By Michele Espinosa

According to my Aunt Lorrie Gauthier, my grandmother Flore Gauthier grew up on a farm near Durango, Colo. Her parents moved there in the 1880s from Boston.

Gauthier and her mom used peeled chicken feet for soup. They made blood sausage and head cheese from pigs they raised.

One of her indulgences was succulent pickled pig feet that she bought when she traveled three miles to the market in town to sell eggs, chickens and Steamed Brown Bread.

Every Sunday, Indian Baked Beans and Steamed Brown Bread are on the menu after church.

Indian Baked Beans

2 cups navy beans

½ pound salt pork, scalded, rind scraped

1 onion, sliced

¼ cup molasses

2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon dry mustard

Soak beans overnight in cold water. Simmer in same water until tender, between 1 and 2 hours. Drain and save the liquor (cooking liquid).

In a 2 quart pot layer the beans, salt pork and onion. Combine molasses, salt, pepper and dry mustard. Add just enough bean liquor to cover beans. Cover. Bake at 300 degrees a total of 8 hours. Remove cover last half of baking, add a little boiling water if beans seem dry. Serve hot.

Serves 6.

By Sharika Jones

Grandma (Vira) and Grandpa (Irving) Paschal had their own mini farm in Wichita. When it was time to make chicken and dumplings, Grandma would send the children to catch a chicken. They would return into the house and pluck all of the feathers off, cut the head off, and clean it. After Grandma Paschal made sure that the chicken is good and clean, she would then cut it up so that it could fit into a big pot and begin making her chicken and dumplings.

Every year as a Christmas gift, Grandma Paschal makes her famous chicken and dumplings. Grandma had 15 children and way too many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren to buy gifts for everyone. She cooks the whole Christmas dinner and everyone else  brings desserts. Out of all the food that Grandma Paschal makes, her chicken and dumplings are the most important on Christmas Day!

Each year Grandma Paschal’s seven daughters ask her how to make those chicken and dumplings. They just can’t get theirs to taste just like their mama’s and that makes them furious.  Grandma Paschal just tells them to practice. Grandma Paschals’ chicken and dumplings are so good it makes us not want to eat chicken noodle soup from the can.

Grandma Paschal Chicken and Dumplings

1 whole chicken

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

Clean the chicken and make sure it is free of all feathers. Boil 3/4 of water in a large pot and place chicken inside of the boiling pot of water. Let it boil for 1hour or until tender. About 15minutes before the chicken is completely done cooking, sift in a medium size bowl flour, salt, and egg. Mix well. Roll out dough very thin and cut into medium size rectangle pieces. Remove the chicken from the broth. Place cut dough into the boiling broth and cook until tender. Debone chicken and add to broth and dumplings. Optional: add a little bit of flour to broth to thicken.

By Rachel Semjenow

When Gary Semjenow opened a Christmas gift containing a shirt that read “Powered by Halupsie,” memories of his Omi cooking flooded his mind. Though at home during childhood his plate would be filled with meat and potatoes, going to Omi’s meant borscht or halupsie (cabbage rolls).

Around 1946, “Papa George” Semjenow, Gary’s father, immigrated to Oakland, Calif., from a German community in Russia.  At 17, he was in the company of his mother, Marta “Omi” Semjenow, stepfather and younger brother and sister.

Omi’s family had lived in what is now Odessa, Ukraine, for at least three generations strictly among Germans.  Keeping the German culture alive was important to the community far away from their home country.

“Even when she was 90 years old Omi was adamant that she was not Russian,” Gary Semjenow said. “She was German even though she grew up in Russia.”

In adjusting to the culture of the United States, Omi Semjenow clung to the familiar recipes to make the transition easier for her family. She cooked borscht, halupsie or cabbage rolls, buckwheat kasha, and rye bread.  Food was a way to keep culture alive.  It was a reminder of home in a new place far away from family and friends.

Papa George Semjenow married a young American girl from Oakland who did not know how to make the tastes of his home country.  As a manual laborer, Papa George cared more about a full stomach than keeping his culture alive.

“He just came home hungry after working hard every day,” Gary Semjenow said. “We had meat and potatoes and some vegetables for most dinners.”

But on special holidays spent with Omi Semjenow, the family was treated to her true German-Russian cooking.

“I never knew how much I liked that food until I didn’t have it anymore,” Gary Semjenow said.

Semjenow married and moved his family to Kansas where little of his favorite German cuisine was available. But that does not mean he did not pick up a thing or two from his Omi.

“I always have loved making Omi’s version of kasha, basically just cream of wheat stirred slowly over the stove with lots of milk,” Gary Semjenow said. “It was fun to make it for [my kids] and tell [them] stories of their great-grandmother.”

Growing up in the Black Forest of Russia in the early 1900’s, Omi used this Poor Man’s Soup recipe often.  A staple in many Eastern European and Slavic countries, this beet-based red soup has been passed down through generations and is still common today.

Many variations are available for the creative cook to try, but all include beets, cabbage and meat. Measurements here are suggested, but the cook should feel liberty to add and omit ingredients.

Russian Borscht

Yields 4-6 servings

4-5 pound chuck roast, cubed

2 cups fresh cabbage, finely chopped

15 ounces canned beets

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, chopped

1 potato, diced

16    ounces canned tomato sauce

16 ounce sour cream

Boil chuck roast until tender in 2 quarts of water. Add cabbage, beets, carrots, celery, onion, potato, tomato sauce. Simmer over low heat.

Borscht is done when the potato is tender. Serve in individual bowls with a dollop of sour cream.

Variations:

• Saute celery, carrots, onion, potato and cabbage in 3 tablespoons of butter for 5 minutes before adding to the roast.
• Use 2 quarts beef broth instead of water.
• Substitute cut-up stew meat instead of chuck roast.

By Melissa Taylor

Summertime is a child’s paradise filled with  outdoors playing, picnics, and, for the Taylor family, Grandma NoNo’s famous pickles.

All of Mary Etta Taylor’s grandchildren could not wait to harvest their vegetables from the garden. Each child was given a special section to grow cucumbers or a crop of choice. After what seemed like years of waiting, the children harvested their produce and anxiously waited for the weekend of “Cinny” pickles and mass canning.

Grandma NoNo (Mary Etta Taylor) is a hardworking farmer’s wife who to this day tends her bountiful garden. She was given her nickname due to her simple correction of “no no no” when something wasn’t done right or orneriness was about. The tradition of pickling has been in the Taylor family for years. The family favorite is her red, cinnamon flavored pickles.

A weekend in late June or early July is always designated for this event. It consists of all the Taylor women and children. Early Saturday morning, the grandchildren begin collecting all of the ripe vegetables in the garden, while all the others sort through previously collected produce and begin setting up for the canning process. NoNo constantly monitors to make sure all is “good and well.” Once the initial set up is complete, the kitchen becomes a snake-like assembly line of cleaning, chopping, and stewing.

As each child steps through the door with his or her basket, NoNo asks, “What do you have here?” Each grandchild awaits her question and tells how his or her basket of vegetables is better than the other. She admires and sorts each item into a canning piles, too ripe pile, or garbage. “You never know what those darlings will pick up” was always said after looking at some of array of pebbles, weeds, and over-ripe vegetables.

During the prepping process the children play outside, while the women chopped vegetables and listen to NoNo’s memories. Stories of the 1930s living, her engagement to Grandpa, funny disasters on the farm and many others are shared. Once the prep work is complete, the canning begins. While waiting for the “best part” of this process, the adding of the cinnamon candies, family picture albums and videos are shown in the living rom. Each family brings an album and updates of the year. Naturally, a few cans of “Cinny” pickles from the previous years are always devoured. NoNo claims she always saves the “best batches” for this weekend.

After laughter and sometimes tears during the reminiscing, the pickles are ready. Everyone helps by carrying the cans to the basement for storage. Children converse about what they are going to grow next year and compare “their” can of pickles to the other. It’s always a competition in the Taylor household.

The “Cinny “pickles are well-known throughout Chanute and a must at family dinners and church events. This year’s canning weekend will be on June 15 at NoNo’s farm and home.

NoNo’s “Cinny” Pickles
By Mary Etta Taylor

1 pound large cucumbers
1 cup pickling time
2 teaspoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon powdered alum
1 cup distilled white vinegar
7 cups white sugar
2 cups water
1 cup cinnamon red hot candies
4 cinnamon sticks

Peel cucumbers, halve lengthwise, and scrape out seeds with a spoon. Cut the cucumber into ¼ inch half circles, and place into a glass crock. Dissolve the pickling line in about 1 quart of water at room temperature, pour over cucumbers, and add additional water until the cucumbers are covered by ½ inch. Let stand at room temperature for 5 hours.

Drain the cucumbers and rinse well with cold water. Place into a large stockpot, and cover with cold water. Allow to stand for 3 hours, then drain and rinse again.

Return the cucumbers to the pot; add the food coloring, alum, 1 cup vinegar, and enough water to cover by ½ inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer, and cook 2 hours. Drain and cool slightly. Then place pickles in the glass or ceramic jar.

Stir together 2 cups vinegar, 2 cups waters, cinnamon red hot candies, and cinnamon sticks in a sauce pan over medium heat until it is sauce-like. Pour mixture over warm cucumbers, cover, and let stand overnight.

Pack pickles into pint jars, and process in a hot water bath for 15-20 minutes. Refrigerate any jars that do not seal.

Preparation Time: 40 minutes    Cook Time: 2 hours 25 minutes    Total: 1 Day 5 hours
Yield: 80 Pieces

By Carolyn Hollis

More than 10,000 years ago before stoves and frying pans, Aztecs were grinding corn into masa to make tortillas.

They added water to the meal to create thick dough for corn tortillas. Then they rolled the dough into balls, flattened and cooked them.

Today, corn tortillas are prepared much the same ways. Ingredients remain consistent but technology has made the process faster.

In the United States today, tortillas are in high demand. Only white bread is a bigger seller. Now then come in white and corn varieties and flavors such as jalapeno, spinach and tomato.

Those who want to cook with store-purchased tortillas may find the task cumbersome and messy.

Manhattanite Sergio Ramos was born and raised in Mexico. “My family has been making corn tortillas for decades, yet still when we get together we always try different recipes. For example, we tried adding garlic, cinnamon, and other various spices to change the taste of the corn tortillas,” he said.

He offers suggestions on making tortillas and cooking with them.

• Always fill a tortilla when it is hot, he said. Cool tortillas tend to harden and break before they can become enchiladas or other dishes.
• Add a hint of flavor to the tortillas by dipping them into red or green enchilada sauce and baking them in the oven.
• Wrap corn tortillas in a cloth or foil, then set out for people to use.

Using tortillas in art work? That’s another story. “Tortilla art” uses baked tortillas covered in acrylic for a canvas, then painted. This art is typically seen in the Latino culture, but is showing up in several southern states of the U.S.

Corn Tortillas

Yields 16 tortillas

2      cups Masa Harina

1 teaspoon sea salt

1      1/4 cups hot water plus 2 to 3 tablespoons

1      teaspoon shortening

Mix the Masa Harina and the water; knead to form  masa (dough). Pinch off a golf-ball sized piece of masa and roll it into a ball. Set the masa ball on a piece of wax paper in the tortilla press; cover with another piece of wax paper. Press.

Transfer the tortilla to a hot, dry skillet. Cook for about 30 seconds on one side; gently turn. Cook for about 60 seconds (it should puff slightly); turn back to the first side. Cook for another 30 seconds on the first side. Remove and keep the tortilla warm.

By Carolyn Hollis

What if you had no family food heritage?

You had nothing specific, or certain, just a few casseroles, desserts, and imitations from recipes already known. What if your family never stayed in one state to call it, “southern style,” or “western crop?” Instead, you gathered recipes here and there, created your own dishes based on available ingredients, and never wrote the recipes down. This style of cooking is known as “The Military Diet.”

On June 18, 1933, Bill Carver enlisted in the Army. Carver was married to Barbara Carver and they had two children shortly after marriage. During Carver’s military career he was stationed in Germany, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, and Kansas. The military influenced the Carver’s dieting habits because where they were stationed determined the food available and styles of cuisine.

Not only did the various locations establish an assortment of recipes, but Barbara Carver learned that having meals prepared in the freezer for surprise guests was essential as an army wife. Therefore, numerous casserole recipes overflow Mrs. Carver’s cook book. One of the family’s favorite casseroles is “Broccoli Chicken,” which consists of four basic ingredients: chicken, cream of mushroom soup, rice, and broccoli.

Broccoli Chicken

3 cups cooked rice
1 12 ounce bag frozen broccoli
2 10¾ ounce cans  cream of mushroom soup
3 pounds cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dice  chicken in one inch cubes.

In an 8×8 casserole dish, spread out half of the cooked rice on the bottom, then 1 can of cream of mushroom, next spread the other half of rice, then diced chicken, broccoli, and the last can of cream of mushroom.

Once all the ingredients are placed in casserole dish, place in oven and cook for 45 minutes.

This recipe has been passed on to several generations. All three generations of women before me have been military spouses and have learned the essential part of learning to cook fast, quick, and in large amounts when hosting guests at the last minute. With the “Broccoli Chicken” casserole only requiring four ingredients, it is satisfying yet doesn’t break the bank.

Being raised in a military family I have learned that being actively involved in the military changes your life by uprooting you from friends, family, careers, and of course, food. Every small town, large city, and various states have certain dishes they are famous for.

One of the various states my father, Tom Hollis, was stationed was Hawaii in 1999-2003. One of the dishes/celebrations my family adopted from the Hawaiian traditions was Luau. A luau is a party, but not just any type of party, it is one in which a pig is cooked in an underground oven called an imu. First, a hole that is seven by five in width, and three feet deep is dug. Next, crumbled newspaper is placed at the bottom of the imu; then a two foot long pipe is positioned in the middle of the imu standing up, while firewood is built around the pipe. After this, large lava rocks are placed on top of the firewood and banana leaves on top of that, the imu is ready! Finally the pig is wrapped in chicken wire and placed in the imu, covered with a canvas tarp and dirt. However, a Luau is hard work and very time consuming, the pig itself takes eight hours to cook!

Learning new recipes and trying foreign cooking techniques is valued by the Hollis and Carver families. Different food styles can broaden your taste buds, and teach you new ways to use spices. However, not all should be as time consuming as the Luau. One of the select few Carver/Hollis family recipes that has been passed on from generation to generation is the “Best Ever Sweet Potatoes.”

Best Ever Sweet Potatoes

3 cups mashed yams
½ cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup melted butter, divided
¼ cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packaged brown sugar
¼ cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine yams, sugar, eggs, ¼ cup butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat well.

Spread mixture in 8×8 casserole dish.

Combine ½ cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and nuts. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.

Bake 35-40 minutes.

Makes 4-5 servings.

This recipe has become family tradition during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. If there is one recipe that defines my family food heritage, one recipe that can speak for my family, it is the “Best Ever Sweet Potatoes.” Without this dish, our holiday meals would feel incomplete and unfulfilling, because they have become one of the select few heritage food items we tradition. The military has adapted my family to eat convenient meals, and disregard creating our own new recipes, which shortens my family’s food heritage. However, the reward of experiencing various cultures and diverse individuals is worth every lost or unmade recipe.

By Elizabeth Gittemeier

Lillian Gittemeier raised her family on a small chicken farm in Bowling Green, Mo., during the Great Depression of the 1930s. She loved her family and raised them all with a strong work ethic. Throughout the Great Depression she sold all of the eggs from her chickens and used the money to sparingly to feed her family of seven.

This meant that she could not afford butter, milk, or eggs. But she wanted to provide an affordable treat for her family when they came in from a hard day of work on the farm. After several days of experimenting, she created a dish called “Eggless, Butterless, Milkless Cake.” She served this cake frequently and her family fell in love with it.

After her sons moved out of the house and got married, they still craved Grandma Gittemeier’s cooking, especially her cake, and begged for the recipe. At this point, there was no written recipe because she just made the cake from what she had around the house. She soon gave into her sons’ pleas and wrote down some loose instructions for each of daughter-in-law.

Her grandchildren fell in love with Grandma Gittemeier’s cake and renamed it “Raisin Cake.” This recipe has trickled down through the generations, and circulated through Kansas City and other towns around Kansas, becoming a Gittemeier family trademark.

Each generation of Gittemeier women make notes and slight alterations to improve the recipe, but the cake that we cook today is very similar to what Gittemeier served in the 1930s.

Raisin Cake
From Lillian Graver Gittemeier

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 cups raisins
1 cup lard
1 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon warm water
3 ½ cups sifted flour

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add in the sugar, raisins, lard, cloves, cinnamon, and salt and let them boil for 2 minutes. Let mixture cool.

Mix together baking soda and warm water and add to mixture. Stir in flour.

Pour mixture into a floured 12 cup Bundt cake pan. Bake at 225 degrees for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Makes 12 to 16 servings

Note: Raisin cake was originally cooked in a slow oven, which is about 268 degrees. In this recipe, it is cooked at 225 degrees to produce a similar result to the slow oven. If the cooking time needs to be decreased, the cake can also be cooked at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

By Katie George

Hundreds of people in more than 20  states feast on Lee’s brisket—yet only one person knows the recipe. “I have the recipe written down in a locked safe,” said Lee Biery, owner of Lee’s Country Market.

Lee Biery started his brisket business in the back of his rural grocery store in Clyde, Kansas in 1984. Inspired by an ancient smoker in the back of the store that was formerly used to smoke bacon and ham, he decided to formulate his own brisket recipe.

After refurbishing the old smoker, he spent three months in trial and error before he reached the perfect combination of seasonings for the flavor he desired. Also, he discovered if the heat source is placed on the side of the brisket, the heat penetrates the whole brisket through convection. Therefore, all the meat cooks thoroughly, and tenderness is maximized because the bottom does not dry out.

Biery introduced his brisket to the public by selling brisket sandwiches in the deli of his grocery store. After a few months, he offered whole briskets of twelve to twenty-five servings to customers.

After ten years, Biery sold his grocery store, but his brisket operation was so successful he acquired a mobile license so he would not be constricted to selling his briskets from one place. The license allows Biery to operate from various locations, much like Texas Red and other mobile food stands.

In 1996 Biery purchased a smoker from the state fair in Hutchison. Since then he has operated his brisket business from his home in Clyde.

Christmas and New Years are the busiest time of year for Biery. Between the two holidays he smokes on average 160 to 170 briskets for customers to share with their families and friends.

“One year a lady picked up four [briskets], packed them in her suitcase, and flew them to California,” Biery said.

With so many brisket orders, Biery needs assistance preparing the briskets. His two grandsons, Michael Biery and Brett Biery, defat, season, and wrap the briskets. Biery then smokes the meat with hickory chips.

How, then, is Lee Biery the only person that knows the recipe?

Biery has a special formula for the seasoning he uses. Before his two grandsons prepare the briskets, Biery premixes the seasoning for them to use.

“The recipe has Brett and Michael’s names on it, so if anything happens to me, someone has the recipe,” Biery said, “I’ve been selling my brisket for 25 years, and the business is continually growing. Someone will need to carry on the business after I’m gone.”

Although he refuses to share his brisket recipe, Lee has disclosed his formula for Brisket and Noodle Soup. By using the juice that is cooked off from the smoked briskets, the flavor and seasoning from the meat creates an infusion of savory beef and egg noodles.

Brisket and Noodle Soup
From Lee Biery

3 pints juice from cooked brisket
9 pints water
3 pounds egg noodles
3 pounds Lee’s Brisket, cut into 1”x1” chunks

Combine brisket juice and water in a 12-quart stock pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add the egg noodles to the pot and boil six minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the noodles are tender. Noodles should not be rubbery or crunchy.

Stir in the brisket and continue simmering until the meat is hot. The soup can be served immediately, or can simmer on low heat for two to three hours. Remember that simmering soup for a greater length of time intensifies the flavor.

Makes 40 one-cup servings

Note: Replacing egg noodles with Amish dry noodles will cut back on cholesterol. Various vegetables such as celery, carrots, and onions added in with the meat deepen the flavor and help to thicken up the soup. To make a heartier meal of the recipe, serve the soup over mashed potatoes.

By Grant Guggisberg

In rural Oklahoma, the Grant family only knew one thing, and that was how to work. Abandoned by her husband, Ila Maude Grant was left to care and provide for five children during one of the most destitute times in American history, the Great Depression.

They all worked hard in the corn fields, earning enough to get by and nothing more. For meals, the family could not afford meat, so they did without. One of their favorite meals was cornbread crumbled in a glass of milk.

My grandfather, Richard Grant, lived through those hard times and ended his life a happily-married man, retired in Texas with a middle-class wealth that his family could only dream of during the 1930s. Even in his old age, one of his favorite meals was crumbled up cornbread in a cold glass of milk.

Grant Family Cornbread
From Ila Maude Grant

1 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine corn meal, flour, baking powder and salt. Add milk, egg, and oil.

Beat until fairly smooth, about 1 minute.

Bake in greased 8-inch square baking pan 20-25 minutes.

Makes about 9 servings.

By Erin White

1882 was a year of historical markers: the infamous Jesse James was killed, the immigration act was put into place, and the Knights of Columbus was established. However, many less prominent events occurred as well, including the birth of Malcolm McKibben.

Malcolm McKibben’s mother and father homesteaded in northern Hodgeman County since they had ventured nearly 4,000 miles from Ireland to build a life in the United States. Lydia McKibben, Malcolm’s mother, was the first to arrive. She built a home and provided for herself until her husband was able to join her several years later.

The McKibben family has farmed to provide food for themselves and commercially in Hodgeman County for more than a century. Currently, five generations of descendants reside in Hodgeman County. Many food traditions have been passed down and created over the last hundred years.

One tradition is the habit of not being wasteful with food. The time period and rural geographical region in which the McKibben family was established played a large part in eating economically.

Patrice Witman is the granddaughter of Malcolm McKibben. Her potato salad is infamous in her family. Her daughter, Ronda White, learned not to waste food the hard way.

The standing rule is if you take it, you eat it. As we all know, children’s eyes are often bigger than their stomachs.

In this case, White’s eyes were huge. She had taken a large helping of her mother’s potato salad, and her father, Gene Witman, refused to let her leave the table until it was gone. White grudgingly finished the salad and within minutes was sick. She has not touched potato salad since.

The descendants of the McKibben family are a close knit family and still convene at least two to three times per year in Hodgeman County. These meetings generally entail lavish dinners and succulent desserts in recognition of birthdays and holidays. Members of the family bring dishes of their choice from fried chicken, to corn dip and salsa, to cake and fudge. One thing is certain, though: the abundance of food never goes to waste.

The traditions instilled over a century ago have proven to be valuable, especially given the economic turmoil that has burdened the world over the last one hundred years. The McKibben family successfully carries on and continues to pass down these traditions and hopes to do so for many centuries to come.

Potato Salad
From Patrice Witman

6 medium potatoes
2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
1/8 cup chopped onion
¾ cup salad dressing (she uses Miracle Whip)
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper (optional)
1 ½ tablespoons sugar

Peel and boil potatoes. Drain potatoes.

Add eggs, onion, miracle whip, sour cream, salt, pepper, and sugar into a large mixing bowl.

Mix thoroughly (for a creamy texture mix with a mixer on medium speed).

Chill for two hours.

Makes six ½ cup servings.