The Hoosier Goes Home

Do you know what a Hoosier is? I have had this oak cabinet in my home for well over twenty years and to us, it was always called "Gram's Hutch." It took a trip to Indiana and a 100-year-old aunt to get its name right

At almost 101 years, Aunt Rachel still has a prodigious memory, and has very clear recollections of how important the Hoosier was to her Indiana family. Our 1904 Hoosier began its life in Pashan, Indiana, in the home of my husband's grandmother. Hoosier cabinets were the center of domestic life in early 20th century Midwestern homes, and Gram's hutch was no different. As life in rural Indiana became more modernized, the homely Hoosier lost its magic, and with the family's subsequent moves, the hutch became storage instead of a lifeline for the family.

When Gram came to live with my husband's family in the 1960s, her kitchen cabinet came with her. There were at least two renovations of the piece, including covering the dry sink with a board and tiling it (For you antique purists, don't worry, the whole tiled covering is removable). My father-in-law brought the piece to Chicago for us when he and Joann moved into their retirement setting, and it has been a valued family heirloom in our homes since then.

Although we love both the Hoosier and the family memories stored in it, we decided it was time to pass this family piece on to the next generation. We sent out a query in our family letter, and my husband's cousin was quick to respond. We didn't know her very well, but discussed it with Aunt Rachel and trusted our decision that Kim would understand the importance of keeping a family heirloom in the family. We made arrangements to deliver the cabinet to Goshen, Indiana, and got our friend to help carry. On a snowy Saturday morning in February, we loaded the cabinet and the two oak chairs that always accompanied the cabinet into a U-Haul trailer.

Upon arrival at Kim's home in the country, we knew we had made the right decision. The home is spacious, with plank construction and a soaring cathedral ceiling. There was a spot in the entryway tailor-made for the cabinet, as if Eric had designed the home with Gram's Hutch in mind. As we unloaded the pieces of the hutch and the chairs, Aunt Rachel told us how the family used the Hoosier. There are three raw videos that I took with my little digital camera; please excuse the quality, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to record her for posterity.

Aunt Rachel talks about the bottom section
Aunt Rachel talks about the cabinet's life beyond Indiana
Aunt Rachel talks about the top section

When we returned home, my dining room looked very naked and vulnerable without the imposing oak cabinet. The smaller scale piece that I finally had room for doesn't look like it will hold all of the family china items. I know that it is also time to start giving these away, but I don't think I can part with all of these heirlooms at the same time. Just in case you don't know how I feel about dishes, click here.

 When we make decisions we often hold it to the "WWAD" standard. It's a takeoff on a slogan that people wore on bracelets for a while. We're not being sacrilegious, but find that asking ourselves "what would Arthur do?" is a good way to center our choices. Tom's father was a rock to the family and we miss him every day; it gives me pleasure to try to make decisions through his lens. Taking the Hoosier back to Indiana to return it to its roots is the right thing to do.

Celebrating V-Day with a Pot and a Knife

Julia Child once said that all you need is a pot and a knife to be able to cook great meals.

As a person whose kitchen, utility room, and even my crawlspace is full of cooking tools and accessories, I sometimes wish I had followed that dictum. I do love my food processor and Kitchenaid mixer, though. Life is fuller and more interesting as a result of some of the convenience items I have used over my years in the kitchen. And, based on what I have seen of Julia's kitchen, which you can now view in the Smithsonian, she didn't follow it either.

I'm going to go one step further and say that maybe all you need is a pot, a knife, and a partner who cooks.

Actually, it is my husband who loves the Kitchenaid mixer. We inherited one from his mother's estate, and it has rarely gone unused for more than a week since we first got it. We even had a special storage shrine built for the mixer in our remodeled kitchen. Our carpenter found a piece of butcher block that was strong enough not to warp from the weight of the mixer and installed it on drawer gliders. The only hard part is lifting it up from the shelf to the counter. The husband makes batter breads for all occasions, and is often found baking well into the night after I have gone to bed. It's one of the ways he gives of himself to others. Just this weekend he baked loaves of bread to take to the homeless shelter at our church where he volunteers on the 3:00 - 7:00 AM shift.

That brings me to our celebration of 27 years years of marriage. To honor Valentine's Day this year, the husband outdid himself. First, he found the rare bottle of perfume that I still love -- Ombre Rose in the Lalique-style bottle. He hates to buy things on the Internet, but for me, he bit the bullet. That demonstrates true love.

Then, he carefully planned and shopped for a special meal designed to support my weight loss goals and our closer-to-the-ground food lifestyle. Finally, he decided to recreate his specialty dish that he used to sweep me off my feet when we were younger.

He made the salad that has become our go-to-under-all-occasions salad. We use spinach, red onions, and whatever fruit we have available. This time we used strawberries and mandarin oranges. You could toast some nuts to make this even more special and use any lettuce you like. We've also used Bibb lettuce and mixed baby greens. We always serve it on plain white plates that make the bright colors stand out.

The husband went to the butcher shop and bought perfect sirloin steaks; this is out of his comfort zone but we're trying to be more cognizant of where our meat comes from. He was very careful to start his steak first so that mine was still rare when he poured in the Courvoisier cognac and lit it on fire. We haven't done this in years, and it was delicious!











We closed our meal with a beautiful fruit salad. This has become a signature dessert for our family and the combination of fruit on a clear glass plate is elegant and healthy at the same time. I feel like I'm a very lucky woman. Flowers, perfume and a thoughtful meal. For those of you who want to spoil your partner, this meal was simple, relatively inexpensive, and easy to make, yet it sent the Valentine's Day message loud and clear.

Really, all you need in life is a pan, a knife, and a fire in the pot. How you make your fire is up to you.