Miner Cooks

One major talent of the Miner women was that they could really cook. I’m sure that they learned that skill from my grandmother Rebecca Rugg Miner. Most of her cooking and baking was done on a wood-burning stove in her kitchen. Her pies, bread, and rolls were phenomenal. The yeasty smell of the dough and the baking bread would fill her house. I wish I had the recipes for many of the things she cooked, but the one thing that tickled my palate was her chicken spread. In the fall when Granpadp Ray Miner would cull the chicken flock, that family would gather to clean and freeze the birds. A couple of chickens were always cooked to feed the multitude. Gram would mince the chicken, dill pickles, and possible just a bit of onion and mix them thoroughly. Salt, pepper, and chicken broth was stirred in to make it spreadable on the home-baked rolls. I’ve tried to recreate it, but have always fallen short.

I can remember my aunt Rachel Miner Peck would make potato fudge. It was moist and delicious. I’m sure she made other food for her brood of eight kids, but this memory stands out. Aunt Cora Miner Hyatt lived in Illinois, so I didn’t get to sample her food, but I know I didn’t go hungry when we visited her. Aunt Violet Miner Bottomly could cook and bake. She and Grandma Becky were baking in the kitchen stove. The stove pipe became hot enough to set the Miner farmhouse on fire. Violet’s husband Charles said it was when piss pots and everything went into the spring to carry water. Aunt Violet is remembered for her candy Easter eggs.

Aunt Ina Miner Nicholson lived in Ohio. I can’t remember anything specific, but her table was always graced with fresh vegetables from her garden. Aunt Cosey Brothers cooked for a large family of seven kids. Stretching the food and making it tasty was her claim to fame. I still remember her meatloaf-hamburgers. The ground beef was expanded by adding crackers and catsup. I’m sure that they made other wonderful foods, but these are what my youthful memory dredges up.