Making The Most Of It

There are plenty of lavish descriptions of food scenes in the Little House books, but sometimes there are moments in which the Ingalls do not have enough to eat, mainly because of the crops being destroyed by pests or the weather being too unsuitable. During these times, Ma's efficient nature is highlighted perfectly as she strives to make the best of the situation.

Laura and Ma dealing with the blackbirds in Little Town on the Prairie, copyright Garth Williams.

 

In Little Town on the Prairie, Pa's corn crops are eaten by the blackbirds, a common pest in America. In response, the blackbirds are caught and Ma resolves to make blackbird pie out of them. She references the famous nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence as she presents it to Pa, which is the clue that it is blackbird pie and not chicken pie as he assumed it to be. The nursery rhyme can easily be recognised by modern readers and this intertextuality helps them to link Ma's situation to that of the song. It also shows that though they are not of royalty like the king in the song, they can still eat like royalty despite their crops being destroyed due to them finding the source of the problem and taking action instantly.

Ma also uses the green pumpkins to make green pumpkin pie in The Long Winter, just like how she used the green tomatoes to make green tomato pickle. This is done by using the preserves that she already has. Walker says in The Little House Cookbook that "improvising a successful treat when the larder is low is a special pleasure for cooks and eaters alike" (p. 120). Indeed, the pie is well-loved by the family and Pa boasts that "Ma always could beat the nation cooking" (p.), establishing both the close and amicable relationship between the two and Ma's skill as a cook.
 

This is not always the case when the situation is extreme though. In The Long Winter, the family are left without much and have to resort to eating brown bread. They also have to grind the wheat that they have available by hand using the coffee grinder. As a result, the bread is made with a less fine flour. The fact that Ma is unable to find an economical way to take advantage of the situation shows the seriousness of the situation; they have barely any food to eat and the snow prevents them from getting to the crops that they need. This could easily be considered on of the darkest moments in the book as a result.