An ode to lard and all the old time cooking habits

[Anonymous]

I love foraging and farm fresh food. But, I would miss pineapple and mangos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Geez - people are mean. OP I often think about how just really 1 or 2 generations ago most of my dad's family lived on farms and grew most everything they ate. It is not an easy life, but there is a lot to be said for the eating part of it. Plus so much daily physical labor makes for hearty people. I wish I knew even 1/3 of what some of the women knew about cooking/gardening/raising livestock, etc.

That is exactly what I meant. Remembering the old times, and in retrospect how healthy it all was and yet we switched it thinking we were doing the right thing, I suppose? Started with Crisco, margarine, whatever else. Plus that one chicken had to feed six of us, and yet nobody was left hungry.
I was just trying to reminisce, that's all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love foraging and farm fresh food. But, I would miss pineapple and mangos.

OP here. Ditto for pineapple, mangoes I could go without. But, you get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Geez - people are mean. OP I often think about how just really 1 or 2 generations ago most of my dad's family lived on farms and grew most everything they ate. It is not an easy life, but there is a lot to be said for the eating part of it. Plus so much daily physical labor makes for hearty people. I wish I knew even 1/3 of what some of the women knew about cooking/gardening/raising livestock, etc.

That is exactly what I meant. Remembering the old times, and in retrospect how healthy it all was and yet we switched it thinking we were doing the right thing, I suppose? Started with Crisco, margarine, whatever else. Plus that one chicken had to feed six of us, and yet nobody was left hungry.
I was just trying to reminisce, that's all.

Okay, point taken.

[Anonymous]

Agree OP. I hear you. I do have my own garden, and use local farmers for quite a bit. Even small things like cleaning up green beans, shucking large bags of corn, harvesting peas on the front porch with my grandma are such cherished memories. I definitely miss that part of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree OP. I hear you. I do have my own garden, and use local farmers for quite a bit. Even small things like cleaning up green beans, shucking large bags of corn, harvesting peas on the front porch with my grandma are such cherished memories. I definitely miss that part of life.

I too grow my own tomatoes and jsut started carrots in large pots. We had a whole orchard when I was a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you heard me right. When grandma's piggies were sunning and giving us awesome vitamin D. When Cod oil was a thing, and when I did not have to chug pill after pill of Vitamin D supplements. And check it out, lard (not the hydrogenated crap, the one we rendered on our own) is "healthier" less bad, than butter.
When my strawberries and cherries came from our garden and our trees. Or from the trees of farmers bringing it to our farmer's market in season. When I ate local cheese made by your neighbor. An ode to grandma making strudel on Sunday and our own roasted chicken(butchered that morning), first used to make our soup and stock.
Shelling peas and eating them that day, pickling your own veggies and making your own juice syrup and mixing it with water. Just an ode to all the goodies and oldies. I miss those times. I can never go back to them, most of us can't. I do not have the money to buy all of it from pasture practicing farms. I wish I did, but hey, for an immigrant from the country that no longer even exists, I am doing ok, all things considering.
And an ode to us, older and younger dcumers who remember and miss such simpler times.

I am from the country (South) and this is how my grandparents lived and ate too (minus the streudel). I get you OP.

It is sad to see that most have no idea what I wrote about. But, thanks for posting and knowing what I am talking about. There are few of us left! What was your "streudel?" Some yummy pie?

No, I know what you are talking about. It’s just an odd thing to post about.

It's not odd. Beats another real estate post. "Odd" is so judgmental and passive aggressive, and posts on DCUM are not worth wasting time judging.

I remember picking blackberries with my mom in the hot sun. The berries were so warm and delicious.

[Anonymous]

There ain't no drinkin' like day drinkin'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you heard me right. When grandma's piggies were sunning and giving us awesome vitamin D. When Cod oil was a thing, and when I did not have to chug pill after pill of Vitamin D supplements. And check it out, lard (not the hydrogenated crap, the one we rendered on our own) is "healthier" less bad, than butter.
When my strawberries and cherries came from our garden and our trees. Or from the trees of farmers bringing it to our farmer's market in season. When I ate local cheese made by your neighbor. An ode to grandma making strudel on Sunday and our own roasted chicken(butchered that morning), first used to make our soup and stock.
Shelling peas and eating them that day, pickling your own veggies and making your own juice syrup and mixing it with water. Just an ode to all the goodies and oldies. I miss those times. I can never go back to them, most of us can't. I do not have the money to buy all of it from pasture practicing farms. I wish I did, but hey, for an immigrant from the country that no longer even exists, I am doing ok, all things considering.
And an ode to us, older and younger dcumers who remember and miss such simpler times.

I get this, OP. I grew up this way and still live like this somewhat. I have a farm with an orchard, chickens, garden, etc. I am a excellent cook and preserve a lot of food, and take great pride in how much of our food is from our farm. It is a LOT of work, but it provides a sense of accomplishment to sit back after a long day and have something tangible you've made as a result.

Most people on DCUM never experienced anything like this life, so they cannot relate to any part of what you posted. It's not personal, it's just provincialism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you heard me right. When grandma's piggies were sunning and giving us awesome vitamin D. When Cod oil was a thing, and when I did not have to chug pill after pill of Vitamin D supplements. And check it out, lard (not the hydrogenated crap, the one we rendered on our own) is "healthier" less bad, than butter.
When my strawberries and cherries came from our garden and our trees. Or from the trees of farmers bringing it to our farmer's market in season. When I ate local cheese made by your neighbor. An ode to grandma making strudel on Sunday and our own roasted chicken(butchered that morning), first used to make our soup and stock.
Shelling peas and eating them that day, pickling your own veggies and making your own juice syrup and mixing it with water. Just an ode to all the goodies and oldies. I miss those times. I can never go back to them, most of us can't. I do not have the money to buy all of it from pasture practicing farms. I wish I did, but hey, for an immigrant from the country that no longer even exists, I am doing ok, all things considering.
And an ode to us, older and younger dcumers who remember and miss such simpler times.

I get this, OP. I grew up this way and still live like this somewhat. I have a farm with an orchard, chickens, garden, etc. I am a excellent cook and preserve a lot of food, and take great pride in how much of our food is from our farm. It is a LOT of work, but it provides a sense of accomplishment to sit back after a long day and have something tangible you've made as a result.

Most people on DCUM never experienced anything like this life, so they cannot relate to any part of what you posted. It's not personal, it's just provincialism.

How lucky you are still! I wish I could live like that still. It is a lot of work, you are so right. It took grandma all day of work to tend to her garden, cook, grandpa worked, we all pitched in. I am sad to see that some here are, well, I don't know what to call it, but thinking I drink and am drunk.

[Anonymous]

OP, I grew up on a farm and experienced most of these things.

Just to balance things and maybe make you feel less sad about what you think you are missing now, here are some of the negatives that came along with that life:

1. It was so boring as a teenager. We were an hour and a half drive from a mall, and a long drive from each friend. Friends who were also farm kids lived equally far from everyone else.

2. This kind of community conjured up some religious crazies. My best friend in elementary school was pulled out of school when her parents discovered Bill Gothard’s crazy cult and began homeschooling her in preparation for becoming a “stay at home daughter” instead of college, then marrying young. She’s super messed up today!

3. The casual animal cruelty that I saw among some (not all) farmers really hurt me as a sensitive child. I never got used to seeing just-shot, bloody deer dragged out of the woods or the sick way some people would beat or mistreat certain farm animals.

4. Farm life meant close-knit families, which was great if your family was loving, but awful if there was abuse in the family. I knew a few people who suffered physical or sexual abuse from family members for years.

5. When I was a teen I did not want to spend hours helping out with farm chores. I really resented having to shovel horse stalls or ride on the wagon behind the mower to help catch and balance the bales. I hated weeding and I hated being asked to “mow the lawn” (the lawn was 2 acres). Friends I knew who were not farm kids had so much more free time.

6. My pet cats weren’t allowed indoors and didn’t get expensive treatment if they were injured or sick. They were simply euthanised. Because they were “working animals” (mousers) and there were a lot of them. I was a sensitive kid and there were a few really horrific things. (See casual animal cruelty)

7. I never, ever failed to cry when a beloved pet I’d fed from a bottle as a baby calf grew up and the truck from the slaughter house came to get her/him. Those men were gruff and mean, and the cow that had been raised as a pampered pet looked so scared and sad when these brutes arrived, smacking the cow on the shoulder or rump with a stick to get him/her into the huge, stinking trailer. I never got over the trauma of being told by my laughing parents that the chicken dinner I’d just enjoyed was actually the goose I’d gotten as a fuzzy baby last Easter. People say that farm kids are more practical about these things, but I never was. The way cows, especially, are treated makes me sick because I saw it all. I am a vegetarian today.

[Anonymous]

I get you, OP.

can I add that I miss really good watermelon? It all tastes like garbage now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I grew up on a farm and experienced most of these things.

Just to balance things and maybe make you feel less sad about what you think you are missing now, here are some of the negatives that came along with that life:

1. It was so boring as a teenager. We were an hour and a half drive from a mall, and a long drive from each friend. Friends who were also farm kids lived equally far from everyone else.

2. This kind of community conjured up some religious crazies. My best friend in elementary school was pulled out of school when her parents discovered Bill Gothard’s crazy cult and began homeschooling her in preparation for becoming a “stay at home daughter” instead of college, then marrying young. She’s super messed up today!

3. The casual animal cruelty that I saw among some (not all) farmers really hurt me as a sensitive child. I never got used to seeing just-shot, bloody deer dragged out of the woods or the sick way some people would beat or mistreat certain farm animals.

4. Farm life meant close-knit families, which was great if your family was loving, but awful if there was abuse in the family. I knew a few people who suffered physical or sexual abuse from family members for years.

5. When I was a teen I did not want to spend hours helping out with farm chores. I really resented having to shovel horse stalls or ride on the wagon behind the mower to help catch and balance the bales. I hated weeding and I hated being asked to “mow the lawn” (the lawn was 2 acres). Friends I knew who were not farm kids had so much more free time.

6. My pet cats weren’t allowed indoors and didn’t get expensive treatment if they were injured or sick. They were simply euthanised. Because they were “working animals” (mousers) and there were a lot of them. I was a sensitive kid and there were a few really horrific things. (See casual animal cruelty)

7. I never, ever failed to cry when a beloved pet I’d fed from a bottle as a baby calf grew up and the truck from the slaughter house came to get her/him. Those men were gruff and mean, and the cow that had been raised as a pampered pet looked so scared and sad when these brutes arrived, smacking the cow on the shoulder or rump with a stick to get him/her into the huge, stinking trailer. I never got over the trauma of being told by my laughing parents that the chicken dinner I’d just enjoyed was actually the goose I’d gotten as a fuzzy baby last Easter. People say that farm kids are more practical about these things, but I never was. The way cows, especially, are treated makes me sick because I saw it all. I am a vegetarian today.

In addition, women were tied to their kitchen and home, and couldn’t work outside of home, have independent income stream etc.

There’s much to live in what OP posted but it came at significant cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get you, OP.

can I add that I miss really good watermelon? It all tastes like garbage now.

Right? How good it was to have cooled watermelon in the summer? Now it is just like. whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I grew up on a farm and experienced most of these things.

Just to balance things and maybe make you feel less sad about what you think you are missing now, here are some of the negatives that came along with that life:

1. It was so boring as a teenager. We were an hour and a half drive from a mall, and a long drive from each friend. Friends who were also farm kids lived equally far from everyone else.

2. This kind of community conjured up some religious crazies. My best friend in elementary school was pulled out of school when her parents discovered Bill Gothard’s crazy cult and began homeschooling her in preparation for becoming a “stay at home daughter” instead of college, then marrying young. She’s super messed up today!

3. The casual animal cruelty that I saw among some (not all) farmers really hurt me as a sensitive child. I never got used to seeing just-shot, bloody deer dragged out of the woods or the sick way some people would beat or mistreat certain farm animals.

4. Farm life meant close-knit families, which was great if your family was loving, but awful if there was abuse in the family. I knew a few people who suffered physical or sexual abuse from family members for years.

5. When I was a teen I did not want to spend hours helping out with farm chores. I really resented having to shovel horse stalls or ride on the wagon behind the mower to help catch and balance the bales. I hated weeding and I hated being asked to “mow the lawn” (the lawn was 2 acres). Friends I knew who were not farm kids had so much more free time.

6. My pet cats weren’t allowed indoors and didn’t get expensive treatment if they were injured or sick. They were simply euthanised. Because they were “working animals” (mousers) and there were a lot of them. I was a sensitive kid and there were a few really horrific things. (See casual animal cruelty)

7. I never, ever failed to cry when a beloved pet I’d fed from a bottle as a baby calf grew up and the truck from the slaughter house came to get her/him. Those men were gruff and mean, and the cow that had been raised as a pampered pet looked so scared and sad when these brutes arrived, smacking the cow on the shoulder or rump with a stick to get him/her into the huge, stinking trailer. I never got over the trauma of being told by my laughing parents that the chicken dinner I’d just enjoyed was actually the goose I’d gotten as a fuzzy baby last Easter. People say that farm kids are more practical about these things, but I never was. The way cows, especially, are treated makes me sick because I saw it all. I am a vegetarian today.

That is heartbreaking pp! I am so sorry you witnessed that cruelty and sorry for the terrified animals too. I have reduced so much meat consumption in our family for the reasons of climate, health, and to reduce animal suffering.