[Sca-cooks] Yankees, Hash, and Beets, was and still is: Winter comfort food...

[Jeff Gedney]

>Me too. I am the 13th generation of Seelye (or one of many variants in
>spelling) in North America. Capt. Robert Seeley (1602 - 1666) - Came to
>America 1630 - died on Long Island 10/19/1666.  My dad was named Robert
>Seelye as well.  (Oh, no - watch out, we're almost talking SCA time-period
>here - things really do always come back around to that, don't they?)

For us old families, it does...
So Robert Seelye came with old Winthrop, eh? 
Beat my family by 10 years.
You are of the Kansas Seeleys, then?

We were a notable family,too, at least for a while. 
All my family has for fame these days is "the dancing pickle".

>Sounds good, although now that I know the Red part comes from beets, I'm not
>nearly as enthused :p.  (I have learned through medieval cooking research
>that I actually like beet greens very much, but still don't care for beet
>root.  Blech.)   The remaining ingredients and recipe are good though, and
>very close to what I've done when I've made my own, just never had a recipe,
>so thank you, from a yankee daughter.

well, you could make it as it was originally done....

The story goes something like this:
The wife of a worker man (insert miner, mill worker, 
or lumberman... The story varies a bit here) who also 
ran a flop house suspected her hubby of cheating on 
her. On morning in a fit of pique she ran his red 
flannel longjohns (freshly laundered!! they were 
probably hanging by the stove to dry - a target of 
opportunity!) through the grinder and cooked them up 
in the morning's hash to get rid of the evidence.
The patrons raved about the brightly colored red hash 
and kept asking for it... 
Not having anymore red longjohns, she threw in beets
for color.

The rest is history.
The story is apocryphal.


Soooo you could probably make it using red cotton 
Flannel scraps for color...    ;)

Seriously you could just use the recipe given but add
extra potatoes and some red food dye. It wont taste the 
same, but that is what you want, to not taste the same
as if beets were in it... 


BTW, it does not taste all that "beety"... 
just a little "earthy". (I am not much of a beet fanatic 
myself) If I did not make it myself, I would never think 
it was beets. 
I tend to like texture, so I use largish chunks. 

Smaller chunks and a smoother overall texture may well 
suit you better.

Capt Elias
Dragonship Haven, East
(Stratford, CT, USA)
Apprentice in the House of Silverwing

-Renaissance Geek of the Cyber Seas
- Help! I am being pecked to death by the Ducks of Dilletanteism! 
There are SO damn many more things I want to try in 
the SCA than I can possibly have time for. 
It's killing me!!!

-----------------------------------------------------
Upon the hempen tackle ship-boys climbing;
Hear the shrill whistle which doth order give
To sounds confused; behold the threaden sails,
Borne with the invisible and creeping wind,
Draw the huge bottoms through the furrow'd sea,
Breasting the lofty surge: O, do but think
You stand upon the ravage and behold
A city on the inconstant billows dancing;
For so appears this fleet majestical,
Holding due course to Harfleur. 
  - Shakespeare - Henry V, Act III, Prologue





>
>
>Christianna
>who for a while was a "Damn Yankee", being a Northerner come to live in the
>South, but have been told by my friends that I have become a "naturalized"
>Southerner  :)
>
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