KANSAS! Magazine—Hoffman Gristmill’s Classic American Cobbler

The fall 2018 issue of KANSAS! Magazine was just released and includes a story I wrote about  Hoffman Gristmill in Enterprise, Kansas. It includes this history of the first mill built by Christian Hoffman in 1868 on the Smoky Hill River in Enterprise and details the twists and turns, including people, places and trains, that made today's mill a reality. 

The recipe included with the story, is an adaptation of one my mom (Phyllis Newell) has made for years. This version uses “sifted wheat flour” which has 80% of the bran removed from the whole wheat flour. It is not as fine as all-purpose flour but can be used interchangeably. The mill uses Turkey Red heritage wheat, the same variety brought to Kansas in 1873 by the Mennonites. This non-hybridized wheat is locally produced in the Navarre area. 

Cover of the fall 2018 issues of KANSAS!

KANSAS! Magazine website: https://www.travelks.com/ks-mag/

KANSAS! FB PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/KansasMagazine/

Page from the story (A Kansas Staple—Enterprise's Hoffman Gristmill, pp. 30-35)
 Above -- Joe Minick running a piece of equipment he engineered  in today's Hoffman Grist Mill. It was Joe's vision and hard work that was responsible for the recreation of the 1868 mill
In color -- Joe on the left; Reed Hoffman, grandson of Christian who build and operated the first mill. Reed provided funds for rebuilding  the mill.
Photo by Emily Barnes, Abilene KS

Classic American Cobbler  

With available ingredients, including freshly ground wheat flour and fruit from the orchard or foraged berries, early settlers created cobbler, a dessert that is now considered to be an American classic. 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup granulated sugar + extra for sprinkling on top

1 cup Hoffman Grist Mill sifted wheat flour

1 stick butter, softened 

2 large eggs

Fruit: fresh fruit cut to cover bottom half of pan & sweetened to taste with sugar. Could also use sweetened frozen fruit or a (30-ounce) can of pie filling

DIRECTIONS    

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease or spray an 8-9-inch round or square pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, butter and eggs to make a thick batter. 
3. Arrange fruit in bottom of prepared pan
4. Spoon dollops of batter over fruit; spread to partially cover the fruit. Sprinkle with additional sugar if desired.
5. Bake around 45 minutes until lightly brown.          

Summer Sampler--Preserved Veggies & Jellies

A bounty of produce from Barry's garden this summer has kept us quite busy preparing recipes that are "tried and true." Below is a sampling of his garden veggies + a link to our trusty recipes. Instead of canning the pickled okra and beets this year, I  simply refrigerated them. Along with the refrigerated pickles, we've had ready made relishes/salads all summer long!

A few of our "tried & true" caniing/preserving recipes include . . .

Pickled Okra— this year I just make refrigerator okra by adding all the ingredients 

to a saucepan and heating for about 8 minutes and then just adding to a refrigerator jar 

Pickled Beets -- also did refrigerator-style avoiding the canning process

Refrigerator Bread & Butter Pickles

Sweet Pickle Relish

Salsa -- Barry makes this & uses about half the sugar called for in Sandi's recipe

Hot Pepper Jelly

Crabapple Jelly

Italian Pizza with pesto & truffle oil

With ingredients straight from Italy, this is indeed an Italian pizza! Thank you Debbe Roesler for sharing your trip, food inspirations and a jar of basil pesto and truffle oil, even a kitchen towel. Debbe feasted on pesto pasta with a drizzle of truffle oil. I used our ingredients to create a pizza  (plan to try to pasta later).  It was truly a pizza Christmas in July thanks to Debbe!

Italian Pizza with pesto & truffle oil
Prepared pizza dough
Basil pesto
Cooked & shredded chicken
Sliced mushrooms
Sliced olives (black or kalamata)
Chopped fresh herbs (basil, oregano, parsley) or dried Italian seasoning blend
Fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into pieces or sliced
Truffle oil
Olive oil

1. Roll out dough and place on sprayed pizza pan (or prepare for a baking stone).
2. Spread with a thin layer of person.
3. Add toppings: shredded chicken, sliced mushrooms, sliced olives, fresh or dried herbs and fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of truffle oil—a little dab with do ya as it's potent stuff.Drizzle with olive oil too, if desired. 
   
4. Bake at 450° for 10 to 15 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is brown. (Cheese can be added near end of baking period if preferred.)
   

Recipe without photos . . .

Italian Pizza with pesto & truffle oil

Prepared pizza dough
Basil pesto
Cooked & shredded chicken
Sliced mushrooms
Sliced olives (black or kalamata)
Chopped fresh herbs (basil, oregano, parsley) or dried Italian seasoning blend
Fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into pieces or sliced
Truffle oil
Olive oil

1. Roll out dough and place on sprayed pizza pan (or prepare for a baking stone).
2. Spread with a thin layer of person.
3. Add toppings: shredded chicken, sliced mushrooms, sliced olives, fresh or dried herbs and fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of truffle oil—a little dab with do ya as it's potent stuff.Drizzle with olive oil too, if desired. 
4. Bake at 450° for 10 to 15 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is brown. (Cheese can be added near end of baking period if preferred.)