The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1922-08-10
ABOUT GOOD THINGS TO EAT
(By NJ. H. j.

Inc popular assumption IS CnaC Lu6
American pioneer from the pointed
frs of New England, through the
beech forests of Ohio, the Blue Grass
areas Of Kentucky, the broad Savan-
nahs of Illinois, the persimmon groves
of Missouri, the fertile Hawkeye
slopes of Iowa was hard one; but
there were compensations.
As for the broad region east of
the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic
that was not SO, nor was it true of a
considerable part of the extreme
west.
The American pioneer from Ply
mouth Rock down to this hour has
been the best fed man the world has
ever known.
Our forests and mesas since the
/ days of Columbus provided wild game
and the pioneer knew how to supply
! his table with tenderloin of the bison,
elk, deer, bear, antelope, wild turkey,
| grouse, pheasant, partridge, quail,
game fish of the finest quality and
many other things grateful to the in
ner man as, for instance, the clam,
/ oyster, etc.
! He fed to repletion; his latch
string was always out, and his
neighbor cordially welcome to his
table.
Maize, one of the worlds most
notable vegetable wonders, was a
/ kind providence to the pioneer and to
the Indian before him.
They had an extraordinary range
of vegetables and wild fruits, and
while sugar and coffee were dear, for
| sweets they had the nectar of maple
syrup and sugar and wild honey, and
out of this lavish supply of the raw
material the housewife evolved valu-
able combinations, and the art OF
skillful cookery lost art in many
homes in these days of the tin can and
paper carton.
Ash cake or bread were some of
her triumphs. George Washington
grew up on it and Abraham Lincoln
had no other bread in his youth and
early manhood.
How to make these excellent corn
breads is almost a lost art except in
the southern states.
Our "happer" day and generation
scorn the nutrients of the pioneer
his simple, cordial manners, and hi;
skill in telling the truth.
No imported Chef has been able tC
displace the old colored Auntie with
her years of experience in placing be
fore MacGregor at the head of the
) table, equipped with carving cutlery
the roasted turkey, the leg of mutton
: the peach cobblers that are the de
spair of the household content tx
spill can of tomatoes into a stew
pan for a warming, boiling an ege
and calling it a dinner.
The ancient kitchen of our colonia
; era, its ample width, its crane, pO
/ hooks, pots and kettles, boldly chal
: lenged the future with its nickle-plat
ed ranges, patent egg heaters, almos
/ if not quite so good as common
fork.
. Close to sixty years ago, in eastern
Tennessee, I left the evening CAM
for a log cabin on the road side wher
: I was served with hot biscuits deli
l cately light, made with buttermill
: and soda, baked in little dutch ovel
/. before the fireplace, hot Goals under
: meath, hot Goals and ashes atop, an
: the Queen of England at her wedding
: feast, had nothing better.
: There are good Christian peOpl
: now who use a nickle-plated range a
a cost anywhere from sixty-ive t
4 one thousand dollars for the soul
consuming purpose of frying an egl
: they think it adds to the flavor O
e the hashl
D Eighty years ago was kid run
Y ming around and hanging ont
Mammals apron strings while sh
e carefully parted the hot ashes in tn
s fireplace, placed fowl or haunch 0
, venisOn on the hot stone bottom, lai'
: a cabbage leaf over it, buried deepI
s in the hot ashes and left it to slumbe
J. in the crib and in due time, come on
= savory and seductive. Ash cake
P were baked the same way, and-se
: here, children, Pm alive to talk abou
/ ii