Learning about Geography through Food - Connecticut

We're using the Cantering the Country curriculum for learning about the United States. One of the activities that we look forward to doing is making food that is representative of each state.

The recipes in Eat Your Way Through the U.S.A. for Connecticut include: New England Pot Roast and Crumb Cake.  Both of the recipes were delicious and ones that we would make again.

Pot roast with potatoes and carrots.

New England Pot Roast

Ingredients

1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt (this seemed like too much salt, we just used 1 teaspoon)
1 1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 pounds lean boned beef chuck roast
2 tablespoons vegetable broth or butter (we used dairy-free butter)
5 ounches prepared horseradish
1 cup water
8 small potatoes, pared and halved
8 small carrots, halved crosswise
8 small onions (we used two large onions cut into quarters)
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 1/4 ounce canned beef gravy (optional)

Directions

Stir together flour, salt, and pepper; rub mixture on meat. Heat broth or butter in Dutch oven; brown meat over medium heat, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat; spread horseradish on both sides of meat. Add water; cover tightly and simmer on top of range about four hours or until meat is tender. About 1 hour before end of cooking time, add vegetables and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Serve with gravy, if desired.

Note:  rather than cook it on the stove, we baked this in the oven. We used a 9"x13" pan and put all all the ingredients in at the same time. We baked it at 325 degrees until the meat was cooked thoroughly and the vegetables were tender.

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Crumb cake.

Crumb Cake

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (we used dairy-free butter)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups buttermilk (we used slightly less than 2 cups of rice milk and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice; and then let it sit for about 5 minutes)
1 cup raisins
1 cup nuts (we didn't include nuts)

Directions

Grease and flour a 9"x13" pan. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, spices, and salt. Work in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove and reserve 1 cup of crumbs for topping.

Add baking soda to buttermilk and stir into remaining mixture. Add raisins and nuts while there are still a few dry lumps, and continue stirring only until all is moistened.

Pour batter into pan; sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees until the top is browned and a toothpick comes out clean, about 50 minutes.