Pioneer Potluck: About our 10,000 mile road trip to the lower 48

  • By Grannie
  • Tuesday, May 3, 2016 5:53pm
  • LifeFood

The long line of cars pulled in before we did! As we parked, we observed a coffin in the back of the lead pickup. So now we knew what was going on. We hurriedly went inside, up the stairs and found a place to sit before the morners filed in.

Sitting there for a few moments I saw that you had to go to the counter to order and pour your own coffee. Bob wanted eggs and hash browns and ham. On the chalk board it said “fresh potato soup.” OK, I will have that. Order in, I brought our coffee to the table where there was cream and sugar already on the table. Neither one of us use cream or sugar.

By that time the funeral procession had filtered in and poured themselves coffee. A little older Indian-Native man all dressed in his very finest, put his cup full of coffee on our table and helped himself to the cream and sugar. Never saying a word, he picked up his cup and ambled off. Bobs eggs came and so did my soup.

Bobs breakfast was fine. My potato soup was minus the milk! Just water, potatoes, onion, celery and salt. It was kind good because it was hot and I was hungry. We just grinned and watched the large bunch of people filter in and out in the very finest of dress. All the men of various ages were wearing cowboy boots. An older, well dressed Indian lady and her grandchild – we presumed – stood across the table from us and giggled at who knows what. We presumed they were giggling at us, totally out of our element.

Before we left, we looked at all the old John Deere and other types of snow machines that were setting around in various places, on top of sheds, on garage roofs and in the yard in various places. It was very interesting, but we did not terry as we wanted to get ahead of the funeral procession!

Next week Quesnel and on to hell’s gate….

The Grannie Annie series is written by a 47 year resident of Alaska, Ann Berg of Nikiski.Ann shares her collections of recipes from family and friends. She has gathered recipes for more that 50 years. Some are her own creation. Her love of recipes and food came from her Mother, a self taught wonderful cook. She hopes you enjoy the recipes and that the stories will bring a smile to your day.

 

Grannie Annie can be reached at anninalaska@gci. net

 

Cookbooks make great gifts!

The “Grannie Annie” Cook Book Series includes: “Grannie Annie’s Cookin’ on the Woodstove”; “Grannie Annie’s Cookin’ at the Homestead”; “Grannie Annie’s Cookin’ Fish from Cold Alaskan Waters”; and “Grannie Annie’s Eat Dessert First.” They are available at M & M Market in Nikiski.

More in Life

Promotional image courtesy Amazon MGM Studios
Dwayne Johnson as Callum Drift, J. K. Simmons as Santa Claus, Chris Evans as Jack O’Malley and Lucy Liu as Zoe Harlow in “Red One.”
On the Screen: ‘Red One’ is light on holiday spirit

The goofy, superhero-flavored take on a Christmas flick, feels out of time

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A gingerbread house constructed by Aurelia, 6, is displayed in the Kenai Chamber of Commerce’s 12th Annual Gingerbread House Contest at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday.
The house that sugar built

Kenai Chamber of Commerce hosts 12th Annual Gingerbread House Contest

This is the 42-foot Aero Grand Commander, owned by Cordova Airlines, that crashed into Tustumena Lake in 1965. (Photo courtesy of the Galliett Family Collection)
The 2 most deadly years — Part 2

Records indicate that the two most deadly years for people on or near Tustumena Lake were 1965 and 1975

Nick Varney
Unhinged Alaska: A butthead named Baster

Time now for the Baster saga that took place a few years ago

Pistachios and pomegranates give these muffins a unique flavor and texture. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A chef is born

Pistachio and pomegranate muffins celebrate five years growing and learning in the kitchen

Make-ahead stuffing helps take pressure off Thanksgiving cooking. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Holiday magic, pre-planned

Make-ahead stuffing helps take pressure off Thanksgiving cooking

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Life in the Pedestrian Lane: Let’s give thanks…

Thanksgiving has come to mean “feast” in most people’s eyes.

File
Minister’s Message: What must I do to inherit?

There’s no way God can say “no” to us if we look and act all the right ways. Right?

Jane Fair (standing, wearing white hat) receives help with her life jacket from Ron Hauswald prior to the Fair and Hauswald families embarking on an August 1970 cruise with Phil Ames on Tustumena Lake. Although conditions were favorable at first, the group soon encountered a storm that forced them ashore. (Photo courtesy of the Fair Family Collection)
The 2 most deadly years — Part 1

To newcomers, residents and longtime users, this place can seem like a paradise. But make no mistake: Tustumena Lake is a place also fraught with peril.

Most Read