1975: Dad showed Bryan
and me the house where he grew up. He
said that the spruces behind the house were planted by him!
Dad was born December 13, 1901, on
this homestead in the Rossburn/Olha area.
The house was built by a Ukrainian carpenter.
(A house just like this
was pictured in a series of cards featuring scenes in Saskatchewan.)
We went inside the house. You could see how it was plastered over
lathes.
This was one of the
outbuildings – probably a barn.
On the way home, Dad, without a word to
us, stopped the truck suddenly in the middle of the road and hopped out.
Then he yanked this young spruce out
of the ground.
Dad replanted the little tree in
Shoal Lake where it flourished as part of a windbreak.
Dad took the same approach with babies,
even if they were at the exact age to “make strange”. The moment we arrived, Dad snatched her from
me. A look of alarm touched her face,
but vanished instantly. Grandpa magic!
***********
Dad had the same knack with food.
He made lumpy dumplings that Mom
would never serve to company.
But Nestor, Diana, and I loved his
Lump Soup!
*************
LUMP SOUP
First, prepare strong chicken stock.
Cool the stock and refrigerate.
You will then be able to remove the
solidified fat (although any Baba would tell you that, in
doing so, you are removing the best flavour so you may want to return a little
of the fat to the stock when you are heating it for the soup).
Sauté a carrot and a celery
stalk (both finely chopped) to soften them and add these to the broth with the
dumplings. (or you can just boil them for a few minutes with the stock)
LUMPY DUMPLINGS
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp salt (sounds like a lot, but it's the right amount!)
2 ¼ cups flour
Beat the
eggs with a mixer. Then add salt, milk,
and 1 cup flour. Beat again. Add another cup of flour and beat. The last quarter cup of flour must be beaten
in by hand.
Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a rolling boil. Using a tea spoon, drop batter into the pot in small lumps.
(Try dipping the spoon directly into the water. The batter should just come away from the spoon and you won't have to push it off the way I did in this picture. A trick I just learned in July, 2014!)
Boil uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain.
Add to the broth.
(I also remember seeing Mom drop the
dumpling batter directly into the broth when she was boiling a chicken.)
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