When we got to the Valley many of us were out of provisions, July 24th, here we stayed about one month. August 26th, we started for Council Bluffs, for my outfit to go back with I had but 2 quarts of parch corn and 3 quarts of course corn meal. I was sick all the way back, and suffered everything but death; many times I had nothing to eat, and sometimes I had a little poor buffalo bull meat. We returned back to the Bluffs about the last of October, and found my family well.We were introduced to parched corn on the first LDS Trek we participated in. I love it. It reminded me of a similar commercial food - corn nuts.
We kept meeting some teams from Salt Lake City now, which rendered all the assistance they could. I remember asking one of the drivers to give me a cob of corn to eat. He looked so pitiful and said, “Oh, sister, I hate to refuse you but my horses haven’t enough to eat now, and I do not know how we will get back to Salt Lake.” I said, “I ought not to have asked you, but myself and children are so hungery.” He said, “Keep up your faith, sister.” A loaf of bread would have given me great faith and satisfied a hungry stomach as well, but the bread was not many miles off. We got it and it was the sweetest bread we ever ate.I love the sweetness of corn and I don't think that I am only. Over the years sweeter hybrids of corn have been selected and developed. The common corn of the Saints would have had on their overland journey would have been field corn or wild "volunteer" corn. The corn would be used for the horses, but it would also be dried or ground into meal.
Our stove was placed in the baggage wagon during the day, and set up on the ground at night. We had plenty of ham, beans, dried fish, dried meat, salt pork, etc., etc., and our meals did not lack variety. On the eve of this particularly trying day, I had planned an especially appetizing supper-ham, and as a treat, eggs, hot biscuit, etc.-My disappointment was great indeed when I found every egg broken. They were packed in a box of salt in the rear end of our carriage, and as we emerged from the deep ravine, water had invaded the box with dire effect on the eggs.
A special treat of my childhood was some strawberry jam on one of her pancakes, which she used to give us when we ran errands for her.As the saints entered the rocky mountains in late June and early July wild strawberries would have just been ripening. They would have likely eaten them as a treat rather than make jam. In later years strawberries would have been grown in the valley. I wonder if they had as many problems with the deer eating strawberries as much as I did.
Sept 16. A very warm day. Ann is still right sick. After Frank got breakfast over he went and bought some peaches and we had cobbler for dinner.This particular cobbler recipe comes from my Grandmother. We can peaches each summer and home canned peaches are perfect for this recipe.
Grandma made the best molasses cake and you could go to her place most any time and have a slice of it or ginger and molasses cookies. Quick breads, soda or baking powder biscuits, in those earlier days baked in the Dutch oven.
As sunset drew near we approached the banks of the Big Sandy River. The bottom through which it flowed was several yards in breadth, bright green with grass, and thickly feathered with willows and cotton-wood. It showed no sign of cultivation; the absence of cereals may be accounted for by its extreme cold; it freezes there every night, and none but the hardiest grains, oats and rye, which here are little appreciated, could be made to grow.
"Myself, George S Clark, Levi Stewart and another man were appointed hunters, as there was much game in the country we had to pass through, turkey, deer, and some elk."Turkey seems to represent celebration in our country. It is of course associated with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. The pioneers also used turkey for celebration. For example it was often on the menu for the territorial state ball. The turkey is Utah's largest game bird and will get to about 18 pounds in the wild.
We arrived at Mr. foster’s about 10 a.m., and camped by a creek near the Foster home…and then engaged in dinner at the house at a rate of fifty cents per meal. Our dinner consisted of hot biscuits, cold slaw, fresh beefsteak, and boiled potatoes, served with hot coffee or tea. this meal tasted very good and sweet to us after our long trip of five months across the continentMost pioneers had the misfortune of only having pigweed to eat for salad greens. Bitter to some, savory to others it was fresh to all. Cabbage, when available, would have been heaven.
Better[.] walked on a Head[,] rode a few milles in Brother Oakelys waggon[.] met Brother Parley Pratt and many other Brethen going on missions[.] they gave away Biscuits[,] Potatoes[,] cheese[,] fish &c[.] Hannah got a Potatoe and had it ready Boiled by the time I came up to the camp[.] I thought it was the nicest I ever Eat, walked to camp in the afternoonThere are so many good ways to eat potatoes. A simple and traditional way is to just boil them. Creamy and smooth to balance out your dinner.
"I went to Gibson's store; got a pound of chocolate and he charged 37 1-2 cents for it; he had agreed in Winter Quarters to let me have it at 20 cents. Apology Lowers No Prices"
Ingredients"I can remember crocks of jams, jellies, pickles, sauerkraut all stored for use. The cabbages were turned upside down with the roots still on them."
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| Whole Wheat Soda Bread |
"As evening drew near and the wagons were drawn into a circle for the night, I used to go out with the other children and fill my apron with buffalo chips for the fire. Then mother would start out to prepare our evening meal and make soda bread, which was as yellow as gold and tasted as bitter as gall. Never in her life before had mother baked bread, as in England a person took their bread to the baker and he baked it for one cent. It was no wonder that our soda bread was so bitter although I think now that is what kept us so well on the trip was the soda in the bread."I too remember soda bread from youth as being bitter. Soda bread does not have to be bitter. It doesn't have the yeasty flavor nor does it have the rise of yeast bread. But if cooked right it isn't dense or dry. The pioneers crossing the plains wouldn't have used baking soda. They would have more likely used saleratus, potassium bicarbonate. Warm soda bread with some honey butter or fresh jelly is a wonderful addition to any meal.
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| Baked Rice fresh from the oven |
"They knew I was no cook, but left the job for me. I built a fire after gathering buffalo chips, and getting it started, the wind playing with it as it pleased. I put the dutch oven on to heat, with the cover by the side of it. I made a pie of dried apples. Putting it into the oven, the lid still heating, I turned toward the wagon, several yards awat [away] from the fire for safety. A nice cow sneaked up and helped herself to the pie when a young girl called me to come look to my rice. I had a hard time cooking the biscuits as I was jumping in and out of the wagon, climbing over the provision box, watching my baby girl, getting what the doctor wanted, as it was his misfortune never to find anything he was looking for. The fire had its own way of burning and I thought, O Zion, will we ever reach thee?"We normally make rice on the stove top. It just seems easier. We rinse it first so it doesn't foam over. We will switch to the oven when we want to do larger batches or we are doing a lot of other things on the stove. The texture is different when we use the oven. The grains do not seem as sticky. If you use a Dutch Oven for this recipe you can cook it stove top on a grill or with coals and use it as an oven.
"I was cook. One day I planned to cook beans. I thought that beans were cooked just like potatoes and before I got through, I had to borrow everything in camp to put beans in and still we had a surplus of beans."I was never a fan of beans until I spent 2 years living in Colombia. After having beans every day you discover that they can be a base for any flavor and do not have to be bland. They can also feed a lot of people. Being that these are a base, you can easily add seasonings such as oregano, cumin or chili. You could also swap out the ham with bacon or salt pork. Add in brown sugar and you have Boston Baked beans.
"Tuesday 7 started at half past six[.] travelled well[.] we have seen no Indians for the past four or five days[.] an incident connected with the Indians I will here relate as they have been very friendly with us[.] we returned the compliment in the same manner[.] they called at our table for refreshment and accordingly I was making lemonade which I offered to one who had watched the process of preparing and to whom I had handed a chair[.] he seated himself with great dignity and took in his hand the cup I offered but would not touch the drink untill I would drink with him[.] I began to drink from another cup but he handed his to me as much as to say drink from this[.] I took it[.] drank and returned it[.] he drank said good squaw with many gestures of satisfaction[.] he drank exclaiming good[,] good[.] encamped on the Loup fork[,] a splendid place[.] a good spring of water and everything very[,] very nice except the muscutoes [mosquitoes] which were very troublesome"
"Many families brought their cows along with them so we had plenty of fresh milk, butter and cheese. Our butter was very easily made . . . we would put cream in a covered pail which was hooked to the back of the wagon. The shaking and jolting of the wagon made a very good churn so we always had nice fresh butter without any trouble. Our other food was made up of the provisions we had brought with us such as potatoes and flour with which we made our bread."
"Aug. 5. Away early, drove 5 miles and the axletree of my carriage broke . . . stop and repair. Went fishing, no luck. Off at 3, encamped close to the river where there had been immense destruction of wagons and property. Plenty of currants, no game. Cooked bread and boiled our last ham which was nearly spoiled. Sat up late and sang songs."
"We came through Echo Canyon and Emigration Canyon and arrived safely on the camping place in Salt Lake, where the people came to look for old friends and brought watermelons and molasses cookies. We camped here for some days and the oxen were drove away to feed."I was looking for a dessert to share for an LDS trek recreation. In searching for a black-strap molasses candy I found something call molasses sticks. It is more of a cookie than a candy. Either way it is something that tastes great.
Vanilla Pancake Syrup"This morning we made preparation for starting on our journey, but on account of several oxen being lost[,] we did not get off until the afternoon. We started at ½ past one & as we went along, I called at my sisters and she gave me some butter for the plains & some golden syrup for my wife and some presents of baskets and sweetmeats for my children. "With many of the pioneer saints coming from the North East, maple syrup would have been a common staple. Maple syrup was being made in the United States in the 1600s. A substitute for maple syrup would have been golden syrup, a byproduct of refining sugar. This ended up being honey colored and a similar consistency.
"We came to the fort [Laramie] in the afternoon, left some things, etc. I bought a bottle of pickles for $1 and some cigars. They have a full and well assorted stock of variety merchandise, something such as my own when full, but prices are at least double what we sell for. There are a few fine buildings and the place bids fair to become a pretty one. "In 2011 the Deseret News ran a story about a story about the BYU football team using pickle juice to avoid and overcome cramps due to dehydration. The alluded to this being something originating from the pioneers. Whether true or not, pickling was a great preservative in the 1800s and perfect lunch companion for a trek recreation.
"It was the policy of the Church, from the time the pioneers arrived in 1847, until the railroad was built in 1868, to send, each year, a train of freighters from Utah to the Missouri river to bring Church immigrants. I was loaded with flour which was left at the "Supply Forts." This flour was used by the immigrants on our return trip. It took four or five months to make the trip.
When we arrived at Florence, on the bank of the Missouri river, the immigrants were there. Our train of fifty wagons was loaded with 500 immigrants, flour, bacon, and provisions for our company. My wagon was loaded with bacon, which was used when we reached Laramie, Wyoming. Here I was loaded with buffalo robes, which after a few days, were distributed among our company for their use."While different than bacon the 1850's pioneer migration consumed barrel loads of salt pork. Bacon is cut thin, cured or smoked. Salt pork was usually left in a slab and far saltier. Leaner cuts of the belly were used for bacon. One of the reasons the pioneers used salt pork is that you could pack it in a barrel and keep it refrigerated for a year. Though the pioneers used more salt pork bacon was also common.
"One night I was awakened by the people shouting "Biscuits, biscuits, biscuits." A relief party had arrived and brought us food. I can still hear those people shouting "Biscuits.""The Mormon migration west was powered by flour. It was their main food and at 150 pounds per person it was a good portion of what they had to transport as well. Though a variety of breads were made the most common on the trail was a biscuit using chemical leavening. Biscuits were used throughout the day, but almost always accompanied the noon day meal (lunch).
"Winter came in October with eighteen inches of snow, but in spite of this we did not suffer from hunger, due to Mother's careful and frugal planning. In Iowa City Mother sold a quilt and a bedspread for the sum of twenty-four cents. With this she bought food. She had a way with Indians: she traded trinkets for dried meat, which proved to be of great help to us on the journey. Frequently it would be stormy so that a fire could not be built; then mother would allow each of us to have a piece of dried meat on a piece of bread. As food became more and more scarce and the weather colder, she would stew a little of this meat and make a delicious gravy over it. I guess the reason it tasted so good is that we were allowed only a small portionWhen designing this recipe I wanted a way of doing a quality stew for a large amount of people. So I was looking for a recipe that could easily be expanded and not require me to stand over the stove browning meat for ages on end.
at each meal.
One very cold night, some young men were on guard. Mother prepared some meat broth, thickened with flour, and a little salt; she gave each one of the young men a half pint. They often declared it saved their lives and never before or since had anything tasted so good. "
"Tuesday. Started 10.O Clock and rested abt ¾ of an hour. Made about 13 Miles. lent Bro Forsgreen a horse[.] Country very Mountainous and numerous creeks[.] dividing a little oatmeal and Biscuit among the Bretheren who were desperately short"I am not a big fan of oatmeal unless it is drenched in brown sugar. Homemade oatmeal normally tastes, looks and feels like paste. Using steel-cut oats changed that for me. It started with the texture, but I think this recipe also helped put some flavor by using apple juice. It is worth the preparation the night before.
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| Freshly kneaded mozzarella cheese |
"We all enjoyed traveling, although it was a long hard trip. Claudi[u]s [Victor] Spencer was president of the company and there were fifty wagons in the train. Brother [Christopher] Arthur was Captain of the ten we belonged to. Mother [Ann Preece Walker] made some butter and also cheese on the way. When we stopped to rest the teams, she would save the milk and make cheese, and would press them with a wagon tongue. We milked two cows, good ones, and lots of the people of the company would come to her to buy some of the cheese, and she would sell what she could spare."I have always loved cheese. I think I have loved the idea of making cheese even more. Stories from my wife's family history sealed the deal. Sarah Lunt was renowned for her cheese making ability. She would trade it for flour. Each year she would even send it the Mexican president as a gift.
"When we reached the point on the Platt[e] River where there was no wood for about 3 hundred miles, we had to burn buffalo chips, or droppings. After a good rain it would take an expert cook to get a first class meal with such fuel, but the meal was always flavored and not too great a variety, as we used sourdow [sourdough], or soda to make bread with, and that and bacon, and dried apples with a very little sugar, was our fare. Sometimes the boys would kill a deer or a chicken, and one buffalo was killed. We had been without fresh meat for so long, and using so many kinds of water, it was not good to eat much fresh meat. We did not see many buffalo on the plains, but plenty of deer and antelope. They were like flocks of sheep. Bear and wolves were plentiful."I love the taste of sourdough. It is an amazing, unique flavor. But I have also been interested in knowing how to make bread if all I had was flour and water. I received my sourdough starter from a friend and have been keeping in my fridge for a couple of years. We get it out every couple of weeks and wake it up to make some yummy goodness.
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| Summer Sausage with Fresh Cheese and Cucumber |
"Monday, June 30, 1856. Weather: beautiful. 10 o'clock provisions were issued for two days: flour, sugar, dried apples, coffee, tea, salt, and smoked pork. It was made known to the handcart company that no person could convey more than 17 pounds per person with them on the carts."For an afternoon lunch try something different. Put together slices of summer sausage along side some fresh cheese and slices of sourdough artisan bread.
"On Green river Sept. 18th we commenced on a bread & water diet; yet made coffee of bread crusts, morning & evening with only milk enough to color it. Some days after, had a few messes of rice & sugar, with a change of corn mush & sugar for dinner.—The last week of our journey we had nothing but corn bread; except a little flour on the last days journey, we borrowed of Mr. Stevens."
"On this day, returning from writing, the assistant captain offered me a piece of pie. However, I had seen him roll the dough out on the wagon tongue. I said, 'No thank you. I don't care for any!' Father ate the pie and relished it, saying to me, 'You were very foolish not to have taken any, as it tasted very good.' Before I reached Salt Lake City, I would have had that piece of pie."This recipe was put together by my wife, a master at making pies. For some reason pies scare lots of people. It shouldn't. Besides what is wrong in practicing with pies? In fact maybe that should be a nightly chore. The other person I knew that was a master in pie making was my grandmother. To me pie is a nostalgic desert that brings much more to the table than sweetness.
"Sunday 3rd I arrose before six and assisted my wife to baking, got breakfast and at half past 9 we started for and reached Willow Creek, a beautiful open camping ground with a few scattered treets [trees] that gave shad[e] during a very hot day[.] My wife werry as she was attended to the fire and soon had tea ready and pertook of Bread and a little pork fried which I bough[t] at our Camp last night."
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| Food Storage Pancakes |
"Dearly we learned to love the Platte. Even if the way was dreary at time, we forgot it when passing along the river banks. During that month, we ate, each one of us, that peck of dirt—if sand may be classed as dirt—which every man is said to eat in his life time. It filled our eyes, too, and our ears and our nostrils. It was in the food. It sprinkled the pancakes, it was in the syrup that we poured upon them. Half suffocated we were at times by it as we lay at night beneath the wagons. O ye sandhills of the Platte. Indeed we have cause to remember!"We were looking at our standard pancake recipe and how can we adapt them for a family of 10. We don't have a family of 10, but wanted to use this recipe when cooking for a large youth group that will be camping in families of 10. (An LDS Trek, handcart recreation)
