A Voyageur's Dinner
07/10/14 05:30
I had a day off yesterday and had time to paddle at the lake. That’s quite a change from a year ago when we were digging out from under a blizzard and cutting up the trees that were felled by the storm in our yard. Yesterday the temperatures made it into the seventies and we were outside in our shirtsleeves. I paddled up the creek that empties into the lake to check out the beaver lodges. The beaver built two new lodges this year and although I didn’t seen any of the elusive creatures, there is a lot of evidence that the number of beavers in the immediate area is increasing.
It was breezy at the lake and the winds were swirling about. At one point I made a run across the lake and in less than 15 minutes I felt the wind blowing from every quarter as I paddled in a straight line. The lake is a bit small for sailboats, but it would have been an interesting day for sailors with the way the winds were shifting around.
Having been paddling, and enjoying a bit more relaxed day than some, I decided to make a voyageur dinner. I mixed up a bannock. We have a good supply of local apples, so instead of raisins, I chopped up apples and kneaded them into the bannock along with a handful of dried blueberries. I baked the bannock in a dutch oven, which isn’t quite the way the voyageurs made theirs. They used a frying pan and after browning the mixture, set it at an angle near the fire for the bread to bake in reliant heat. I had plenty of applewood for my fire, so I put on a pot of beans and a little pork shoulder to complete the meal. Voyageurs traveled with both dried beans and corn and so a small pot of beans was fairly authentic. They probably didn’t have a nice cut of pork shoulder. It wouldn’t have traveled well. They traveled with salt pork and pemmican. When there was fresh meat available they added that to their diet. The voyageurs were often called pork eaters, so the meal was vaguely in the spirit of the ancient paddlers and adventurers.
Our grocery store doesn’t carry caribou tongue or brisket of musk ox, so a bit of creativity in the menu was in order.
We were treated to a lovely sunset and a gorgeous moonrise. The moon is nearing full. In another day or so it will be there.
Given the way I expect my week to turn out, it was good to have a bit more laid back day yesterday. Tending towards a type A personality, I often charge into my days with a pretty intense pace. Mostly that doesn’t make for too much stress, and I have learned to exercise for endurance and take my days with a healthy dose of prayer, study, writing and devotion to manage the stress and clear my vision. Still it is nice to have a day when I am less focused on goals and lists of tasks to accomplish.
When they were on the move, the voyageurs were incredibly focused on goals. They were expected to work at least 14 hours per day, paddle 50 strokes a minute and be able to carry two packs of 90 pounds each across the portages.They were moving freight and their season was short. That short season was another, and often untold, part of the voyageur story. The demanding pace of freighting usually was a third of the year or less. Some years some of the voyageurs stayed int he back country over winter. If the distance was great, it took one season to go out and another to come back. They formed relationships with the indigenous people with whom the traded. They made clothes, carved, repaired canoes and undertook a number of other chores in the off season. The distinctive sashes worn by voyageurs were usually finger-woven or woven on hand looms. Many of the voyageurs were of mixed heritage. Colors had different meanings for different groups. The modern blue and white Metis flag and the red and white hunting flag were not used before the 19th century, though the colors may have been associated with the people prior to the adoption of flags. Green and gold were signs of fertility and prosperity. Black was a remembrance of hard times.
I didn’t wear a sash when I was paddling yesterday. I don’t paddle for 14 hours. and I’m not sure that aI could even stand up with 180 pounds and I’m sure that my neck muscles aren’t strong enough for half of that weight to be attached to a tumpline across my forehead. I’m not much for spending months at a time away from my family. I wouldn’t make a very good voyageur.
But we had a fine voyageur dinner last night, and as was the case with the voyageurs, we have bannock leftovers for another day.
Now it is time to refocus and turn my mind to the tasks of a busy day. We launch our annual stewardship drive this week and there are materials to prepare and get ready for distribution. We have a full agenda for our Department of Worship meeting this week and the United Church Youth are going on a “Destination Unknown” adventure tomorrow. That should keep me busy and demand focus for the rest of the week.
If things become a bit too stressful, I can tear off a piece of bannock and munch it to remind me not to take myself too seriously.
It was breezy at the lake and the winds were swirling about. At one point I made a run across the lake and in less than 15 minutes I felt the wind blowing from every quarter as I paddled in a straight line. The lake is a bit small for sailboats, but it would have been an interesting day for sailors with the way the winds were shifting around.
Having been paddling, and enjoying a bit more relaxed day than some, I decided to make a voyageur dinner. I mixed up a bannock. We have a good supply of local apples, so instead of raisins, I chopped up apples and kneaded them into the bannock along with a handful of dried blueberries. I baked the bannock in a dutch oven, which isn’t quite the way the voyageurs made theirs. They used a frying pan and after browning the mixture, set it at an angle near the fire for the bread to bake in reliant heat. I had plenty of applewood for my fire, so I put on a pot of beans and a little pork shoulder to complete the meal. Voyageurs traveled with both dried beans and corn and so a small pot of beans was fairly authentic. They probably didn’t have a nice cut of pork shoulder. It wouldn’t have traveled well. They traveled with salt pork and pemmican. When there was fresh meat available they added that to their diet. The voyageurs were often called pork eaters, so the meal was vaguely in the spirit of the ancient paddlers and adventurers.
Our grocery store doesn’t carry caribou tongue or brisket of musk ox, so a bit of creativity in the menu was in order.
We were treated to a lovely sunset and a gorgeous moonrise. The moon is nearing full. In another day or so it will be there.
Given the way I expect my week to turn out, it was good to have a bit more laid back day yesterday. Tending towards a type A personality, I often charge into my days with a pretty intense pace. Mostly that doesn’t make for too much stress, and I have learned to exercise for endurance and take my days with a healthy dose of prayer, study, writing and devotion to manage the stress and clear my vision. Still it is nice to have a day when I am less focused on goals and lists of tasks to accomplish.
When they were on the move, the voyageurs were incredibly focused on goals. They were expected to work at least 14 hours per day, paddle 50 strokes a minute and be able to carry two packs of 90 pounds each across the portages.They were moving freight and their season was short. That short season was another, and often untold, part of the voyageur story. The demanding pace of freighting usually was a third of the year or less. Some years some of the voyageurs stayed int he back country over winter. If the distance was great, it took one season to go out and another to come back. They formed relationships with the indigenous people with whom the traded. They made clothes, carved, repaired canoes and undertook a number of other chores in the off season. The distinctive sashes worn by voyageurs were usually finger-woven or woven on hand looms. Many of the voyageurs were of mixed heritage. Colors had different meanings for different groups. The modern blue and white Metis flag and the red and white hunting flag were not used before the 19th century, though the colors may have been associated with the people prior to the adoption of flags. Green and gold were signs of fertility and prosperity. Black was a remembrance of hard times.
I didn’t wear a sash when I was paddling yesterday. I don’t paddle for 14 hours. and I’m not sure that aI could even stand up with 180 pounds and I’m sure that my neck muscles aren’t strong enough for half of that weight to be attached to a tumpline across my forehead. I’m not much for spending months at a time away from my family. I wouldn’t make a very good voyageur.
But we had a fine voyageur dinner last night, and as was the case with the voyageurs, we have bannock leftovers for another day.
Now it is time to refocus and turn my mind to the tasks of a busy day. We launch our annual stewardship drive this week and there are materials to prepare and get ready for distribution. We have a full agenda for our Department of Worship meeting this week and the United Church Youth are going on a “Destination Unknown” adventure tomorrow. That should keep me busy and demand focus for the rest of the week.
If things become a bit too stressful, I can tear off a piece of bannock and munch it to remind me not to take myself too seriously.