An Award For Cookies

I just received word from my nephew that his young daughter won 3rd prize in a 4-H baking contest. She chose a recipe from “Think With Your Tastebuds” and it was a special recipe for me.

The recipe, Soft Ginger Cookies” , is on page 151 in the book and it is a recipe from my grandmother. It was a real favorite of my Dad’s and the cookie jar was always filled with these delicious treats.

I have that cookie jar in my home and it always reminds me of those wonderful days with mother baking and filling the house with heavenly scents.

I’m proud of my great-niece, and happy for her, as well. What a wonderful organization the 4-H clubs are.

I have said that “Think With Your Tastebuds” is a book for all cooks, from novice to experienced, and am so honored that a recipe from our book has been recognized as special.

Happy baking! Have fun as you put “your own spin” on a recipe and make it all you own.

Thanksgivings Past

Family, friends, neighbors all add to our Thanksgiving blessings. Years ago, when my husband was in the military, we had Thanksgiving dinners at our home every year with friends attending. We also made sure that several young airmen, many away from home for the first time, were invited. They were so happy for a home cooked meal and a “home atmosphere” for that day.

We did this for every holiday and, most times, there were 30 or more there for dinner. Believe it or not, no one complained of cramped quarters, lack of computers or games to play on the phones (we didn’t have those back then) and we had marvelous times.

We always had the huge turkey, a ham or roast beef, and everything that was served was home made from scratch as we didn’t have much in the way of mixes or convenience foods. If we had leftovers, we invited our guests to take what they wanted home with them.

Many times, I miss those days of warm friendships, laughter, the joy of feeling like “family”, when our families were many miles away.

If you know of a serviceman, or woman, ask them to dinner and you will receive a blessing that you will treasure for years to come.

Coffee Soup and more…

Have you ever had Coffee Soup?  Oh, what a wonderful breakfast treat that was while I was growing up.  Mother would break up some of her home made bread into a bowl, add just a touch of sugar, a little coffee (we weren’t allowed to drink coffee until teen years) and cream or milk.  Delicious!

I tried to duplicate it when I was single and working and sharing an apartment with  a sister and it  was all wrong.  Then I discovered that the missing ingredient was Mother’s bread.  Since we were taught to bake bread when we were young, I baked some loaves and made coffee soup.  Perfect!  The only missing thing then was Mother, who was at home with the rest of the family. She always added lots of love in what she made.

Another thing that Mother made was for lunches We lived within walking distance of school and we hurried home  to see what she had made.  Usually, on Mondays when she did laundry, we had another favorite treat and, again, it started with her bread.  She would butter a slice of bread, usually warm from the oven, and pour home canned blackberries over the bread.  Heaven couldn’t have been sweeter!

We grew up during the depression and WWII, when so much was rationed, and Mother could really feed her family from practically nothing.  We learned a lot from those days and I’d like to pass some of that on to you from time to time.

Mistakes in the kitchen

Sometimes, when cooking or baking, we make a “mistake” in what we have measured or added to the recipe.  Don’t fret the small stuff, as the old saying goes.

Once, I was making Banana Nut breads and neighbor came over.  She was a nice person, but always was at my shoulder watching everything that I did.  She distracted me and I put the nut breads in the oven, then saw the sugar on the counter!  I promptly removed the breads from the oven and poured the batter back into the mixing bowl. I added the sugar, mixed it all well, and poured it back into the pans.  I hoped that it would turn out ok as I had them ear-marked as holiday gifts to neighbors.

The breads came out just fine and I found the courage to ask the neighbor to have a seat (as I had offered, along with a cup of coffee) and visit with me from her chair.  She realized what she was doing was so distracting and that episode cured her of that habit.

Sometimes, we just have to remedy what has been done in the best way that we know how.

 

A cookie from long ago

This is a delicious cookie from the 1930’s and it is still good today.  Try this and see if it doesn’t fill your home with a delicious smell of spices that will whet any appetite.

SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

3/4 cup lard and butter mixed (use Crisco and butter)
1 cup molasses
2 Tbsp. warm water
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix shortening, molasses and warm water.  Add beaten eggs.  Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture.  Mix thoroughly and let stand about 10 minutes.  Roll out on floured board to 1/3-inch thick, cut with round cookie cutter.  Bake in moderate oven (350º) about 15 minutes.
Makes 4 dozen.

This old recipe does not list the oven temperature nor if a greased cookie sheet is used.  I added the temperature and would use a lightly greased, or sprayed, cookie sheet.

Want more old recipes?  I’ll list some from time to time and share my love of these old favorites.

Baking for bake sale

This has been a busy, but very productive day.  I have already baked Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter cookies for the church bake sale and, today, I added a few dozen Sticky Buns to the freezer for that event. I will make more of those buns over the weekend and then, on August 10, I will make 2 or 3 layer cakes to take the next day.  One cake will be the Ultimate Chocolate Cake that is so sinfully rich and decadent!  Another will be a Coconut Cake and I’m still trying to decide what the third one will be.  Maybe a spice cake with a brown sugar meringue topping or an Apple Butter cake would be nice.

I have goodies in the freezer for the book release party and will make more the day before the event, which will be on August 6, in case anyone has forgotten.  We are really prepared for this, even though trying to get the media to co-operate is another thing.

Almonds and Raisins

‘Twas an Almond and a Raisin
In a dish all silver bright,
A Raisin dusky purple,
And an Almond creamy-white

Said the Raisin to the Almond
” I was once as full of wine
As a dewdrop is of sunlight,
And a glossy skin was mine.”

Said the Almond to the Raisin,
“And I’ve a tale to tell
I was born inside a flower,
And I lived within a shell.”

Said the Raisin to the Almond
“We are both from Southern lands,
And we come once more together,
Having fallen in English hands.”

“Don’t you think we ought to marry?
I am sure ‘twould be as well,
Though you have lost your juices,
And I have lost my shell.”

Said the Almond to the Raisin
“It is my dearest wish…..”
That’s why you always find them
Side by side within the dish!

F.W. Home, from a cookbook published in 1894

 

I’m sharing a recipe that was given to me when I was about 12 years old.  My friend’s step-mother made this cake often and, when I asked her for the name of the cake, she just laughed and said that it was called Crazy Cake or Wacky Cake because it was so different from other cakes and you needed no eggs, not even a mixing bowl!  Well, I have been making this cake for over 67 years now, and it has never failed me.  It has been well received by family, friends, and co-workers.

I hope that you will enjoy this moist, chocolaty cake, as well.

 

WACKY CAKE

Preheat oven to 350º

Sift into a 9×13-inch pan, ungreased:
3 cups flour, all-purpose
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
Make 3 holes in the sifted ingredients.  In one hole, put 2 tsp. vinegar; in the second hole, put 2 tsp. vanilla; in the third hole, put ½ cup + 2 Tbsp. oil.  Pour 2 cups water over all and stir until all dry ingredients are mixed in well.  Make sure that to scrape all corners of pan well so that all ingredients are well mixed.  Bake at 350º for 40 minutes, or until tests done with toothpick or touching lightly with finger.  If using a glass baking dish, lower oven temperature to 325º.

You can add nuts or coconut to batter or put them on top after frosting.   You can frost this cake or sprinkle with powdered sugar or leave plain to serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

 

Wacky Cake

APPRECIATING OLD RECIPES

Looking through Mother’s old recipe box, or even my own which was begun when Bill and I married 55 years ago, next month, I can see the fantastic foods which we prepared and served.  I can see Mother, in her apron, cooking or baking and making it all look so easy. Actually, she was teaching us that it really is easy to cook and bake.

Mother’s recipes have only ingredients listed on them, no pan size or oven temperature listed, nor are there any instructions or directions written.  That is often confusing to a new cook and so, in “Think With Your Tastebuds….Desserts”, I put all directions into the recipe.  Having been raised with this type recipe, I’ve had no problem but I can understand why it would cause a problem for someone else.  We, my sisters and I, have yet to make shortcake as good as Mother’s and she had no recipe.  We know what she did, but not much about the ingredients.

To me, an old and tattered card holding  a recipe, is a priceless piece of history.  The type of recipe tells us about the kind of person it belonged to.   During the Great Depression or World War II, many  ingredients were scarce or rationed and the wives and mothers during that time had to “make do” with what was available.  Still, we seemed to have all that we needed because Mother, and those like her, changed recipes to suit the times and made dishes that were both nutritious and delicious.

A favorite of mine was Coffee Soup.  We had some of Mother’s home made bread, broken into chunks and placed in a bowl  and then hot coffee and milk and sugar were added.  I made that coffee soup later but it was never the same until I learned the secret ingredient was the home made bread.  Once I knew that, and added my own home made bread, I had that wonderful treat again.  This is only one old recipe that was never even written down, but is still in my memory.

From time to time, I’ll put an old recipe on here and maybe even a new one.  I’ll show how to change it, or it can be left as it is.

Until then, happy cooking!  Make it an adventure all your own.