Grumpy and Charles,
You men mentioned " Gray Coffee" (with Bakers Chocolate)
That sounds "GOOOOD". Do you mind sharing how you make it?I would like to inflick it on the troops sometime and see how they like it.  
I will need to talk to my company and ask them what they want in the food line.Period correct or more modern tastes hid in tin pots.I figure I better make as many of them happy as I can so they don't kill the cook.
Thank you for your time and all the advice, it is very helpful.
Keep your powder dry and your pots clean. The Union Forever!
Pvt. Dan Girton Co. A , 6th Ohio

Y'all know that that vinegar works GREAT with sliced/boiled potatoes, some bacon grease, bits of bacon, salt pepper, etc.

Hot German potato salad.....mmmm, now that's eating.

I Gits mein sauer kraut, much as I can eat. Undt, Plenty lager bier.

Gray Coffee? Shave the bakers chocolate into the coffee, stir.

I;m a big Borden's condensed and sweetened milk fan....

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Sink Rat wrote : You men mentioned " Gray Coffee" (with Bakers Chocolate)....

Well, it has been over two years....

Perhaps Grumpy had one too many treatments of Ethiopian Tonic, but Grumpy has managed to confuse two different hot beverages from that event. You'll find period receipts for hot chocolate in a number of military cookbooks, and I'm always surprised at folks who drink a few sips, and state "this coffee tastes funny." The same phrase also goes well with tea. I probably used either the round or square Mexican chocolate, since it is cheap and easy to find here.

To give away the "gray" secret ingredient, it was desiccated milk, which evidently wasn't anywhere near as popular as the canned milk products back in the day. I use it to accelerate rot in orchard stumps, so a good supply is readily found in the shed.

Looking back, the rabbits provided a heck of a lot of entertainment value, and one of the stolen rabbits was hidden by Mr. Fleeter in the most obvious place: the cook box.  They turned that camp upside down looking for that purloined hare, yet it was in the most obvious place. Well, I guess you had to be there, but somewhere there is at least one good photograph of a certain individual cutting up a brigade's fresh beef ration, and having a darned good time doing it.

You did check that door for pre-1977 lead paint chips, right?    

The door? Actually, yes. I sanded it down, let it sit outside in the weather for about a month, stained and shellacked it, threw it on the woodpile, even stacking wood on top of it, for another couple of months, then, old door properly re-aged, when packing for the event, found it was too long to fit in my truck, sawing 6 inches off of the bottom so I could pack and leave. Come to think of it. I'd like to do Commissary Sergeant again sometime.

True story. The wife thought I was nuts.

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Come to think of it. I'd like to do Commissary Sergeant again sometime.

I believe the esteemed Mr. Owens has made a proposal to the PL board that will suit you to a tee. Of course, that opportunity is contingent upon the affirmative answer to two questions. I'm really looking forward to 2008, as the calendar is starting to firm up nicely.

Funny thing is, I'm not keeping US 15 hot thorugh central PA this year, and I'd really like get up yonder to see what the Route 104 Barrel Man (Bill Bitting, heck of a nice fellow) has in his new shed vic Liverpool, PA.  Work weekend coming up soon enough for the DM 2007 effort....

Don't laugh, I trimmed those two Chestnut barn boards I use on the serving line to fit OWTWT before heading to the SCAR Shiloh NPS LH this year. They fit the F250 just fine, but Old Whitey is just a tad shorter in the bed.

Before hunting season begins in PA, we really ought to go to Doug's to harvest a good quantity of hickory strapping and hoops.

There, here's a post that bounced through a half dozen events and as many topics!

central PA is already plenty hot!

ive been living very 19th century for the last 5 weeks... no a/c... oh and no refrigerator or freezer. no ice either... we wont even go into more detail because im not happy! especially since i have medication that has to stay cold.

Got a real easy one:

Cube ham, carrots, potatoes, onions and peppers.  Cover with water and cook until potatoes are tender.

The salt in the ham seasons the broth and guys can just dip in with their cups to get a ration.

If they have some cheese it can be melted in the cup by the hot broth.

Bacon, beef or for that matter any meat could be subsititued for the ham.

Thanks Bob,That sounds like an easy period type one pot meal.
I might try that at home on a small scale to see what kind of seasoning it might need.I like the ingrediants.Again thanks.

Pvt. Dan Girton (Sink Rat) Co. A , 6th Ohio

You can also add hard crackers for dumplings.

Grumpy,

I'd like to be issued Tasso again. You reminded me of that taste treat by mentioning hardcrackers as dumplings, which made me "Kevin Bacon Game" the strangest stuff we'd ever made with hardcrackers, and that had to be a raisin-chocolate swirl production not unlike S'mores, but without the marshmallows. Dried fruit, hardcrackers, white and regular chocolate make for some interesting eating.  We had some mind-boggling ration issues that week.  

Not too sure about period correctness, but what about shuck beans. They are dried green beans. Light on the load. Simply throw them in a pot with a chunk of salt pork and a clove of garlic. Let them simmer slowly and add water as necessary (the beans will soak it up). I think they would be found in most farm pantries at the time or in the cellar.

Making the bean.

Take fresh green beans from the garden, break and string, and place on an elevated screen in direct sun to dry. A screen door on sawhorses works great. Roll them around once or twice a day. Bring them in at night to keep them out of the damp. Place back out the next day. The beans are done when they are completely dry. Place finished beans in clean dry jar with seal able lid and place in cool dry place. Or place them in a Ziploc bag and place in freezer.

Not sure on the historical provenance, but they have been doing this with beans since the late 1800’s that I have read about.


Christopher Helvey


Also:


I started walking without a cane early this summer and the kids and I went out camping. We tried to go as period as possible (well, except for a 55 gal drum of potable water). We raided the garden and took a venison quarter out of the freezer. We ground feed corn for meal (fun for the kids, work for me picking out the cob and odd bits). We also had dried sage and cayenne peppers. We had roast venison, fried green tomatoes, corn bread, jowl bacon, onions, sasaphrass tea, pine needle tea, dandelion greens, turnip soup, and a few others. The kids loved it, although my attempt at turnip soup was a bit too much for our bowels. I had never had dandelion greens; they were quite good seasoned with bacon grease and some red pepper. Really there isn’t much you can’t cook over a good set of coals. The kids have been writing journals about it so they will have portfolio entries when school starts. My daughter wrote about cooking in a canteen half, while the boys were all about hand fishing for bluegill and cooking frog legs. We are going to try this fall when turkey and squirrel season open and the fall harvest is underway.  

--Last edited by Scooby on 2007-08-02 14:21:00 --

Shuck beans = leather britches = good stuff.  

leather britches would be period correct.  and im sure i rather dry the beans than can them! im looking at way too many beans right now and dont feel like canning them all, so i may string them and hang them in the attic.