Leon County Cooks: Friends of Fort Boggy Cook Book

Chances are really good that if you read this column that you also enjoy reading cookbooks, even if you prefer Sonic or Subway to putting together your own sandwich. There is something nostalgic about cookbooks and recipes. I enjoy scanning old cookbooks and learning how to “cure meat” or make “lye soup”. Although these are not technically history books, they tell us much about our Leon County culture.

One of the finest cookbooks to be published in recent years is “Friends of Fort Boggy State Park Treasured Recipes 2001”. A group of ambitious citizens, headed by Henry Ellen Wood Clark, put together a 386 page cookbook that features recipes from “pert near” every community and town in the county. The purpose of the publication was to raise funds for Leon County’s only State Park Fort Boggy.

Fort Boggy State Park consists of 1847 acres which was donated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1985 by Eileen Crain Sullivan. The cookbook was dedicated to Mrs. Sullivan.

The Rich/Bottoms Quartet entertained AARP members at last week’s monthly meeting. L-R Dr. Jack Bottom, Jerri Rich, Dr. Dale Bottoms and Paul Bottoms. (Inset) Accompanist Dorothy Bottoms. Van’Go’photos Fort Boggy was established as the first settlement north of the Old San Antonio Road between the Navasota and Trinity Rivers by John Byrns and Christopher C. Stanley in 1840.

The fort was 75 yards square and enclosed two blockhouses and eleven buildings.

The local Indians were of the Keechi and Kickapoo tribes. The fort was abandoned in the late 1840s.

This week’s recipes are from the Fort Boggy Cookbook and reflect the various communities which are represented.

The first recipe is from my first grade teacher, Mrs. Opal Manning Ward. She taught first and second grade at the Lone Star Elementary School when I started to school. She retired from Centerville ISD and has passed away since the book was published.

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

1 ½ cup butter
3 cup sugar
5 eggs
3 cup flour
½ cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 (8 oz) sour cream
1 cup boiling water
2 tsp vanilla

Mix all, and then add boiling water and vanilla. Cook in tube pan at 325 degrees for 1 and ½ hours.

Frosting: 1 cup sugar ¼ cup butter 1/3 cup canned milk ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels ½ tsp vanilla

Combine first three ingredients; bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Stir in chocolate and vanilla. Beat about 3 minutes and ice cake.

The next cook is from Jewett and is probably better known as the wife of Billy Bob Evans and grandmother of Jason Evans, both of volleyball fame. But she is a star in her own right. Just ask her kids, grandkids and greatgrandkids whom she loves and cares for and who love her right back.
Bean Casserole
1 ½ lb. ground meat
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can Ranch Style beans
1 can mushroom soup
Grated cheese
1 pkg. corn tortillas

Brown hamburger meat; drain fat. Add tomatoes and enchilada sauce. Tear tortillas in strips. Begin layer with meat mixtures, then tortillas. End with meat. Top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Frances James from Oakwood is our next cook.
Kraut Salad
Wash and drain 1 can of sauerkraut.

Mix:
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 finely chopped bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped cucumber

¼ cup Italian dressing
3/8 cup sugar
¼ cup vinegar
Let stand (covered) in refrigerator overnight.