Reward Lawn And Garden Yard-work With Wisconsin Logger's Ginger Cookies

Yard-work season is here for most Wisconsin residents. And some of us love doing yard-work. For that whole, long, Wisconsin winter we watched and listened to gardening shows. With the official date of frost's last chance now passed, we rush to plant. Others among us however, grumble about yard-work and mow lawns only to avoid the poisonous looks of neighbors or the brow-beating of a family member. Joyful recitations by gardeners of all the vegetables they planted, all the flowerbeds they re-worked, and all the hedges they trimmed nauseate these non-gardeners. They chafe under the chains of those two-inch, tender blades of grass. They long for freedom to bike, hike, shop, or even just to go back inside to finish that book. They'd rather do anything but get dirty and sweaty grooming plants that in four months are going to go back to being brown and dead anyway.

So if you are a gardener and need help in the yard from your non-gardener, you are likely looking for an alternative method for getting him or her into the yard with spade in hand. You nagged and cajoled last year with minimal success. Like a new variety of seed, this year you are ready to try something new. Click on "continue reading... for a fool-proof suggestion.

I recommend using positive reinforcement to get your non-gardener gardening. Reward a desirable behavior and it will likely be repeated. "But," you argue, "he/she won't do the desirable behavior in the first place, so I'll never get the chance to reward it." Aah, that's where behavioral shaping comes into play. Remember, those dolphins didn't just happen to jump through a hoop and get surprised with a fish. No, they first had to swim past the hoop. Your non-gardener too will some time just happen to be in the vicinity of the garden. That's when you give the first reward. Hand him/her a tasty treat as s/he stands on the lawn. You will start counter-conditioning his/her aversion to flowering plants. Later, ask your non-gardener to pick up a hoe and carry it back to the garage for you. If s/he does, reward him/her again. It's important you ignore all grumbling, - you care about the behavior, not the commentary.  Every time your non-gardener does some useful work in the yard reward the yard-work with lots of thankful appreciation and more great food. When at last s/he does a bit of yard-work without your asking, jackpot it!, - cook his/her favorite dinner and do something else really special! Yes, the process may be long and slow, but keep giving rewards and thanks, and you will reap the reward of a handy yard-work helper.

But now you ask what reward can be easily carried around in my pocket while I garden and wait for him/her to happen by? Answer: a baggie full of Logger's Ginger cookies. I recommend these cookies rich in molasses and spices because they have a history of success at inducing hard labor. They were first used over a century ago in the logging camps in northern Wisconsin to reward Wisconsin lumberjacks for clearing forests. Now THAT'S YARD-WORK! .

Elizabeth Meating Proctor of Appleton, Wisconsin inherited the recipe from her grandfather who worked in the Wisconsin logging camps. She passed on her logger-grandfather's recipe to Harva Hachten and Terese Allen for their cookbook The Flavor of Wisconsin: An informal history of food and eating in the Badger state. The book tells the stories behind Wisconsin's regional foods and of the ethnic communities of the people who made them. The book brings Wisconsin history to life with photographs of people growing food, cooking food, and enjoying food with their neighbors. The 460 Wisconsin recipes let today's Wisconsin cook keep the past alive... and deliciously well.

Here's the recipe for Logger's Ginger Cookies from The Flavor of Wisconsin:

• 1 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon water
• pinch salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• about 4 cups of flour

Bring molasses to a boil; remove from heat. When cool, add baking soda, shortening, sugar, and eggs. Mix well. Add water, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and enough flour to roll out thinly. Cut and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

As you can see from the picture, I got tired of making individual cookies, So I shaped half the cookie dough into a tree, sprinkled pink and white decorations on it to make it look like an apple tree in bloom, then I baked it. The kids think it is really fun to eat a cookie tree!

Comments

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[Cris]

My oh my! Those cookies makes my mouth water!