Little Panda on the Prairie: Vinegar Pie

Vinegar Pie! It is mentioned in Farmer Boy and possibly other books. Almanzo digs into slices of apple and vinegar pie. It seems that vinegar was often used in place of citrus, since those fruits weren't readily available in the US until fairly recently. An orange and a penny in the stocking at Christmas were considered mighty special. I liked the sound of this pie, so I chose it as my last challenge to veganize.

Common Family Paste for Pies
You'll need: 1 1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt, scant
1/3 c lard (I used 1/3 c. shortening)
1/2 t butter (I used Earth Balance)
Chill all ingredients and bowl
Mix flour and salt
Spoon shortening into flour and blend with fingers dipped in cold water. Continue to toss as you add 3 T ice water. Press into a ball and chill whilst preparing the filling. Roll out and lay in pie pan.

Vinegar Pie
You'll need 1/4 c butter (I used Earth Balance)
2 eggs (I used a mixture of agar and Instant Clear Jel. This was the tricky thing to sub here.)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c flour
few grindings of nutmeg
3 T vinegar, cider

-Melt Earth Balance.
-Blend sugars, flour and nutmeg with 4.5 T instant clear jel
-Boil 1 c water with 1/2 t agar
-Stir into the sugar mixture the vinegar, Earth Balance and 1 c water til well mixed. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

As you can see, this held its shape nicely when sliced. The flavour is quite strong and unique but I enjoy it. The amount of filling was less than needed for a 9 inch crust, so you could use 8 or maybe even 7 inches here. I like the ratio of crust to filling in the 9 inch pie plate, though. It isn't too thick and keeps the vinegar flavour from being overpowering.

Little Panda on the Prairie

Ginger water! It may or may not be the most challenging recipe to veganize but I had to make this. Ginger water is mentioned in the beginning of The Long Winter when Carrie brings some down to Laura and Pa while they are cutting hay. The Long Winter was the first Little House book I read when I was in third grade and the concept of this magical water to drink after haying all morning has always stuck in my imagination.

To make your own you'll need
1/2 c brown sugar
1 t powdered ginger
1/2 c cider vinegar
quart water

Dissolve the sugar and ginger in the vinegar and then add one quart of water, preferably cold. Drink before heading out to stack the hay and find an extra large muskrat house.

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.