Explorer

A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

This subject is very dear to my heart, for about ten years I shot muzzle loaders and camped primitive style in the 1730-1840 fur trade era wearing traditional skins and cooking over an open fire. I have eaten everything from beaver meat (one of my best friends was a modern day trapper) to snake meat to what ever was in the community stew. In order to eat one had to bring something to put in the big cast iron kettle that was hung over the fire.

As for favorite "Cowboy Food" I must admit to being a bean fan with them cooked slowly over a fire with the beacon and other items. My wife is a "Down Home" cook from North Carolina so we enjoy different types of fried potatos and hoe cakes along with collard green type dishes. In the past few years we only cook in cast iron skillets and switched from an electric to a natural gas stove.

One funny note was that I listened to Bob Bose Bell and he stated that when the cowboys came to town the last thing they wanted to see was another steak and beans and French style food was very popular.

It is simply apple pie made with rehydrated dried apples. It is very good and usually much more flavorful than fresh apple pie because the dehydration concentrates the taste and as long as you rehydrate using less liquid than the apples originally had you will get a stronger apple taste and sweetness.

I make it frequently as I dry a lot of apples each year. An additional bonus is you can make your own blend of sweet apples and tarts as you see fit. I like to add dehydrated Bramley's seedling a famous English cooking apple along with the classic American apple: Northern Spy and also Rhode Island Greening(normally consider the first named apple in the U.S. date to the 1600s).

Tennessee Dave