A Table’s Tie to the Land

Autumn hikes and many customary Thanksgiving holiday icons reminds me of passages from the book A Sand County Almanac.  Author Aldo Leopold mentions, “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm.  One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.”  We are under this covid virus pandemic and the situation has made many of us reflect on our legacy and share family traditions and sentiments of nature, even more.

One of my favorite things to do is backpack and travel.  Several years ago I trekked across Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic and discovered scores of similarities comparing their forest make-up to ours.  I noticed several familiar plant families and mushrooms on their forest floor which have “kin” over here in the Midwest.  And being of a woodsmen persona, I admired their hunting and gathering heritage reflected in fireplace mantels, carved doors, old wooden clocks and banisters, in addition to imagesin tapestries of deer, grouse and waterfowl.  

So much of their culture in the countryside reminded me of my youth in Ozarks and the warm friendly people were reminiscent of many of my grandparents’ siblings and cousins.  It was incredibly widespread for my relatives and rural people in Missouri to ask if you’ve eaten and feed you first!  After we’ve eaten, we could visit more or do projects later, but a warm comfort meal was priority.  Backpacking the Black Forest and other parts of Germany brought heartfelt memories of people’s tie to the garden, foraging in the forest and having wild game. I had grown up with two sorts of old world woodsman’s culinary fixings and I didn’t know its roots.  I found “Hunter Style” which was a gravy dominated dish and was savory with sautéed mushrooms, onions, and root vegetables.  The second type termed “Housewife” was fresh and lighter with apples and sweetened onions.  Everything balanced on the plate and both styles seemed lean, yet hearty.  I loved it.

Now, I’m home in the western Ozarks.  I commonly come across people and sportsmen events’ publication who convey they love venison, but usually all they cook is chili or have summer sausage made from the lean cuts.  My globetrotting advice (which nowadays resonates from ol’ Midwest culture too) is take advantage of this extra “kitchen time” the 2020 pandemic has given us. Try some old world cooking recipes with our fresh deer meat this autumn.  If you don’t hunt, maybe you’ll be lucky enough to receive some gifts of venison.  A Dutch oven simmering a couple pounds of half-inch trimmed deer cutlets, plenty of grocery store- whole button mushrooms, minced garlic, fresh ginger and course black pepper to taste, and equal amounts of tomato paste and red wine is one of my “go-to” recipes.  Also trying different marinades on loin or roast cuts is rewarding and you may try the Dutch oven broth on the side dish of greens and root vegetables plus butter (yum).  All of this with time to reflect with thanksgiving to the wildlife and garden resources, the time honored hunting heritage and the good people we share the meal with on a November evening.  We hope to be grounded by our relation to the land, traditions of family and culture.  Happy Thanksgiving and good harvest to all!  - And in the tradition of Leopold, let us read some stories nature has to tell out on the trail.  Good trails! Jeff

Jeff Cantrell is a conservation educator with the Missouri Dept. of Conservation, housed at Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center, Joplin, MO.  

White Tail Deer - photo by Amy Watts