Welcome to Gaia! ::

I was born in West Virginia, though we moved to Virginia soon after. We moved quite a bit, but both my parents were born in West Virginia, so we ate farm type food. My mother baked from scratch, rolls, biscuits mostly. And pie crust OH my! She was of the old school, using lard for the shortning and keeping everything icy cold, not working it too much. Lard produces the flakiest crust in the world, and also made fluffy, flakey biscuits.

We ate "soup beans" which are pinto beans with some onion and bacon in them, served on a plate with the cooking liquid. This is always served with cornbread. Mom's cornbread was not sweet, and had no corn in it, just flour and corn meal (yellow) with the rest of the ingredients.

We ate a lot of green beans, spinach and corn cut from the cob with dinner. Also, we always had some kind of salad, usually green salad or cole slaw. And potatoes... usually mashed. We had meals by the day of the week... Friday was fish day (we're not Catholic, but why not), meatloaf day, Swiss steak day, chicken day, spaghetti day.... Sunday breakfast was pancakes or waffles, yummy. We used real maple syrup, cheaper in those days.

My father always had a vegetable garden, and my goodness, corn on the cob has never been fresher or sweeter. Right off the stalk and into the pot.
We always had fruit, grape vine, apple tree, pear tree, sour cherries.... Mom made jams and jellies from the fruit. And applesace with pears, grape juice....

Farm tradition feeds people well... farm work is hard, and in season, there are farm hands to feed. The meals my grandmother served were incredible, and her daughters all helped. They laid a true groaning board! LOL A farm meal included at least two kinds of meat (always chicken, often beef, sometimes pork), potatoes, two or three vegetable side dishes, one salad, fresh baked bread or biscuits, and at least two kinds of dessert, a fruit pie and perhaps a cake or gingerbread. Those guys worked hard, and the mid day meal was usually the biggest meal of the day for them. Fresh lemonade and coffee were served, and milk or buttermilk as well.

The tradition was for the women to get all the food on the table, then retire to the big kitchen and its big table, where they ate. Separation of the sexes, but each had its own duties, and the "women talk" was great... at about age 8 or 9, I was found hiding under the kitchen table (it had a long table cloth), listening to the women talk about sex, having babies, and all the things I knew nothing about. blaugh

There was a short discussion, and the decision was I could stay, to learn a bit. However, I noticed the conversation was a bit dull after that.

Ah, memories.

whee

You're welcome, and thanks!

Now tell us about the kinds of food (recipe not needed just a general description) your family ate, and what you eat now.

HI I WAS RAISED IN WISCONSIN THE DAIRY STATE AND YES THO I DIDNT LIVE ON A FARM -WAS RAISED ON FARM FOOD , SINCE I HAVE MANY AUNTS N UNCLES WHO OWN FARMS. I LIVED IN A TINY TOWN WHERE PEOPLE DID MOST OF THERE OWN GARDENING AND PRESERVING FOODS AS MUCH AS THEY COULD. IN THAT AREA MOST PEOPLE COOKED LIKE THE PENNSLVANIA DUTCH RECIPES -WHICH ARE CLOSE TO AMISH STYLE. VERY WHOLESOME AND HEARTY FOOD. I DONT CARE FOR PROCESSED FOODS TOO MUCH THO IT IS NICE NOW AND THEN FOR THERE CONENVIENCE. WE PRESERVED MANY FOODS LIKE MOST HOMEGROWN VEGETABLES AND SO IN THE WINTER IT WAS MANY HEARTY SOUPS AND APPLE PIES ANYTIME. WITH HOMEGROWN VEGGIES, FARMED RAISED MEATS AND THE WHOLESOME CHEESES -WOW CANT GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT. LOTS OF BEEF STEW AND BISCUITS AND HOME-MADE BREADS WHERE A REGULAR ALONG WITH DIFFERENT SAUSAGES AND CHICKEN IN THOSE DAYS WERE ALOT BIGGER AND TASTIER THAN TODAY PUNY BIRDS. MY MOM TAUGHT MANY THINGS WHICH I STILL KEEP UP THE TRADITION AND NOW HAVE PASSED ON DOWN TO MY CHILDREN, EVEN MAKING HOME-MADE SOAP.
YES IM A BIT OLDER THAN MOST HERE IN GAIA BUT I DO SO ENJOY THE PEOPLE HERE IN THE GUILD AND THE RECIPES . THERE ARE MANY TALENTED PEOPLE HERE AND I WOULD SURELY LIKE TO SEE THIS GUILD BLOSSOM A WHOLE LOT MORE. I ALSO AM A CATHOLIC BUT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE AREA FOODS THAT WE ARE ACCUSTOMED TOO.