Virginia is for Lovers?
Civil War Recipes for History Lovers
by Jane Collinge Mack

Virginia is for more then just Lovers. It has so much more! It has caverns, mountains, vineyards, battlefields, home style cooking and of course, wonderful people, holding to the phrase we’ve all heard, “southern hospitality.”

Recently my husband and I took a small trip to Virginia, mainly to take a scenic drive along the Skyline Drive.  He had taken a family vacation when he was very young and treasured those moments. We thought that since the kids were away in Florida with their grandmother, it might be a great time to get away for along weekend. So we packed our bags and took off for Virginia to Front Royal, which is the “Gateway” to the Skyline Drive.  

During the course of the scenic drive, we would stop at other places of interest, one being a Civil War battlefield in Manassas, Virginia. The visitor center supplied a wealth of information and we were off exploring the sites of the battlefield.  As we completed our tour of the battlefield, I stopped at the visitor center store and spotted a few things, one being a book called Civil War Period Cookery, by Robert W. Pelton.

My husband saw it and groaned. “You’re buying ANOTHER cookbook?  Only you would buy a cookbook on vacation. The recipes are probably bland”

Well, that just inspired me to purchase and try out those recipes and see for myself!   As I skimmed through the book, the recipes I saw sounded delicious; corn meal stuffing, mint lemon syrup, and pork and parsnip stew. Those recipes didn’t sound bland at all!   Besides, I was fascinated by the tid-bits of historical information provided about the people featured with the recipes, and you will be too! For all you who love to try different types of cooking, you’ll want to add this cookbook to your collection.  The recipes are not only unique, but they are truly delicious. I’ve only provided a small amount of the history for these three ladies, but the book has more detail.

1. Mary Edwards Walker (1832 – 1919) was a woman surgeon in the Civil War, and the only civilian woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War.   

Mary Edwards Walker features a Pork and Parsnip Stew.  

2. Clara Barton (1821 – 1912) was a philanthropist during the Civil War and became the founder of the American Red Cross, and became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” to the soldiers as she nursed the men back to health. 

Clara Barton features a mint and lemon syrup which has several uses, including a flavoring with her lemon aid recipe.

Mintage Syrup ½ cup sugar ½ cup water 2/3 cup lemon juice 6 tbsp of chopped mint • Put water and sugar in saucepan   and boil for 5 minutes • Add chopped mint leaves   and lemon and let stand overnight Lemon aid using Mintage Syrup 1 egg well beaten ½ lemon juiced ½ C cold water Sprinkle of salt Add mintage syrup and sugar to ‘suit’ your taste Shake well and pour over cracked ice.

Well, I have to say, I was sold on this recipe till I saw the egg as an ingredient. 
I’ve never heard of using an egg in lemon aid and was a little hesitant to try this recipe.  Shouldn’t raw eggs just be used in eggnog?  My girlfriend Millie Connelly, kept telling me, “Just eliminate the egg Jane and the lemon aid will be fine.” 

But then you have plain old lemon aid and my curiosity was getting the best of me.  I thought, even if it did sound a little unusual to add an egg to a lemon aid recipe, I’d try and make it, and see how it looks and then go from there.

Well, the recipe said … “well beaten egg” … so I grabbed my blender and threw an egg in it and put it on the high setting, then added my lemon and water, and my sprinkle of salt. To my amazement, it looked really nice!  

Before I got a chance to sample the lemon aid, my husband spotted the glass and said, “Hey!  What’s that?”  I told him it was lemon aid, and he just frowned at me. “No way! What you do, add milk to it?” I shook my head no and said and told him to try it.

“This is really good! What’s in it?” I told him the secret ingredient was an egg and he laughed. Then I headed back to the kitchen to make another glass for myself.  It was really good. I also made the mint syrup, and the following day I made the lemon aid again and added the syrup. It was really good too! When the lemon is added to the egg, it totally changes the mixture. I didn’t use the blender the following day and I got the same froth on top. I am totally astonished with this lemon aid. It tastes like lemon meringue pie, only in a drink. Really unique! Really good!

Well, now we know why the soldiers called Clara Barton the “Angel of the Battlefield.”  She was mending the wounds and fixing this wonderful batch of lemon aid for our countrymen!  

Julia Ward Howe (1819 – 1910) was a poet, and also known as an excellent cook.  Here is her corn meal stuffing recipe. Julia Ward Howe was the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, for writing a poem, which later became the lyrics to the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Julia Ward Howe Corn Meal Stuffing

I started making this recipe, I didn’t have turkey broth, so I used chicken broth instead. The consistency was not as stiff as I’m use to seeing in my stuffing, but sometimes, a stuffing needs to bake with the meat of choice. We like our stuffing baked which forms a crust on top. So, I grabbed a piece of fish and placed the stuffing on top of the fish, and into the oven it went. I imagine back then, it was used as a stuffing for chicken or turkey which would add more flavoring as baked in the oven with juices of the meat.      

Three for three … my husband says … all three were delicious. The Perfect Trifecta!

Jane Collinge Mack has been a Pitman resident for the past 15 years and is the owner of Jane Mack Consulting Inc.

Jane is a regular writer for The Women of Gloucester County online magazine and will be our Executive Homemaker columnist. From gourmet cooking to troubleshooting old mainframe systems, she will share great ideas and fun tips with us.

Jane is also the mother of three daughters and is married to Rick, a pretty handy guy himself.