Rabbit Hash ... my love of soup ... and a small town in Kentucky!

As many of you know, I come from a rather eclectic combination of family heritage.  My mother was born and raised in Coos County, New Hampshire.  When she was commissioned as a Lieutenant (in the Salvation Army Nurses Corps) and working at a Salvation Army hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, she was introduced to my father ... a brother of my mother's co-worker and the son of a poor truck driver who grew up during the Depression in Boone County, Kentucky.  The rest, as they say, is history.

As a classic "Boomer", I grew up with the knowledge of how hard my parents had it when they grew up during the Great Depression.  I understood that everything was scarce when they were young ... that my generation had it much better ... and it seemed like I was reminded of that fact nearly every day!  Just when things were getting better for them, along came World War II and everything was scarce again!

In our modern time (2020) and experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic first-hand, I feel fortunate that I can relate to the stories I heard from my youth of how they grew up and withstood the impact of those two major life-altering events.  If they could endure, so can I!

While growing up, we would often eat a simple soup made with whatever leftover meat we had on hand and a few fresh vegetables (usually onion, celery, potato, and carrots) mixed with whatever else was available (leftover gravy) to fortify and flavor the mixture.  Pappy always called it "Rabbit Hash" and I came to realize that this was one of the meals (along with soup-beans and cornbread) that helped sustain my ancestors during those difficult times.  I grew to appreciate not only the flavors but the God-given sustenance that those meals provided!

Rabbit Hash is also the name of a small town in Boone County, Kentucky, just a few miles south of the county seat, Burlington.  Rabbit Hash sits right along side the Ohio River, directly across from the town of Rising Sun, Indiana.  For many years, a ferry connected the two towns to the point where they became as one community.  In fact, in the mid 1800s, Rising Sun had a post office that served that region of Boone County.  Rising Sun was closer to the railroad, and they sent the mail by ferry to Rabbit Hash.

Now, how does a town come to be named "Rabbit Hash" anyway?  It seems that around the spring of 1847, when the Ohio River was running over its banks, a flood caused a quantity of small game (including rabbits) to run toward higher ground.  Local residents, hanging out at the store, began to worry about what they might be able to cook for dinner if the waters raised much higher.  One local fellow, observing the rabbits running uphill, said "we can always have rabbit hash!"

The Rabbit Hash General Store, right in the middle of the village of Rabbit Hash, was the center of that small community.

My Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Ambrose Bradford, lived in the Carleton District of Boone County back in those days.  The Carleton magisterial district of Boone County extended from the river all the way up toward Burlington.  Ambrose lived at the end of Locust Grove Road (off of East Bend Road) and his property extended down over the hill to the east to Gunpowder Creek.  He and his family were living about halfway between Burlington and Rabbit Hash, and according to Census records, were receiving their mail from Rising Sun.

Fast-forward to 2020.  This evening, I turned to my ancestral roots and once again produced a rabbit hash.  My lovely bride, Mindy, is not a big fan of soups in general, although she does admit that when I make my "stuff" it is somewhat edible!  When she got called in to work unexpectedly this evening, I took the opportunity to make one of my life-long favorites ... and it was good!

A couple of nights ago we cooked some pork loin rib-eye steaks, and had some of the pork leftover.  We also had some leftover kale, along with some rice from that dinner.  I chopped a little onion and celery ... sauteed that with some vegetable oil, and added some diced pork.  I seasoned it with a little kosher salt, pepper, and thyme.  I added a cup and a half of water, along with a cup and a half of Clamato juice.  I chopped up the kale and added it to the mixture along with some halved grape tomatoes.  I let it simmer for 45 minutes, then added the cooked rice.  Another 15 minutes or so, and it was ready to serve with some shredded parmesan cheese and a little parsley.

Yep ... pretty darned good if I say so myself!  I'm sure my Pappy would like it ... and I wouldn't be ashamed to serve it to Grandpa Ambrose either!  Try it sometime ... you may come to love Rabbit Hash ... either the leftovers or the village!