then cover the bis liberally with milk gravy. It
  takes a big b gravy to take care of a situation
  like that, so might want to double the recipe."

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• Corn Oysters
• FRESH CORN FRITTERS
• These mock oysters made of freshly shucked corn
  were a great favorite in the America of the late
  1800s and through the early years of this
  century. Some recipes call for deep frying the
  "oysters" and othersmost likely for reasons of
  economy rather than health instruct you to cook
  them more like griddle cakes. These are terrific
  with breakfast, but make an equally good
  appetizer, especially when served with tartar
  sauce.
• 4 to 5 cobs sweet corn, shucked,or substitute 2
  cups frozenkernels, thawed2 eggs, separated13
  cup flourPinch cayenne pepperSaltGround black
  pepperButter, melted
• 1. Cook the fresh corn in lightly salted boiling
  water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and
  cool. Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off
  the cobs. Measure 2 cups corn into a bowl.
• .Stir the egg yolks and flour into the corn.
  Season with cayenne and salt and pepper to taste.
  Beat the egg whites until firm and shiny. Fold
  into the corn mixture.
• Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan over moderate
  heat. Brush with melted butter. Drop the corn
  batter by spoonfuls the size of a fried oyster
  (about 2 inches in diameter) onto the griddle.
  Brown on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per
  side. Serve immediately.
• Mary at the farm and Book of Recipes by Edith M.
  Thomas

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Southwest Native plants and peoples, introduced
plants and animals, immigration (Southern
American-Hispanic foodways, multiculturalism,
caste and class, cultural identity).

• Land drylands, fertile valleys, vast prairie
• Ecology native foods remain-beans, corn, chilies
  with additions of cattle and wheat. Hispanic
  influence great.
• Posole-hominy
• Tamales
• Tacos-Tex-Mex
• Chicken Fried Steak-English-German-Appalachian
• Beef Chili
• Fajitas-recent American-Mexican
• Green Chile Stews-native

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• Tamale Pie
• CORNMEAL SAUSAGE PIE
• Tamale pie is as authentically Tex-Mex as chili
  con carne. There are numerous variations on this
  casserole of cornmeal and meat, some using chili
  as a base, others using the same masa meal that
  Mexicans use for real tamales. Either way, it is
  a homey meal that may lack the complexity of
  tamales steamed in corn husks, but then again it
  does not take hours to prepare.
• 1. Preheat oven to 375F.
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound sausage meat or Mexican chorizo,
  crumbled
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup tomato juice
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• .Heat the oil in a large skillet over moderately
  high heat. Add the sausage and beef and cook
  until browned and cooked through, about 8 to 10
  minutes. Add the chili powder and garlic and cook
  1 more minute. Drain off any excess fat. Spoon
  into a 9-inch pie plate.
• Combine the cornmeal, milk, tomato juice, eggs,
  and salt and stir until smooth. Pour over the
  meat mixture. Set in the oven and bake until firm
  and golden, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.
• Favorite Recipes of Colfax County Club Women
  compiled by the Colfax County Home Demonstration
  Clubs

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• Spanish Chicken
• CHICKEN STEWED WITH TOMATOES AND CHILES
• A favorite dish of silent screen stars Mary
  Pickford and Constance Bennett. This version
  comes from Miss Bennett.
• 1. Preheat oven to 350F.
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon powdered thyme
• A 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 small onions, peeled and cut in half
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 dried New Mexican or Anaheim chile, stemmed,
  seeded, and crumbled fine
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

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California and NorthwestImmigrants

• Land Varied, richest agricultural regions and
  microenvironments
• Ecology Almost entirely introduced foods, save
  for fish.
• California
• Salads-lettuces including iceberg-invented food
• Chop Suey-Chinese
• Chow Mien-Chinese
• Garlic
• Tuna Fish
• Taquitos-Cal-Mex
• Avocado-Mexico
• Burrito-recent Cal-Mex
• California Pizza-chef invented
• Almonds
• Artichokes
• Wines
• Canned fruits and vegetables, including
  pineapple

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• Grilled Veggie Hero with Roasted Garlic Spread
• This sandwich is great for using up some of the
  bounty from the farmers' market. The hours that
  it spends wrapped in plastic make this a terrific
  dish for entertaining or to take on a picnic.
• 1 head garlic
• Olive oil for drizzling and brushing
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 portobello mushroom caps
• 2 to 3 zucchini or yellow squash, sliced
  lengthwise into thirds
• 1 Vidalia or red onion, thickly sliced crosswise
• 2 red peppers, cut in half, stems, ribs, and
  seeds remove
• One 7-ounce log goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons whole milk or sour cream
• 1 loaf rustic bread such as ciabatta
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 bunch arugula or 3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• Preheat the oven to 325F. Cut off the top
  quarter of the garlic head to expose the cloves.
  Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper,
  and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Place on a
  cookie sheet and bake until soft, 45 minutes to 1
  hour. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
• Preheat the broiler. Brush the mushroom caps,
  zucchini or squash, onion, and peppers with oil
  and season with salt and pepper. Broil 3 to 4
  inches from the element until tender, about 10
  minutes, turning once. Set aside to cool.
• Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin into a
  small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the goat
  cheese, milk or sour cream, and salt and pepper
  to taste, continuing to mash well with a fork
  until blended.
• Cut the bread in half and open it like a book.
  Spread both sides of the bread with the goat
  cheese mixture. Slice the roasted vegetables into
  strips and layer them on one side of bread. Top
  the vegetables with tomato slices. Drizzle with
  vinegar. Top with arugula or spinach and replace
  the top half of the bread to make a sandwich.
  Press the length of the sandwich firmly with the
  palm of your hand to compress it slightly. Wrap
  tightly in plastic wrap and press under a weight
  (2 cans of tomatoes on top of a cutting board
  works well) for 2 to 3 hours to combine the
  flavors and improve the sandwich texture. Cut
  into portions and serve.

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Northwest

• Wines
• Wild Salmon-native
• Apples
• Pears
• Asparagus
• Potatoes-Plateau
• Grapes
• Wines
• Beer (hops and micro-Breweries)
• Starbucks Coffee

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• Wild Salmon Teriyaki
• This recipe not only makes a delicious dinner,
  the leftovers serve double duty as the base for a
  second meal of fried rice.
• One 2-inch knob fresh ginger
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• '/2 cup chicken stock (see recipe, page 78) or
  water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
  2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses or honey
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 pounds wild salmon fillets
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Place the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, chicken
  stock, vinegar, molasses, and red pepper flakes
  in a blender and puree until smooth. Place the
  salmon in a nonreactive bowl or casserole just
  large enough to hold the fish in one layer. Cover
  with the marinade and refrigerate for 20 minutes,
  turning the salmon once halfway through.
• While fish marinates, preheat the broiler and oil
  a broiling pan (in place of a broiling pan I use
  a cake cooling rack that fits neatly into a
  cookie sheet. The fish doesn't stick to the rack
  if I oil it well and the cookie sheet catches any
  drips).
• Remove the fish from the marinade and place it
  skin-side-up on the broiling pan. Broil the fish
  approximately 4 inches from the broiling element
  until the skin is crispy and starts to bubble, 7
  to 10 minutes. Run a spatula under the fish to
  loosen it from the rack and flip it over. Broil
  on the second side until dark brown, another 7 to
  10 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a
  fork into the center of the fillet. The fish
  should be opaque and flaky all the way through.
  If not quite done, turn the broiler off and bake
  at 425F until cooked through.
• While the fish is broiling, pour the remaining
  marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil,
  then simmer for 5 minutes to make a delicious
  sauce.
• Serve the salmon with rice and steamed vegetables
  and pass the sauce separately on the side.
• (from Sherri Brooks Vinton and Ann Clark
  Espuelas, The Real Food Revival)