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Vegetable Loaf
I CUP CANNED LIMAS, CHOPPED I CUP MASHED POTATOES I CUP CANNED TOMATOES I CUP PEANUTS, CHOPPED 1/2 TEASPOON ONION JUICE 2 TABLESPOONS MELTED I CUP COOKED RICE BUTTER I CUP CRACKER OR I EGG, WELL BEATEN BISCUIT CRUMBS SALT AND PEPPER Mix all ingredients well together, adding butter and egg last. Pack into well-buttered bread tin, put buttered paper on top, and bake 30 minutes in moderate oven. Or pack into big frying pan or Dutch oven, cover tightly and bury in hot ashes. Good hot or cold.
A camp loaf built from pantry cans and leftovers, bound with egg and crumbs. It works, but it needs seasoning and a firm hand on moisture.
- The ingredient list, untangledThe loaf takes 1 cup chopped canned limas, 1 cup mashed potatoes, 1 cup canned tomatoes, 1 cup chopped peanuts, 1 cup cooked rice, 1 cup cracker or biscuit crumbs, 1/2 teaspoon onion juice, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 well-beaten egg, and salt and pepper.
- Drain the tomatoesCanned tomatoes of this period were generally packed whole in their own juice, closer to today's whole peeled than to pur e. Drain and chop them, or the loaf will not set and will steam rather than bake.
- Moderate ovenRoughly 350\barF (period 'moderate' covers about 350\barF to 375\barF). Thirty minutes is enough to set the egg and heat the loaf through, since every component is already cooked; go longer only if the mixture went in cold and wet.
- Onion juiceGrated onion squeezed through a cloth. A tablespoon of finely grated onion or a small onion sweated in the butter gives the same effect with more body.
- PeanutsChop them coarse rather than grinding them; unsalted roasted peanuts suit the loaf best. They contribute much of the protein and texture, so do not reduce them.
- Buttered paperParchment, buttered on the underside, laid directly on the surface. It keeps the top from drying before the centre sets; remove it for the last five minutes if you want colour.
- The ash methodBuried in hot ashes a covered Dutch oven is surrounded by even, moderate heat rather than a direct bottom flame, so the loaf is unlikely to scorch but will probably need longer than 30 minutes. Rake ashes over the lid as well as under, and check with a skewer for a hot centre.
- Season more than it saysSix cups of bland starch and legume need real salt. Season the mixture and taste it before the egg goes in, since it is fully cooked already.
- YieldAbout six cups of mixture, enough for a standard 9x5 loaf tin and roughly six servings. It slices better cold, once the starch has firmed; the original simply notes it is 'good hot or cold'.