Akaash Walker
Book Of All Colonial Things
Table of Contents
Chapter 1- In Colonial Times...
Chapter 2-Food In Colonial Times
Chapter 3-Rain, Rain, Go Away!
Chapter 4-A Man's Life In Colonial Times
Chapter 5-Carrot Soup Cooking
Chapter 1: In Colonial Times...
In colonial times life was hard for the colonists because they had to do a lot of manual work without electricity or other modern comforts that we enjoy. Some of their jobs included cutting down lumber, building houses, farming and blacksmithing. That is why colonial times were really difficult.
Food
The types of crops available in colonial times were not too different from those available today. Succotash, a traditional meal was eaten on special occasions. Typical foods were: apples, turkey, corn, rice, wheat, baked beans, and goose. Women usually cooked the food over a fireplace in the house.
Buildings
There were many kinds of buildings in colonial times. Some of the buildings were churches, magazines, gaols, taverns, court houses, post offices, and the governor's house. The houses regular families lived in were small. There usually was one room and maybe a small loft upstairs. There was also a big fire pit that was used for cooking, light, and warmth.
Jobs
Common jobs during colonial times were: farming, blacksmithing, cobbling, milling, cooping, and tanning. Farming involved growing crops and raising animals. Blacksmithing involved making tools by taking tools and banging them on hot metal to make new tools. Blacksmiths also made weapons and horseshoes. Usually blacksmith was also the dentist. Cooping was the making of barrels and buckets.
Nature
In colonial times there were more forests and wildlife. Colonists had to cut down trees for firewood, houses, and other things. Some trees were reserved for the king of England. If the trees that belonged to the king of England were cut down without his permission, the person who cut them down would have suffered horrible punishment.
So now you know that colonial times were hard for the colonists because they had to build houses, cut down trees, raise crops and animals without much technology or even electricity!
Chapter 2: Food In Colonial Times
Did you know what people in colonial times ate? In this chapter you’ll find out.
Colonists ate vegetables, fruit and meat. Women usually cooked the food. They cooked meat, vegetables, and various other foods over the fireplace in the house. The food was served right after harvesting, stored, or hung out to dry over the fireplace.
Vegetables
Farmers in colonial times grew various vegetables. The vegetables they grew took a lot of work since they did not have modern machines or modern pesticides. Women managed the gardens. They would harvest carrots, potatoes, celery and tomatoes. They would keep vegetables fresh and preserve them longer by keeping them in the root cellar.
Fruit
Farmers also grew fruit just like they grew vegetables. Farmers grew apples, bananas, watermelons, and pumpkins. They also kept the fruit fresh in a root cellar. They would plant in the spring and summer and harvest the fruit in the summer and fall. Colonists also ate the fruit like blueberries, blackberries and raspberries that grew on wild bushes.
Uses For Food
Food was not just grown for eating; it was also produced to be used as bait to catch fish. Food was also grown or hunted so it could be traded or sold. Abenaki taught pilgrims to use fish heads as fertilizer for crops such as corn, wheat, barley, and rice.
So, colonists ate a variety of vegetables, fruit and meat. Further, there were a lot of different uses for the food that was produced.
So now do you know what colonial people ate and what all they did with the food that was produced? I hope you do! Read the other chapters to learn more about colonial times.
Chapter 3: Rain, Rain, Go Away!
Hello! My name is Billy Jr. I’m 23 and I have black hair with blue eyes. I am also around 5 ft. tall. I work on a farm planting apple, carrot, and watermelon seeds. I harvest them when they are ripe. My farm is small. I can see the whole farm just by standing in front of the farm. I trade my crops, store them and eat them. I make a living by planting seeds, harvesting crops, trading crops for other foods and selling crops for shillings. I also make a living by managing my farm and helping people. This morning I woke up to the sound of rain. I looked outside and it was raining out. “It’s raining outside” I said to myself. “Well, I guess that I can’t harvest or plant crops today,” I said in my head. Then I got up and went to my wife Shanna. “What can I do to help since I can’t go outside to harvest and plant the crops?” I asked. “You can cook breakfast. That would be very delightful because you haven’t cooked in a long time,” Shanna said. “Sure!” I replied. Shanna cleaned the house while I walked down to the root cellar. I opened the cellar door and saw some crates filled with liquor, carrots, and potatoes. On the other side there were hooks hanging with meat. “Hmmm” I murmured. “What should we have for breakfast?” I asked myself. “Aha!” I exclaimed when a bright idea struck.
“We’ll have carrot soup!” I said to myself. I grabbed 6 large carrots, 4 quarts of liquor, a few beef bones, 2 large onions, 1 turnip, salt, pepper, and a cayenne pepper. I ran upstairs with the ingredients in my hand. I was very careful not to let Shanna see the ingredients. I grabbed a stew pan and put it on the fireplace. Then I dumped in the 4 quarts of liquor, and put the bones in and let it boil for 30 min. After that, I added the onions, turnip, pepper and salt into the stew pan. “Now I have to wait 3 hours” I said to myself. “I guess I’ll go help Shanna with the chores” I said to myself again.
After the 3 hours were up, I jumped up in excitement, grabbed a knife and cut the carrots thin. Then I grabbed another pot and strained the soup on the carrots. Then I poured the soup back into the stew pan and put the carrots in. After that I stewed the soup until it was able to go through a hair sieve. Next, I boiled the pulp until it was about the consistency of pea soup. Lastly, I added the cayenne pepper as a garnish. “Done!” I exclaimed. I took the soup and put it into 2 bowls. Then I put the bowls on the table and grabbed 2 spoons. Lastly I called Shanna over. “Shanna, come here breakfast is ready!” I said. Shanna came over and saw the carrot soup. “My favorite! Carrot soup!” she said excitedly. Then she sat down and picked up the spoon. I knew she was going to eat the carrot soup so I picked up my spoon and sat down as well. “This is the best breakfast ever!” she complimented me as she ate her soup.
I woke up next morning and it was still raining outside. I got up and went to Shanna. “Shanna, wake up.” I said softly. “What, oh...it’s you.” She said. “This is a question, ok? How long did it rain last night?” I asked. “About...well, all night.” She replied. “Wait here,” I said as I grabbed my doublet, a big basket of vegetables, and then ran outside. I ran along the muddy road to the blacksmiths shop. I walked in and saw hot coal and heard metal banging against other metal. “Um… excuse me, but do you have a shovel I can trade for these delicious crops.” I said in a cautious voice. “Sure…” the blacksmith said in a low voice. “…But let me see the crops first.” He washed his hands by dumping water on them and then he grabbed the crops. “They look fresh, but if the're rotten on the inside, I know where you live,” he said in a frightening voice. He walked into the back of the shop and grabbed a shovel. “Here,” he said as he gave me the shovel. “And remember, I know where you live,” He reminded me. “Ok, well.... goodbye…,” I said as I left the shop.
After I got out of the shop I ran back on the muddy path. It was still raining and the shovel was heavy but I ran all the way home. When I got home, I went straight to my garden and started to dig trenches around my garden. Thankfully the garden was small so I only took around an hour. After I dug the trenches, I went inside. Shanna was sleeping, so I tried to be quiet. I put the shovel away and changed my clothes for the night. I quietly went to sleep and hoped that my crops would survive. The next morning I woke up to the sound of birds chirping. I got up quickly and ran outside. It was not raining anymore. I dashed over to the crops and felt the soil. The soil was damp. After my brain finished processing what had happened, I was filled with delight. “My crops lived!” I said joyfully.
Chapter 4: A Man's Life In Colonial Times
In colonial times men had to do a lot of manual work. For example, they had to build the house, hunt, grow crops and earn money for the family.
One reason why men had to work really hard in colonial times is because they had to build their own house in order to provide shelter and a place to sleep for their family. Another reason why men had to do a lot of work in colonial times is because they had to hunt and grow crops to provide food for their family. Last but not the least, men in colonial times had to perform hard work because they needed to bring home money so that they could buy things like clothes and other items that they could not make themselves.
So men had to work really hard in colonial times. They had to build the house, hunt, grow crops and do other jobs to bring home money for the family.
Now do you understand why men had a difficult time in colonial times?
Chapter 5: Carrot Soup Cooking
“Daughter, come here! Today I will show you how to cook carrot soup," I called out to my only daughter. I wanted to pass on my cooking talents to my child especially since my recent attempt at cooking this soup was so successful.
"Make sure to stay safe by not getting too close to the pot over the fire pit," I told her when she came over. "Now that we went over safety, we have to get started or our nine brothers will be rampaging through the house trying to find food!" I continued with a smile. "Next, let’s go over the ingredients! You’ll need 6 large carrots, 4 quarts of liquor, a few beef bones, 2 large onions, 1 turnip, some salt to taste, some pepper to taste, and a cayenne pepper. Now, take the liquor and put it in a stew pan and then put it over the fire. After that, put the beef bones in the pot and let them simmer for 30 min. After that, put the onions, turnip, pepper and salt into the stew pan. Then let the ingredients simmer for three hours," I said and hoped my daughter managed to get all that. I added, "Now Dear, go do some stitching and after three hours, come back and scrape and cut the carrots thin. Next, strain the soup on the carrots. After that, boil the pulp with the soup, which should be of the consistency of pea soup. Then add a garnish of the cayenne pepper. After that, enjoy!”
My daughter nodded in understanding and I was happy that my recipe had been passed on to at least one member of the next generation...
Conclusion
Glossary
Carrot soup-A soup you eat
Cooping-Making barrels and buckets
Crops-Plants
Doublet-A jacket
Fertilizer-A substance that helps plants grow
Gaols-Jails
Liquor-Alcohol
Magazines-A place where ammunition and weapons where held
Tanning-Taking of the skin of an animal,hanging it, stretching it, and drying it
Taverns-A place where you can get a meal or a drink for money (A restaurant)