Laura ’ s handwritten recipes . You have it on good authority that the Mashed
Potato Cake recipe is the best ever !
You could never forget the sight of opening the smoke house door after it was finished and cooled ! The roof and rafters were pitch black , and the sausages , hanging limp , were brown . The smell of smoked meat burst into your lungs like an expensive perfume ! We could not spend too much time admiring it though because it was cold outside . Us kids , armed with bowls and buckets and the baby bath , would stand in the snowbank waiting our turn to be loaded up with food to bring inside .
When every counter and tabletop was piled high with these impressive delicacies , we used waxed butcher paper to wrap each parcel . Each one was carefully labelled and expertly packed into our large freezer for a season ’ s supply . This exhausting job would yield delicious results for months to come .
Home from Mass on a Sunday , there was a promise of cinnamon buns for a special treat . Plump and juicy , rolled out of dough layered with butter , cinnamon , and sugar , and a thick topping of fresh cream , their scent of baking filled the house . After devouring the buns , we scooped up and licked the leftover caramelized sugar and heavy cream from the bottom of the pan before it was washed .
Even that treat was short-lived as there were chores to do , morning and night . We gathered the eggs and fed and watered the chickens . We fed and watered the pigs and cattle in the barns . Those cows don ’ t milk themselves by hand ! And finally , the fresh , warm milk was poured into the cream separator for the supply of milk and heavy cream . Is it any wonder that the baking tasted sooo good ?
My amazing mother passed away at 104 years of age , just weeks after her birthday in June 2022 . We gathered at her ancestral home , the farm where we all grew up in Saskatchewan , for celebrations and , of course , pictures . All twelve of her children remember her delicious meals — and her beating us at cards ! Bless us , O Lord , and these thy gifts ….
Middle child Helen thinks that she may never meet a person as amazing as her mom . news & views WINTER 2022 | 43