Mineral Point is a historic town, 50 miles southwest of Madison, Wisconsin. Minerals and lead were discovered in the area in 1825 and the first “mineral rush” in the United States brought miners from as far away as Cornwall, England to the area. So many miners came that in 1830, Mineral Point had a larger population than Milwaukee and Chicago combined.

The Cornish miners brought their families and their knowledge of deep mining and hard rock skills. They built the quaint stone houses that still can be found in Mineral Point today. When the miners went into the lead mines, they took a warm Cornish Pasty, wrapped in a cloth, for their daily underground meal.

If you visit Mineral Point, you can have guided tours of nine original stone houses in an area of the city called Pendarvis. You will walk down Shake Rag Street and learn about the life and times of these Cornish mining families and visit the shops of local artists. This site is operated by the State Historical Society and well worth visiting. All of the area restaurants serve Cornish Pasties. My recipe makes four Cornish Pasties.

Crust for Four Pasties:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 ¾ cup lard
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 Tbls. apple cider vinegar
• ½ c. water

 Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Cut the lard into the flour mixture with a fork or pastry knife. Blend together the egg, vinegar and water. Stir this into the flour to create the dough. Divide into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into an 8” circle.

Filling:

• 4 medium potatoes, diced in ½” pieces or thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound sirloin steak, cut in  ½” or 1” cubes
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup butter
• Optional addition: sliced carrots, rutabagas or turnips
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Tbls. of milk

Mix the filling ingredients, divide into four equal portions. Place on half of each circle of crust. Dot with 2 Tbls. of  butter. Fold over to form a half circle. Seal tightly by neatly rolling the edges or crimping them with a fork or your fingers. Prick the top to allow steam to escape while baking. Combine the egg and milk and brush on the top of each pasty to create a shine. Bake on a greased cookie sheet in a pre-heated  400° oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° and bake an additional 45 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bacon, diced in 1” pieces
• 1 pound hamburger meat
• 1 medium onion, diced in 1” pieces
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• ½ cup brown sugar (light or dark)
• ½ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup ketchup
• 2 Tbls. molasses
• ½ tsp. dry mustard
• 1 – 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans, drained
• 1 – 15 oz. can large butter beans, drained
• 1 – 15 oz. can green lima beans, drained
• 1 – 15 oz.  can pinto beans, drained
• 1 – 15 oz. can northern beans, drained
• 1 – 15 oz. can pork and beans, not drained

 Directions:

•  In a large frying pan, brown the diced bacon, hamburger and diced onion together. Drain slightly. Remove from the heat.
•  Add all other ingredients and stir together. Pour into a large roasting pan or a crock pot.
• Bake 1 hour in a roasting pan or 3-4 hours in a crock pot.

I won a blue ribbon for this zucchini bread at the 1984 County Fair in Viroqua, Wisconsin. I had actually entered 10 different items in the food category that year and had to stay up all night to get everything made and to the fairgrounds by 9 am. Whatever was I thinking when I filled out all those entry forms? I also won a blue ribbon for my first large quilt. It was a hand quilted log cabin quilt for my son Joshua.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

Directions:

• Mix the eggs, oil and vanilla by hand  until well blended. Set aside.
• Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add them to the egg mixture. Blend together well.
• Fold in the zucchini and nuts.
• Grease and flour two bread pans (glass or metal).
• Divide the batter into the two bread pans.
• Bake at 325° for 50 – 60 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center to make sure the bread is done. It will come out clean if the bread is done.
• Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the bread pans and cool completely on a cooling rack.
• This bread will have the consistency of banana bread. It will have green flecks in it from the skin of the zucchini.

Ingredients:

• 12 cups popped corn (I use plain microwave popcorn)
• 1 large brown paper bag from a grocery store
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup light Karo syrup
• ½ cup butter
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. baking soda

Directions:

• Pop the corn. If using microwave popcorn, it usually takes 3 bags to make 12 cups. Do not add butter or salt. Place the popped corn in a large brown paper bag.

• Place the brown sugar, Karo Syrup, butter and salt in a medium-sized microwave bowl. Do not cover. Microwave these ingredients together, on high, for 2 minutes.

• Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir the ingredients. Place back in the microwave and microwave on high for a total of 3 minutes, stopping and stirring the ingredients after each minute.

• Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. The mixture will bubble up and become thick like caramel as you stir the ingredients together.

• Pour the caramel over the popped corn in the bag. Close the bag by folding down the open end 2 times. Shake the closed bag for 15 seconds.

• Place the closed bag of corn in the microwave. If your microwave has a turning plate, make sure the bag is closed enough so the bag can freely turn on the plate. Microwave on high for one minute. Remove the bag and shake it for 15 seconds.

• Place the bag back in the microwave and microwave on high for another minute. Remove and shake the bag for another 15 seconds. Return it to the microwave and microwave for another 30 seconds. Remove and shake the bag one last time.

• Pour the caramel corn onto two cookie sheets and spread it out to cool slightly. This caramel corn won’t last long but if you do happen to have any leftover, store it in a zip lock bag.