Hasty Pudding

We are still studying the Revolutionary War. To really look at some of the harsh conditions that these brave soldiers survived is astonishing. We read about the winter at Valley Forge recently. One of the things that every book website or whatever talks about is the lack of food. My kids have never experienced a lack of food. So, in an effort to drive home how tough that was, we made "hasty pudding" Our first batch was just cornmeal and water mixed together and fried. Benjamin looked at it and said, "I thought you said we were having tasty pudding." (gotta love that kiddo)

I told him that no, it is not "tasty" it is "hasty" meaning that it could be cooked quickly, with not a lot of mess to clean up. Our second batch was cornmeal, maple syrup, an egg and some salt. Not exactly what I would call "tasty" but definitely better than the first batch. We talked about how just an increase of the supplies that the soldiers had would help boost morale.

On a strange note, Benjamin liked the second batch enough he ate all that was on his plate, and a second helping. Samuel liked BOTH kinds. He said, "I think I would make a good a soldier because I can eat anything." Ok, but let's hope they do not serve sweet potatoes or cooked carrots. Samuel will anything but those. :-}