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• 1 media/IMG_2109.jpg 2018-03-27T16:19:08-07:00 History through Recipes 22 Blog 1 - April 8, 2018 plain 2019-08-09T06:12:49-07:00 Books add value to your life.  Usually, people think about getting knowledge from books, but Marie Baca, a Czech-American living in Texas, saw books as a source of support for building a new institution for elderly community members.  Marie Baca gathered recipes from residents in the El Campo, Texas town and surrounding regions and compiled this information in a book dedicated to the creation of the Hillje Old Folks Home, also called the Czech Catholic Home for the Aged.  Her compilation of Czech-American recipes helps us see how food changes when people migrate.
  
  
  
  The name of the institution and the Slavic last names listed underneath each recipe show us how Czech-Americans adapted traditional recipes to life in America in the twentieth century.  The book, compiled in 1957, is called a memorial book but includes a variety of information including recipes, anniversary announcements, ads for local stores, and obituaries.  The book, much like a newspaper, shows the history, culture, and concerns of the community members.  Marie Baca’s contribution pulled value from the very community members that its purpose- the Home for the Aged- intended to serve.
   
  
  
  This memorial and recipe book for the center in Hillje was sponsored by local businesses and various national Czech organizations.  The first half of the book is comprised of ads for local butcher shops mixed in with memorials and anniversary announcements.  Most of the black-and-white photos show families with Slavic last names.  The second half of the book is a compilation of recipes and cooking advice from local members of the community and Czechs from anywhere between Houston and San Antonio.  The recipes highlight the transition from cooking in then-Czechoslovakia to cooking in Texas.  For example, the recipes have already been translated from the metric system of using grams to measure ingredients to the American imperial system of cups and tablespoons. 
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  In addition to the logistical changes, some traditional Czechoslovak recipes now have American, especially Texan variations- a recipe for Texas Hash is pictured above.  There is even a visible mix of Czech and Hispanic cuisines.  One recipe for Tamale Pie uses a combination of cornmeal and Crisco to create the tamale dough.  While cornmeal and masa harina (the corn base for regular tamales) have the same origins, cornmeal as an ingredient in this recipe makes sense because it is much easier to produce.  For more information on cornmeal and other corn products, check out this food blog by Epicurious.
   
  Directly beneath the recipe for Tamale Pie is a process for making head sausage.  What is head sausage?  Well, it is simply a pig’s head and other organ meats mixed with onions and other spices.  The resulting mixture can be used much like ground sausage or beef in other recipes.  The juxtaposition of a traditional Czech sausage recipe with a Hispanic-influenced recipe is rather jarring but makes sense in the context of Texas.  However, other recipes– such as Mayonnaise Cake – remain uniquely Czech. 
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  One of the most well-known aspects of Czech culinary culture is the kolache (koláč).  Kolaches are traditionally round, sweet pastries that have a fruit or nut-based filling exposed in the center of the dough.  As seen in these recipes, not only do Czechs prepare the traditional dessert differently but the fillings vary greatly.  The most common fillings in the Czech Republic are apricot and poppy seed, but here we see pineapple and cream cheese fillings.  A comparable Czech filling would be tvaroh, or farmers cheese, which is not readily available in the United States.  A particularly Slavic filling, cabbage, is included.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cabbage and pineapple are reoccurring ingredients throughout the cookbook.  The picture below shows a recipe for Cabbage and Pineapple Salad that also includes marshmallows and French dressing.  These “salads” are quite common in American-Slavic cultures.  My own Polish-American family would create these types of salads, usually with marshmallows and canned fruit, strikingly similar to the Fruit Cocktail Salad recipe on the same page.  It is no wonder why I gain weight anytime I visit my family in Minnesota (the Southeast corner has a large Polish population) or travel abroad to the Czech Republic.
  
  
  
  
  
  Texas Czechs adapted to American culture after the first waves of immigration which started in the 1850s.  Through this memorial and recipe book, we see how their cooking traditions adopted ingredients found at their local grocery stores and how Texan and Hispanic cultures influenced their own traditions.  While the cultural identity of many Texas Czechs is preserved by organizations and community events, these recipes show a melting pot of food traditions.
  
   
• 1 media/IMG_2109.jpg media/IMG_2110.jpg 2018-04-22T21:03:51-07:00 Elementary / Kindergarten Lesson Plan 1 Mayonnaise Cake image_header 2018-04-22T21:03:51-07:00 Key Image
  Logistics
  Kindergarten or elementary school level
  Should take about 30 minutes or more if you decide to recreate the cake
  Class size- less than 30 students
  
  Learning about recipes
  This lesson plan works with the Memorial Book and Recipes document compiled by Marie Baca in 1957 and specifically the recipe for “Mayonnaise Cake.”  This lesson assumes that the students have an understanding of mayonnaise as a condiment that is both salty and savory and cake as a sweet food.  What the students probably do not know is that, at its basic level, mayonnaise is a combination of eggs and oil and tastes just fine when used in a cake recipe.  Mayonnaise was also used as a substitute for butter.  This lesson can be used to show how ingredients can be added together to make something different.
  
  Materials you will need:
                    Pictures of ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, water, and mayonnaise; Pictures of cake and also pictures of eggs and oil to show how mayonnaise is made
                    Recipe for “Mayonnaise Cake” from Memorial Book and Recipes
                    If possible, have ingredients on hand to recreate this recipe
  
  Objectives
  Students should learn:
  • Ingredients combine to create something new
  • Different cultures can have different recipes
  • Czechs have preserved their culture in America
  • Cooking (and adding things today) can be fun
  Context
  This lesson could be an introduction to math, and specifically to a lesson about addition.  This lesson could also be applied to a unit on food and cooking.  This lesson plan is designed to be flexible and to engage the students with food as a central topic.
  
  Class Agenda
  Show the students the picture(s) of cake.  Ask them if they know how to make a cake.  Let them know if the ingredients they say are correct or not, adding ingredient pictures to the board as the students name them.  Explain that a cake is made up of many different ingredients that do not taste very good on their own.
  Tell the students that a certain group of people in Texas have a recipe for cake with an interesting ingredient.  Show the pictures of a jar of mayonnaise and cake together.  If students are unsure of what mayonnaise is, ask them about tuna salad or compare it to other condiments.
  Ask the students how they think mayonnaise could taste in a cake.  Then, show the pictures of eggs and oil adding up to create mayonnaise.  Ask the students if eggs and oil taste good when combined in a cake.
  End the lesson by reminding the students that adding ingredients together can add up to a new (and tasty) result.  If feasible, recreate the recipe in front of the students.