One of my all time favorite series growing up was the “Little House” books by Laura Ingals Wilder. My mom read them to my brother and I multiple times, we even used them as part of our history lessons. They were also my first “thick” books to read on my own when I finally learned to read at age 9. I was so proud of myself. One of the beauties of homeschooling is that you can work at your child’s pace and gear their education to what they need. It may have taken me a long time to read but I haven’t been able to put books down since that day.
My mom reading to us before be could even talk definitely instilled a love of reading in me. The highlight of my young life was when I got to tour the house where Laura wrote her book at Rockyridge Farm in Southern Missouri. To make our reading more fun my mom cooked different meals that Laura ate growing up. It made us feel more connected with what was happening at that time. I was reading back over some of my favorite parts from the books (which at one point my friend Laura and I had memorized the page numbers of where they were located) when I decided that it would be fun to cook one dish from every book that Laura ate.
For the next nine weeks I’m going to be sharing some simple, yet delicious old staples of the American diet from the 1800’s. Now there is a “Little House Cook Book”, my mom actually has that but I have just research on the internet or made up my own version. I’ve been wanting to get the book for a few years now, I finally ordered it yesterday, so I should have it in the next week or so depending on when our mail gets brought down. Part of the fun is being creative anyway and not following a book, it’s not like I follow one on a regular bases anyways.
For my first week I have a dish from “Little House in the Big Woods”, corn meal mush which is a dish that my mom has been making since I was little. There are two diiffertent ways to enjoy this yummy dish. The way I ate it growing up is with a little butter salt and pepper. The way Laura ate was with maple syurp known as hasty pudding.
Next time I make this I plan on soaking my corn meal in lime water to release vitamin B3 (niacin) the otherwise remains bound in the corn. During the 19th century in the deep southern United States many consumed a diet high in untreated corn. The result was an epidimic of pelegra. Pellagra caused depression, thinness, listlessness, sore skin, sore mouths, mental disorders, hallucinations and irratability. A deficency in niacin was later proved in 1937 to be the cause of pallagra.
During this same time period the Mexican women who had been soaking their corncobs in lime water before making their tortillas did not suffer from pallagra. Less of the vitamin is needed if their is plenty of protien in the diet.
But for supper Grandma made hasty pudding. She stood by the stove, sifting yellow corn meal from her fingers into a kettle of boiling, salted water. She stirred the water all the time with a big wooden spoon, and sifted in the meal until the kettle was full of a thick bubbling mass. Then she set it on the back of the stove where it would cook slowly…. Then Uncle George came with a smaller bucket of syrup, and everybody ate the hot hasty pudding with maple syrup for supper.
(Little House in the Big Woods)
Corn Meal Mush
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1 tsp salt
- For serving:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Butter
- Maple Syrup (not the fake stuff!)
Instructions
- Bring water and salt to a boil.
- Slowly pour in corn meal,stiring constantly to prevent clumping.
- Turn burner to low, stirng frequently for 45 minutes.
- Dish into bowls and serve with salt, butter and a pat of butter. Or to eat to how Laura liked it serve with a pat of butter and some maple syrup.
This post is part of Pennywise Platter Thursday, Hearth and Soul,
More Cooking Through “Little House” recipes:
Fried Apples and Onions
Pancakes
Lemonade
Biscuits
Ginger “Thirst Quencher”
What kind of corn meal do you use? And do you just squeeze line water in water to soak it in?
Lime not line
I used a stoneground corn meal from Azure Standard. Now, I grind my own. I really need to update this post and recipe, so I am glad that you asked! The lime water is made from pickling lime, not juice from the citrus. This is how you make it from an exprect from the book Nourishing Traditions.
“To make lime water, place about 1 inch pickling lime in a 2-quart jar. Fill jar with filtered water, shake well, cover tightly, and let stand overnight. The powder will settle and the resultant clear liquid is lime water. Store in a cool place (it’s not necessary to refrigerate) and use for soaking cornmeal by pouring out carefully.”
Skip steps 1 and 2. The day before you want to make your mush, mix 1/2 cup lime water and 1 cup of cornmeal in a non-reactive bowl, such as glass. When you are ready to cook the mush, gently pour the soaked cornmeal into a pot. Pour the water in and turn the heat to low. Gently whisk until smooth, then bring the pot to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Now go back to Step 3.
I hope that helps! Since I don’t have it very often I skip the soaking process sometimes. If it was a dish I made every week I would be sure to always include the soaking. Both ways work well. 🙂
Oh, how to get nostalgic…lots of us loved those books. Wanted to add a third way we ate cornmeal mush…pour into a loaf pan and chill overnight…in the morning, slice and pan fry in butter like you would French toast and drizzle with syrup….yummmm. I still do this. True country food passed down through generations of country women.
Sharon,
Your suggestion to mold it and fry it is my FAVORITE way. I”m nearly 70 and I can remember that from my childhood. There is something SO GOOD about the soft inside and the crisp browned outside. Butter and syrup. Perfection!!
Thank you Katie. I just found this website, but I’ll be back again often – and soon.
I’m so glad you stopped by Cheryll!
Alex, thanks! I’ll be sure to go over to your blog today! 🙂
Christy, they are probably my all time favorite kids books. I played Little House too. My friends name is Laura and I had blond hair back then so you can guess how that went…..
How fun! I love this idea and can’t wait to see more. Thanks for sharing it with the hearth and soul hop, too 😀
I have read them over and over and over – I just so wanted to be Laura, but because I was the oldest sister I always had to be Mary when we played Little House!
I love cornmeal mush either way! Thanks for sharing this with us on the hearth and soul hop!
I didn’t read the books growing up, but checked out the Little House Cook Book a few months ago, and was fascinated by the recipes and wisdom. It was a fun read. Thank you for sharing with the Hearth and Soul hop.
Katie, thanks so much for sharing this beautiful reminiscence of your mother reading to you and your childhood favorite books from Laura Ingalls! I also adored anything from little house on the prarie and read the books long before the tv show came out! I also love that you are introducing your kids to the cuisine of the pioneer days. The information on soaked corn is so important! It is simply beautiful to see traditional wisdom solving nutritional issues, and too bad people didn’t WATCH what others were doing and follow suit! thanks again for sharing on the hearth and soul hop and I will be sharing this lovely article on my hop highlights on thoughts on friday link love at a moderate life 🙂 Alex@amoderatelife