From the Book of Home Gardening, 1888: Don’t hide your garden. Remember the saying “out of sight, out of mind”? That’s what happens to a garden that is tucked in a corners of your yard. It gets neglected, forgotten, and will often produce disappointing results. Your garden location should be in full sunlight, away from trees that may steal precious nutrients, and within view of your home, so you can watch it grow. Plants make better use of the morning sun for photosynthesis, rather than the hot afternoon sun.
HOME REMEDIES: STAINS, MORE.
From Austin resident Helen Janners, who found these remedies in an 1873 book that once belonged to her great grandmother:
· To wash windows, use two tablespoons of turpentine in water.
· To stop nose bleeding, place a penny between the teeth and upper lip, and hold it there for a few minutes. Never fails.
· To clean tinware, wash it in hot soap suds and hand dry, then apply dry flour and rub it with a newspaper.
· Grass stains may be removed from a white material by washing the stained garment in spirits of camphor.
RECIPE: APPLE & ONION PORK ROAST.
Kyle resident Ginny Spears, a former Pioneer Farms volunteer, offers this favorite family entree.
Cook Time: 2 hours.
Makes: 8 servings.
INGREDIENTS
· 3 Tablespoons olive oil
· 1 whole pork shoulder roast (also called pork butt)
· Salt and pepper, to taste
· 4 cups apple juice
· 1 cup beef stock
· 3 whole apples, cored and cut into wedges
· 3 whole medium onions, sliced
· 1 whole bay leaf
· Wild Rice
· 2 1/2 cups wild rice
· 4 cups water
· 3 cups chicken stock
· 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
· 1/2 cup chopped pecans
INSTRUCTIONS
Saute onions until brown. Or just add them raw to the roast.
To make the roast, heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Salt and pepper roast, then sear on all sides to give it some color. Reduce heat to low. Add apple juice, apple slices, onions, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 3 hours. Or you can put it in a 300 degree oven.
Near the end of the cooking time, make the rice by melting butter in a medium saucepan. Add pecans and saute for two minutes. Add wild rice and liquid, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until all liquid is cooked out.
When the roast is done, remove the roast, apples and onions to a platter. Raise heat to medium-high (to high) and boil liquid, reducing it until thick and rich.
Spoon thick sauce over the roast, then cut the roast into slices. Serve with apples, onions, and wild rice.
OLD-STYLE WEED CONTROL
From the Book of Home Gardening, 1888:
Till gardens with a plow, fork or spade, not too deep since weed seeds will be plowed in. Smooth the tilled soil, cover well with leaf mold or compost. Cover with two inches of mulch that will turn to compost. Use space to plant seeds or small plants in the soil underneath. When weeds appear, use a garden knife or sharp blade to cut off only the roots, without disturbing much surrounding soil.
HOME REMEDY: CHAPPED LIPS
From Janice Cox, who says: “This is a treatment that has been passed down in my family for generations. My grandmother grew up in Ohio, where the winter weather is extremely cold and harsh. She remembers using this old-fashioned overnight cure for chapped lips — year-round.”
Makes: One-half ounce.
INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 teaspoon glycerin or honey
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon castor oil
DIRECTIONS
Mix together all ingredients. Spread the mixture on your lips and leave on overnight. In the morning, awake to smooth, soothed lips.
Any extra should be stored in a refrigerator because the recipe contains fresh lemon juice, which can spoil.
RECIPE: EASY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
Houston resident Paula Jourdan Pinkerton, a descendant of Harriet Bachman Jourdan, offers this recipe passed down through generations.
Makes: 12 biscuits.
INGREDIENTS
· 3 cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting
· 1/3 cup powdered milk
· 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
· 5 teaspoons baking powder
· 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
· 2 teaspoons salt
· 1 stick cold butter, cut into bits
· 1/2 cup shortening
· 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
· 1/4 cup melted butter
DIRECTIONS
· Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
· Stir together the flour, powered milk, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in a medium bowl.
· Cut the butter and shortening into the dry mixture until blended thoroughly.
· Fold in the buttermilk until the dough comes together.
· On a lightly floured surface, turn out the dough and use hands to press into a circle 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick.
· Cut out circles with a glass. Place the biscuits in cast-iron skillets, then brush the tops with the melted butter.
· Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
· Serve with freshly churned butter, jelly, honey or jam.