U.P. Michigan Pasties

In a large skillet sauté

1 large onion, chopped

with ½ C cooking oil

Remove from heat, mix in

1 large peeled and diced potato

1 peeled and diced carrot

1 very small peeled and diced turnip

Mix all ingredients until thoroughly blended.

Add the above vegetables to the onions in the skilled. Sauté until vegetables are cooked.

Add: 1 lb lean ground beef. Mix in until all ingredients are thoroughly blended.

Two ready made or your favorite pie crust dough.

Place ingredients into pie crust. Cover pie with second pie crust, by placing it up-side-down, pinching edges of both pie shells together to form a seal. Using the prongs of a fork, prick a few air holes in top pie crust. Bake in a 350৹ F oven for 45 minutes to an hour until crust is golden brown.

FOODNOTES: While visiting one of my college roommates who hailed from Ishpeming, Michigan, I had the privilege of sampling the local food. Ruthie made “Pasties” for dinner one evening. She told me how these pies were made to fit in the pockets of the miners' shirts to stay warm until lunchtime. She further explained to me how her father, from a mining family in Cornwall, England, emigrated to this country, settling in another (iron) mining mecca in Negaunee, Michigan. Interestingly, the mining is done above ground. Every day at exactly noon, a warning siren sounds so all the workers will know to clear the area. Then the dynamite planted in the rocky terrain can be heard for miles around as it breaks up the earth. The iron is is melted and made into tiny pellets which can be found all around the area, especially on nearby train tracks. This is where Ruthie grew up with her parents and brother Roger, aka RD. I cherish my visit to the U.P. Peace be to the memory of my wonderful friend, Ruth Helgren Erickson, 1954-2003.