An interesting "Christmas Pye" ! Glad I don't have to make it. After I sent in my cornbread recipe, I did some research. I think that teacher had a good idea, combining genealogy, history, and life-styles to interest the kids in all three. I have always preached "Learn the history and culture in order to do your genealogy." For those of us whose Greens are from NC, author John Ehle has good historical fiction (and non-fiction) about the area. "The Land Breakers" is about colonists who went from the Yadkin River Settlements in NC to the far west Watauga River and Valley and those mountains. That's exactly where many of our GREENS went with their BEARD and HUNT relatives. You'll find it interesting. I found a recipe in it: After they had been there long enough to grow a crop, they had vegetables besides the wild game, roots, etc. PUMPKIN SOUP (I guess you would call it) She put water in a kettle on the coals of the fireplace to boil. Then dropped in strips of cut-up pumpkin. After it had boiled awhile, she put in a handful of dried wild grapes and dried wild cherries to boil with the pumpkin. The family thought it was a special treat. Another book that gives good background of the culture and life-style of the Colonial days is: ALBION'S SEED by David Hackett Fischer. It tells of the four British immigrants and their different ways. East Anglia (eastern England) were the Puritans of Massachusetts, coming from 1629 to 1641. The southern part of England went to Virginia 1642 - 1675. the days of Cavaliers and indentured servants; North Midlands settled in Delaware, many as Quakers in 1675-1725; and the borderlands went to the Back country from 1717-1776. The Mass. Puritans observed the most austere food ways as part and parcel of their strict religion. An important staple of this diet was "Pease Porridge" (remember the nursery rhyme?). It was just boiled or baked peas in water and served hot or cold three times a day. This developed into the "baked beans". Even though they were surrounded by fish and shell fish, wild game, they seldom ate them. Another staple was their rough brown bread, baked in a brick oven outside the house. It was wheat flour combined with corn meal. When a wheat failure or scarcity happened, they used rye and cornmeal mixture. Pure wheat flour was only used for special occasions or for the top ornamental layer of pies -- thus came the folk expression "the upper crust", referring to upper level of society. Generation or so later, had as a favorite the New England boiled dinner. It was meat and vegetables boiled together with no seasoning of any kind. They didn't believe in embellishing their life, including their food. They later developed the use of their oven for pies, which were staples in England. They could even freeze them in their "cold room" and thaw and serve them months later in the spring. In contrast, those in Virginia, took their food ways from Western England who did much with frying in a skillet, simmering, roasting, and grilling, developing the "Southern Cooking" style. They used the abundance of game birds, venison, fish and shellfish, and later beef and pork. Their food was highly seasoned -- later, added the seasoning habits of the Blacks from Africa -- and elaborate and festive feasting was a way of life. Knowing where your people came from, where they settled, and where and why they moved and who they moved with can often help you find and link your people. Redell Reed ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]