THE FREEDOM WAY
(Page 15 of 26)
Meat is equally available to the knowing. Rabbits,
squirrels and game birds are available in most parts of the
country in season, but few realize that other small
creatures often considered pests are just as valuable for
food . . . the grass-eating marmot or wood-chuck, the
opposum, raccoon, muskrat, yes even the skunk or porcupine.
Some years back, in an effort to encourage hunting of the
pestiferous crow, dieticians investigated the food
possibilities of this maligned bird and found it could be
prepared as tastily as chicken. And almost every small boy
who has played Indian has discovered that the sparrow and
noisy starling, plucked, cleaned and roasted on a spit over
a campfire are as delectable as quail, dove or plover. To
this list should be added fish, frogs, turtle and crayfish
available in most streams and ponds.
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In this Section, too, it should be pointed out that while
the snares put out by various trappers supply houses are
most efficient, there is at present a growing interest in
the small boy's slingshot, made from a forked crotch, a
pair of rubber bands and bit of leather for a pocket.
Lopsided and misshapen stones which we used for ammunition
in childhood prevented accuracy, but modern slingshot fans
have found that lead shot, or small round pellets of clay,
dried hard in the sun, can be fired with accuracy equal to
the best bow and arrow and, indeed, comparable to a small
rifle.
The art of cooking is something that can be as elaborate as
the concoctions of a skilled French chef, or as simple as
the tin can of "Mulligan" on the hobo's fire. Taste, time,
inclination and equipment dictate how and what we may
accomplish in this line. For economy of time, effort and
money, many simple one-dish meals cooked en
casserole are possible. Simplest of all, of course, is
famed "mulligan stew" in which available meats from a soup
bone to a chicken are put into a kettle, or even a large
tin can, together with vegetable, salt and pepper and
cooked together to the consistency of rich soup.
The Mystery Chef, famed radio commentator on cookery, once
told of observing the unemployed during depression periods
in London survive in well-nourished comfort on a similar
dish. These poverty-stricken men, unable to find work,
would gather up the discarded outer leaves and slightly
blemished vegetables thrown out as unsalable by the
green-grocers. With a few pennies cadged at panhandling or
running small errands, they would purchase the cheapest
cuts of meat such as shin bones, neck bones, etc. Cooking
these together they would have the equivalent of a
"mulligan" stew which was not only satisfying but also
contained the elements for complete nutrition.
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