“…I helped put in the corn, and on the hills I picked green huckleberries to make a pie. I picked ripe huckleberries, walked a mile and a half to...
Berries, and I Don’t Mean Whistle
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Sherry Monahan
Eating Along the Oregon Trail
“Should any of my readers ever be impelled to visit the prairies…I can assure him that he need not think to enter at once upon the paradise of his...
Parlez-vous francais?
In the last 30 years, “...cookery has made immense strides thanks to the importation of French, Italian, German and English cooks, seconded by the...
Beware of the Dung Tea
“Among the foremost of remedies ‘handed down’ in the family is the tea made of dung,” recalled Oregon pioneer Charles Banister. His grandmother’s...
Indian Fare
“We have cooking classes three days a week. The girls are taught to make all sorts of nice things to eat…. “The menu consists of bread, coffee, tea,...
The Exploding Tortilla
“Unaccustomed to the easy-going life of their Mexican neighbors, [old-timers] were not contented to farm a little, eat a frugal meal of frijoles,...
Tempted by Baked Goods
“Look at dat cake. Caesar’s Bakery.” I kid you not—that is the headline in the February 17, 1898, Idaho Statesman. I bet you didn’t know “dat” was a...
Coffee with Lizards?
We’ve all heard of coffee with cream and sugar, but with lizards? Yep, such a concoction was drunk in Texas in the late 1800s. “At one of the dances...
Lead and Negligees for Breakfast?
Cowboys had little time for breakfast, which must be eaten quickly and with no fuss. “Each man, as he comes up, grasps a tin cup and plate from the...
Cake Was His Last Meal
“How much am I bid for this cake?” asked the auctioneer as he lifted it to show the bidders. Cakes were often sold to raise money for churches and...
Exploding Ginger Snaps?
“Ours was a high classed outfit and we would treat even a tenderfoot right until he got smart. “We wouldn’t tolerate any smart alecs in our bunch....
A Cure for Baldness?
For centuries, bread has been a food staple. “I got six loaves of bread for a quarter at a bakery, and a bucket of syrup at a grocery...I would dip...