Up on Tucker Ridge, when I was little,
we called the 'kitchen" the "cook room."
The cook room was an addition on the cottage style farmhouse - somewhat like a cape. There was the
large soapstone sink under the small, double windows overlooking the back 'yard' (pasture) where there were apple trees
and lilacs and rosa rugosas, the spring box with it's always gurgling, cold, sweet water, and on down to the forest.
There was the red pump on the end of the sink, the water pail and drinking dipper under the
pump spout in the sink. The wonderful, old Clarion cook stove was on another wall between the shed/granary
door and the milk separator.
On the other side of the sink, against the wall, was the built in Hoosier style cupboard with glass
doored shelves. Longways, between the door to the upstairs stairs and the door to the 'sitting room,' was the long, heavy
oak table with the kerosene lamp.
On the wall to the right of the sink was the side-board. It was hinged and when not in use for
making biscuits, pies, etc., - it was folded up against the wall.
This small and humble 'cook room' was the birth place of hearty, sumptuous meals - all
from scratch, from home gardens, fruit trees and bushes, and from the forest and the waters. There were no restaurants or
McDonald's within 20 miles. (Actually, at the time, there were no McDonald's or other "fast food" places anywhere!)
I will be putting many old country recipes here, including Grammie
Tucker's famous buttermilk biscuits - the fluffiest and whitest - and her flakey pie crust secret.
I'll put in her recipe - more like a formula! - for home
made mincemeat,) often made with one eye on the road for the warden, as sometimes the venison wasn't quite in season.
So keep checking. I'm adding things to my "Web-Home"
as fast as I can between the paintings for my eBay store and the columns for the editors.
