By Pete Culos

No haversack in complete without hardtack! Nothing gets a spectators attention than producing some real Civil War food from your haversack and you can actually eat it too! Even better, it's not hard to make. take 5 cups of flour (unbleached, non-self rising), one tablespoon of salt, and one tablespoon of baking powder. Mix this in a bowl of 11/2 of cold water. This should produce a dry stiff dough. Roll this out into 1/2 inch thick sheets. Cut the sheets of dough into 3 inch squares and use a nail to poke holes, 5 rows of 5, in each hard tack. Place the hard tack on a cookie sheet and bake for 50 to 90 minutes in an oven on 300 degrees. Store the hardtack in a cardboard box, not in plastic. The plastic will cause condensation and mold! Ground roasted coffee mixed with sugar can be carried in a cloth bag in your haversack. To prepare it, simply boil your water in your cup, add a couple of spoons of the coffee sugar mixture, and wait for the grounds to settle. Finally, cured Virginia ham can serve as salt pork. Cook it by boiling water and ham in your fry pan. When the water boils off, repeated the process, and fry the ham. You can pepper your diet with fresh vegetables and apples (and the usual goober peas). Bon Appetit!