We pledge this episode to Miss Ingalls and the food she ate in the book LHOTP, which is, again, a paen to eating. But! On the way to Kansas and in Kansas, they had far less ingredients and cooking was much more challenging. So much cornbread, and Sweet Molasses–SO MUCH molasses. Also in this episode: One of the dearest Christmas vignettes ever committed to the page.
Shownotes:
Bookish foodies, let’s hop in the old covered wagon for a trek across raging creeks and pioneer pathways, all the way to the Little House on the Prairie in Kansas. We’ll talk about food eaten on the way to and at the Little House, and how Ma and Pa had to be super creative to keep their family fed on the frontier. Featuring a plenitude of cornbread, molasses and the captivating (really) prairie chicken, the menu at the cabin was nothing if not consistent.
This book really could be called “Eating While Imperiled,” as the Ingalls family faced disaster or death every 43 pages.
It wasn’t all bad, though. Here’s a charming recipe for the heart-shaped cakes they ate at Christmastime, for example.
And here's a look at those Kansas Prairie hens ... https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=4a8b7cf59b69c426&q=prairie+hen+kansas&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwig1ZjV6PuDAxXFlSYFHeuxApkQ0pQJegQIDhAB&biw=1280&bih=551&dpr=1.5
Hey! If you enjoyed this episode, a review sure would be sweeter than molasses, and a lot less sticky.
https://bitefromthepast.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/little-house-on-the-prairie-heart-shaped-cakes/
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Theme Music: "Beyond the Ponds" by Francis Wells