Tracey Enerson Wood - Homefront Cooking: Recipes, Wit, and Wisdom from American Veterans and Their Loved Ones

Copyright 2018 by Tracey Enerson Wood

Material on 2018 by Ann Hood

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Mona Lin

Cover photo: iStockphoto

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-2870-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2871-4

Printed in the United States of America

DEDICATION

My great uncle, Timothy Cusack, fought in World War I. My great-grandparents saved the letters he wrote from the front, and they have been passed down through the generations. Sweet and wistful, they shed light on what was important to a young man, torn from his home and family, and thrown into the horror of war.

The themes in his letters resonate today as much as they did then. Love of family. A sense of duty to country. A longing for home. A need to communicate, to know how loved ones are doing, and to assure his family of his well-being. Private Cusack begged for letters from home; it seemed that knowing the details of their daily lives kept him going.

And food. Although not a major preoccupation, most letters mention the availability, the cost, and the enjoyment of food. He described a great feast, with beer, wine, and a roast pig. He complained about the cost of fresh eggs and other delicacies, but delighted in eating them. This is not so different from today.

Private Timothy Cusack did not make it back to the family he wrote to with so much love. He was buried in France on November 8, 1918, just three days before the Great War was over.

This book is dedicated to all who have served, in peace and in war, whether at the front lines of a foreign conflict, or saving tin foil and eating blueberries for dinner on the homefront.

May every meal be a celebration of life and love.

Tracey Enerson Wood
Daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law, niece, cousin, and friend of veterans
St. Petersburg, Florida

Table of Contents

PART I: REVEILLE

Breakfast and Other Eye-Openers

A Promise Kept

It is June, 1944, two days after D-day. Bernardo Doganiero, a handsome American soldier, has arrived in Rennes, France, with the 127th General Hospital. The unit has been tasked with opening a military hospital on the site of the former German medical facility on Rue de lHotel Dieu. As he walks the several blocks from the barracks to the hospital, he notices a scrawny little girl watching him. She has dark eyes, brown curls, and clothes two sizes too small. Struck by the intensity of her stare, he gives her a smile. She smiles back, shyly.

Thus begins a beautiful friendship that will span an ocean and a generation.

From that day on, Bernardo finds the little girl waiting for him on the corner every morning. She follows him to the hospital, chattering in French. At the end of his shift, she is waiting by the hospital gate to walk him home. He teaches her a few English words, she helps him expand his French vocabulary, and, along with some exaggerated pantomiming, they manage to overcome the language barrier. He learns that her name is Jacqueline Halna, and she is eleven years old. Her father, a pilot for the French Resistance, has been lost in battle. She and her mother live in a cramped apartment on Rue Noel du Fail.

Having managed to survive many years of brutal Nazi occupation, Jacqueline, along with the rest of the Rennes population, is overjoyed with the arrival of the Americans. She seems in awe of the men and women who work at the hospital, and her plucky personality and resilient nature endear her to them. She soon becomes the sweetheart of the 127th General, but Bernardo remains her favorite, and their friendship continues throughout his deployment in Rennes. He senses that hes become a surrogate father for Jacqueline and begins to worry about how shell react when the unit is reassigned.

The dreaded day finally arrives on January 1, 1945. Sleet is falling as Bernardo and his unit pack the trucks that will carry them to the city of Nancy to set up another hospital. Hearing a familiar voice calling his name, Bernardo turns to see Jacqueline shivering in the cold. She wears only a thin sweater over her dress. With tears in her eyes, she presents him with two giftsa loaf of bread baked by her mother and a book given to her by her father. Inscribed on the first page in Jacquelines child-like script, are the words Souvenir de Jacqueline Halna, A mi cher ami Bernardo (A remembrance of Jacqueline Halna, To my dear friend Bernardo).

Realizing the tremendous sacrifice those gifts represent coming from someone with so little, Bernardo takes off his heavy woolen coat and wraps it around her, telling her this is his gift. Then, with a hug, he makes her a promisethat if he ever has a daughter, he will name her Jacqueline.

This was the only war story my father was willing to share. I heard it countless times over the years, and it became part of our family lore. But no matter how many times he told it, he always ended it the same way. Hed smile at me, often with misty eyes that seemed to look back through time, and say, Youre living proof that Ive kept my promise.

SFC Bernardo Minniti with Jacqueline Halna, December, 1944.

French Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

-oz. pkg. active dry yeast

1 c. warm water

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. corn oil

1 tsp. salt

33 c. all-purpose flour

Cornmeal

1 egg white

1 tsp. cold water

Photo by Steve Dean Photography

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.

Add the sugar, oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Beat until blended. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a stiff dough.