By Marie Fagan Peart | marie@haldimandpress.com
“Food is the ingredient that binds us together.” That quote came to mind because it was food that got Mike Noss and I chatting at a recent gathering. Fairly quickly I could see there was a whole lot more to Mike than just the new smoker he was telling me about.
When I sat down with Mike and his wife Deb, he pulled out a number of old cookbooks and quickly delved into the stories behind them. Mike was raised by his grandmother, Winnie Noss. She was a strong, amazing woman who lived through the Great Depression and kept the home fires burning when her husband volunteered to fight on the beaches of Normandy. She never had a recipe, making everything from scratch using produce from her enormous garden and buying everything else locally. She was very particular about the brands she purchased and the source of her ingredients. Mike was about 12 years of age when he started to take an interest in cooking. He followed her around the kitchen, watching and learning. He told me he has spent the better part of his life trying to recreate her dishes.
It was 41 years ago that Mike and Deb were married. When they moved into the Hagersville home that was originally built by Deb’s great-grandfather, they started to host family dinners. Mike was doing most of the cooking, with Deb on prep duty and cleanup. This format has worked well for them. Deb’s grandmother, Ethel Webb, was so surprised, she said “that boy can cook!” So, this is where the cookbooks come in. Ethel gave Mike her cookbooks and he treasures those along with the original Purity Cook Book from his side of the family. There is a great deal of history, stories, and feelings wrapped up in Mike’s creations in the kitchen. I now understand why he gets emotional when he starts to talk about his grandmother. He shared a couple of the family favourites – the recipes that keep their kids coming back home. His grandma Winnie’s Canadian Goo-lash and Deb’s grama Ethel’s Lemon Loaf. Just as I was leaving Mike told me that at one time these were secret recipes. “Not any more!” I said. Enjoy!
Canadian Goo-lash
1 pound of ground beef (preferably local meat)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
6-8 mushrooms, sliced
1 796ml can Alymer diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon Lawry’s seasoned salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup egg noodles
Take a large skillet and brown the ground beef. Add diced onion about half way through browning. Cook until onions are clear.
Drain the beef mixture and set aside.
Add mushrooms and peppers to the pan. Sauté until soft.
Add beef mixture, then tomatoes. Then the seasoned salt and pepper.
Simmer for about 20 minutes until cooked through.
While simmering, cook egg noodles in boiling water as per instructions on package.
Once beef is cooked through, stir in the egg noodles.
Serve with mashed potatoes and homemade sourdough bread.
Grama’s Lemon Loaf
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup sugar
Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and lemon peel.
Combine the dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture.
Spoon into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
Mix the lemon juice with ½ cup of sugar. Once loaf is done remove from the oven. Pour glaze over hot loaf.
