Home-Front Kitchen

Our grandmothers' kitchens ran on thrift. In this column we reprint recipes and kitchen advice from old public-domain farm papers, word for word, with the issue named, so you can cook them and see how families stretched what they had. The first recipes come from the 1918 home-front issues of Farm and Fireside, when families were asked to save wheat, sugar and fat.

About these recipes: They are printed as history, exactly as published, apart from obvious scanning errors. Old recipes often give no oven temperature or pan size; use your own judgment and modern food-safety sense. Source scan: Internet Archive, Farm and Fireside 1918, vol. 42.

Recipes from 1918

Oatmeal Betty

Two cups cooked oatmeal, four apples cut up small, one-half cup raisins, one-half cup sugar, one-quarter teaspoon cinnamon. Mix and bake for half an hour. Serve hot or cold. Any dried or fresh fruits, dates, or ground peanuts may be used instead of apples. Will serve five people.

From Farm and Fireside, July 1918, “New Less-Wheat Recipes”. Public domain.

Corn-Rice Muffins

One cup cornmeal, one cup boiled rice, one cup milk, one tablespoon fat, one teaspoon salt, two teaspoons baking powder, two eggs. Mix cornmeal, rice, milk and shortening together; beat five minutes; then add well-beaten eggs, beat two minutes, and add baking powder. Bake in hot greased muffin tins or in shallow pan. Boiled hominy may be used in the above recipe instead of rice.

From Farm and Fireside, July 1918, “New Less-Wheat Recipes”. Public domain.

Gingerbread

One cup cornmeal, one cup wheat flour, two teaspoons cinnamon, two teaspoons ginger, one-half teaspoon salt, one teaspoon baking powder, one teaspoon baking soda, one cup molasses, one cup sour milk or buttermilk, two tablespoons fat. Sift the dry ingredients and add molasses, milk, and fat. Beat well, and pour into a greased pan. Bake twenty-five minutes. Notice that this recipe uses cornmeal for half the wheat flour ordinarily used.

From Farm and Fireside, July 1918, “New Less-Wheat Recipes”. Public domain.

Simplicity Pudding

Soak slices of bread in hot milk until soft, and mash fine with a fork. Add the beaten yolks of two eggs, one tablespoon sugar, a seasoning of salt, and a teaspoon of vanilla. Bake in a slow oven until firm. Over the top put a layer of jelly or some rich preserve, and over this the beaten whites of the eggs. Set in oven until slightly brown and serve.

From Farm and Fireside, November 1918, “Patriotic Puddings,” by L. M. Thornton. Public domain.

Popcorn Pudding

Grind two cups popcorn, add three cups milk, three beaten eggs, one-half cup brown sugar, one tablespoon butter, and a little salt. Let stand three hours in a moderately warm place, mix thoroughly, and bake in a slow oven until firm. Serve with cream or a syrup.

From Farm and Fireside, November 1918, “Patriotic Puddings,” by L. M. Thornton. Public domain.

Dutch Pudding

Beat together one egg and one-half cup molasses. Add one cup raisins, one tablespoon butter, one-half cup sour milk, one teaspoon soda, and two cups of flour. Steam one and one-half hours.

From Farm and Fireside, November 1918, “Patriotic Puddings,” by L. M. Thornton. Public domain.

Combination Muffins

One cup milk, one tablespoon fat, two tablespoons syrup, two eggs, four teaspoons baking powder, one teaspoon salt, three-fourths cup ground rolled oats, one cup corn flour. Add to the cup of milk the melted fat, syrup, and slightly beaten egg. Sift the salt, baking powder, and flour together. Use a coarse sieve so that no part of the flour is wasted. Combine the two mixtures, stirring lightly without beating. Bake in a hot oven from twenty to thirty minutes, depending upon the size of the muffins.

From Farm and Fireside, July 1918, “New Less-Wheat Recipes”. Public domain.

Corn-Flour Sponge Cake

One cup corn flour, one cup sugar, four eggs, two tablespoons lemon juice, one-eighth teaspoon salt. Separate whites and yolks. Beat the yolks until thick and light lemon color. Beat sugar into the stiffened yolks, and add the lemon juice. Fold in alternately the stiffly beaten whites and flour. Bake in an ungreased pan for thirty-five to forty minutes. Start in a moderate oven, and when about half done raise the temperature to that of a hot oven.

From Farm and Fireside, July 1918, “New Less-Wheat Recipes”. Public domain.

Thrift, in their own words

“Last fall one woman who made a survey of a five-mile circuit found that she could get cornmeal, buckwheat, and whole wheat flour from a neighboring mill. … The sugar supply of her family of six she cut down to 10 pounds a month, and pieced out this allowance with neighborhood sorghum and honey.”

“I never waste the scraps of cold fish left over from our meatless day, but by adding condiments and sauces to them I usually achieve a dish that brings praise from all members of the family.”

Frugal habits for today's kitchen

• Cook once, eat twice. Plan a second dish from the leftovers before you cook the first.
• Keep a stale-bread jar. Bread puddings, crumbs and stuffing all start with yesterday's loaf.
• Use the whole vegetable. Peelings and ends make broth.
• Shop the pantry first. Look in the cupboard before you write the list.

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