MISSIONARY RECIPES

Luckily for us, the women of the American Board missions to the Oregon Country wrote letters and diaries. Sometimes they wrote about the food that they ate. Below are excerpts from letters and journals along with recipes updated for modern use.

Children should be supervised by an adult when attempting these recipes.

Recipes

"...Had a present tonight of a fresh salmon, also a plate of fried cakes from Mr. McLeod. (Girls if you wish to know how they tasted you can have the pleasure of taking a little flour & water & make some dough roll it thin, cut it into square blocks, then take some beef fat & fry them. You need not put either salt or pearl ash on your dough) Believe me I relish these as well as I ever did any made at home."

(Editor's note: Pearl ash was an early baking powder.)

1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
fat (for frying)

(1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder)*
(1/2 teaspoon salt)*



Mix water, flour, baking powder and salt together. Stir and kneed to form a dough free from lumps. Turn onto a lightly floured board and pat into a rough square about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch squares.

Melt fat (shortening, bacon fat, beef tallow, etc.) in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven. Be sure to use enough fat to give the bottom of the skillet a good coating. When a drop of water sizzles in the pan, place the dough squares into the fat. Cook the squares at a medium heat until lightly browned. Then turn over and cook the other side. Serve at once.

*The addition of baking powder and salt will give our modern tastes a more palatable product.

"Spent this morning sewing a hunter's dress & this afternoon made a couple of pies, chopped meat with a butcher knife on the back of a cottonwood tree which Mr. S peeled off. Rolled the crust with a crooked stick in a hollow bark, baked them in the tin baker out of doors in the wind but they were good and we have had a good supper."

1 pound ground beef (or Bison)
Pastry sufficient for 2 crusts



Cook ground beef, breaking apart as it cooks, until it starts to lose its red color. Salt and pepper to taste.

Make your favorite pastry crust or use store-bought. Divide pastry into 2 parts. Roll each part into a circle about 10 inches in diameter. Place on baking sheet. Spoon 1/2 of meat mixture over 1/2 of each circle leaving a 1 inch border around edge (Figure 1).

Moisten edge of pastry with water, fold the unfilled half over filling, press edges together well to seal. Cut 3 or 4 slits in top to allow steam to escape (Figure 2).

Repeat with other pastry circle.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

Serves 4.

Sarah wrote on June 11th, 1838:

"Have just taken our supper of buffalo. We love it very much when it is cooked good as it was tonight. Mr. Gray and Mr. Smith are cooks. They sometimes boil & fry, sometimes chop it and make it appear like sausage. After it is fried, make a milk gravy & it is very fine. Such was our supper tonight. We eat no bread at all, are saving the flour, fearing we shall need it when on the sandy plain there is no game."

1 lb. ground beef (or Bison)
4 Tbs. flour
salt and pepper
2 cups milk



In a heavy skillet or dutch oven, brown meat, breaking it apart into chunks as it cooks. Cook until the meat loses its red color. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in 4 tablespoons of flour. Stir constantly while adding 2 cups of milk. Cook until thickened. If it becomes too thick, you may add a little more milk. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Sarah and her friends ate this dish plain, but you might like to try it served over hot toast, biscuits, or in a baked potato.

Serves 4.

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Last modified on: February 1, 2004