From the Farm: Mint farm tours return for next weekend's 48th Annual Mint Festival

Chicago Tribune

21 hours ago

We have a pantry drawer file at our farm filled with assorted heirloom recipe cards, pamphlets, menu booklets and other kitchen keepsakes, many from the 1940s and 1950s.
A favorite of mine is a small, paper-cover cookbook themed from Walt Disney Studios to promote the re-release of the iconic 1937 animated feature 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.' The cookbook was released in 1956 in cooperation with the American Dairy Association, then headquartered at 20 N. Wacker Drive in Chicago. For the record, the classic 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' feature film returned to theaters in 1944, 1952, 1958, 1967, 1975, 1983, 1987 and 1993.
Titled 'Walt Disney's Snow White Dairy Recipes,' the book includes custom Disney character illustrations to accompany each of the 19 recipes and important facts such as 'Drink three glasses of milk every day, because you never outgrow your need for milk!'
A favorite recipe included in the booklet and ideally themed for this month is 'Snow White's Mint Frosted Chocolate Cookies,' with an accompanying illustration of roly-poly Happy the Dwarf reminding: 'Tint half the butter frosting pink for variety!'
These mint cookies are delicious and ideal for celebrating both Father's Day and our small town of North Judson's 48th Annual Mint Festival always held on Father's Day Weekend. In 1976, North Judson, along with the rest of the nation, celebrated the Bicentennial of the founding of our country. With universal support in the community that an annual fest should become a tradition, town leaders decided to showcase mint, since it is an unusual plant that thrives in only certain areas.
There are two other mint festivals in the U.S., and North Judson's is the second oldest, in front of the St. Johns, Michigan Mint Festival and lagging behind the Jefferson Mint Festival in Jefferson, Oregon, launched in 1957 but ended in 2019. (Previously, North Judson tried hosting a 'Harvest Festival,' 'Muck Crop Show' and 'The Jubilee.')
After several years on pause, the Mint Festival is once again offering mint farm tours at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 14, hosted by the Wappel Family Farms. Guests should meet at the Wappel Farms at 8835 W. Ind. 10. The tours are free.
After my last tasting adventure in 2022, I'll be returning to the festival on Saturday to judge the annual 'Cooking with Mint' contest hosted at North Judson United Methodist Church. Longtime contest coordinators Carol Meister and Cheryl Tellman tell me each category (Adult and Youth under 18) will be awarded a $75 top prize, with a second place paying $50 and a third prize $25.
Although contestants may submit as many entries as desired, only one prize will be allowed per contestant. You need not be present to win. Drop off any entries and the accompanying two copies of the recipe the morning of the judging between 9 and 10:30 a.m., and the judging is at 11 a.m.
Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in historic North Judson at 507 Mulberry St., near the former junction of the Erie, Pennsylvania, Chesapeake and Ohio, and New York Central Railroads, will be offering antique train excursions to travel through the rural farm country of Northwest Indiana.
The view along the way includes wildflowers, butterflies and wildlife while guests travel through the remnants of the Grand Kankakee Marsh that our 26th U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt once hunted. Diesel train excursions are round-trip from the depot and travel about five miles to the Kankakee River at English Lake before returning to North Judson. Trains depart at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. (Central Time) both Saturday and Sunday during the Mint Festival. The total length of each trip is approximately 45 minutes.
Tickets are purchased at www.hoosiervalley.org, and seating is limited. Open-air or coach seating for adults (ages 16+) is $20; children (ages 3-15) $14; toddlers (Ages 0-2) are free with first-class lounge seats (all ages) at $25; and rooms (all ages, seats three) for $80.00 (infants and toddlers may ride the train free).
For more information, visit the North Judson Mint Festival on Facebook.
As for Snow White's cookie recipe, she is quoted in the vintage 1957 cookbook saying: 'Dear, dear! Those little men are always hungry it seems. I simply cannot keep my cookie box filled. I think I'll get them to help me with an easy way to fill the cookie box with quick and tasty treats.'
Cookie batter:
2 squares baking chocolate
1 cup sifted flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecan meats
Frosting:
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar plus 1 1/4 cups (divided use)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Splash of milk or cream as needed for consistency
A scant drop of green food coloring
Directions:
To make cookie batter, melt chocolate and sift dry ingredients. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time; beat well after each addition to creamed butter.
Add vanilla, melted chocolate; mix in dry ingredients and nuts.
Drop from a teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet.
Bake in a 350-degree heated oven for 10 minutes.
When cool, frost with green mint frosting.
To make frosting, cream 1/4 cup butter and 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar.
Add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract and add the other 1 1/4 cups of sifted confectioner's sugar.
Add enough milk or cream to make the frosting of a spreading consistency.
Tint a pale green with food coloring and spread on the cookies.