The Trefoil Muse

Stone Soup is a folktale about sharing during a time of hardship.

The age old tale begins with the arrival of a poor starving beggar at depression struck Village.  The Villagers hardly have enough provisions for themselves so refuse to feed this stranger.  The beggar then offers to share his meal with them. Obviously, the beggar has no food but he is an alchemist.  The magic begins when he adds a stone to a boiling pot of water. Curious, the untrusting Villagers gathered around the beggar to watch as he prepared the special soup.  Since none of the villagers had enough in there larder to share with others, they found the generosity of the poor beggar peculiar.

“What are you doing?” they asked.

He smiled politely at the unfriendly villagers while he wordlessly placed his pot of makeshift soup over a fire.

“I’m making stone soup.  It’s delicious.  I’ll be glad to share it with all of you when I’m finished.”

The villagers watched in awe as the beggar dipped his ladle into the mixture and tasted it.

“Hmmm, it’s not quite right just yet.  It needs some salt.”

“I have salt,” one of the villagers offered and added a few pinches of salt to the mixture.

“Mmmm, yes, this is coming along quite nicely,” he said as he dipped his ladle in and tasted the Stone soup again. “It’s still not quite right, though.

Intrigued, other villagers began to share by adding ingredients to the stone soup mixture.  Soon, there was enough food for all.

The moral of the Stone Soup story is that everyone benefits through the simple act of contributing.

This moral is the premise behind our Thanksgiving Day traditions as well.  We gather in an act of gratitude, mutual sharing and celebration of a bountiful harvest.

Thanksgiving Day, is an annual national holiday in the United States and Canada where the fruits of harvest are celebrated.  And, we give thanks for other blessings of the past year by sharing a bountiful meal together with family and friends. In my family everyone contributes something to the meal so we have a bountiful buffet!

American history tells us that colonists and Native Americans shared an autumn feast after the pilgrim’s first harvest was successful – this was the beginning of the Thanksgiving tradition we celebrate today.

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second weekend of October.

The past year has been hard on Canadian citizens.  Differing opinions, anger and fear have caused some divides among family, friends and even communities because of a pandemic.  It is an enduring a time.  But, I believe in alchemy so I thought it might be fun to stir up some magic from Canada’s soup cauldron.

May it lessen the divide and bring Canada together for a special Thanksgiving feast by honoring some of our tasty diversity.  The first ‘Stone Soup’ recipe is a contribution from Canada’s most eastern province, Newfoundland.

 Jiggs Dinner

3 lbs. Salt Beef                                   6 Potatoes

2 cups Split Peas                               6 Carrots

(tied in a cloth bag)                            1 Turnip

1 Head of Cabbage

1 Stone (optional)

Total cook time 2 ½ hours

Rinse Salt Beef in cold water.  Fill large pot with cold water and add stone (optional).  Place salt beef in cold water and bring to a boil for 45 minutes to draw out excess salt.   Drain salty water from pot leaving the Salt Beef and Stone (optional) in pot, fill it again to half full with fresh cold water and bring to boil.  Add your tied Peas pudding bag to the boiling pot of meat. Boil meat and Peas pudding for another 45 to 60 minutes. Add quartered cabbage.  Boil for 20 -25 minutes then add sliced carrots and turnip. Boil for 20 minutes then add potatoes and cook until potatoes are done.

Serves – 6

 

Try it with a simple and easy fried bread recipe. Bannock is a traditional Indigenous bread made modern. See the Recipe below:

Bannock

3 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

½ cup Margarine (butter or shortening)

¾ – 1 cup milk (or water)

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Work in the margarine using hands until you make a nice crumble.

Gradually mix in enough milk or water to make soft but not sticky. Knead.

Shape into balls then flatten into a circle about 1 inch thick.

Fry in hot oil on medium heat until golden brown and then turn to brown on the other side.  Drain on paper towels.

Or:

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 425°F (220°C) for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

 

Finish your Thanksgiving meal with a piece of deliciously creamy pie straight from the Prairies.

Flapper Pie – The Lost Prairie Pie is a delight for your taste buds!  You’ll want to start enjoying it daily!

 

Lost Prairie Flapper Pie

Flapper Pie Ingredients:

Crust:
1 ¼ cups graham crackers
¼ cup melted butter
½ cup sugar
dash of cinnamon

Filling:
2 ½ cups of milk
½ cup of white sugar
¼ cup of cornstarch
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Meringue Topping:
3 egg whites
¼ cup of sugar
¼ tsp of cream of tartar

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the crust ingredients together, save about 2 tbsp to the side and press the rest into a 10 inch pie plate, in the bottom and up the sides. Refrigerate.

Combine the filling ingredients together and cook on a medium heat until it boils and thickens, making sure to stir constantly! Set aside to cool while you make the meringue.

Beat the meringue ingredients together until they form stiff peaks.

Pour the filling into the crust and top with the meringue, making beautiful little spikes that will brown up on top. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbs on the top and slide into a 350 degree oven.

Bake until the meringue turns golden brown – approximately 10 minutes but watch it carefully.  All ovens are different!

Cool in the fridge or enjoy it warm right out of the oven.

 

I hope you enjoy these ‘Stone Soup’ recipes.  May these culinary contributions bring you comfort and joy during this year’s harvest festivities – Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

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