Fall…the discovery of a single wild garlic plant growing in a field of golden wheat, the almost caramel-like scent of woodsmoke, and the happy arrival of sunny, crisp mornings. Welcome October! You’re absolutely my favorite month of the year!
Finally done with the hot and humid days of summer, these are the days I want to hold onto. When I step outside on these perfect October mornings, it’s a joy to be greeted by brisk air and striking sunlight…as well as a crew of hungry (and quite vocal) barn cats waiting for breakfast!
Early mornings are the ideal time for a walk with Bailey, our sweet rescue Staffy. Together we’ll wander along the corn field and follow a path that leads toward the woods. I want to make the most of mornings like these, because before I know it, October’s shorter days will soon find the sun slipping into shadow.
With this chilly weather, I find myself in the kitchen more. Finally, it’s not a chore to have the oven on for baking. Truly, with an oven heating up a summertime kitchen in this old farmhouse, it takes multiple fans to keep the kitchen comfortable. Not cool…just comfortable!
This month I’ve been looking through my stack of cookbooks. It’s always fun to make the tried & true recipes everyone loves…mummy dogs for Halloween, Mom’s sage stuffing for Thanksgiving, and a terrific cast iron breakfast bake my son laughingly calls The Thing! But lately I’ve been dusting off some of the vintage cookbooks I have tucked off to the side. While I always love the familiar recipes, now I’m being drawn to older, maybe even forgotten, ones. This 1959 Farm Journal Country cookbook was found at a bookstore ages ago. Looking through it has started me thinking of what my grandmother might have prepared for her family and what her days may have been like.
If I had to guess what went on the table for a mom of 8 living in the country, I’d say it was planned around her garden, what the seasons provided, and what could be purchased at the time. And while her family was grown by the time I came to live with her, I remember days spent pickling vegetables in late summer and cabbages being sliced across a kraut cutter to prepare sauerkraut she would store in crocks. There were potatoes tucked in wooden crates and onions filling mesh bags. Even though I didn’t know it at the time, by watching her go through her everyday tasks, I was learning skills that I still try to carry out today. What she did was common sense to her, somehow though, it seems many of those old-fashioned ways have been forgotten.
This month I’m sharing a few of those skills that have stayed close to my heart. I’m sure that some of these will be familiar to many of you, but I also know that you have many more sweet memories to share…please let us know what they are!
For me, these are some of the old ways worth remembering.
Cooking and baking from scratch was practical wisdom. And I have to begin by telling you that my grandmother’s homemade rolls were absolutely amazing. I remember them warm, split and topped with butter or jam, and just thinking they were the best thing ever. It would make my heart so happy if I had her recipe! Sadly, no one had it written down, and to be honest, it was probably “a pinch of this, dash of that” sort of recipe.
If you’re just beginning to cook from scratch, start with something simple that you love: macaroni and cheese, pizza, pasta & sauce, or chocolate cake. Maybe there’s an old family recipe box or dog-eared cookbook you can borrow to try your hand at recipes your own grandmother made – just ask! (And if anyone has a handed-down roll recipe from their own grandma, please, send it my way!)
The jar that flavored everything…bacon drippings! While grandma may have kept hers on the counter, today we know it’s best to keep our jars in the refrigerator. A spoonful of drippings was used to add flavor to so many things…a hearty breakfast of fried eggs and hash browns, or Sunday dinner’s oven roasted vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and green beans. And trust me, sauerkraut served for good luck at our New Year’s dinner, absolutely has to be cooked in bacon drippings (okay, and a sprinkle of sugar.) Try adding just a little to your next stockpot of bean soup or split pea soup, I think you’ll like it.
After a Sunday roast chicken or Thanksgiving dinner, our grandmothers never tossed the vegetable scraps or bones. Two stockpots were placed on the stove…veggies such as carrot and parsnip peels, celery tops, and trimmed onion ends went into one, and bones into another. Water was added to each stockpot, then they were placed on the stove to simmer for hours. You just can’t go wrong…you’ll have the most flavorful broth for soups and stews, gravy, chicken & noodles, and turkey stuffing.
Our grandmothers knew there was no wasting – ever! Worn work shirts became dust cloths, dry bread was turned into bread crumbs, and glass jars were reused to hold everything from sugar to oats. You already know I have a thing for Mason jars! I’ve been keeping sugar, teabags, chocolate chips, soup beans, dried herbs, and anything else that’s safe to store on a pantry shelf in glass jars for ages. I’ve even started to fill them with muffin liners and cookie cutters. I’ve always kept my flour in the freezer, but I recently purchased a vacuum sealer for Mason jars so I can store flour on shelves, too. A tight vacuum seal should keep it fresh for 1 to 2 years.
Once harvest season was in full swing, vegetable and flower seeds were dried and saved for the next season. This year I had the most amazing heirloom tomato plant…it grew tall, stayed upright, was incredibly sturdy, and delicious! I just knew I wanted to save those seeds, so I’m trying something new…this is my plan, but please, let me know if you’ve saved tomato seeds and what’s worked best for you.
From what I’m told, this is most likely the way my grandmother would have saved her seeds. I’m going to slice a ripe tomato in half and scoop out the seeds into, of course, a Mason jar. Next I’ll add some water, cover the jar loosely with a cloth and let it sit for 5 days. Each day I’ll give it a little stir. Vintage farm-wife wisdom is telling me I should see a layer of white on top…that’s what’s removing the gel coating from the seeds. After 5 days, add water, stir, and the good seeds should sink to the bottom, while bad seeds will float. Pour off what’s floating, add the remainder to a strainer, and rinse well. Shake off the excess water and place the seeds on a non-stick surface or sheet of parchment paper. Let them dry for 1 to 2 weeks until they no longer feel flexible or damp. The seeds will go into an envelope and stay in a cool, dark, dry spot until spring. Fingers crossed!
This is the button box my grandmother had…a peek inside shows a jumble of old buttons, pins, spools, and ribbons…some old, some new. And yes, it looks like absolute chaos! But when a quick repair is needed, or a button is lost, opening up this magical box solves a problem in minutes.
Years ago, trading or bartering was a way of life. And while almost all my grandmother’s neighbors had chickens, not everyone had a dairy cow. Neighbors worked together…fresh milk could be swapped for loaves of bread, and butter for eggs. I’m so blessed to have a dear friend with a beautiful Jersey named Annie. And while my friend is fabulous at turning all that glorious milk into butter, cheese, ghee, sour cream, and yogurt, sometimes Annie gives more milk than the family can use. Lucky me! I am over-the-moon when I get a text that says; “Could you use some milk? My refrigerator is full!” She’s kind enough to share extra milk, and I return the favor with baked goods. Once I stand back and look at all those jars of fresh milk, I do a happy dance. Trading, bartering, whichever we like to call it, is a practical bit of wisdom our grandmother’s knew.
It’s these quiet October days that help me not only appreciate the beauty of the season, but to remember the past. The days begin in simple, quiet ways, and soon, it’ll be time to fetch a plump pumpkin and joyfully give it a crooked grin! It’s just the way I like it…slow living in an old farmhouse.
Happy October friends! I’ll see you next month, with more “tails” from the farm!
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