Hundred-Year-Old Bean Chowder Recipe

It’s cold and blustery here – and time to make a hearty soup. I searched though my hundred-year-old recipes and came up with the perfect soup for a cold winter day – Bean Chowder.

This savory, comforting, filling and nutritious chowder is made with dried navy beans, salt pork, onions and tomatoes; and it hit the spot perfectly. This recipe is a keeper (though if I made it again I might shorten the prep time by using canned navy beans).

Here’s the hundred-year-old recipe:

And, here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Bean Chowder

Servings: 8-10
Time: 30 minutes active prep time; actual time=15+ hours
Difficulty: easy
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1 quart (4 cups) water + approximately 2 quarts water

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups dried navy beans

1/2 pound salt pork, diced into small pieces

2 medium onions, thinly sized

1 quart (28 oz. can) canned tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

In a large saucepan bring 1 quart water and the baking soda to a boil using high heat. Remove from the heat, then stir in the navy beans, and cover. Let sit overnight (10-12 hours). Then drain the beans. Rinse thoroughly and then put into a large dutch oven or soup pot. Add one quart water, the diced salt pork, and the onions. Bring to a boil on high heat, and then reduce heat and let gently simmer for four hours. Add additional water as needed (approximately one additional quart of water will need to be added).

At the end of the four hours, add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook for an additional hour, and then serve.

Creamed Celery with Poached Eggs

When I saw a delightful picture illustrating a Creamed Celery with Poached Eggs recipe in a hundred-year-old magazine, I knew that I needed to give it a try.

Source: American Cookery (Boston Cooking School Magazine, June/July, 1915) — Source: American Cookery (Boston Cooking School Magazine,) (June/July, 1915)

The recipe did not disappoint. My rendition of Creamed Celery with Poached Eggs was lovely. The presentation was just a tad dramatic, and it turned an ordinary meal into a special one.

This vegetable and egg dish is perfect for breakfast . . . or lunch. The slight tang and bite of the celery combines with the cream sauce and eggs to create lovely taste sensation.

Here’s the original recipe:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Creamed Celery with Poached Eggs

Servings: 2
Time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 1/2 cups celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup milk (preferably whole)

2 eggs

salt and pepper

celery leaves, optional (for garnish)

Put the celery in a medium sauce pan. Cover with water and bring to a boil using high heat; then reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 10 minutes). Drain well.

In another pan, using medium heat, melt butter; then stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Gradually add the milk while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the white sauce thickens. Gently stir in the cooked celery, and remove from heat.

In the meantime, bring 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water to a boil in a skillet, then reduce to a simmer. Break each egg into a small bowl or cup, then slip into the water. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove the poached eggs from the water using a slotted spatula, and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

To assemble the dish: Put the creamed celery in the serving dish, then gently place the poached eggs on top of the celery. If desired, garnish with celery leaves.

Hundred-Year-Old Spiced Sweet Potato Balls Recipe

I’m always on the outlook for hundred-year-old winter vegetable recipes, so I was thrilled to find a recipe for Spiced Sweet Potato Balls.

The outside of the Spiced Sweet Potato balls were crisp and browned, while the inside was nutty, rich, and spicy with the warm blend of nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. The balls contained ground nuts, which added a nice texture and flavor dimension when combined with sweet potatoes.

Here’s the original recipe:

And, here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Spiced Sweet Potato Balls

Servings: 5-7
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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3 large sweet potatoes (approximately 3 1/2 cups mashed)

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup nuts, ground (I used walnuts.)

flour

shortening

Place whole sweet potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender (30-45 minutes). Remove from heat and drain. Remove the skins from the potatoes then mash until smooth; mix in butter, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. Add ground nuts, and stir to combine. Shape into 1-inch balls, then gently roll in flour.

Melt 1/2 inch of shortening in a large skillet. Slip the sweet potato balls into the hot shortening, then gently roll the balls with a fork until all sides are a light brown. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

Cook’s note: The mashed sweet potato mixture is very sticky. The key to success with this recipe is shaping the balls, and then gently rolling the balls in the flour while continuing to shape.

Old-time Peanut Butter Griddle Cakes (Pancakes)

What’s a cross between peanut butter cookies and pancakes? . . . answer: Peanut Butter Griddle Cakes.

I came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Peanut Butter Griddle Cakes, and decided to give it a try. The recipe was incredibly easy. I whipped the batter up in a couple minutes–and in a couple more minutes I had beautiful golden brown griddle cakes. They were light and fluffy, and a hit at my house. My husband said, as he polished off the last griddle cake, “You should make these again.”

Here’s the original recipe:

And, here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Peanut Butter Griddle Cakes (Pancakes)

Servings: 4-5
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

4 tablespoons peanut butter

2 cups milk

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl, beat until smooth. Heat a lightly greased griddle or skillet to a medium temperature, then pour or scoop batter onto the hot surface to make individual griddle cakes. Cook until the top surface is hot and bubbly, and then flip and cook other side.

Hundred-Year-Old Potato Puffs Recipe

potato-puffs-1 — Source: Larkin Housewives Cook Book (1915)

The week after Christmas is left-overs week at my house, so when I saw a hundred-year-old recipe for Potato Puffs I had to give them a try.

The Potato Puffs were light and creamy with just a hint of onion. When, I served the Potato Puffs, my daughter said, “Mom, this recipe is one of your better hundred-year-old recipes.” In other words, this recipe is a winner.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Potato Puffs

Servings: 3-4 servings
Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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2 cups warm mashed potatoes

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon onion, grated (use additional grated onion if desired)

milk, as needed

salt and pepper, optional

Preheat oven to 425° F. Stir the egg into the mashed potatoes. If too thick, add a little milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drop heaping teaspoons of the potato mixture onto a greased baking sheet. Bakes 20 – 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Notes: (1) If left-over mashed potatoes have been refrigerated, warm in a microwave or on the stove top, prior to adding the egg. The potatoes only need to be warm, not hot. If the potatoes are quite hot, be sure to immediately start vigorously stirring when the egg is added to keep the egg from beginning to coagulate. (2) Potato Puffs may be refrigerated and reheated. Put in a 400 ° F oven for 20 minutes or until hot.

Old-Fashioned Black Walnut Bread (Nut Bread) Recipe

I’m a black walnut aficionado The bold, rich taste of black walnuts is lovely in candies and baked goods. And, as a bonus black walnuts are quite nutritious. They are a good source of vitamin E and iron, and have lots of protein. They also contain “good” polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats that can help reduce “bad” cholesterol.

Black walnuts are seldom sold in stores, so each autumn I scope out black walnut trees on nearby public property, and then forage the walnuts. I then hull the walnuts (and walk around for at least a week afterwards with walnut-stained hands), and then spread the hulled nuts out on newspapers to dry for several months.

A couple days ago my husband and I began to crack the walnuts, and then to pick the nut meats out, which is a challenge in itself. I swear that black walnuts are the most difficult nuts (except for maybe hickory nuts) to crack.

Now that I had the shelled nuts, I was ready to begin baking with them. I selected a hundred-year-old nut bread recipe. Any type of nuts could be used in the recipe–but black walnuts would have commonly been used in the early 1900s.

The Black Walnut Bread was easy to make, and it was a taste treat with the embedded, robust, savory pieces of black walnut. This recipe is a keeper.

Here is the original hundred-year-old recipe:

Source: Larkin Housewives Cook Book (1915)

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Black Walnut Bread (Nut Bread)

Servings: 2 loaves
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
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4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup black walnuts, chopped (or other type of nut)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease two loaf pans. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Add egg and milk, and stir just enough to blend the ingredients. Add the black walnuts, and gently stir to spread the nuts throughout the batter. Pour into the greased pans. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean.

I couldn’t figure out why the old recipe said that after the batter was poured into the loaf pans that they should “stand aside to raise twenty minutes” before baking. Since this recipe called for baking powder (and not yeast), it didn’t seem like it needed to rise prior to baking so I ignored that step.

Hundred-year-old Cocoa Recipe

Brrrr, it’s snowy, the temperature outside is in the single digits, and I’m cocooning until the weather improves. Then I remembered seeing a recipe for Cocoa in a hundred-year-old home economics textbook, and knew it was the perfect time to try it.

The Cocoa only took a few minutes to make – and soon I was relaxing with a steamy cup of rich and creamy Cocoa. There was no comparison to the modern pre-mixed cocoa products. The Cocoa made using old recipe was better . . . much, much better.

Here are the old directions for making Cocoa:

Source: Foods and Household Management: A Textbook of the Household Arts by Helen Kinne and Anna M. Cooley (1915) — Source: *Foods and Household Management: A Textbook of the Household Arts* by Helen Kinne and Anna M. Cooley (1915)

Here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Cocoa

Servings: 2
Time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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4 teaspoons cocoa

4 teaspoons sugar

2 cup milk

Put the cocoa and sugar in a bowl, and stir to combine. Add 1 tablespoon and milk and stir until smooth; then add another tablespoon of milk and stir. Set aside.

Put the remainder of the milk in a medium sauce pan. While stirring constantly, heat the milk until hot and steamy using medium heat; then stir in the cocoa mixture. Remove from heat and serve.

When I made this recipe, I looked at the Cocoa recipe on the can of cocoa. The recipe on the can called for more sugar, and had a 2 to 1 ratio of sugar to cocoa, while the hundred-year-old recipe had a 1 to 1 ratio of sugar to cocoa which resulted in a delightful hot drink that featured the nuanced chocolaty notes of the cocoa without being overwhelmed by the sweetness of the sugar.