HOME REMEDY: COLDS

From Home Remedies, 1882: “Add ground ginger root to bone broth, and drink three times a day for two days, to cure a cold with nasal congestion.”

WORDS TO LIVE BY: 1862

Attributed to President Abraham Lincoln: “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

RECIPE: PIONEER FARMS WASSAIL

More than a year ago, Austinite Carolyn Peters sent this recipe for wassail that she says was served for years at Pioneer Farms’ Candlelight Christmas events. “It came from someone’s grandmother who served it for years at the First Baptist Church,” she notes, “but you can add a little hooch to liven it up, if you like.” With numerous requests that we reprint it for the Christmas season, we do so.

Serves: 10-12.

Ingredients

· 2 quarts apple cider

· 1 ½ cups orange juice

· ¾ cup pineapple juice

· 1 tablespoon brown sugar

· ½ teaspoon lemon juice

· 2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)

· Dash ground cinnamon

· Dash ground cloves

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks. Serve hot in mugs.

HOME REMEDY: VINEGAR

  From Home Remedies, 1882: “A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar added to a cup of hot water, with two drops of honey, will cure allergies and related ailments.”

WORDS TO LIVE BY: 1870

Attributed to President Ulysses Grant: “I know only two tunes. One of them is “Yankee Doodle” and the other one isn’t.”

RECIPE: PIONEER FARMS CHILI

For those who have been in Austin for at least 30 years, this long-lost recipe will bring back memories of the popular Fall Festival at Pioneer Farms — when volunteers served up bowls of this sumptuous chili to visitors. It’s one of three original recipes for the famous chili.

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

· 2 pounds ground beef

· 2 cloves garlic, chopped

· One 8-ounce can tomato sauce

· 2 tablespoons chili powder

· 1 teaspoon ground cumin

· 1 teaspoon ground oregano

· 1 teaspoon salt

· ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

· ¼ cup masa harina (corn flour)

· One 15-ounce can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

· One 15-ounce can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed

· Shredded Cheddar and chopped onions

Directions

Place the ground beef in a large pot and add the garlic. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain off the excess fat. Add the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne and salt. Stir together well, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the mixture becomes overly dry, add ½ cup water at a time as needed.

After an hour, place the masa harina in a small bowl. Add ½ cup water and stir together with a fork. Dump the masa mixture into the chili. Stir together well, and then taste and adjust the seasonings. Add more masa mixture and/or water to get the chili to your preferred consistency. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with shredded Cheddar, chopped onions.

HOME REMEDY: PUMPKIN SEEDS

  From Home Remedies, 1882: “To clear the system, pumpkin seeds should be eaten twice a day with ample amounts of water.”

WORDS TO LIVE BY: 1881

From Harper’s Weekly magazine, attributed to President James Garfield: “If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it.”

GARDENING: YUMMY FALL

  From Texas Agriculturalist, 1890: “October planting should include collards, garlic, lettuce, summer squash and winter (white) turnips . . . Plant early enough in the month to harvest before the first hard frost.”

RECIPE: SCRATCH PUMPKIN PIE

  Rene Williams offers this month’s recipe, a treat she says her family has enjoyed every October for years.

Serves: 6-8

 Ingredients

·       Small fresh pumpkin, 8-12 inches tall.

·       1 12-oz. can evaporated milk

·       3 eggs

·       ¾ cup sugar

·       ½ teaspoon salt

·       1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

·       1 teaspoon ground ginger

·       ½ teaspoon nutmeg

·       ½ teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

  Wash pumpkin, remove seeds, place in bowl and set aside. Cut pumpkin into pieces small enough to fit into metal colander. Place into large pot that holds colander. Fill bottom with water, put on lid. When water boils, reduce to a simmer. After ½ hour, check with fork until pumpkin is soft. Cool, then remove pulp from skin with spoon, place in a bowl. Mash or puree the pumpkin pulp.

  Measure out 2 cups pumpkin for pie, put into bowl. Place the rest into freezer containers for later pies, and bread or cookies.

  Add sugar, salt, spices, eggs in bowl and mix well, adding milk. Pour into pie shell, place on foiled, cookie sheet and bake 350°F for 50-60 minutes — until knife comes out clean.

HOME REMEDY: ANTS

  From the Home Journal, 1890: “Spread table salt in corners and near doors where ants enter the house, to keep them away.”

WORDS TO LIVE BY: 1899

  From Harper’s magazine, attributed to Theodore Roosevelt: “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

GARDENING: FALL CROPS

  From Texas Grower, 1892: “For a fall and winter harvest of delicious vegetables, the following crops can be sown or transplanted: beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower (plants), collards, garlic, lettuce, mustard, parsley, peas, radish, spinach and turnips.”

RECIPE: HOME-MADE JERKY

  Jan Anderson offers this month’s recipe, a treat she says her family has enjoyed for years “just like the pioneers.”

Serves: 6

Ingredients

·       2 pounds beef, top round, thinly sliced

·       ¾ cup Worcestershire sauce

·       ¾ cup soy sauce

·       1 tablespoon smoked paprika

·       1 tablespoon honey

·       2 teaspoons ground black pepper

·       1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

·       1 teaspoon garlic powder

·       1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

  Mix sauces and dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add beef to bowl and turn to coat beef completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack over the foil. Dry the beef slices on paper towels, then arrange them in a single layer on the wire rack. Bake for 3-4 hours at 175 degrees F. Cut into bite-size pieces and serve.

HOME REMEDY: MOSQUITO BITES

  From the Home Medicinals, 1881: “To avoid mosquito bites, mix lavender oil with rosemary and rub it on your exposed skin.”

WORDS TO LIVE BY: 1875

  From the Western Almanac, attributed to Ulysses S. Grant: “The most confident critics are generally those who know the least about the matter criticized.”

GARDENING: SUMMER CROPS

  From Texas Grower, 1892: “After the summer harvest is complete, plant okra, corn, black-eyed peas, winter squash.”

RECIPE: HOME-MADE ICE CREAM

  Our recipe this month comes from Buda grandmother Dell Dollinger, who says the recipe has been in her family for “just eons.”

Serves: 6

Ingredients

·       ¾ cup white sugar

·       1 cup heavy whipping cream

·       2 ¼ cups milk

·       2 teaspoons Watkins vanilla extract

Directions

  Stir sugar, cream, and milk into a saucepan over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Heat just until mix is hot and a small ring of foam appears around the edge.

  Transfer cream mixture to a pourable container such as a large measuring cup. Stir in vanilla extract and chill mix thoroughly, at least 2 hours. (Overnight is best.)

  Pour cold ice cream mix into an ice cream maker, turn on or hand crank the machine, and churn for 20 to 30 minutes.

  When ice cream is softly frozen, serve immediately or place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the ice cream and place in freezer to harden for 2 to 3 hours.

REMEDY: SUNBURN

  From the Home Medicinals, 1881: “For sunburn, add a cup of apple cider vinegar to cooling bath water or two cups of baking soda.”

WORDS TO LIVE BY: 1858

  From the Baker’s Texas Almanac, attributed to Daniel Boone: “All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse and a good wife.”