Apple Brown Betty 2 cups soft bread crumbs 1/4 cup margarine 3 cups apples, sliced (they need not be peeled) 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 3/4 cup water In an oven-proof skillet, saute bread crumbs in margarine. Add apples, sugar, cinnamon and water. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until apples are translucent and tender. If mixture becomes too dry during baking, add 1/4 cup water (apples vary as to moisture content). Apple Custard Pie filling ingredients: 3 apples, sliced and peeled 1-1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 egg 1 cup evaporated milk (or 1 cup double-strength powdered milk) crust ingredients: 1-1/2 cups flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1 stick butter For crust, mix flour, salt and butter with a fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly on the bottom and sides of a buttered pie plate. Place sliced apples on crust. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Beat together egg, remaining sugar and evaporated milk. Pour over apples and return to oven to bake 30 minutes longer. Timeless Gingerbread 2/3 cup molasses 1-1/4 cup sour milk or buttermilk 2 tbsp. vegetable oil 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. ginger Mix the liquids. In another container, mix the dry ingredients. Beat together the two groups of ingredients and pour into a greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out un-sticky. Scotch Shortbread 2 sticks butter 1 cup sugar 2-1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) Cream butter with sugar until soft. Add flour and mix well with hands. Add nuts if desired. Chill dough 1 hour, then roll thin. Cut into shapes or short strips. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen pieces. Grandma's Molasses Cookies 1 cup molasses 1 stick butter 3 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1-1/2 tsp. ginger Heat molasses and butter. Remove from heat. Mix remaining ingredients together and add to molasses mixture. Mix well and chill 3 hours. Roll thin and cut with cookie cutter. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees about 12 minutes. Cool. Molasses Crisps 1-1/4 cups flour 3/4 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. ginger 1/2 cup molasses 1/4 cup shortening Sift the dry ingredients. In a saucepan, bring the molasses and shortening to a boil. Cool slightly. Add flour mixture. Mix real good. Chill thoroughly. Cut into desired shapes and arrange on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until done, about 8 or 10 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen. Domestic Animals and Vermin. Most Americans have an aversion to eating dogs, cats or horse meat while they don't give a second thought to eating a piece of chicken, beef or pork. It's also a culinary taboo to eat vermin like rats and groundhogs, but many people eat other rodents like rabbits and squirrels. Cultural culinary taboos have nothing to do with nutrition and if you can "unlearn" them a wide variety of new potential protein sources is available to you. If you have trapped a nice juicy rat or if Fido and Tabby aren't performing a vital task like protecting your food larder, garden or hen house you may find the recipes in this section of interest. Fried Cat 1 cat, 2 to 3 pounds 1/2 GI canteen cup flour 2 GI mess kit spoons paprika 1-1/2 GI mess kit spoons salt 1/4 GI mess kit spoon pepper 1 GI canteen cup shortening Cut cat in serving pieces. Blend flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a clean container. Shake 2 or 3 pieces of the cat at a time until well coated with flour. Save any left over flour for gravy. Heat shortening in a heavy pan. Place cat pieces in pan and brown slowly on all sides. Cover and cook slowly until cat is tender. Uncover about 15 minutes to crisp cat. Clay Cat 1 small cat salt & pepper aromatic spices such as bay leaves, juniper berries or lemon grass (use what is available) 5 garlic cloves 2 oranges, peeled and halved Dress and clean the cat, leaving the fur on. In the stomach cavity (which should be patted with salt and pepper) place the peeled oranges, peeled garlic cloves and aromatics. Tie the cavity closed or pin closed with little wooden skewers, threaded in and out of the soft belly skin. Coat the whole animal with clay. Do several coats so you have a good shell formed. Put in a hole with hot coals at the bottom and pile hot coals on top of the clay cat. Throw a blanket of banana leaves (or other green vegetation) over the hole. Let bake for 2 or 3 hours while you are tending to other things. The fur will come off when you strip the clay away. Baked Dog DiRocco 1 small dog 10 bay leaves or any aromatic spice 1 onion 1 pod hot red pepper 1 GI mess kit spoon salt black pepper 3 slices bacon Mike DiRocco, who served three tours in Vietnam, offers a good tip on selecting the best dog for cooking. He says the Vietnamese judge how tender the dog will be by color; a white dog is best, brown second best and lastly a black dog. Skin and clean dog. Remove the glands from under the legs (they have a strong taste, though they are not harmful if eaten). Cut into sections. Put pieces in a pot. Add bay leaves or aromatics, then onion, red pepper and salt. Cover with cold water. Cover pot and boil gently for 30 minutes. Drain meat and discard water and seasonings. Cover again with cold water and boil for 1 hour. Again pour out the water and drain. Cover dog with cold water for a third time and cover pot. Boil gently until tender, about 1 hour. Drain. Put dog in pan. Season with plenty of black pepper and salt if needed. Cover with slices of bacon or fat pork. Put in a clay oven or a covered pan placed in hot coals and covered with coals. Bake for 1-1/2 hours. Make gravy with pan juices. Barbecued Dog Dress dog, removing any glands from under the legs. Take off all fat, if any. Cut into serving pieces and parboil in salt water for several hours until tender. Place on spit or grill and pour your favorite sauce recipe over the pieces. Grill, turning as needed to brown evenly. Baste with sauce throughout cooking. (improvised sauce: mix a GI canteen cup of tomato sauce or juice with a GI mess kit spoon of garlic powder, two GI mess kit spoons of worcestershire sauce and a dash of pepper) Bunker Beef Curry 2 cups boned bunker beef (any meat on the hoof that you find down in your bunker; usually rats) 1/4 cup flour 3 large onions, sliced 4 tbsp. butter or oil 1 cup boiling water 1/4 tsp. ground coriander 1/2 tsp. ground cumin 1/2 tsp. turmeric 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 cup tomato juice Sprinkle the "beef" with seasoned flour. Cook "beef" and onions in butter or oil until brown. Add water and spices and bring to a boil. Cover pan. Simmer for a couple of hours until "beef" is tender. Stir in tomato juice. Serve with rice. Any condiments such as coconut, raisins, nuts or chutney which are available can be sprinkled on top of Bunker Beef Curry on rice. Barbecued Bunker Beef 4 cups cooked bunker beef, boned 1/4 cup vinegar or wine 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter or oil 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 2 onions, peeled and sliced 1-1/2 cups water 4 tbsp. mustard 1 tsp. salt 2 slices lemon 1 cup catsup 3 tsp. worcestershire sauce Steam enough "beef" to make four cups, pulled from the bone. Set aside to cool. Combine vinegar or wine with sugar, butter or oil, peppers, onions, water, mustard, salt and lemon slices in a pan. Bring to a rolling boil. Add catsup, worcestershire sauce and "beef". Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over bread or rice. Rat Roulade 2 medium rats, dressed (cut off heads, paws and tails) 4 slices bacon, diced 1 onion, chopped 1-1/2 cups toasted bread cubes 2 tbsp. minced parsley 1/2 tsp. celery seeds 1/4 tsp. sage 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper 1 cup bouillon (1 cup water, 1 bouillon cube) 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce Saute bacon with onion until onion is tender. Mix in bread cubes, parsley, celery seeds and sage. Season rats with salt and pepper. Stuff each rat with stuffing. Tie rats closed with strings by wrapping around bodies. Place in pan and pour bouillon over roulades. Cover pan and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour or until rats are tender. Add tomato sauce and cover pan again. Cook for 30 minutes more. Jane Fondue or Meat with Red Sauce 3 pounds meat (beef, pork, horse, monkey, water buffalo, dog, cat ... any red meat) 3 cups cooking oil (any kind) Red Sauce (see next recipe) Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes and set at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Fill a pot 1/2 full with cooking oil and heat to 375 degrees (meat will brown quickly when oil is heated properly). Place cubes of meat on sticks and cook in oil for 10 to 30 seconds until browned. Dip into Red Sauce. (Note: If fowl is substituted for red meat in Jane Fondue recipe, be sure to use only the left wings of the chicks). Red Sauce 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce 2 tbsp. brown sugar 1/2 cup steak sauce (or your favorite bottled steak condiment) 2 tbsp. cooking oil Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat thoroughly. Hopefully the recipes in this "Militia Cookbook" will give you some ideas on how to prepare meals from your stockpiled staple foods during an emergency so you won't have to choke down plain uncooked flour and break your teeth on dry beans. -