RECIPE: FREEDOM CAKES

  From Pflugerville resident Rubie Carson, who says these tea cakes were used to celebrate Juneteenth during the 19th  century, adapted from English tea cakes.

 

Makes: 12 servings

 

Ingredients

·       1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

·       3/4 cup granulated sugar

·       1 large egg at room temperature

·       2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

·       1½  cup all-purpose flour

·       ¼  teaspoon salt

·       ¼  teaspoon baking soda

 

Directions

  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In a mixer bowl, add butter and sugar and mix together on high speed until fluffy and smooth for about 4-5 minutes. Turn mixer to medium speed and add in one egg and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated. Then, turn mixer to slow speed and add in flour mixture in intervals of three incorporating each thoroughly.

  Remove dough from mixer and add to a Ziploc bag and place in your refrigerator for at least one hour to firm up dough. When dough is firm, remove from fridge and preheat oven to 325 degrees.

  Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop out cookie dough the size of the tablespoon and roll into a ball. Using your thumb, gently press the center to flatten a bit and place on the tray. Do the same for the rest of the dough leaving at least an 1½  inches between each dough ball.

  Bake for 9-11 minutes until golden brown on the edges and remove from the oven. Cool for 5-10 minutes and serve.

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY: 1888

  On May 16, a celebration began in Austin to dedicate the present Texas Capitol that had been built over seven years to replace the earlier 1851 capitol that burned. Unfortunately, and copper roof leaked and the state refused to accept it. After builder Gustav Wilke repaired the roof and made other corrections, the building was accepted on December 6.

WORDS TO LIVE BY: 1888

  “She (Texas) has a history all her own, wild, romantic, heroic. Minstrels lay never told of deeds more daring than her sons have wrought, nor ever castle hall hath harp or bard hymned praise of purer faith than that her legends bear. Child of storms, the nursling of revolutions, the twilight of her history made her soil the battlefield of freedom, her children the crusaders of liberty." — Senator Temple Houston, youngest son of iconic Texas General Sam Houston, speaking at the Capitol dedication ceremony.

RECIPE: INDIAN PUDDING

  From Austin resident Tom McSwain, who sent along this recipe for Indian or meal pudding his grandmother used to make.

 

Makes: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

·       6 cups milk

·       1/2  cup (1 stick) butter

·       1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

·       1/2 cup all-purpose flour

·       1 teaspoon salt

1/2  cup molasses

·       3 eggs, beaten

·       1/3  cup granulated sugar

·       1 teaspoon cinnamon

·       1 teaspoon nutmeg

·       1 cup golden raisins, optional

·       Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

 

Directions

  Scald the milk and butter for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a pot on the stove on medium heat. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

  In a separate bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, and salt and stir in molasses. Slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of scalded milk, then gradually add the mixture back to the large pot of scalded milk. Cook and stir until thickened. Add the mixture a little at a time to the beaten eggs, stirring constantly. Then add the egg mixture back with the hot milk cornmeal mixture, and stir to combine. Add sugar, spices, and raisins and stir until. smooth.

  Pour into a 2½-quart shallow casserole dish. Add raisins if desired. Bake for 2 hours, then remove and cool for an hour. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

IN THIS MONTH: 1854

  On April 26, the U.S. War Department ordered a survey of land for the first Indian reservations in unsettled Texas territory. The sites selected after consultation with the various Indian groups concerned were on the Brazos River below Fort Belknap for the use of the Caddos, Wacos, and other Indians, and another tract of the same size forty miles away for the use of the Comanches. A third tract adjoining the one on the Brazos was intended for the use of the Indians living west of the Pecos River, chiefly the Mescalero and Lipan Apaches. Both reservations reverted to the state when the Indians were removed to the Indian Territory in 1859.

RECIPE: SUNDAY POT ROAST

  From Austin resident Rob Rodriguez, who says this pot roast recipe has been a family favorite for three generations.

 

Makes: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

·       3-4 pound boneless beef chuck roast

·       Salt and black pepper

·       Celery

·       Onion

·       3 Russet potatoes

·       3-4 Carrots

·       Broth or water if needed

 

Directions

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a Dutch oven on medium heat until it is hot. Add two tablespoons of oil of your choice to the pot and stir to coat the bottom. Sear both sides of roast, then remove  the roast from the pan and set aside on a plate.

  Add chopped onion and celery to the oil and juices in the pot. Cook for a few minutes, stirring to prevent sticking to the oven. Add the roast back into the pot, add 1/2 cup of water or beef broth and cover. Place the pot in the oven and cook for about two hours. Then add peeled and quartered russet potatoes to the Dutch oven. Cook for another hour. Remove pot from oven when potatoes are done. Roast is done when it pulls apart easily with a fork.   

  Peel the 3-4 carrots, slice off tips and cut in half and then into sticks. Cook for about 10 minutes in saucepan with a half cup of water, a dash of salt.

  Serve with on a platter with roast and potatoes, and enjoy a hearty Real Texas meal.

IN THIS MONTH: 1870

  On March 30, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the act that ended Congressional Reconstruction and readmitted Texas to the Union. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Texas had been in turmoil, first under Presidential Reconstruction and then Congressional Reconstruction. The latter required that Texas have a constitutional convention, with delegates elected by all male citizens over the age of twenty-one, regardless of race, color, or "previous condition of servitude." The convention was to write a new state constitution that would provide for universal adult male suffrage. In February 1870 the Twelfth Legislature adopted the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments and selected United States senators. This completed the requirements set for re-admission.

RECIPE: IRISH SODA BREAD

  From Austin resident Chim O’Connor, who says this bread reminds her of her grandmother’s recipe for St. Patrick’s Day.

 

Makes: 10-12 servings

 

Ingredients

·       Canola oil, for pan

·       2 ½ cups buttermilk, more for brushing

·       1 large egg

·       1 1/2 cups dried currants

·       3 cups all-purpose flour

·       1 cup whole wheat flour

·       1/4 cup wheat germ

·       3 tbsp. sugar

·       2 tsp. baking soda

·       2 tsp. kosher salt

·       6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into squares

 

Directions

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9-inch cast-iron skillet or pan. Whisk together buttermilk and egg in a bowl. Add currants and combine. Whisk together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a second bowl. Rub butter into flour mixture until small pebbles form. Add buttermilk mixture, stirring in one direction and gradually incorporating, until combined (dough will be sticky).  Shape dough into a ball; transfer to the skillet or pan. Let it rest 10 minutes. Brush with buttermilk. Cut a large “X” about 1 inch deep in top of loaf. Bake until golden brown and internal temperature registers 195°F to 200°F on an instant read thermometer, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool. Serve with butter.

 

IN THIS MONTH: 1882

  On February 14,  the town of Valentine, Texas, was founded and named when a Southern Pacific Railroad crew building east from El Paso reached the site. Valentine, in Jeff Davis County, is thirty-six miles west of Fort Davis. The trains started running in 1883, and Valentine got a post office in 1886. The town became a shipping point for local cattle ranchers, and by 1914 it had an estimated population of 500. By the late 1990s, the estimated population had dropped to 267.

RECIPE SPICY CHICKEN

  From Pflugerville resident Geneva Rooney, in memory of her grandmother’s spicy chicken that she says dates back to the 1800s and remains a favorite in her family. “It was a common meal in African-American families like mine, with one recipe or another,” she says.

 

Makes: 6 servings

 

Ingredients

·       8 pieces of skinless chicken (4 breasts, 4 drumsticks)

·       5 Tbsp tomato sauce

·       1 tsp ketchup

·       2 tsp honey

·       1 tsp molasses

·       1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

·       4 tsp white vinegar

·       ¾ tsp cayenne pepper

·       ¼ tsp ground black pepper

·       ¼ tsp onion powder

·       1/8 tsp grated ginger

·       2 cloves garlic, minced

 

Directions

  Combine all ingredients except chicken in a sauce pan, and simmer for 15 minutes. Wash chicken, pat dry and place on a large platter. Brush the chicken completely with half of the sauce mixture. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

  Place the chicken on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and broil for 10 minutes to seal in the juices. Remove from oven and brush the chicken completely with the remaining sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and baker at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

  Serve with collard greens, mashed potatoes and cornbread.

IN THIS MONTH: 1845

  On January 5, the first telegraph company in Texas was chartered. The Texas and Red River Company opened its first office in Marshall on February 14, offering patrons connections with New Orleans via Shreveport and with Alexandria, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi. Wires were strung from treetop to treetop, and in many instances telegraph operators closed the offices and rode along the lines to make repairs when the wind swaying the trees caused breaks in the wires. By 1870 there was an estimated 1,500 miles of telegraph wire in Texas. Expansion was rapid up to 1890 as the transcontinental railroads completed lines across the state . . .