Thursday, October 6, 2011

Little Panda on the Prairie


Little House on the Prairie! I loved these books as a kid and I still do. My Thursday theme is veganizing recipes from The Little House Cookbook published in 1979.

First up is the rye 'n' injun bread that is mentioned in Farmer Boy and various other books. This is the bread they just toss together and put in the wood stove to cook over night. Ma and Laura were always just tossing stuff into bowls and pans and hours later pulling out some finished product.

To make this you will need:
1 1/2 c cornmeal
1 1/2 c rye flour
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 eggs -- I subbed 2 T flax mixed with about 3-4 T water
1 c cultured buttermilk -- I subbed in 1 c soymilk with 1 t apple cider vinegar mixed in.
3/4 c dark molasses

Heat the oven to 200. On the lower rack place a pan full of water. Grease your loaf pan.
Mix together the cornmeal, rye, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl mix together your flax eggs with the milk and molasses. Combine the two and stir until just moistened. Pour into your loaf pan and cover with a baking sheet. Place in the oven above the pan of water and let bake for 12 hours.


The result is a dense dark rye loaf. 12 hours seems like crazy talk, but it turned out quite fine. The top of mine sank in a bit but the bread wasn't a bit dry and I obviously went ahead and dug in before taking the photo for the blog. I am most excited to make this and have hunks of fresh brown bread with a mug of winter tea. And then I will round up my mending and sew up Pa's suspenders.

14 comments:

JohnP said...

This is exactly the kind of thing that I like, and I'm sure I'll be making it very soon. Thanks for posting!!

vegan.in.brighton said...

Yay prairie panda! 12 hours is a long time & I'd be scared to leave the oven on whilst I slept but it'd be a great way to heat the house for a day in winter!

Tami said...

This reminds me so much of a brown bread I used to make in the pressure cooker during my macrobiotic days. I've lost that recipe... makes me even happier to see yours!

MeShell said...

Ahhh that book is SOOOOO cute. 12 hours of baking really does sound like crazy talk, but on the plus side, it looks really tasty.
Reminds me a little of the brown bread my mom used to make.

panda with cookie said...

Word on the twitter is that 12 hour baking is done in Germany for a good German pumpernickel. Johnp, this is totally food for you.

Anonymous said...

Seems like a good thing to make in the dead of winter to heat up the house. Actually, I guess that is probably why they did it. It would probably also work in my car here in the summer.

mollyjade said...

I am so excited for Thursdays.

Dawn said...

I love all things Little House! Your bread turned out so nice and yes to the tea!

omgoshimvegan said...

I loved Little House as well! My grandmother sent us a set of the books when we were young. What a great idea.

Kristen said...

haha, this is adorable.

machopineapple said...

Takes a hardy soul for a winter on the prairie.

Luciana said...

I had a Little House diary with recipes when I was a kid. I don't know what happened to it!

This sounds like it would be really great with tea, or some soup.

Loz Bear said...

The fact that book exists is amazing and most awesome. I used to love the books and the TV show as a young 'un.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

12 hours! Whoa. I do not have the patience. I'm horrible.