A Tad Late for a Mormon Thanksgiving, But Still…

On August 10, 1848, the Mormon pioneers that had traveled to Utah, celebrated their first season’s harvest.  Remember, when they entered Utah in 1847, all they had, in provisions and livestock, was what was in their handcarts and ox-drawn wagons.  They had to make it through a harsh winter with what they had, or what they could purchase from established ranchers, or get from the indigenous tribes, they encountered.

So, while we, in America, know Thanksgiving as a holiday in November, based upon the settlers of Plymouth Rock; this Thanksgiving aka The Harvest Feast, was certainly a giving of thanks.

“…called the harvest feast, we partook freely of a rich variety of bread, beef, butter, cheese, cakes, pastry, green corn, melons and almost every variety of vegetable.  Large sheaves of wheat, rye, barley, oats…for public exhibition.”  (“Plain but Wholesome, Foodways of the Mormon Pioneers”, by Brock Cheney, pages 1-2).

While they did “partake freely”, it was also known that much of the foods also had to be “put up”, or prepped for storage, so there would be provisions for the winter months.  Meats, poultry and fish were salted, dried or smoked; vegetables were pickled or dried, fruits were dried or made into jams/jellies, but what about dairy products when there were no refrigerators at that time.

They used underground root cellars and outdoor storage pits to keep root vegetables and other produce cool, while smoked or salted meats were stored in smokehouses. They also utilized spring houses, which were small structures built around natural springs, to keep items like milk and butter cold, and harvested ice from frozen lakes and ponds for use in insulated ice houses and ice boxes.

Here is a breakdown of those storage structures:

Root Cellars:

These underground or partially underground structures provided a cool, stable temperature year-round, perfect for storing root vegetables, potatoes, and stored preserves.

Smokehouses:

Dedicated buildings for smoking and storing cured meats were essential for protein preservation.

Spring Houses:

Located near natural springs, these structures used the cold water to keep dairy products and other perishable items cool.

Ice Houses and Ice Boxes:

After the 1800s, ice cut from frozen rivers and lakes was stored in insulated ice houses and delivered in blocks to homes for use in ice boxes.

Pits:

In some cases, root vegetables were simply buried in mounds of earth and covered with corn stalks to protect them from frost and keep them cool.

After reading all that, there should definitely be a more grateful attitude towards gas or electric power supplies, and storage units called refrigerators and freezers.

Here’s a recipe from “The Mormon Pioneer Cookbook”, page 80, to get our harvest feast moving along.

Sauerkraut with Apples

Ingredients:

2 lbs. sauerkraut

¼ lb. dried apples

1 medium onion, diced

½ cup grated carrot

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Chicken broth

Preparation: Put sauerkraut, apples, onion, carrot, salt and pepper in a deep saucepan.  Add enough chicken broth to cover.  Bring to a boil.  Cover.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Yield: 8 servings.

Unfortunately, the initial temperature is not stated, so I will presume it is high heat, to bring it to a boil, and then reduced to low for a one-hour simmering.

 

 

Now I have made a similar recipe using Polish kielbasa and call it “Polish Fry Up”.  In a large skillet, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, medium-high heat, fry up 1 lb. sauerkraut plus 1 tsp. paprika.  When sauerkraut begins to slightly brown at edges, add in kielbasa (12 oz. package of smoked beef or pork, cut into 1/4-inch slices); mix thoroughly and let cook together for 5 minutes, or until kielbasa is completely heated through.

In another large skillet, 4 Tbsp. olive oil, medium-high heat, spread out thin slices from 2 large potatoes.  Let them fry for 5 minutes before flipping over; add ½ tsp. salt plus ½ cup diced onion over the potatoes.  Fry another 5 minutes, mix potatoes and onions together and continue to fry until onions begin to brown on the edges.  The potatoes should have a brown coloring with a slight crisp on the outside.

Plate or large soup bowl, put ¼ of the potatoes, top with a ¼ of sauerkraut-kielbasa and enjoy.

Makes 4 servings.

 

Just for “shite and giggles”, how about we play with the Old Nauvoo recipe for Fried Tomatoes, but use zucchini.  The zucchini “chips” are slightly moist inside, with a crispy, crunchy coating on the outside.  They are a much more satisfying snack than those bagged chips that can be purchased for way too much money. 

So, go to San Juan Record’s website and look up Food Adventures, September 23, 2020; or do a search on my food blog for fried green tomatoes (two different recipes will come up, you want the one from 2020).  The only change to make for the zucchini is, instead of 1 cup flour, do a mixture of ¾ cup ground, plain bread crumbs plus ¼ cup flour.  That’s how to get that crispy crunchy coating.

So, while I may be late writing about the actual celebration of the Mormon Thanksgiving, it’s not too late to enjoy the benefits of the last harvest of the season.

Ah, while it’s nudging at my mind, while Blanding and Monticello have attempted to establish a farmers’ market, eventually lack of vendors, and interest, have deterred this. The Utah Farmers Market Network lists dozens of markets statewide, with many counties hosting more than one.

Farmers markets have been established in at least 15 Utah counties, including Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Davis, Grand, Iron, Juab, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, and Weber.

In 2018, a significant Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) grant was awarded to Utah State University to fund the capacity building, outreach, and marketing efforts for Utah farmers markets.  This led to the lists on The Utah Farmers Market Network.  This federal grant, part of the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) created by the 2018 Farm Bill, aimed to connect low-income and diverse communities with healthy, local food and supported the development of the statewide network.

Definitely something that San Juan County needed in 2018, and still needs now, so county commissioners and economic development department, something for the next agenda?

Mary Cokenour