  I’m really having fun going through my grandmother’s “Domestic Science Books I and II” book. Having been published in 1914, you can imagine the photos of women in their sleeved, long dresses and taylored, floor-length, white aprons, primly tied at tiny waists. I feel very happy to see that my short, work-worn fingernails look exactly like theirs. Evidently, women, back then, didn’t worry about French tips or painted designs on their fingernails, either. At the beginning of book II of this wonderful home living manual, I came across the following poem, by Owen Meredith. It is so ridiculous, I have to post it. Obviously, this Owen guy would have benefitted from today’s Overeater’s Anonymous. He seems to have been so focused on eating that all else was trivial to him! You be the judge: O hour of all hours, the most bless’d upon earth, Blessed hour of our dinners! * We may live without poetry, music, and art, We may live without conscience, and live without heart; We may live without friends; we may live without books; But civilized man cannot live without cooks. He may live without books – what is knowledge but grieving? He may live without hope – what is hope but deceiving? He may live without love – what is passion but pining? But where is the man that can live without dining? – Owen Meredith Makes you hungry, huh? Well, I’ll solve that problem and share another lesson in recipe from days gone by, which would be easy to cook on your wood cook stove! You can pretend! I will be giving the recipe for their dumplings, which are the type that are fluffy and soft. We southerners like flat dumplings or oval ones that are more like noodle dough. And so, while I’ll give you the recipe the book suggests, I’ll show you the pictures and recipe for the dumplings that I make. And of course, at the end, just as in the book, I’ll post those rules for table manners ala 1914. So stoke up the fire….  3 lbs beef – preferably round roast 1 tblsp butter 2 tblsp flour 2 onions sliced 1 carrot 4 potatoes water or beef stock salt and pepper 1 turnip (optional) Dumplings 2 cups flour 4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 3/4 cup water or milk Sift the dry ingredients together; add the liquid gradually. Drop by the spoonful upon the stew and cook until done. 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 egg 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup water or milk  Cut the roast into 1″ cubes and toss meat in flour. I used my canned rump roast (what can I say? Rump roast was on sale, cheap!) and cubed that. Sauté onions in butter and add beef to brown.  Add water or beef stock (I used stock) and simmer for at least an hour to an hour and a half until meat is tender. Add chopped carrots, potatoes and chopped turnip (optional) and cook 45 minutes longer.  Mix ingredients together for dumplings, using just enough water to form a dough ball. Roll out onto your Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ and slice in 1″ strips. Slice strips across to form 1″ squares.  Bring stew to a boil and place dumplings on top of broth.  With spoon, gently press dumplings into broth to cover. Simmer for 20 minutes until tender.  Serve with salad and cornbread or fresh bread and dig in. It’s simple! Table manners: Do not hold the knife and fork upright on the table. The knife and fork when used for cutting should be held with the fork, tines down, in the left hand and the knife in the right hand, the handles in the hollows of the hands. Do not open the mouth to receive food until the food reaches the mouth. Always eat or sip from the side of the spoon. The napkin should never be tucked in the collar.  |
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Tags: beef stew, domestic science, dumplings, Vintage Cooking
What fun posts and I love the etiquette reminders! 🙂
I am thinking maybe my table manners need some improvement…..
Candy and Carol, just be sure to keep your elbows off the table and chew with your mouth closed! Oh my. I sound like my father. 🙂
Dumplings were always fluffy, we called what you made a ‘slicker’. Ham and slickers was one of my favorite dishes that grandma made while I was young. She would boil ham hocks till the meat fell off the bone. Cook potatoes in the broth and then add slickers at the end. A little carb heavy by today’s standards but it was delicious.
Oh wow. That sounds awesome, Michele!! Yummy. I’m going to have to try that. You can balance out those carbs with some yummy veggies!! 🙂
Our dumplings were also fluffy. I think the recipe is similar to the one you found because there was no fat in it. We had ours with stewed chicken. The dumplings here in Georgia are like yours and remind me of noodles. Speaking of carb heavy, our grandmother’s pot roast and noodles with gravy over mashed potatoes fits that description, but so, so good! I’m so glad your mom saved her mother’s books and notes. What a treasure!
The noodles and instructions are on the blog, Beth, under Come Noodlin’ With Me.
I’ve had dumplings in many different incarnations in various countries and from various nationalities, and I can honestly say that there are few that I disliked. OK, maybe one version that was heavy as a rock, but that’s about it. Great food choice… and I love the nostalgic touch.
(:D) Best regards…
Thanks Hawkeye! And I have been learning a lot about cooking at the turn of the century!!
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