I am of Czech descent, well except
for some gypsy on the part of my fathers mother. She was very embarrassed
about that. I was born during April of 1936 at a farmhouse near Leigh,
Nebraska. I was the first born and I was the longest baby that the doctor
had ever delivered. Six others came later but I was the only one born
at home.
The first winter and the first summer
that I remember went on forever. Time has consistently flown by faster
ever since. Living on a farm with the exception of salt, sugar, spices,
flour, coffee we were self sufficient. My mother always had a large
garden where she grew all manner of vegetables. She also liked flowers
and had large numbers of them around the house. We also raised our own
animals for meat. When I was young the meat that was not smoked was
all bottled. Then later we had large freezers where we kept most of
the meat and some fruit and vegetables.
My parents enjoyed fish and for
a time we would order a 100 pound crate of cod fish. Eventually a neighbor
followed our example and bought from the same supplier. One time they
were shipped a crate of salmon which they disliked. My parents quickly
ordered another crate of cod and exchanged with them.
Meats were almost always slow roasted
until they were well done and would flake easily. My mother was an excellent
cook. She did not make fatty meals like others that I knew. She was
an excellent baker, bread, strudel, kolaches, pies, cakes, and on and
on. She kept all sorts of baked goods in the freezer and in a matter
of minutes could put together a snack when we had visitors.
On the farm, particularly during
the seasons of heavy field work the meals were prodigious and never
ending. Breakfast very early in the morning: Bacon or ham, eggs, potatoes,
toast, jelly, coffee. Lunch in the field at nine: Meat sandwiches, pies,
coffee or iced tea. Dinner at noon: Two or three kinds of meats, vegetables,
potatoes, gravy, pies, kolaches, strudel. Lunch at three in the afternoon.
Same as morning lunch but with leftovers from dinner. Supper after dark.
Hard boiled eggs, creamed corn, fried potatoes or soups. Lighter fare
then for dinner. A snack before bed. Pastry and coffee. Enough work
that I stayed skinny as a rail.
I offer you my version of the strudel
recipe that I learned from her. I have never made kolaches, even though
I remember them most fondly. I have recreated a soup that she made.
It included leftover roast beef and had a tomato base. It was spicy,
sweet spices rather than hot. It was so satisfying on a cold day. She
called it goulash but clearly it is not close to what modern cooks call
goulash. Out of my experimentation I have created a thick, tomato-rich,
sweet and sour, spicy stew that is very enjoyable.
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