The Grapes of What the Heck??? And hardtack.

Wished I had some extravagant reason I haven't written...  I have been busy, but just the regular running about, when I sat down to do computer stuff, I had my nose bump against the screen when I dozed off...

Therefore, not much was written...

BUT, lately, I have been of a mood to read again.  So, after a bit of a look at an article which mentioned "The Grapes of Wrath" (in a political vein, so I won't go into that, but it was informative).  I decided to go over to the (Not So) Mighty Kindle and buy it, so I could sit down and have a good read.  Jumped on, found the book, (I thought), and started to read.

World War I.  More about fighting, and such... HUH???

Looking again, I have downloaded "Grapes of Wrath" by Boyd Cable.  Not even CLOSE.  So, I then slipped over to a local bookstore, and picked up the RIGHT book. A real book.  I am reading it right now, and it's quite good, and makes a lot more sense in context to what I was reading in the article!

I happened to chat with an older friend of mine, (age 90+), and we chat about books often.  He found out what book I was reading, and he commented that it was a great book.  He also commented that Oklahoma looks much different than it did at that time, he said it was a mess... I realized after a bit more discussion, he was speaking from personal experience!  That was pretty cool!!

In other reading, I read some post-apocalyptic fiction, and they were talking about making a longish trip, and taking hardtack with them.  I had, not so long ago, read a book about sailing vessels taking hardtack with them, as well.

I decided to look up hardtack.  I found two or three recipes. I chose this one, and decided to try baking up some.  With the exception that I should have taken my rings off when I mixed the dough, and used one of my non-stick pans, it came out pretty well.

I let one cool, and tried it... It has a taste of a cracker mixed with a biscuit.  I guess I can see why it has the nickname 'tooth duller' when the various recipes describe the correct dryness as "brick-like".  And, well, it is.  I crunched through one, and it sounded like I was crushing rocks!  I will put them in a container, and try some in a month or so, to see if they hold up as well as the various recipes say...  I guess if it can be taken on a ship crossing the ocean, or a prairie schooner crossing the United States, my pantry should be no big deal.

If they are okay, (the next time will be with tea or soup, because it says they get harder with age, eep!) I will probably bake up a few batches, and put them in sealed containers for my emergency packs. Not exactly fine dining, but it will be usable!  And that's the important thing.