Huckleberry Cakes and Venison
ASK an old pioneer about his first years in the Oregon country and a reminiscent light comes into his eyes. "Our first years in Oregon? Well, it wasn't so bad. There were venison, fish, and wild game. We had plenty of berries. Our principal dish was boiled wheat or hominy and milk. Used side bacon as a seasoning. Didn't have much salt in those days. Salt was so scarce it was often traded for its weight in gold. The Indians were fairly friendly. Taught us a lot. Oh, yes, my mother used to work pretty hard cooking for our big family, but she never seemed to mind the hardships."
Many an old-timer remembers the revolving table, a common sight in the homes of early settlers. It was a circular, homemade affair about six feet in diameter, like an ordinary table; but attached to a support in the center, about eight inches above the main surface, there was a smaller table-top that could be revolved by hand. Appetizing arrays of food used to grace these curious old tables—loaves of golden bread and plates of butter, brilliantly colored fruits and vegetables, cinnamonbrown gingerbread cakes, fruit pies with rich juices staining the crisp crust, head cheese, fresh or salted meat and fish.
Some of the dishes enjoyed by the pioneers of Oregon have not been prepared for many years; but the recipes for others are carefully preserved, and (with some adaptation to present-day methods and materials) are still followed by many housewives. In the former category is fern pie, thus referred to by George A. Waggoner in his Stories of Old Oregon:
At supper, among other things, we had what I feel assured but few mortals have ever tasted—fern pie. It was made of the tender and nutritious stalks of young ferns, and was very good. Thomas was surprised, but said the Lord was very wise, and had undoubtedly clothed the hills and valleys with the delicious plant in order that the coming generation might be supplied with food, and never be without a supply of good pie. ... I believe these pies are now extinct, and their making a lost art, unless, happily, a recipe has been preserved among the early settlers of Sweet Home valley.
Prominent among the recipes that are still popular is the following,
