More old ways to cope with summer heat

Max, you are so right. The effeminate younger generation does not know how to deal with the heat, except for turning up the air conditioner.

We also planned our kitchen use in the summer. We picked those vegetables at the crack of dawn so they were cool and wet from the dew. Our meals were almost entirely fresh vegetables and like you, we planned to eat a lot of leftovers for supper. When possible, we tried to can in the mornings before the kitchen reached triple digit figures.

Cool, hearty salads were a big part of every meal. Here is an example from an 1880’s cookbook of dealing with summer’s heat. Note that you can make this up hours, or a day in advance when it is cooler, and being served cold, it tricks the mind into thinking cooler. The difference with this potato salad is the pimientos. They are not there just for the red color, but if you have real, fresh pimientos, they add a rather different flavor. Cooling the potatoes in the oil and vinegar hints of a German Potato Salad, but then you add a little mayonnaise, which produces a rather traditional potato salad. I think you will enjoy this different salad.

I really don’t know why more people don’t raise their own pimientos. Canned pimientos are rather expensive and the fresh one taste so much better, and they are easy to prepare and freeze.

Potato and Pimiento Salad From the Victorian Period:

6 large potatoes
2 small cans pimientos, or 1 large red pepper (pimiento if possible)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons onion
2 hard-boiled eggs
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons mayonnaise

In large pot like the KitchenAid Covered 3-Qt Pan, cover the potatoes with water, bring to a boil, and cook until just tender. Drain well and peel the potatoes. As soon as you can handle the potatoes, slice them and add the oil and vinegar. Stir and let stand for 1 hour.

Meanwhile in a food processor, mince the parsley, the onion, pimientos, and chop the eggs. After an hour, stir these ingredients into the potatoes along with the mayonnaise. Taste. You may want to add more onion, or mayonnaise. Store in refrigerator.

Cope with the Summer Heat

Erma, so it’s still hotter than blue blazes up there? Isn’t it terrible how hot it is this summer? Some national weather person was saying that this is the hottest summer in the last 20 years out in the West. Sure sign of Global Warming. So, it is a hotter than normal summer. Big deal. Someway I don’t think that having the hottest summer in 20 years is anything out of the normal. Some years are hotter and drier than others. With our advanced ages, I remember a lot of really hot and dry summers.

One of people’s problems with the heat and drought is that they have not learned how to live with heat. Both of us grew up without air conditioning, and we coped. Perhaps what some of our younger citizens need to learn is old-fashioned heat coping skills.

When I was growing up on the farm, Dinner was the middle of the day because men were out working hard in the fields. The kitchen stayed hot until noon with lots of cooking. But, Supper was a much lighter meal that involved only quick reheating or leftovers. All this method of coping with heat required was planning the entire day’s menu so that all cooking was over by noon.

Lunch, as a meal, was what women did for club meeting. No man wanted to eat Lunch.

One minor way to cope with heat was keeping plenty of snacks ready for anyone who came in hungry. There were always sweets and plenty of cookies for both working men and children.

This old Midwestern cookie was a staple. It used basic kitchen staples, was quick to put together, and it made 7 dozen cookies. This is one of those cookie doughs that you can keep made up in the refrigerator and make up quickly. One sign of the age of this recipe is that it calls for lard, and when did you last see a recipe calling for lard?

The top crinkles and it hardens as it cools. These are nice and crunchy and go well with ice cream, which is always good as a cooler.

Norwegian Molasses Cookies:

1 cup lard (or solid vegetable shortening)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup dark molasses
5 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
dash of salt
White sugar for topping

Cream together the lard and sugar until light and fluffy in a stand mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the molasses. Use a spatula to completely clean out the Pyrex measuring cup of molasses.

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually stir the flour into the creamed mixture. You will probably have to hand stir in the last of the flour unless you have a heavy-duty mixer. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Taking about one heaping teaspoon of the dough, shape the dough into a flattened ball about an inch in diameter. Place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet like the Farberware Baking Sheet. Sprinkle tops well with white sugar, but do not press into dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes until golden brown. Tops should still be slightly soft as cookies set up as they cool. Allow to cool on sheet for at least 2 to 3 minutes. Complete cooling on mat.

These cookies harden and are mildly spicy.

Makes about 7 dozen.