Squash biscuits are an old southern recipe dating back to at least the 1800s and were made popular by the cooking teacher Fannie Farmer. This biscuit recipe comes from an old booklet of mountain recipes primarily focused on the Ozarks. It’s a wonderful way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet, and it’s a great way to use up any fall squash you may have left over from the harvest.

Squash Biscuits

1 pint cooked, sieved squash
1 packet yeast
1 small cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
Butter, the size of an egg
Flour

Dissolve yeast in a little water. Add to the squash one cup sugar and the softened butter. Beat well, then add yeast and beat once more. Add sifted flour and stir well. Add enough flour to make a stiff batter. Leave in a warm place overnight, then pour into greased pans and bake in a hot oven until golden brown.

This recipe comes from a very old cookbook, The Compleat Cook, published in London in 1658. It’s an interesting take on the typical salmon recipes, with a marinade of vinegar, white wine, and sweet herbs and spices such as sorrel, cloves, mace, and cinnamon.

The original text is below, and I’ve attempted to translate it into modern English so you can try this recipe the next time you find some nice salmon at the market. It’s one of those light summer dinner recipes, so Let me know how it turns out!

An excellent way of dressing Fish.

Take a piece of fresh Salmon, and wash it clean in a little Vinegar and
water, and let it lie a while in it, then put it into a great Pipkin
with a cover, and put to it some six spoonfuls of water and four of
Vinegar, and as much of white-wine, a good deal of Salt a handful of
sweet herbs, a little white Sorrel, a few Cloves, a little stick of
Cinamon, a little Mace; put all these in a Pipkin close, and set it in a
Kettle of seething water, and there let it stew three hours.

You may do Carps, Eeles, Trouts, &c. this way, and they Tast also to
your mind.

Salmon with White Wine, Sorrel, Cloves, and Cinnamon

Pour into a shallow bowl equal parts vinegar and white wine. Add salt, pepper, marjoram, summer savory, bay leaf, sage, thyme, cloves, ground cinnamon, and a pinch of ground mace. Let marinate overnight.

Remove fillet from marinade and either bake or grill it (I don’t think stewed salmon has the greatest consistency). It shouldn’t take long–15-20 mins. in the oven. It will be done when the meat is flaky. If it’s summertime and the grill is fired up, put some asparagus or zucchinis (cut down the middle and basted with olive oil) on the BBQ and serve with the salmon, along with a fresh salad and chilled white wine.

Mmmmmm…

Squirrels are much more than the critters that chuck acorns at you–they can be a protein source, too! They’ve become increasingly popular, according to this New York Times article. Eating squirrel also helps keep their rampant population growth under control.

This squirrel stew recipe is one of the many variations of the old Southern recipes that feature this meat. It might not be for everyone, but if you’re looking for something to stretch your budget and tickle your taste buds, try it out.

Squirrel Stew

2 squirrels, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. thyme
4-5 c. beef or chicken broth, or water
2 potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cans tomatoes, diced, drain off liquid
1 c. corn
1 Tbsp. flour + 1/2 c. cooking liquid

Season meat with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in soup pot and brown the meat on all sides, then add onions and let cook 5-8 minutes, until starting to turn transparent. Add garlic and cook one minute more, then add the stock, bay leaf, thyme, and vegetables. Mix together 1 Tbsp. flour and 1/2 c. cooking liquid to form a slurry and stir into the soup. Bring to boil, then simmer until vegetables are tender and stew has thickened. Taste to adjust seasonings and serve.

Bierocks are only the best Volga German food ever! My friends and family are addicted to them. With 18th century German-Russian origins, the biercock (also known as a runza, Kraut Pirok, or fleischkuchen) could best be described as a type of hamburger—a savory pastry traditionally filled with ground beef, cabbage, onions, and spices. The dough is the hardest part to perfect, so try this one or use your favorite bread dough. In theory, the recipe makes enough to freeze, but you might have to make a double batch—they go fast in our house!

Bierocks Recipe

Bierock Dough

Beware—to prevent possible dough overflows, you’ll need a big bowl at least twice the size of the dough!

2 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. + 1/3 cup sugar
1 c. water
2 c. milk, warm
2/3 c. olive oil or butter, cut into small bits
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. salt
8 c. flour

Mix together the yeast, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and water and let sit for ten minutes. Then add the milk, salt, rest of the sugar, eggs, and olive oil (or butter). Slowly mix in the flour and then turn out onto a floured surface, kneading until the dough isn’t sticky. Let rise until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, you can start on the filling:

Bierock Filling

The filling is pretty bland unless you spice it up a bit, so use the recommended spices or your own favorites.

1 lb. ground beef, or 1/2 lb. ground beef and 1/2 lb. ground turkey
1 head cabbage, chopped
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, more if desired
Salt and pepper to taste
Spices of choice: I use cumin, caraway seeds, dill, Lowry’s seasoning salt, sage, thyme, and a bit of fennel.

In a large, deep pot, brown the beef, adding onions, garlic, spices, and salt and pepper about halfway through. Add the cabbage and let flavors mingle. When done, taste to adjust seasonings and take off heat. Drain off excess water after cooking.

Now the fun part…

Make yourself a nice work space with ample room. Set out the dough, filling, a rolling pin, extra flour, a knife for cutting the dough, and a couple spoons.

Because I don’t have a lot of space, I cut through the dough like a pizza while it’s in the bowl so I only work with a little at a time. Pull out some of the dough and roll it out into a rectangle. The thickness of the dough is up to you—I like it pretty thin to make sure I have enough for all the filling. The dough will continue to rise until you bake it.

Cut the dough into 6-8″ squares and spoon a couple tablepoons of filling in the center of each square (or as much as possible while still being able to seal it). Bring the corners together and seal all the edges so no filling can escape. (The end result will look like a smaller square or circle depending on how you seal it.)  Flip the pastry over before putting it on a greased baking sheet so the seal side is down. Repeat until all the filling (or dough) is gone.

Mix together an egg and a bit of water for an egg wash and brush it over the tops of your pastries before baking. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until nicely, lightly brown.

Eat immediately with butter melted on top for the ultimate bierock experience. I like to serve it with pickalilly and a salad when people are over, otherwise we just pull them out of the freezer and defrost at 350° for 20 mins. (you can microwave for a bit to defrost, but you must put the bierock in a toaster oven or regular over to get a nice crust).

Happy eating!

Another Volga German dish, maw wurst (pressed meat) is a mixture of ground hamburger and pork that has been pressed, cooked, and pressed again until it reaches the point that it can be cut and used like a lunch meat (but with this one, you actually know what’s in it!) Maw wurst is traditionally served around Christmas.

Maw Wurst, or Pressed Meat

2 lbs. ground beef

2 lbs. ground pork

1/2 Tbsp. garlic salt

1 Tbsp. onions, minced

1 Tbsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Stir together ingredients, then put in a cheesecloth. Place the meat in a pan and put another pan on top of the meat. Add weights to this pan to press the meat. Refrigerate overnight, then place in a shallow pan and bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours. Weight meat down again and return to fridge—it will be ready when cool. Cut thin like a lunch meat.

A recipe passed down through generations of Volga-Germans. Head cheese not actually cheese—it’s traditionally made from different parts of a hog, cooked down, and refrigerated to create a type of gelatinous, savory spread. People who haven’t tried head cheese are wary, but those who eat it, love it.

Zitter, or Head Cheese

2 pork hocks & 2 pork shanks
1/2 onion + 1/2 onion, chopped
2 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs. pickling spices in cheesecloth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. vinegar
Salt and pepper

Bring to boil all ingredients (except 1/2 onion and vinegar) until meat is tender, then remove the meat and cut into small bits. Add meat and the other 1/2 onion back to pot, simmer 20-30 mins. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar. Pour it into a rectangular pan and refrigerate until set, removing layer of lard before serving.