Though I’ve referenced her book a few times, I have been a bit neglectful in discussing Elizabeth Ellicott Lea, author of one of the oldest Maryland cookbooks.
“Domestic cookery; useful receipts, and hints to young housekeepers” was first published in 1845, with several augmented editions printed in Baltimore in subsequent decades.
In addition to famously providing us the first printed recipe for scrapple, Lea offers her take on some Maryland classics such as terrapin soup, oyster pie and fried chicken.
Elizabeth Ellicott Lea was born in Ellicott City in 1793 into a notable and wealthy Quaker family. Her father, George Ellicott, owned mills on the Patapsco which processed wheat and corn. The historic home she was born in remains intact in Ellicott City.
historical markers, burgersub.org
As an adult, she lived a rural life in Delaware and Maryland, finally settling into a home called Walnut Hill where she wrote the book – often by dictating it to friends while she was bedridden with an unknown illness.
Historian William Woys Weaver has presented his research on Lea in a reprinted edition of “Domestic Cookery” that was published in 1983. Those familiar with Weaver’s work will know that this left me no stones to turn. I can only quote and paraphrase his own words.
“Though her recipes may seem overly plain by today’s standards, rural eating habits before the Civil War were generally simple. Practicality, economy, and simplicity at the table were not new themes in American culinary literature during this period. But in Quaker terms, nothing is as complex as simplicity.” – William Woys Weaver, “A Quaker Woman’s Cookbook”
Walnut Hill, Maryland Historical Trust
Weaver points out that Lea, through her family connections, had a wide social network at her disposal. The recipes and ingredients in her book, intended as a useful guide to her daughter Mary Lea Stabler, and to other newly wedded women, reflects a larger range of influence than the cookery books of other Quaker women. According to Weaver, correspondence between Lea and her daughter “give glimpses into the role food played in the complex world of cousins and other relatives, who thought nothing of sending each other large quantities of produce, meats, or even live lemon trees.”
“The most obvious foods of native origin in ‘Domestic Cookery’ are beans and poke; green corn soup; several squash dishes; terrapin (without the wine and seasonings); all of the pumpkin recipes with the exception of pumpkin preserve; and a number of cornmeal dishes, including some breads and puddings.” – William Woys Weaver, “A Quaker Woman’s Cookbook”
In addition to the recipes, the book contains a percentage of helpful household hints (lifehacks?) that is higher than in my other 19th century cook books. Lea shares folk remedies for ailments ranging from coughs and headaches to a “remarkable” cure for deafness. (There is no miracle lost to time – the patient simply had a massive wax buildup which was loosened with a warm compress). Also included in the book are dyes, polishes, cleaning solutions, instructions for crafting beds and candles, as well as advice on managing servants, raising compassionate children, and more. Also stressed is the importance of charity, with practical suggestions about saving food for the poor, served with a watchword:
One eminent for his charities, near the close of his life, made this remark: ‘What I spent I lost, but what I gave away remains with me.’
With a spirit of thriftiness that a modern-day Lea might appreciate, I used her recipe for “Corn Fricassee” to make the most of some leftover frozen corn that was nearing the end of its useful life.
I did my best to stay restrained in keeping with the spirit of Lea. When I tasted the soup I lost control of my hand and it threw in a dash of Maggi. That’s always happening to me.
Leftovers were served up with a dash of Old Bay, and enjoyed immensely.
Recipe:
“Cut green corn off the cob; put it in a pot, and just cover it with water; let it boil half an hour; mix a spoonful of flour with half a pint of rich milk, pepper,salt, parsley, thyme and a piece of butter; let it boil a few minutes, and take it up in a deep dish. Corn will do to cook in this way when too old to boil on the cob.”
- 4 cups corn off the cob (or canned/frozen, etc.)
- 2 cups stock
- 1 tb flour
- .5 pint milk or ½ & ½
- 1 tb butter
- .5 tsp salt (or to taste)
- pepper, parsley, thyme to taste
Cover cooked corn with stock and boil for 5 minutes. Stir in flour & milk plus salt and pepper and herbs to taste with a lump of butter. Simmer for a few minutes and serve.
