EMBARRASS- Crystal Schlueter, of Babbitt, received quite a bit of publicity last fall after winning a nationwide recipe contest sponsored by Campbell’s Soup. But her passion for cooking lies closer to her own family’s ethnic roots and traditions, rather than crafting new recipes using processed foods.
Schlueter was the featured speaker at the Sisu Heritage annual meeting on Feb. 23. She talked about her Finnish roots, her great-grandparents’ journey to northern Minnesota, and the family recipes she treasures and is trying to preserve.
Her great-grandmother paid her way to America by working as the ship cook. She married a fellow Finn she knew from her hometown, who had also recently immigrated. They settled in Cloquet and soon had five children. Her great-grandfather died young, leaving his wife with five children under the age of 10. Schlueter’s great-grandmother struggled to feed her family, sometimes feeding her children pancakes made out of livestock feed because she couldn’t afford flour. She remarried, and had a few more children.
Schlueter’s grandparents moved to the Babbitt/Ely area in the early 1960s, eventually building a home on Blueberry Lake Rd. in Ely.
The cooking gene passed down to Schlueter, who demonstrated a variation of her great-grandmother’s Finnish flatbread recipe.
“In Finland, they would use a sourdough starter made from stale bread,” she said. “But you can also use dry yeast.”
Traditionally, these flatbreads were made from rye and barley flour, cooked up once a week, and then hung up to dry. They were served with butter, cheese, or soup. Finns did a lot of drying to preserve their food, and they also made a lot of fermented foods, which kept for long periods.
Schlueter likes to use the rye flour from Homestead Mills in Cook.
“They make a really good rye flour,” she said. “It’s a little lighter than what is used in Finland.”
This recipe is one of the simplest breads she knows of, and it can be mixed easily by hand or in a stand mixer. It is adapted from her family’s recipe.
Schlueter said that preserving these old recipes is important for many reasons. She is currently working on a cookbook, that will be published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, featuring ethnic recipes and their stories from the Iron Range.
“There are a lot of great cookbooks on the Range,” she said. But many of the old cookbooks, especially church-published cookbooks, don’t translate well for modern cooks.
“Many just say bake in a hot oven until done,” she said.
She is also working on updating ingredients that are no longer readily available.
Schlueter is still actively seeking ethnic recipes and stories from area residents. Anyone interested in sharing recipes can email her at crschlueter@gmail.com.
Her new cookbook will be titled “End of the Road Cookbook,” and will feature recipes from the many ethnicities found on the Iron Range, and some of the recipes she has shared with readers in a column she publishes in the Ely Echo and Babbitt Weekly.
“A lot of family recipes have gone away,” she said, but adding that luckily many Iron Range families have been preserving their family recipes.
“I am so fortunate to come from a family of cooks and bakers,” she said.
“I love sharing people’s stories,” she said. “I want to hear about their grandmothers. This is making more memories for future generations.”
Schlueter noted that often times the recipes she publishes don’t exactly match what people remember.
“It may never be as good as what your grandmother did,” she said.
But Schlueter also has struggled with something many might understand, a relative’s reluctance to give up a cherished recipe.
“I am super passionate about potica,” she said. “But my grandmother won’t even give me her recipe! It’s a super secret.”
Schlueter said she found a hand-typed potica recipe in a “dusty old cookbook” she bought at an estate sale.
“It’s the closest I’ve found to my grandmother’s.”
“I don’t think recipes should be kept secret,” she said.
Schlueter said her cookbook will include more step-by-step instructions, something that old recipes often lack. Her cookbook draft is due to the publisher this fall, so it’s expected to be published next year. Schlueter also does her own food styling and photography. Once published, you can expect to find the cookbook at the Nelimark Homestead Museum shop, which features a nice selection of books, items made by area artisans, ethnic gift items, as well as fresh-baked ethnic breads and treats. The shop is open weekends in the summer, as well as two special weekends in November and December for holiday shopping. The Farmstead Artisan group helps staff the Nelimark, and coffee an’ is always available when the shop is open.

Schlueter’s Simple Finnish Flatbread
This type of flatbread is called Ruisreikäleipä (usually just shortened to reikäleipä) in Finnish. Ruis means rye, reikä means hole, and leipä means bread. 
3 cups rye flour
2 cups lukewarm water
1 packet active dry yeast (can use sourdough starter instead)
1 TSP apple cider vinegar (omit if using sourdough starter)
1 tsp salt
 Combine all ingredients. The batter will be very sticky. Wet your hands and form four round disks, about 1/4” thick, on two parchment-covered baking sheets. Score each disk into 8 wedges, and pierce well with a fork dipped in flour so it doesn’t stick. This helps the crisp bread stay flat. Cut a small hole in the center using a cookie cutter or small glass. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 450F for 15-18 minutes, or until brown on the edges. Can be eaten warm. The bread will crisp up as it dries out, and traditionally was strung up to dry out.

Sisu Heritage annual meeting
Sisu Heritage’s president Marlin Bjornrud reported on the historical society’s work in 2024 and plans for 2025. The group is sponsoring live music at the Apostolic Lutheran Church and the Seitaniemi Housebarn, as well as the annual Sauna Day celebration on June 7.
Bjornrud talked about upcoming renovations at the Seitaniemi Housebarn. The group received bonding money from the state which will almost complete the exterior renovations of the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Work will include repairing and replacing the exterior siding, painting the building, finishing the haybarn loft, installing doors on the haybarn, and reconstructing the privy on the first floor of the building. Bjornrud said they still will need to find funding for the reconstruction of the dormer over the building’s root cellar.
This summer, some Seitaniemi relatives from Finland will be visiting Embarrass, and some other living relatives from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan will also be visiting.
The public can tour the building during Sisu’s Community Night Out on Sept. 7. Last year, attendance topped 175, and besides hosting live music, attendees could purchase chili and homemade pie.
Attendees at this summer’s FinnFest, in Duluth, will also be touring the historic log buildings in Embarrass.
Other 2025 plans include offering field trips to area schools, doing further restoration work at the Nelimark and Hanka homesteads, along with work at the Apostolic Lutheran Church.
Bjornrud reported on the group’s finances, which are stable, with income mostly matching expenses. The Apostolic Church, a historic building recently taken over by Sisu, has been self-supporting, thanks to a generous donation. The church has been used to host live music events, and can be rented out as a wedding venue. The church hosted its first wedding last year.
Sisu members reelected Ron Sutton, Tom Sheehan, and Bruce Sweeney to the board, along with newcomer Winnie Koivisto, who is taking the seat of long-time board member and treasurer Cindy Scherer. Board member Mickey White was once again appointed as the group’s representative to the St. Louis County Historical Society Board of Directors.
Memberships in Sisu Heritage are $10 per year, or $250 for a lifetime membership. The group currently has 144 members, which includes 33 lifetime members.
For more information, visit sisuheritage.org or call 218-984-3402. Memberships can be mailed to Sisu Heritage, PO Box 71, Embarrass, MN 55732.