Western Hearths: Spring Homestead Dinners

Spring in the 1800s was a season of hope, work, and anticipation. After months of harsh winter weather, homesteaders welcomed the first signs of spring. High on their list of priorities came planting a garden for fresh eating and preserving. Greens, herbs, and early root vegetables were the first to make it to the table. From these limited resources, they created dinners that brought beauty to simplicity. The aroma of a simmering stew combined with the warmth of bread from the Dutch oven became much more than the sum of its parts. Such a meal provided nourishment for the body and soul.

The Homestead Table in Spring

Typical April crops on a western homestead might include:

• Tender greens like spinach, dandelion, and lettuce
• Root vegetables (carrots, turnips, and onions)
• Herbs like parsley, sage, and thyme

To these, a homestead cook added fruit from preserved stores, such as dried apples, berries, or rhubarb. Protein was often limited to eggs, milk, or cheese from the family’s animals. Salt pork or occasional fresh meat sometimes also made the menu. Bread often came in the form of biscuits, johnnycakes, or loaves baked in a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven. 

Western pioneers cooked hearty meals to carry them through long hours of planting, plowing, and tending livestock. Grateful to make it through the long months of winter, they celebrated the new life of springtime with fresh, nourishing dinners.

Pioneer Spring Vegetable Stew

A spring vegetable stew seasoned with a clever mix of herbs, epitomizes the humble circumstanced and adaptability of western pioneers.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons lard, butter, or bacon drippings
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, diced
2 cups chopped cabbage or kale
1 cup chopped early greens or herbs (parsley, dandelion, or spinach)
4 cups water or broth (if available)
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 1 cup dried beans, soaked overnight

Instructions
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the fat over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft.
Stir in carrots and potatoes, cooking for a few minutes to coat in fat.
Add cabbage or kale, greens, beans (if using), and water or broth.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 25–30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Season with salt, pepper, and herbs. Serve hot, with a slice of bread if available.

Tip: For a richer flavor, fry a small piece of salted pork at the beginning and cook the vegetables in the rendered fat.

More Than Just a Meal

In diaries and letters from the era, settlers often mentioned how meals brought the family together, despite the challenges of life. Keeping food on the table was a family task, with children helping in the garden and kitchen. Neighbors sometimes shared in a meal as the whole community celebrated the bounty of spring.

Bringing It to Your Own Table

Making a homestead vegetable stew today is a way to honor our western heritage. As you gather early spring vegetables from your garden or local market, imagine western settlers stirring a pot over a wood stove. Even if you didn’t till the prairie soil, you have the same goal of offering your family something nourishing with intention and care.

About Janalyn Voigt 

Janalyn Voigt fell in love with literature at an early age when her father read chapters from classics as bedtime stories. When Janalyn grew older, she put herself to sleep with tales "written" in her head. Today Janalyn is a storyteller who writes in several genres. Romance, mystery, adventure, history, and whimsy appear in all her novels in proportions dictated by their genre. Janalyn Voigt is represented by Wordserve Literary.

Learn more about Janalyn, read the first chapters of her books, subscribe to her e-letter, and join her reader clubs at http://janalynvoigt.com.

Discover Montana Gold 

Based on actual historical events during a time of unrest in America, the Montana Gold series explores faith, love, and courage in the wild west. 

Unmarried Women Homesteaders

Photograph of a Female Homesteader Standing in the Doorway of a Cabin

Unmarried Women Homesteaders

Think of homesteading, and you’ll probably picture a family outside a sod home with possibly a cow or two grazing on the roof. Keep the cows but remove everyone but the woman and you’ll have an accurate representation of thousands of women who claimed free land under the Homestead Act of 1862.

Married women could not take land in their own name unless they qualified as head of their household, but unmarried women of all ilks (those who had never married, widows, divorcees, or those who had been abandoned) learned they could forge a new destiny for themselves. The largest demographic of these women to homestead were both single and young. They succumbed to the same temptations that lured men westward – the twin possibilities of adventure and financial opportunity.

In order to receive the title to their land, homesteaders needed to reside on their land for five years, at least at the inception of the Homestead Act. The number of years necessary changed with time. While many remained on their land full-time, residency was interpreted loosely by some. They might leave for extended periods to visit family members, work, or simply to escape conditions on the homestead. Later adjustments to the Homestead Act eased this requirement. Amendments allowed homesteaders to commute claims by other means, including payment after a certain amount of time living on their land.

Women homesteaders often supported themselves as teachers, seamstresses, or in other jobs. Widows particularly benefited from homesteading. During my research for Hills of Nevermore (Montana Gold, book 1), in which the heroine is a widow, I came to understand how difficult it was for a widow to take care of herself in the West. Those who didn’t remarry had to support themselves in a culture that allowed few opportunities for single women. They were often widowed while young and often had children to support. Homesteading offered a way for them to provide for themselves and their children that would not have existed otherwise.

Unmarried women who homesteaded learned to survive in the West on their own. That was a remarkable feat. Some female homesteaders remained single, but many found husbands.

About the Author

Janalyn Voigt's unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and whimsy creates breathtaking fictional worlds for readers. Known for her vivid writing, this multi-faceted author writes in the western historical romance, medieval epic fantasy, and romantic suspense genres.

Janalyn is represented by Wordserve Literary Agency. Her memberships include ACFW and NCWA. When she's not writing, she loves to garden and explore the great outdoors with her family.

Explore Janalyn Voigt's interactive website.

About the Book

In Hills of Nevermore. America Reed’s husband died during an early blizzard that piled up quickly. Winter set in, and America was forced to give birth alone of the homestead. Some pioneer women actually gave birth alone. Can you imagine? When America was finally able to leave home, another widow befriends her. Addie lost her husband during a river crossing when their wagon capsized. He was taking his family along to the Montana gold fields. Addie needs to find another way to support herself and her son. America and Addie are strong women faced with difficult circumstances like the unmarried homesteaders described in this article.

I'm excited to announce that Hills of Nevermore is included in the Heartbeats in Time collection of western historical romance novels from seven award-winning and bestselling authors. It's free to read in Kindle Unlimited or just 99¢ per ebook to purchase. Claim this limited-time collection today!

Snipe Hunting: A Great American Tradition

If my uncle hadn't shown me a picture of an American snipe, I'd have been less likely to buy into his method for capturing one. Even as a child of ten or so, I was already onto Uncle Donnie and the rest of my uncles, who seemed never to tire of playing pranks. The idea of luring an elusive bird into an open pillowcase at sunset seemed suspicious, at best. In fact, I'd flat out denied it was possible. But here, from the pages of the encyclopedia, looked out feathered proof.

Who could argue with an encyclopedia?

My uncle's manner certainly didn't give anything away as he extolled the virtues of the snipe. A deep desire to capture one of these amazing birds struck me, never mind that I'd never heard of them until now and wouldn't know what to do with one once I did.

My cousin, Judy, was a year older and of the same mind.

By Plate (XIX): John Gerrard Keulemans, 1842--1912 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Our snipe-hunting expedition became a family event, with our Iowa uncles and those who happened to be visiting from Missouri all making an appearance. Just before sunset, Uncle Donnie took Judy and I for a walk. When we reached the edge of the woods, he pressed a flashlight into Judy's hand and told her to shine it into the shadows. I was given a pillowcase with instructions to hold it open at ground level. We had to call "coo-ee" over and over as loud as we could.

At that idea, Judy and I almost deserted, but Uncle Donnie overcame our objections. You see, our calls would attract a snipe, thinking it had found other snipes. It would then follow the flashlight beam and run into the open pillowcase. This explanation restored our sense of purpose and gave me a basis for the opinion that I would not want to be an eskimo if my uncle had an igloo for sale. He wouldn't stay with us, he explained, because a snipe wouldn't approach with too many people around.

So, this is how my cousin and I wound up calling "coo-ee" at the top of our lungs for an hour or so. Tiring, we swapped duties between the flashlight and the pillowcase, but neither of us wanted to call it quits, even as the colors of sunset faded and full darkness fell. Now the flashlight beam darted here and there, because the woods were all at once spooky.

But wait...could it be? Coming from the woods came laughter, then familiar voices. A flashlight snapped on, and my uncles emerged from their hiding places. That's when my cousin and I learned that we had been victims of a practical joke.

In many parts of America, snipe hunting is a rite of passage, but most who play this practical joke don't realize that it centuries old and may have predated colonization of America. On May 27th, 1747, Sir Jeffrey Pilsner recorded the first real-life snipe-hunting expedition in America while trading furs in Minnesota. It contained many of the elements, including capturing the bird with a sack, that are part of the snipe hunting practical joke tradition. Source.

How do you catch a snipe? Pretty much in the same way practical jokers instruct their victims to go about it, as it turns out. Scientists lure snipes with lights and noises, and then catch them with nets. Source.

Catch more posts like this and about homesteading, Bohemian style, at Old Bohemian Homestead.

About the Author

Janalyn Voigt's unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and whimsy creates breathtaking fictional worlds for readers. Look for her upcoming western historical fiction. She also writes fantasy. Beginning with DawnSinger, Janalyn's epic fantasy series, Tales of Faeraven, carries readers into a land only imagined in dreams.

Bohemian by ethnicity and mindset, Janalyn is an eclectic artist who creates in multiple disciplines. (she also draws, sings, writes poetry, and toys with a camera.)

Janalyn is represented by Sarah Joy Freese of Wordserve Literary. Her memberships include ACFW and NCWA. When she's not writing, she loves to discover worlds of adventure in the great outdoors with her family.