This morning’s sketch took us into the smoky heart of a frontier camp, where cast iron, squirrel fricassee, and vinegar pie ruled the menu.
Sketch & Coffee, Live! is streamed daily at 5:30am, Texas Time, at the YouTubes
Inspired by a hunched-over figurine straight out of the 1800s, I sketched a woman who looked like she’d just finished boiling up coffee, critters, and sass, possibly all in the same pot. Very reminiscent of the character Granny on The Beverly Hillbillies. Yes, I am that old.
The toy’s apron and stooped stance led to a whole discussion about the unsung brilliance of pioneer women. Cooking was just the start. These women were also medics, midwives, foragers, and pharmacists, roles often mashed together like leftovers in a Dutch oven. Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies might have been a sitcom character, but her “hill medicine” and backwoods know-how weren’t far off the mark. That fictional sass was rooted in very real survival.
The conversation wandered (as it does) through frontier food culture, touching on real recipes that made the most of what little they had. Possum stew wasn’t just a tall tale, it was stringy and greasy, sure, but it was fuel. If it moved, it could be stewed. Squirrel fricassee involved flour, root veggies, and whatever spice luck or the nearest garden patch allowed. And for dessert? Vinegar pie. No lemons? No problem. Leftover wine turned to vinegar, and vinegar became pie filling. It was a beautiful alchemy of desperation and resourcefulness.
The stream also gave a nod to the knowledge that kept people alive, like how to forage safely or how to treat an upset stomach when you’d eaten the wrong “salad.” Often that information came from neighbors, or was traded with Native peoples, who knew the land far better than most settlers. These kinds of exchanges aren’t shown much in TV dramas, but they mattered deeply. They meant survival.
As the sketch came together, I pointed out that these skills are coming back around today. From sourdough baking during lockdown to homesteading YouTube channels and live demos at frontier fairs, people are rediscovering what it means to live with less and make more of it. Turns out, a little burnt orange, some humor, and a splash of blackberry “medicine” can take you a long way.
Click here to watch the Frontier Cook episode of Sketch & Coffee, Live!
Lesson Plan: If you or a teacher friend would like to use this 20-30 minute lesson plan about frontier cooking, feel free to download and share it:
Leave a Reply