Davydd
Note the lefse too.
Homemade Lefse is something I always look forward to made by someone who knows how to make it during the Holidays. We don't make it. We're not Lutherans.
Don't know what happened to that last message, just wanted to mention the store.
But your comment on 'someone who knows how to make it' is right on the mark. We are probably losing many things as we rush towards our national homogenization. My mother, of solid Bohemian/Czech heritage, used to make a thing I loved -- a sort of sauerkraut cracker, thin, crispy and chewy together, salty, darkened edges, -- made with lard and flour into dough like a pie crust, with kraut mixed in and everything rolled thin, then salted and baked until crispy done. Just those few simple ingredients.
In our house it was called (phonetically) zel-ne-akk (or ach). "Zel" or "zele" means sauerkraut, but the rest I can't be sure of. I can't find it on the internet, after many attempts. As a kid, I always thought the spelling was 'zelniak" but I don't really have a clue. That's how we said it, though.
After Mom died, my sister made them for us as a Christmas gift for a few years, and then reported they are WAY too much work, which they are. It takes those older church ladies for that kind of dedication.
I always thoughts these sauerkraut cracker things had some commercial potential, especially in this snacking age. Mix in a little smashed onion, peppers, maybe..., who knows what will take off?
But anyway, I haven't seen them for thirty years. I am going to make a run to Cedar Rapids to check out the Bohemian places there, maybe I'll get lucky.
But where can I find those wonderful Bohemian church ladies that know how to make this stuff, not just zelniak, but bukta (buchta?), which is a terrific potato dumpling? They will be gone soon, like so many other things.