"I'm Just a Country Cook"

I  have the privilege to work full time for South Dakota Public Broadcasting.  This career allows me the opportunity to meet a lot of really interesting people in this great state.  Yesterday we travelled to the northeast corner to visit a ranch woman who has lived her life in the Coteau Hills near Sisseton, Waubay and Ortley.

Verna Knapp still lives on the ranch that her husband's parents homesteaded.  She's been working here since 1945, when she married her husband.  Verna doesn't call herself a chef...  she says she's just a country cook.  Still, she's been gathering recipes for several decades and likely has advice that cooks and pastry chefs alike would salivate over.

 



Verna's sunken garden is located in the foundation of the homestead's claim shanty.  Flowers are shared with local senior centers and nursing homes.  Once a month Verna takes extra produce to a local farmer's market.

Several of the ranch's buildings are on the historic registry.  For now, the Knapp family is working to preserve this piece of history.  The barn in the background will be a century old in the coming year.  This building isn't open to public visitation now, will be around for future generations to enjoy.  Verna says that much of the work that she continues to do is for the benefit of the future.  Knapp enjoys planting a variety of trees to improve the habitat for wildlife.  She also points out that it's an activity less for the benefit of the gardner, but for those folks yet to come.

Verna came to our attention thanks to a cookbook that she published, My Recipe Roundup at the Knapp Ranch: A Collection.  She assembled the recipes that she had been collecting from her mother and a variety of other women that she'd known through her life.  Some of the recipes are county fair award winning treats.  Sprinkled throughout the pages of the cookbook are also stories inspired by local history, family anecdotes and tales shared among neighbors in Roberts County.

Cooking is a passion that Verna won't likely retire from.  She treated my coworker and I to venison sandwiches and potato salad.  Yum!!  I mean it!!  I don't often have the opportunity to eat venison.  My experience with it is that it has a gamey flavor.  This sandwich didn't have that flavor that I expected.  I went on the shoot expecting to purchase a cookbook.  That sandwich confirmed my desire to have game recipes on hand in case my husband did bring home a deer in the future. :-)

Verna emphasizes the importance of being able to cook with what you have on hand.  The venison was from a deer that her granddaughter harvested from her first hunting trip.  Verna expressed her appreciation of that lovely gift.

Pies are a favorite for a similar reason.  A home cook can produce a pie from any number of items that one may find in their pantry.  On this visit, canned gooseberries were available.  Verna demonstrated for some friends her pie making technique.

I had never sampled gooseberries before.  They are sour and sweet thanks to the sugar in the pie.  I enjoyed the tart aftertaste that I was left with. 

Cooking has sustained Verna and her family, both due to it's nutritional value and the commaradarie that comes with sharing a meal together at home.  This was a pleasant interview to organize and I'm happy that Verna shared a bit of her life with us on camera.  I don't know when this segment is scheduled to air.  Watch for it on Dakota Life on SDPB. www.sdpb.org/dakotalife