Kermis

Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is a Dutch language term derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) that became incorporated in French and English. Its origins are originally associated with the mass said on the anniversary of the founding of a church (or the parish) and in honor of the Patron Saint.  Such religious celebrations were regularly held in the Low Countries, in Central Europe and also in Northern France, and were accompanied by feasting, dancing, drinking and sports. 

The Dutch-American Village of Little Chute, Wisconsin, has celebrated Kermis annually since 1981 with a street festival. The Wallonian settlements in Door and Kewaunee Counties have celebrated Kermis with traditional Belgian dishes and events for as long as anyone can remember.  

Traditionally, Kermis around here stretched over several calendar weeks as each small settlement - Namur, Brussels, Rosiere, Little Sturgeon, Forestville, Lincoln, Duvall and Casco celebrated the harvest and the life-giving bounty of food.  

I'm not of Dutch or Belgian descent - but we're celebrating our own Kermis here with With the last of our garden harvest and attending the annual Kermis festival at the local Belgian American Heritage Center in Namur.  Nothing better on a late summer afternoon than friends, neighbors, a couple of Trappist-influenced craft beers and some Belgian Church Lady food. 

Beginning in the mid-1800s and over three decades more than 5000 Belgian immigrants settled in several communities in the area.  To this day it constitutes the largest concentration of Walloon Belgians anywhere in the world outside of Belgium.  It's a national treasure.  But I digress.

Getting back to the subject of culinary traditions I happened-upon this short video published only a few years ago.  I'm sharing it as it is about the tradition of hog butchering in both English and Walloon.  Walloon is a national treasure around these parts as it's actually an endangered 'Romance Language' of the Langues d'oïl family - spoken primarily in the Wallonia region of Belgium.   

One of the elements of the past that is alive and well is a local favorite called Belgian Trippe.

Trippe (pronounced like: trip) is a sausage similar to a bratwurst but with a not-so-secret ingredient.  The thrifty Belgian settlers extended their pork sausage with the inclusion of cabbage.  Further seasoned with onion, salt, pepper, thyme, nutmeg and ginger it is made locally by Marchant's.

It's pretty good stuff for breakfast, lunch or dinner and you won't find it anywhere outside of northeast Wisconsin.

Here's a newspaper clipping from 1963 with a recipe for 60+ pounds of the sausage for serving at a Kermis - or Belgian harvest festival....

click on image for a closer look

Friday Music

French stilt dancing—called échasses dancing—originates from the Landes region of southwestern France, particularly around towns like Mont-de-Marsan and Saint-Sever.

Stilts (échasses) were originally practical tools for shepherds navigating the swampy, marshy terrain of the Landes. The stilts (up to 5 feet high) allowed them to move more easily through water, watch over their flocks, and travel longer distances.  With the passage of time, the shepherds and rural people began using stilts in festivities and demonstrations, turning them into a performing art.

The dancing involves traditional folk movements—hops, kicks, twirls, and coordinated group steps—all performed while balanced on stilts.  Dancers typically wear traditional regional attire, including berets, vests, and wooden shoes attached to the stilts.  The music is performed on traditional instruments like the boha (Gascon bagpipe), flutes, or accordions.  

Nowadays,  performance troupes like Lous Esquiroûs or Les Échassiers de l’Armagnac keep the tradition alive, performing across France and internationally at festivals and cultural events.  Stilt dancing is a proud tradition and part of thee region's cultural identity and history.

Stinky Cheese

It’s True, Limburger Cheese Contains the Same Bacteria as Feet

Surface-ripened, aged, and famously malodorous Limburger is a 19th-century northern European cheese that was traditionally layered between slices of dark bread with raw onions and horseradish (or mustard) and washed down with a frosty beer.   

 

When the sandwich-beer combo came to Green County, Wisconsin, with Swiss and German immigrants, tavern-goers went for it in such a big way that it wasn’t until decades later, when saloons closed during Prohibition, that Limburger sales declined.

America’s lone-remaining Limburger cheese factory is in–you guessed it–Wisconsin! Chalet Cheese Co-op still makes and distributes more than a million pounds of the stinky cheese annually, and you can order an authentic Limburger sandwich at Baumgartner's Cheese Store and Tavern in Monroe.  

 

Learn more about the science of Limburger here. 

Classic Sandwich Simplicity

  

There is nothing more elegant in its simplicity than the radish sandwich.  Hearkening back to my childhood this was a favorite of my father and remains a summertime indulgence of mine.  It is sublime.   

Ingredients:   

Garden radishes – sliced thin  

Two slices of bread - rye, sourdough, whole wheat 

Unsalted sweet cream butter – room temperature  

Sea salt  

Instructions:  

Slather each slice of bread generously with butter.   

Top with radish slices.  

Cracked sea salt over all to taste.  

Yields one sandwich.

 

 

You can learn more about radishes here...

Patron Saint

In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith Valentine is the Patron Saint of betrothed couples, happy marriages, love, lovers, bee keepers, fainting, epilepsy, plague, travelers, and young people.  His feast day is today.   

As a consequence of so little being known about the man the Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar in 1969.  Nonetheless, he persists as a recognized saint.  

One of many stories about Val is that he was imprisoned for committing the most heinous of crimes - marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Emperor Claudius of Rome.  Angered to the point of rage Claudius commanded Valentine to renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs and beheaded.  Refusing the emperor - Valentine was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.  

In case you’re wondering if Valentine was a real person - archaeological excavations have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to him.  In 496 Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration honoring his martyrdom.   

Today his relics can be found throughout the world – including his skull at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome.  

 

Happy Valentines Day

 

Rib Fest

Lake, cousins, food, adult beverages, yuks. 

Another annual Rib Fest has come and gone; and thinking about it I hate to admit that I've sorta lost track of how many there have been.

No dogs this year, but there was plenty of terrific food (including ribs) and wake-boarding, jet-skiing, swimming, cruising, adult beverages, hot-tubbing, family stories, yuks and family.

 

As a consequence of the the family's growing numbers three years-ago we ditched the supper club Friday fish fry and I assumed responsibility for the experience to be held at home.

There were two kinds of fries, beer-battered onion rings, homemade coleslaw, tartar sauce, deli rye and of course, fresh water yellow perch.  Almost five dozen fillets all-told.  Once the oil is up to temperature everything comes-together in about 30 minutes (give or take).  Brandy Old-Fashioneds were involved too.

Yummy chow if you can get it.

Saturday featured more aquatic events, fishing from the pier, hanging out on the patio, More food  and the pièce de résistance:  food on a stick, ribs, sides and desserts.  

 Ohhh man. 

Our parents were the first generation to host summer gatherings like this.  Us cousins are the second generation to continue the tradition.  And it now includes the third and fourth generations.  And, by the way, we've raised the bar and amped-up our game.

Family.  
Channeling Robert Earl Keen - The road goes on forever and the party never ends.... 

 

Patron Saint

In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith Valentine is the Patron Saint of betrothed couples, happy marriages, love, lovers, bee keepers, fainting, epilepsy, plague, travelers, and young people.  His feast day is today.   

As a consequence of so little being known about the man the Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar in 1969.  Nonetheless, he persists as a recognized saint.  

One of many stories about Val is that he was imprisoned for committing the most heinous of crimes - marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Emperor Claudius of Rome.  Angered to the point of rage Claudius commanded Valentine to renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs and beheaded.  Refusing the emperor - Valentine was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.  

In case you’re wondering if Valentine was a real person - archaeological excavations have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to him.  In 496 Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration honoring his martyrdom.   

Today his relics can be found throughout the world – including his skull at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome.  

 

Happy Valentines Day

 

Never Grab A Groundhog

Groundhog Day is a big event every year on this day over in Gobblers Knob, Pennsylvania.

Someone provokes a hibernating woodchuck named Punxsutawney Phil to come out of his hole and predict the arrival of spring.

Even I can do that.  Provoked by the alarm clock I crawled out of a perfectly warm bed this morning at 5:30 AM, poured myself a steaming cuppa joe and took the dog out to pee.  It was snowing.  I therefore concluded more winter before the arrival of spring.

The man in the picture is a fool.  You should never grab a groundhog - especially if you are going to wave it around in the air over your head.

From the Algonquian wuchak - also known as the whistle pig - Marmota monax belongs to the vast squirrel family. They are big rodents.

They are also sinister-looking with their small ears, beady black eyes and very sharp teeth to go with all of their claws.  I wouldn’t grab a groundhog any sooner than I'd make a grab for a beaver or a porcupine. They are all much too dangerous.

Trust me.  I know this.

I have had to deal with multiple critters infestations under my barn. This includes everything from bunnies, to raccoons to kittens.  One year I had a groundhog.  And that bugger was burrowing furiously.

Groundhogs are well adapted miners.  They have short but powerful legs and very sharp claws.  They are capable of excavating hundreds of pounds of dirt.   And this fella was chucking enough dirt that it wouldn’t be long before he seriously undermined the structural integrity of the barn foundation.

Shooting a woodchuck is against the law in Wisconsin. Yep - they’re protected - just like badgers and wolves.  Not wanting to draw the attention of the local game warden and pleading a landowner exception I opted for the old reliable method.

Mothballs.

I poured a box of mothballs down the woodchuck’s hole.  Oh sure, your barn will smell like grandma for a while but critters cannot stand mothballs.  And it worked almost immediately for me.

I was puttering in the machine shed when old Phil (smelling strangely of naphthalene) waddled his way into the shed and gave me the hairy eyeball.  He was not happy.  Actually, he was angry to the point of provocation because he reared-up on his hind legs and gave me a nasty bark.

Taking a machete from the peg board I waved it menacingly and told him to get the heck out of my shed.

He scurried away retreating behind a sheet of plywood leaning against the wall.

I grabbed a garden rake and thrust it in his face.

He snorted and whistled and parried back with his claws.

Claw for claw - back and forth we went. Parry and thrust. I was gaining the upper hand and Phil was losing ground.

Finally forced from the shed he scurried a safe distance from the crazy guy with the rake, turned and gave me a dirty look and waddled-off in the direction of a neighboring farm.

Nasty attitude the groundhog has.

Dangerous too.

*This post was first published on the JSOnline WauwatosaNOW Gas Pains blog on February 2, 2010.

Patron Saint

The Feast Day of Saint Patrick has taken-on more significance for me since we traveled and visited the Old Sod of my ancestors November, 2019. 

Kilfenora - Ireland

Unless you are oblivious it is obvious that the Republic of Ireland is most assuredly a bastion of the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith.  And I suppose more than a few visitors are left with the impression that Ireland is - in some official capacity - a Catholic country.  While Catholics significantly outnumber all other faith traditions in Ireland, there is no reference to Catholicism in the Irish Constitution.  Ireland is officially a secular state and tolerates all belief systems.  Of course, on my visit not even once did I spy a Protestant church.  But I digress. 

Getting back to the Feast Day the story of Ireland’s Patron Saint persists and you readers are likely wondering if St. Patrick really did chase the snakes out of Ireland.  Or is that tale just a bunch of blarney?        

According to the tale way back in the fifth century the legendary priest raised his staff and banished the reptiles into the seas surrounding the Emerald Isle.  Save for those in captivity it is true that Ireland has no snakes.  But this current condition has less to do with religious tradition and more to do with geologic history and events dating many millennia ago.  Following the retreat of the last glaciers some 15,000 years ago Ireland was devoid of snakes.  Surrounded by icy waters to this very day snakes cannot swim or find their way there and as a consequence Ireland remains snake-free.         

That’s too bad because if my recreational DNA test is to be believed I am becoming more Irish with every passing year.  And I have a particular fondness for snakes. The bigger the better.

Like this dandy five foot long Western Fox Snake.  I also like a good saint when I see one and St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish.         

Patrick was born of aristocratic blood in Britain probably around the year 390.  The legend says that he was not particularly religious.  At age 16 he was kidnapped into slavery was forced into life as a sheepherder in Ireland.  It is held that it was during this time that he found God and became a believer.         

As the story goes he began hearing voices and the voices instructed him to flee.  Which he did.  Patrick eventually found his way back to Britain and his family.  Alas, the voices returned commanding him to return to Ireland.  He was ordained a priest, went back to Ireland and spent the balance of a rather difficult life converting the pagan Celts to Christianity.  He died on March 17, 461 and was promptly forgotten.      

Nevertheless, over many years faithful conviction and belief in the story of Patrick grew.  And he grew ever larger after his death than he did in real life.  Hundreds of years after the fact he was honored as Ireland’s patron saint.         

So on March 17th we gather to pay homage to this saint who - ostensibly - banished the snakes from Ireland.  It is said that on this one day of the year everyone is Irish.          

Since I have real Irish blood coursing through my veins I intend to raise a glass of Guinness and toast my ancestors and Saint Patrick.  I will ignore the part about the sketchy British and Western European connection.         

Speaking of Guinness - according to the Guinness people somewhere around 5.5 million pints of Guinness stout are consumed world-wide each and every day.  On St. Patrick’s Day this will grow to 13 million pints.      

Drink responsibly people.         

Sláinte!

Carnival

If you are celebrating  Carnival, Joe Cain Day is commemorated on the Sunday before Fat Tuesday. 

Joe Cain (1832-1904) is regarded as the founder of Mobile's modern-day Mardi Gras celebration. In 1866, Cain paraded through downtown Mobile dressed as an imagined Indian chief, an act that helped rejuvenate the city's carnival tradition after the Civil War.

Joe Cain lies at rest in the Church Street Graveyard in Mobile, AL

 

Patron Saint

In the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian Faith St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of betrothed couples, happy marriages, love, lovers, bee keepers, fainting, epilepsy, plague, travelers, and young people.  His feast day is today.   

As a consequence of so little being known about the man the Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar in 1969.  Nevertheless, he remains recognized as a saint.  

One of many stories is that Valentine was imprisoned for committing the most heinous of crimes - marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians being persecuted by Emperor Claudius of Rome.  Angered to the point of rage Claudius commanded Valentine to renounce his faith or be beaten with clubs and beheaded.  Refusing the emperor - Valentine was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.  

In case you’re wondering if Valentine was a real person - archaeological excavations have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to him.  In 496 Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration honoring his martyrdom.   

Today his relics can be found throughout the world – including his skull at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome.  

 

Happy Valentines Day.

 

Never Grab a Groundhog

Groundhog Day is a big event every year on this day over in Gobblers Knob, Pennsylvania.

Someone provokes a hibernating woodchuck named Punxsutawney Phil to come out of his hole and predict the arrival of spring.

Even I can do that.  Provoked by the alarm clock I crawled out of a perfectly warm bed this morning at 5:30 AM, poured myself a steaming cuppa joe and let the dog out to pee.  It was snowing.  I therefore concluded more winter before the arrival of spring.

The man in the picture is a fool.  You should never grab a groundhog - especially if you are going to wave it around in the air over your head.

From the Algonquian wuchak - also known as the whistle pig - Marmota monax belongs to the vast squirrel family. They are big rodents.

They are also sinister-looking with their small ears, beady black eyes and very sharp teeth to go with all of their claws.  I wouldn’t grab a groundhog any sooner than I'd make a grab for a beaver or a porcupine. They are all much too dangerous.

Trust me.  I know this.

I have had to deal with multiple critters infestations under my barn. This includes everything from bunnies, to raccoons to kittens.  One year I had a groundhog.  And that bugger was burrowing furiously.

Groundhogs are well adapted miners.  They have short but powerful legs and very sharp claws.  They are capable of excavating hundreds of pounds of dirt.   And this fella was chucking enough dirt that it wouldn’t be long before he seriously undermined the structural integrity of the barn foundation.

Woodchucks used to be a protected species in Wisconsin.  Nowadays, landowners do not need a hunting or trapping license to trap or kill a groundhog on their own property.  The fore-mentioned critter was from back in the protected era and not wanting to draw the unneeded attention of the local game warden I opted for the old reliable method.

Mothballs.

I poured a box of mothballs down the woodchuck’s hole.  Oh sure, your barn will smell like grandma for a while but critters cannot stand mothballs.  And it worked almost immediately for me.

I was puttering in the machine shed when old Phil (smelling strangely of naphthalene) waddled his way into the shed and gave me the hairy eyeball.  He was not happy.  Actually, he was angry to the point of provocation because he reared-up on his hind legs and gave me a nasty bark.

Taking a machete from the peg board I waved it menacingly and told him to get the heck out of my shed.

He scurried away retreating behind a sheet of plywood leaning against the wall.

I grabbed a garden rake and thrust it in his face.

He snorted and whistled and parried back with his claws.

Claw for claw - back and forth we went. Parry and thrust. I was gaining the upper hand and Phil was losing ground.

Finally forced from the shed he scurried a safe distance from the crazy guy with the rake, turned and gave me a dirty look and waddled-off in the direction of a neighboring farm.

Nasty attitude the groundhog has.

Dangerous too.

 

Candlemas

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac tomorrow is Candlemas – astronomically a Cross-Quarter day.  These days marked the midpoint between a solstice and equinox.  

In the ancient Celtic world this was a High Holy Day that signaled the beginning (not middle) of a season.  The Celts figured out that there were two major divisions - winter (Samhain) which signaled the beginning of the dark half of the year and summer (Beltane) the beginning of the light half of the year.  The English name is derived from the candles that lit that day in churches to celebrate the presentation of the Christ Child in the temple of Jerusalem.

Originally, this day was called Imbolc (lambs’ milk) because the lambing season began. It was also called Brigantia for the Celtic female deity of light, calling attention to the Sun’s being halfway on its advance from the winter solstice to the spring equinox.

Much of this day is grounded in the seasons—estimating how soon spring-like weather will come and when to plant the crops.

It was not held as a good omen if the day itself was bright and sunny, for that foretold snow and frost to continue to the hiring of the laborers 6 weeks later on Lady Day.

If it was cloudy and dark, warmth and rain would thaw out the fields and have them ready for planting.

This brings us to the modern equivalent - Groundhog Day - a survivor of that belief. Though we recognize animal behavior isn’t always the way to judge planting dates, the tradition continues.

Tomorrow is groundhog day and it is always good policy to never grab a groundhog.

The Deer Camp Chronicles

 

Jägermeister is a German liqueur made with 56 herbs and spices. 

Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35%. 

The recipe has not changed since its creation and continues to be served in its signature green glass bottle.

And traditionally following a successful hunt we toss-back a shot of the stuff.

Prosit!

November Night Sky

One of the cool things about the November night sky is: 

The Return Of The Hunter

Beginning this month and through February is this constellation that those of us members of the stargazing and hunting community will recognize.  

Orion - a familiar image situated on the celestial equator - is one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky.  Finding Orion's Belt is the easiest way to locate the Orion Constellation. Orion's Belt is formed by three bright stars; Alnilam, Mintaka and Alnitak. 

Named for Orion 'The Hunter' of Greek mythology the constellation's brightest stars are blue-white Rigel and red Betelgeuse. The most noticeable part of Orion is Orion’s Belt – with the alignment of three stars sure to catch your eye.  Hanging from The Hunter’s belt is a sword identified as three fainter stars. The central star of the sword is actually not a star at all – it is the Great Orion Nebula.

In the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere this time of year Orion appears to be lying on his side – with the Belt stars pointing upward – when he rises in the eastern sky. 

This photo taken with my iPhone XR from the porch looking south.

As the story goes - Orion hunted along the river Eridanus along with his ever-present dogs – Canis Major and Canis Minor.  With his dogs Orion stalked various celestial animals including Lepus the rabbit, and Taurus the bull. In the mythology of the ancient Greeks Orion was in love with Merope - one of the Seven Sisters forming the constellation Pleiades.  Alas, Merope spurned Orion’s advances. Tragically, the heartbroken Orion met his end when he was stung by Scorpious the scorpion.

Nevertheless, the gods were kind and they consequently fixed Orion permanently in the heavens with his two dogs. The creatures he hunted were placed in the sky as constellations as well. With foresight the gods exiled Scorpius to the opposite side of the heavens so that Orion would forever be safe from harm. 

Raising a toast to cold, clear skies,  star gazing and deer hunting.   

Cheers!

 

Kermis Time

Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is a Dutch language term derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) that became incorporated in French and English. Its origins are originally associated with the mass said on the anniversary of the founding of a church (or the parish) and in honor of the Patron Saint.  Such religious celebrations were regularly held in the Low Countries, in Central Europe and also in Northern France, and were accompanied by feasting, dancing, drinking and sports. 

The Dutch-American Village of Little Chute, Wisconsin, has celebrated Kermis annually since 1981 with a street festival. The Wallonian settlements in Door and Kewaunee Counties have celebrated Kermis with traditional Belgian dishes and events for as long as anyone can remember.  

Traditionally, Kermis around here stretched over several calendar weeks as each small settlement - Namur, Brussels, Rosiere, Little Sturgeon, Forestville, Lincoln, Duvall and Casco celebrated the harvest and the life-giving bounty of food.  

I'm not of Dutch or Belgian descent - but we're heading over to the park in Brussels for the Kermis shortly.  The festivities will kick-off with mass followed by food, music, a dunk tank featuring the local priest, beer, both a silent and live auction and a gun raffle.  

In the meantime, for the last few weeks we've been celebrating our own Kermis here with a steady harvest from the garden including an avalanche of tomatoes!

Several batches of homemade pizza sauce.

And cantaloupe too...