Retro Recipes for Tough Times!

As I listen to the news this afternoon and watch the concern grow over the economy, I dug into my collection of very old recipes and found these two that are about 100 years old.  They are fading quickly so I felt it was time to preserve them here and the timing is perfect!  Believe it or not, I believe that these recipes give us hope.  Just listen to their titles - 'Frugality Pudding' and 'Steamed Poor Man's Pudding' - we've been through tough times before and have somehow managed to stumble through.  I know that there are many doomsday predictors in the media right now and that bothers me in so many different ways but mainly because most of us are very easily led into a manic state by an inflammatory media.  All summer we have been besieged with dark talk and musings about the economy.  We're forgetting that this country has seen humble times before and carried on.  We will again.  Our American spirit is without a doubt what has carried this young country through the crises of the past!  So without any delay here are these recipes.  They don't look that tasty but I'm sure they provided nutrition and warmth.

Steamed Poor Man's Pudding

Take two cupfuls of graham flour, half a cupful of white flour, one cupful of molasses, three tablespoonfuls of melted shortening, three tablespoons of brown sugar, one teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, half a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon and one cupful of thick sour milk in which has been dissolved one teaspoonful of baking soda.  Beat the batter vigorously, add one cupful of stoned and chopped dates and turn into a well greased pudding mould.  Steam for two hours and a half and then set the steamer in a hot oven for about fifteen minutes.  Serve unmolded, with a stirred, hard sauce.

Frugality Pudding

Fill a buttered pudding dish about half full of dried bread crumbs.  Cover with sweet milk and let stand for half an hour.  Then mix in two well-beaten eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of vanilla and a small cupful of stoned dates.  Set the pudding dish in a larger vessel of hot water and bake in a slow oven about thirty-five minutes.  Remove from the fire, cover the top with a meringue made from the stiffly whipped white of one egg beaten with one tablespoonful of sugar, and return to the oven until delicately browned.  Serve either hot or cold.


I've included a link about all things pudding in case you feel that you have to get ready for some 'austerity' measures in your home!  And remember...