This wild grape recipe came from my neighbor, a pioneer cook, who got it from an Indian woman.
“Take two cups of wild grapes after stems have been removed. Cover with water and boil about 15 minutes or until juice has been extracted. Remove from fire and strain. Add one cup of sugar and enough water to make one quart of juice. Return to fire and bring to a brisk boil. Then add the dumplings.
“To make dumplings, sieve together two cups flour, one-half cup sugar, four tablespoons baking powder and one teaspoon salt. Cut in four tablespoons shortening. Mix with three-fourths cup sweet milk to make a soft dough. Drop from a teaspoon, one at a time, chunks of dough about the size of a small egg, into the boiling juice. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.”
Pearl Short
Altoona, Kansas
Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then CAPPER’s Weekly asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from CAPPER’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.