Naturally Sweet and Fresh Recipes
for Shore or Cottage 

 Cottage Pies

"We always called our pies 'cottage pies', meaning that what we had on hand made the pie. We were taught to precook the pie filling. Why? My understanding is there always was a shortage of sugar. The pie filling was mainly berries. They have their own natural sugar, so you don't waste adding refined sugar to the recipe."

FILLING
In the early part of the year an apple or two with a few sticks of rhubarb, and maybe a few strawberries, if you're lucky enough to find them, make a tasty combination. Or a combination of blueberries and raspberries along with an apple or two make a good filling. Precook the filling on the stovetop and thicken with a bit of flour or corn starch, says Marilyn. This eliminates the need for sugar and secondly reduces clean-up of the oven.

CRUST
Pie crust could be easily made with premixed crust packages, Marilyn adds. You just add water. Or you could make a homemade crust.
Dry Mixture: For homemade crust, take 1 lb. of Tenderflake lard, 5 cups of flour, and 1 tsp. of salt. Cut the lard into the flour and salt mixture.
Wet Mixture: Add together 1 tblsp. of white vinegar, 1 egg and enough water to make 1 cup wet ingredients.
Combine the flour mixture with liquids. Chill in the fridge to firm pastry. Roll out for pie plate. When the pie is ready for the oven lightly brush the pie crust top with a bit of milk, preferably Carnation milk. "This makes a wonderful golden crust," comments Marilyn. Pies cook at 325°F for about 45 min.
*"If you are lucky and have extra pie filling, this makes a wonderful topping for ice cream," Marilyn offers.

Potato Salad

"New potatoes make the best salad," Marilyn advises. Add 2 crushed hard-boiled eggs, 1 cup of sour cream, a stick of finely chopped celery, finely chopped fresh radishes, 1/4 tsp. of dry mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Another of Marilyn's tips: "If you do not have sour cream, another mixture is mayonnaise, 1 tblsp. of sugar, and 1/4 cup of white vinegar, then you add the egg." Boil approximately 8 to 10 new potatoes until firmly cooked. Do not cook them until they are mushy, she warns. Cool the potatoes and cut into bite-size pieces. Add the wet mixture to the potatoes. Decorate with slices of cucumber and tomatoes. "A side dish of chopped chives from the garden or thin slices of Spanish onion is easily added for personal taste.

Bush or Picnic Teas

"We use a mixture of loose tea, add dried anise-hyssop or licorice mint, you can use the whole plant, leaves, stock and flowerets, and dried cedar sprigs. Today we can buy make-your-own-teabags. A mixture of equal amounts of the ingredients added to a pot of boiling water over a campfire make a wonderful tea," says Marilyn. "We have small rock gardens that produce mint, anise-hyssop, white yarrow, sweetgrass, blueberry plants, juniper, which, in different combinations, make wonderful campfire tea.... When all else is not available a few sprigs from a healthy cedar tree added to a pot of campfire boiled water make a wonderful tea." Marilyn purchases envelopes for her tea concoctions locally from the Mad Hatter Café.