Danish cookie perfect prize for Prairie picnic basket
Have we forgotten the pleasure of picnicking?
Long before the convenience of mosquito spray and portable grills, prairie folks were quick to pack a picnic and enjoy a pleasant meal outdoors in the company of family and friends.
Many occasions called for a picnic: Rodeos, sport days, end-of-school parties, church gatherings, Canada Day, 4th of July (a good many homesteaders were American), berry picking and harvest time.
With the arrival of automobiles, picnicking became an outing in itself.
Community picnics often included a rare treat: Ice cream made on site, the children taking turns churning the handle of the ice cream maker. Of course, the cream came right from the cow.
In summer 1915, Julie Feilberg packed a picnic for a family outing.
The occasion? Her husband, Ditlev, had discovered a “forest” not far from their homestead at Nokomis, which was such a novelty they hitched the horses to the wagon and went to see it.
In a letter home to Denmark, Julie noted that the trees were not much bigger than a “Danish hedge,” but it was the first time her boys had climbed trees since coming to Canada.
Their picnic included egg sandwiches, bread and but- ter, citron marmalade, layer cake, rhubarb pudding with cream and these traditional Danish cookies.
Jødekager are still popular in Denmark, especially at Christmas time, but are also quite at home in a prai- rie picnic basket. Do you have a prairie recipe with a story? Email homefordinner@sasktel.net.