Recipes
Try making one of the recipes that Susannah cooks during the course of the novel. If possible, try to use maple syrup, which during Susannah’s time was much less expensive than sugar and more readily available. Instead of lemon juice, which was extremely rare and expensive, most cooks used vinegar. You can try looking up recipes on-line or in cookbooks, or use one of the recipes that follow here. During Susannah’s time, many cooks simply used recipes that were handed down between generations of a family, or swapped recipes with neighbors. Other kept a general reference book handy, such as Aunt Patience’s book The Frugal Housewife. To make your own food, work in small groups to adapt the measurements in the recipe (or “receipt”, as Susannah called it in 1843) to make food for the correct number of people.
Maple Bread PuddingServes 6
3/4 cup maple syrup 1 tsp. vinegar 3 slices whole-wheat bread without crusts 2 eggs 2 cups whole milk 1 T. butter 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 cup raisins 1/4 tsp. vanilla Pour maple syrup in top of double boiler. Butter each slice of bread and cube Add to syrup Add raisins and vinegar Beat together eggs, milk, salt and vanilla and pour over bread mixture Do not stir Set over gently boiling water Cook 1 hour Spoon the sauce created in the pudding over each serving. Apple Brown Betty2 1/2 lb apples
(try MacIntosh apples in season) 8 oz fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs (about 6 slices) ½ cup maple syrup 3 oz butter ½ cup raisins, firmly packed 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 tsp. each nutmeg and cinnamon Heat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples Grease a 9x9 inch baking dish Put one third of the breadcrumbs in the bottom and dot with some of the butter Put half the apples on top Sprinkle with half the maple syrup, vinegar, raisins, and spices Put one third of the breadcrumbs on top and dot with more of the butter Put on the rest of the apples, maple syrup, etc. Cover with remaining breadcrumbs, dot the top with the rest of the butter Cook for about an hour in the oven, until the apples are tender and the top is golden brown |
The Spare Room By Jenny Land Published by Voyage 
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P. 802-751-8802 | F 802-751-8804 | www.brigantinemedia.com | neil@brigantinemedia.com