Kathy's Cookbook: Smolik specializes in kolaches
Staff writer
As I drove to Vickie Smolik's comfortable farm home located northeast of Marion on a recent cold dreary day, the words from a popular holiday song kept playing in my mind.
"Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go."
Later, looking outside the window of Vickie's inviting kitchen I saw the farm yard amid the rolling hills with a creek running near an old corral. It was easy to imagine generations of Smoliks going about their daily business — doing chores, chopping wood, and even playing outside in the snow before heading inside for a hot delicious meal.
The Smolik farm has been Vickie's home for about 57 years. She came to the farm as a young bride in the late 1940s after marrying her neighbor, John Smolik. He died 18 years ago "from a heart attack," Vickie said.
Born Victoria Stika, she is the daughter of Joe and Mary Stika. While growing up, sometimes the Stikas visited their neighbors, the Smoliks. The Smoliks lived two miles from the Stikas.
"That's how my husband and I got acquainted. Then we started to know each other and go together," Vickie explained.
During World War II, the two didn't see much of each other, but when John returned home the two renewed their friendship. They were married on Sept. 29, 1946, and made their home at the Smolik farm.
"This farm was John's home place. His parents moved to Tampa and we stayed here," Vickie recalled. "We had no honeymoon. The morning after the wedding he got up, went out and milked the cow."
Today, the cow is gone. But plenty of wildlife call the farm home. "We have deer and turkeys. All summer long I had a turkey hen living in back of the house, but she's gone now," Vickie said.
Living first in an old farm home on the site, the Smoliks later built their own home.
"When we designed our home we made a few mistakes," Vickie said, noting they should have made the kitchen larger.
"Whenever my family comes over they just stay in the kitchen," she said with a smile. "They're always in here lifting the lids on the pots to see what I have cooking."
Vickie said she learned to cook from her mother.
"My Mom was a great cook. She did a lot of baking. And as I got older I got more interested," she related.
Like most farm children years ago, Vickie said she had to walk two miles to school.
"I'd come home and be hungry. My mother was always so busy with the farm chores she didn't have time to make me anything. Mom said 'if you want something (cookies or cupcakes) you'll need to make it yourself,'" Vickie remembered.
Over the years, Vickie learned how to cook and complete the necessary chores — dressing the chickens, firing up the wood cookstove, peeling potatoes, frying chicken, making gravy, doing the dishes.
"My job was always doing the dishes," Vickie recalled. "Mom had dishes stacked up for me to do."
The busiest times of year were during threshing (wheat harvest). Back then, harvest meals included more than just carry-out pizzas, and sandwiches. Typically, the noon meal included generous portions of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and all the fixings.
Although she was an old hand at cooking early on, Vickie said she really didn't begin baking in earnest until after she was married.
"I kept practicing until I got things the way I wanted," she explained.
Today, Vickie is known for her baking ability. In fact, kolaches, a fruit filled Czech pastry is her specialty. Vickie's baked goods are very much in demand.
"People often request kolaches, rohliky, cinnamon rolls and bierocks," she said. "I just love to cook. And I have the time to do it, so it's really not a problem.
When Vickie mixes up a batch of kolaches she makes it worthwhile, making six to seven dozen at a time. Last summer, she made 300 kolaches for an event. Another time she made 300 bierocks.
"I could cook up a storm if someone would just eat it. I'd rather not have it around because then I eat it," she said with a laugh.
Vickie even has had the opportunity to share her baking skills with others. Several years ago, she conducted a baking demonstration in the basement of the Marion City Building.
"We made three pans of kolaches, made lunch, and passed them around," she said.
For someone interested in learning how to make the delicious pastries, Vickie offers several tips.
"I always have my fillings — cherry, peach, apple, apricot — made ahead of time," she said. "Oh, I make prune filling and poppy seed, but very few people like the prune.
"You have to keep your dough warm while you're making kolaches. If it chills they won't come out as nice. And you really need to watch them while they're baking. Never burn them," she cautioned.
Vickie's baked goods are a big part of any family event. Her children and grandchildren all travel to the farm to celebrate holidays. Vickie has two daughters, Theresa and Kathy, four granddaughters, three great-granddaughters, and one great-grandson.
Theresa and her husband Rod Linton live in Phillipsburg. They have two children Ashley and Lacey. Kathy Swan and her husband Paul live in Marion. They Swans have two daughters, Becky Makovec and Katrina Griffin, and both Becky and Katrina have two children each.
Vickie also spends much of her time with her friend Edmund Steiner who also is a regular at family gatherings.
"I have them all here for deer season. Sometimes I'll have breakfast for them with kolaches and all the other things.
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter are our big holidays. I cook up special Czech foods," she continued. "I do all my baking ahead of time."
Special holiday foods include duck, sauerkraut, and dumplings. Vickie said she usually has a turkey at Thanksgiving, while duck and steak are served at Christmas.
This year, the Smolik family Thanksgiving will take place the Saturday following the holiday. The menu will include turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, a vegetable, sweet potatoes, sauerkraut with a little sugar, and pumpkin pie.
"When my husband and I built the house I told him I want a big enough table for all my family," Vickie recalled. "It was fine for many years, but it doesn't fit them all now."
When she's not baking up a batch of something or another, Vickie likes to relax by doing embroidery and reading. Last year, she spent the weeks after Christmas cracking and extracting the meat from a huge load of walnuts.
"I ended up with five quarts of walnut meats," she said. "They're great in baking, although they have kind of a strong taste."
And Vickie's baking tradition isn't just confined to kolaches, she also likes making cookies — peanut butter, oatmeal, and sugar.
"One time I made a cookie recipe that I didn't think was very good. My son-in-law Paul said, 'Don't throw that away!'" Vickie recalled.
As for the Smolik family baking tradition, Vickie said her daughters and granddaughters would like to become proficient at making the pastries; however, it's hard to find the time.
"Besides, it's just so easy if I do the baking. And if I have more than I need, I just send it home with them," Vickie said smiling.
