Nut Scrapple

January 3, 2007

Serves 4

"Here's a recipe that was actually taken from a vegetarian cookbook that was owned by my great-grandmother," wrote Jim Whitten in an e-mail. "She was not a vegetarian, though." It comes from a 1911 volume, "The Progress Meatless Cook Book." Whitten writes that "this recipe would have been a meat alternative. I think it's a simple and fun recipe, and I really get a kick out of thinking that maybe my great-grandmother had made this, too." Though the ingredients and method are sketchy, the "Progress Meatless" author obviously used fully cooked hominy (which takes 1 to 3 hours). Add as much water as the recipe needs to make a kind of porridge. Modern cooks should simmer this mixture in a saucepan over a burner, rather than in a double boiler.

2	cupfuls corn meal
1	cupful hominy
5	cupfuls boiling water
1	teaspoonful salt
2 1/4	cupfuls chopped nuts

Moisten the corn meal and hominy in cold water, then stir in gradually the boiling water and cook in a double boiler till like mush. Then stir in the nuts and pour into a buttered baking tin. Set aside to cool. When cold, slice and fry in butter. Serve with green garnishings for a dinner dish.