According to the FHS, "Fifteen women and one gentleman contributed test recipes for a Lookout Cookbook in 1937. The recipes could all be made successfully with the food furnished by the U. S. Forest Service--much of it canned or dried. The recipes were suitable for one or two diners. Nearly one hundred lookouts, smoke chasers, and small fire crews tested the cookbook during the 1937 season."
A copy of the nearly 60 year-old handwritten Lookout Cookbook was found in a lookout in Idaho. The book was made available by "Nancy Herby, Lookout, and Dale Martin, Fire Warden, Idaho Department of Lands, Cavanaugh Bay, Coolin, Idaho" and is archived at the Forest History Society site.
Michael Pfeiffer, an archeologist on the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests, compiled an electronic version of a portion of the document.
The Recipes:
Household Suggestions | Food Facts | Breads | Soups | Fish | Ways of Preparing Meat | Sauces | Entrees | Vegetables | Egg Dishes | Salads and Salad Dressings | Cookies, Rolls and Small Cakes | Cakes | Frostings, Icings, Fillings and Sauces | Candy | Desserts | Puddings | Beverages | Pastry
A sampling of recipes:
Reprinted from Forest History Society's " Selections from the Region One 1938 Lookout Cookbook "
Italian Ham
1 pound sliced ham
4 small peeled onions
1/2 pint canned tomatoes
pepper
Cut ham an inch thick. Put in a covered frying or roasting pan. Slice onions over the ham. Add tomatoes, a generous sprinkling of pepper and 1/2 cup of water. Cover and bake one hour in a moderate oven, remove ham to platter and make a gravy of the tomato juice and drippings, adding a tablespoon of flour with a little water to a cupful of gravy.
Sweet Potato Biscuits
3/4 cup mashed sweet potatoes
4 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
Mix mashed sweet potatoes, milk and melted butter. Add remaining ingredients, sifted all together, to make soft dough. Turn out on floured board and toss lightly until outside looks smooth. Roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut with a cutter or take a fruit jar lid and flour it and use it for a cutter, then place them on a greased pan and place in hot oven for about 15 minutes.
