A Traditional Farm Life
By Shasta Hamilton
Greetings from Enterprise, dear friends. How novel it is to have the calendar page
change to November and still be comfortable in shirtsleeves! That little voice of reality in the back of
our minds tells us it’s too good to be true, but we might as well enjoy it
while it lasts, right?
Yet even knowing that “all good things must come to an end”
somehow fails to motivate me this year to accept and prepare for the reality of
winter.
In these modern times, of course, there is less to prepare
for than for our pioneer ancestors. It
is very easy for us to forget how the seasonal cycle dictated the activities
for farm and city folks alike for hundreds if not thousands of years.
While we may still be motivated to lay in a certain amount
of supplies for emergency situations, we are often lulled into a false sense of
security these days, I’m afraid. When
the supermarket has everything we could possibly want to eat—and more--ready
for us to purchase at our whim to supply the day’s need, it’s easy to forget
how our ancestors spent three seasons of four preparing for the cold, dark days
of winter when fresh food would be scarce.
Those among us blessed with the wisdom of white hair
remember the large gardens and the stifling heat of canning winter’s supply of
vegetables in the height of a Kansas summer.
Other methods were—and still can be—employed to preserve the harvest.
Before the advent of water bath canning, pickling was done
by lactic fermentation in those large heavy crocks now often used for nostalgic
decoration around our homes. Root
cellars not only housed the pickles but potatoes, carrots, onions, apples and
other fruits and vegetables that were “good keepers” into the winter.
Summer sun and heat also provided the means to preserve food
for later use by drying. Sliced apples
and apricots first come to mind, but some vegetables were also prepared in this
manner. Dried corn can be prepared in a
myriad of ways, and indeed was a pioneer staple. Perhaps you’ll be surprised to know that
green beans were suspended in hot attics by needle and butcher’s string, dried,
and these “leather breeches” were later rehydrated, cooked, and served.
Let’s not forget about salting, smoking and curing. Family, friends, and neighbors used to gather
for hog butchering bees when temperatures remained cold enough in the late fall
to safely process the meat. Our pioneer
ancestors “used everything but the oink” to frugally prepare for the weeks and
months to come. Salt pork, bacon, smoked
sausage and ham, pickled pig’s feet, and head cheese were just a few examples
of delicacies prepared from the humble hog.
Butchering day often included spare ribs fried in the newly rendered
lard—what a treat after a day of hard work and fellowship!
Preservation methods could also be employed to “extend the
shelf life” of some baked goods. My
Mennonite ancestors regularly “toasted” zwieback, as this homemade bread stales
quickly. The top “double bun” was pulled off and cut in half vertically to
create two half-moon-shaped pieces. The
larger bottom was also cut vertically into three equal pieces. In days gone by, the zwieback was toasted
after regular baking was completed, as the brick ovens held heat well and
slowly cooled down over a period of several hours—perfect for slowly
dehydrating the soft bread into a crisp cracker-like treat.
Before emigrating in 1874, my ancestors baked and toasted
bushels upon bushels of zwieback to sustain them on the long trip from the
Ukraine to central Kansas. How
comforting this taste of home must have been in the dark, dingy confines of a
steamer slowly chugging across the Atlantic toward an uncertain destination of
unbroken prairie!
Making zwieback for our family gathering last weekend
inspired me to carry on the tradition of simple food, simply prepared for our
own family. A table simply set in the
tradition of our humble forefathers with zwieback, sliced bologna, wedges of
cheddar, and sheet cake shared among family can draw us together just as well
as the finest fare a king could offer—and perhaps even better.
Toasted Zwieback
zwieback, as many as
desired
1. Preheat oven to
300 degrees.
2. Pull zwieback
apart; cut smaller upper bun in vertically in half and bottom bun vertically
into three equal pieces. Place in a single layer on baking sheet.
3. Bake for about 90
minutes or until zwieback have dried out completely all the way through and
have browned slightly. Remove from oven
to cool. Delicious served warm with
butter. Cool completely before storing
in an airtight container.
Copyright © 2015 by Shasta Hamilton
Shasta is a fifth generation rural Kansan now residing in
Enterprise, Kansas. She and her husband
own and operate The Buggy Stop Home-Style Kitchen with their six home-schooled
children. You can reach The Buggy Stop
by calling (785) 200-6385 or visit them on the web at www.thebuggystoprestaurant.com.
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