The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-23
FROM AN ARMY COOK BOOK.
BIZ The HEAD cook OF AN INDIANA
VOLUNTEER REGIMENT.

Trading Bominy for Cabbage.
What n Buzacott Is and the Adj
vantage OF Cantcen Fund-MaIS-
ing soldiers staG and Cuban
OmeIet-Other Recipes for DeIec-
table Dishes.
Of course, We had all had the articles
Of war read to us several times, and l
remember distinctly that passage about
"anv soldier who hires another to per-
form his duty shall suffer penalties as
court-martiaI shall direct" but when Per
cv Elliott offered me a "fver' to take his
turn on the weekly cook detail l must
have forgotten the admoniuon or else Per
cy's offer was before the time OF the
reading. Al any rate, ] accepted the hVe
and the job. ,-,
7 did not know any more about cooking
than did Percy. He had assisted GER
tain Miss Pierce. so he said, at a chaIlhS
dish party That Is, he probably held the
little cook book that goes with the chal-
ing dish while she read OF the recipe,
and. for all l know, he might have heid
her hand while she held the book; at any
rate he. in confidence, assured me that the
exDeriencs he acquired would be OF no
practical benefit 10 him In COOKING lot
the mess" as Roquefort cheese, Haliord
sauce etc were not included in the gov
ernment's repertoire OF rations. Besldes'
as Percy told me, his father, who was
nresident of the Citizens Trust Compa-
nv was going to get him a commission
and he must devote his time to loadihS
mn for the new duties he was soon to as
sumo Before going farther l might add
that Percy showed great zeal as TO the
''loading." but I dOa'i recall as to the
commission. Probably his father dld not
work at his part with the same zeal as
did Percy)
An Army Cooks Library.
I succeeded Algy Lucas on the cook lie
tail. fortunately for the Commentaries
Algy's turn came just after pay day, and
as most of the boys were eating down at
the srtlers his shortcomings were not so
noticeable. Algy must have had an aw-
full time of it; for, when he turned over
the KEYS to the mess chest, he also hand
ed me a pamphlet got out by the Raiser
Baking Powder Company" containing
some recipes as well as advertisements of
the merits of Raiser Baking Powders
He also gave me "Whhehalfs Manual for
Hotel Cooks" and one volume entitled
Cooking for Profit or. Eight Weeks at
a Summer Resort" With many a sigh,
Algy confessed that the books furnished
no solution to the problem. The baking
powder people only gave recipes for such
articles as contained their marvellous pro-
duct In the hotel manual Algy could not
distinguish between an 'entree" and
"bouillon," while the man who cooked
for profit confined himself to hash, bread
buildings and such things. l confess that
took the post" with considerable mis-
givings; but it was that or drill and my
selection was quickly made. From the
label on some canned beans that were Is
sued as travelling rations, | cut out the
letters lie Chef" and pasted on my cam
paign hat; and, after making me an apron
out of the cheese-cloth that came around
the bacon, was ready for the fray.
Traded HOminy for Cabbage.
grocer boy taught me more in one
afternoon than all of Algy's books He
traded me ten boxes of rolled oats for
some stale hominy grits. These oats l
served after a receipt of my own Being
Questioned by the boys as TO the ingredient
of the stew, l told them It was those
hominy grits that every other cook had
passed up. This gave me a prestige and.
when l secretly traded our surplus green
coffee for a half-barrel of cabbage and
placed on the tissue board" a fine article
OF cold slaw my job as company cook
was secure. Many of the boys marveled
much that I smoked a great many cigars
before pay day, but there are secrets in
every business. Suppose the trades were
profitable to the grocerymen, was 1 not
likewise benefited?
Thus l started to acquire the knowledge
that am about to give 20 the world How
well / succeeded may be judged from the
fact that never again shouldered a mus
ket, and, when the discharges and final
pay came the three cheers that were given
Tor the cook and his punk assuaged the
pangs of parting.
II Is not intended that the few recipes
given here shall be of great benefit to
civilian caterers. Surely the storm of cpl
thets and walls of wrath that have been
poured out against army cooks would warn
any one against adopting their methods or
menu, unless they contemplated secret
murder or the disciplining of few board
ers; yet / believe that the present and
future wives of the heroes of '9S ought to
have in their possession the means TO cure
these recalcitrants should they become
possessed with a morbid desire to get back
into the service.
To speak in a more serious vein, / don't
believe half of the slanderous articles on
Army Cooking" The writer's are either
prompted in their utierances by the green
eyed monster, or else some disgruntled
person, knowing that cooks generally We're
effeminate and unarmed, save with that
very potent weapon-hot water-stand off
at long range and lay all the blame on
these mule but valiant. members of the
department of subsistence"
The doctors say that these morbid crea-
lures are suffering from cacotrophy. They
certainly are suffering from something,
and. from the name, / should think they
had II bad.
In the production OF the dishes given
here, ii is necessary to use a "buzacott
outfit" and a "canteen fund" The buzz
acott is used In lieu of the tripod, or the
pole and forked sticks while the canteen
fund is indispensable in the production of
almost all palatable dishes. l can well
understand why the government waved the
prohibiy .onists and their petition aside and
let the soldier enjoy the profits of his we'll
spent dime. A canteen, think, lessons
assertions. Then, too. it has saved many
a cooks life. q mean the fund has.)
what a BuzncOtt Is.
a buzacott stove resembles n Jail door
placed horizontally on legs. q make no
comparisons from actual knowledge; I re-
Ter 10 the artists conception Of what a
jail door Is, as painted on scenery, etc,
etc) The outfit consists OF. three wash