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NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
December 23, 1999
Tom Isern, Professor of History
North Dakota State University
©1999 Plains Folk
Those women in Litchville, N.D., who brought you "Ritzy Rhubarb Secrets" are back. That treatment of the ultimate comfort food of the northern plains, a culinary cult classic, is now joined by the "Pumpkin, Winter Squash and Carrot Cookbook," edited by Jane Winge. (Both available from the Litchville 2000 Committee, P.O. Box 11, Litchville ND 58461; the $12 charge for either book includes postage and handling.)
What sets these little treatises apart from the usual run of community cookbooks is that they embrace, in their own modest way, the principles that make great regional cooking: use of local produce, seasonality, and the mix of tradition and innovation.
Near as I can tell, all the contributors to the Litchville cookbooks are women. On the other hand, I get the paper from my old hometown in Kansas, Ellinwood, where George Martin writes a weekly cooking column I enjoy. He too cooks from basic principles, such as, "I have this stuff, so what shall I do with it?" or "What will the people in my house eat?"
The Great Plains as a region cannot be said to possess a regional cuisine recognized by the world. Perhaps it's time. Most people in the region with interests in food define them locally or ethnically. Is it possible that in the prairies stretching from Saskatoon to San Antonio, we might define a continuum of "foodways" that would bring us culinary respect? Let's work on it.
I have a selection of regional recipes posted at the Plains Folk Web site (www.plainsfolk.com/recipe/). In addition let me tell you about some of my favorite books on Great Plains foodways. (You'll have to check local libraries and bookstores about getting these.)
Start with old Sam Arnold, proprietor of the Fort, that wonderful Western restaurant in the foothills above Denver. "The Fort Cookbook" (1997) offers an entertaining blend of historic foodways and adventuresome experimentation--from peanut-butter jalapenos to buffalo marrow bones.
Roger and Linda Welsch offer "Cather's Kitchens" (1987), which takes as its starting point the references to food in the fiction and letters of Willa Cather. If you know Roger, you know he knows how to eat, but he and Linda also know how to research. The book is a remarkable catalog of how-tos and observations about homely cooking on the plains.
For all you Norwegians there is "Prairie Cooks" (1993), by Carrie Young (author of "The Wedding Dress" and "Northing to Do but Stay"). This book drips butter when you open it. It is a collection of stories (yes, with recipes and instructions) about the cooking of the author's mother and family in Williams County, North Dakota.
Finally, I have to mention "Wild Seasons" (1993), by Kay Young. Most wild-food cookbooks have two problems: they deal with wild foods from forest places, and they reflect tastes that are less than discriminating. Kay, on the other hand, her feet planted in Nebraska, focuses on prairie stuff, and the recipes are really good. For the benefit of northern folk, let me observe that Kay's Purple Passion Cheesecake, which she makes with elderberry juice (generally not available north of about Yankton), also works great with chokecherry juice.
That's my list. What's yours? I'd be delighted to hear about obscure works of regional cookery that should not be obscure. (And mail comes to me at Minard 412C, NDSU, Fargo ND 58105-5075.)
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Source: Tom Isern (701) 231-8339
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Click here to download a photo of Tom Isern suitable
for printing.
(isern.tif - 512KB b&w photo)
Click here to download a photo of Tom Isern suitable for printing.
(isern-h.tif - 426KB b&w photo)