Memories of Mother
My mother, Ella Wood, was a fabulous cook and an inveterate collector of recipes. She had a keen appreciation of good food. She was lavish with her praise when the food was excellent and equally as quick to criticize an experienced cook that served a bland or tasteless dish. Mom was always eager to help an inexperienced cook, especially a child. I have seen her taste and praise cookies prepared by one of her grandchildren, cookies that any self-respecting dog would reject.
When I read over my mother’s older recipes I am reminded that raisins and dates used to come with pits that had to be removed before baking could start. (Is this another good thing about the old days?) I know that if I had to pit dried fruit before using it, there would be a lot less of it in my kitchen. Fruit cake would be a distant memory. You will note that today’s recipe, an old one, is free of fruit. My mother was not a woman with time to waste.
Self Iced Spice Cake
Cake:
¾ cup shortening or butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 egg yolks (save whites for topping)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1¼ cups sour milk
2½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat the shortening and sugar until fluffy, add egg yolks and beat until mixed.
Sift flour, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon and salt.
Mix the baking soda with the sour milk, (if you do not have sour mild on hand add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the milk to sour it)
Add 1/3 of the flour mix and 1/3 of the milk mix and beat until blended. Repeat with the rest of the dry and wet ingredients.
Beat on high for another minute or so.
Spread in a 9x13 inch pan.
Turn the oven to 350 degrees F and make the topping.
Topping:
Beat the two egg whites until stiff, add one cup brown sugar. Mix and pour over the unbaked batter.
Bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean.
This is one of my favorite cakes. I love the self icing part. You can spread a few chopped walnuts over the topping before baking, but in my humble opinion it doesn’t need it.
As always, if you have any questions or comments you can email me at cookingwithellie@yahoo.com . I will try to answer all of your questions in a timely manner and who knows, your question or comment may just spark a column.
Ellie
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Insanity anyone?
Some years ago, during the ‘Back to the Land’ insanity movement, I became infected with a rampant form of that disease. While in the throws of this malady I moved from my beautiful split level house in an upscale neighborhood to a decrepit farm far from everything and everyone I knew. I wish I could tell you that all went well and that we prospered, but it didn’t and we didn’t. There may have been some small thing that we did right on that farm, but upon close reflection I cannot remember it. In my delusional state I thought that sheep, being placid animals, would be a good place to start embarking on my new close to nature lifestyle.
I soon learned why that device used in medieval times to storm the castle and flatten the gates was called a battering ‘ram’. While gaining this knowledge I also found out that a full grown woman, when hit behind the knees by a 200 pound sheep can fall onto the back of said sheep and be carried several yards before being deposited ignominiously on a steaming pile of manure, without adversely affecting or inconveniencing the beastly sheep in any way. It was determined that this same woman, when struck by the aforementioned ram can also be launched off the barn hill and become airborne. Until this event occurred, I did not realize I was an integral participant in an experiment in flight. Two very important lessons were learned during that unplanned flight.
1) The time spent airborne was not nearly sufficient to prepare for the abrupt and painful landing, and
2) Never turn your back on a ram!
If anything good came out of my foray into the hinter lands it was that I learned to cook and enjoy lamb. Lamb stew rapidly became a family favorite. I hope you will like it as much as we do. Remind me sometime to tell y’all why we enjoyed turkey dinners so much, but for now on with the lamb.
Lamb Stew with Mushroom Dumplings
3 lbs of lamb cut in piece
All purpose flour
Salt and pepper
1 tsp dried garlic flakes or garlic powder
About ½ cup Canola oil
2 cups boiling water
3 cups boiling water
3 medium carrots cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 medium onion halved and quartered
(If you decide not to make the dumplings coarse chop 4 or 5 medium scrubbed but not peeled red potatoes)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped green peppers
Roll lamb in seasoned flour (flour mixed with salt pepper and garlic flakes) Brown in hot oil in oven proof pan. Drain off any extra oil add the boiling water and simmer for 1 hour
Partially cook the carrots, onions and potatoes if used, in the boiling water for about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. After the stew has simmered for an hour add the par cooked vegetables with the water they were boiled in.
Now you have a choice. You can cover the pan and finish on top of the stove or cover the pan and bake it in a 375 degree F oven.
If you finish it on the stove top simmer at a slow boil for 1 hour longer or until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking.
If you opt for the oven method it will take 1 ½ hours more cooking time. (Is the convenience of not having to worry about it burning worth the extra time? I’ll leave that up to you.)
If you have used the potatoes, you now add the chopped parsley and the chopped green peppers, then mix the left over seasoned flour with water and use it to thicken the stew.
Serve with hearty bread and a green salad.
If you choose to go with the Mushroom Dumplings add the chopped parsley and chopped green peppers to the stew and return it to the oven while you prepare the dumplings.
Mushroom Dumplings
1 cup sifted all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tblsp shortening or lard
½ tsp salt
½ cup condensed mushroom soup
6 tblsp water
Sift dry ingredients, cut in shortening, add mushroom soup and water to make a soft dough
Drop by spoonful into simmering stew cover tightly and cook without removing the cover for;
Stove top, 10 to 12 minutes, use only enough heat to keep the stew simmering.
In the Oven 20 to 25 minutes
Note dumplings will thicken the stew.
This is a hearty meal.Wwhen I cooked on the farm where appetites were large, I used potatoes and the dumplings too.
My husband was not a fan of green peppers so if he was home I left them out, but in my opinion and that of my children they add a nice flavor and color.
Ellie
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Not Just Another Spice Cake
I searched my mother’s stacks of recipes for this cake. I remember it from when I was a very young child. I think mom made it for my 5th or 6th birthday. She topped it with a boiled frosting flavored with ground raisins. I was in heaven, but and there always is a ‘but’ it was a very sticky day. My poor mom had to grind the raisins (after removing the seeds by hand) This was long before food processors so grinding meant connecting the relish grinder to the table and turning the handle until the raisins got thoroughly stuck in the grinder blades. I think that may have been the day I discovered my mother knew all of the words that she’d often washed our mouths out with Palmolive soap for uttering.
Anyway, back to the cake and frosting. We were eight at the table in those days, mom, five boys and two girls. When the cake came to the table it was a regal sight. Raisin layer cake with a full five inches of beautiful Sea Foam frosting on top, complete with lighted candles. Candles a bunch of windy children gleefully blew out. The frosting hadn’t set and we had very strong lungs. I don’t think there ever was a stickier, happier, bunch of children. I do not remember if there were gifts, I suspect there were, but that gorgeous cake is emblazoned forever in my memory. My best gift was becoming aware of mom as a person who cried when frustrated and laughed at herself for shedding tears over sticky raisins.
My mom has been gone since 1994, but when I close my eyes I can see her as a young woman turning the handle on the egg beater, for goodness only knows how long, to get that frosting to peak. I love you Mom and I miss you every single day.
Mom’s Raisin Layer Cake with Boiled Frosting
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
½ cup sour milk
1 egg and 1 egg yolk (save one egg white for the frosting.)
2 cups chopped raisins
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
I teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
Beat brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy, beat the egg yolks with a fork and add to the milk. Add to the butter mixture.
Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the wet mixture, beat about 2 minutes add the vanilla and raisins. Beat on medium speed for a few moments until blended.
Divide batter evenly in two round layer cake pans.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until the top springs back when touched lightly with your finger. You can use a cake tester, but with a raisin cake it’s iffy. If you hit a pocket of moist delicious raisins the tester may not come out clean even though the cake is fully baked.
Cool completely before frosting with Sea Foam Frosting.
Sea Foam Frosting
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 egg white unbeaten
¼ cup boiling water
½ cup raisins chopped or ground
½ teaspoon vanilla
Place sugar, boiling water, cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler. Place over boiling water, add unbeaten egg white. Beat mixture with an electric beater or a rotory beater until thick and smooth. Fold in chopped raisins and vanilla. Spread between layers, place one layer on top of the other and finish frosting as usual.
Note: This delicious cake is too good to save for special occasions so for a more informal dessert you can bake this cake in a 9x13 inch pan and frost it with white icing.
As always, if you have any questions or comments you can email me at cookingwithellie@yahoo.com . I will try to answer all of your questions in a timely manner and who knows, your question or comment may just spark a column.
Ellie
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Pumpkinfest 2006
Originally printed October 2006, we are reprinting this Pumpkinfest article by popular request.
Last weekend I attended ‘Pumpkinfest’ in Port Elgin Ontario Canada. While staring in amazement at the enormous 1355.50 pound winning pumpkin my mind flashed back to the year my husband Jack and I grew Manitoba mammoth squash. We had to use a wheel barrow to bring them to the house and the largest of them weighed in at only 120lbs. That was the year squash took the place of pumpkin in all my recipes and in many cases the stronger flavor was preferred. That was also the year I learned how to process the giants using the easy oven method. I simply washed the squash to remove the soil then if it was too big to fit in the oven I cut it in half turned it cut side down on a cookie sheet or if even half a squash overlapped the cookie sheet I used heavy duty foil folding the edges to form a rim. Cook in a 300 degree F oven for about 3 hours or until you can pierce it with a fork. If your pumpkin or squash is small enough to fit your oven then put it on a cookie sheet and follow the same directions. When the cooking is complete scoop out the seeds and start your cooking or cool, bag and freeze the pulp for later use.
Save the seeds which will now separate easily from the slimy stuff. Process them for eating or dry them for the children to use in craft projects.
Holly Wood’s Stuffed Pumpkin
1 to 1 1/2 lbs hamburger
1 large onion chopped
1 T. oil
½ cup rice
1 tsp. kitchen bouquet
Salt and pepper
½ cup diced green pepper (optional)
Unsalted stock, chicken or beef
Or diced canned tomatoes
Or tomato juice
Fry the onions in the oil until transparent, remove from pan to bowl
Fry the hamburger until brown mix in the kitchen bouquet and add to the onions
Using the same pan add the rinsed rice cook until light brown
Mix into the onion/hamburger bowl, add diced green pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Wash a pie pumpkin; remove the top, scoop out the seeds and pulp. Place on a pie plate or cookie sheet. Stuff with the hamburger mix, pour stock or tomatoes until filled. Cover the top with foil, reserve the pumpkin top. It cooks much faster and will overcook before the rest is finished.
Bake in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours and 40 minutes; remove the foil and replace with the pumpkin top complete with stem. Bake 20 min. more or it until the pumpkin is soft.
Ellie
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50's Moms
What did the 1950’s stay at home wife and mother do with all that spare time?
I’m often asked that question by today’s working wives and mothers. I might add that it is a question I’m never asked by single mothers.
At times I am hard pressed to answer. Usually I simply say that we kept busy with coffee klatches and children; however a recently acquired Woman’s Day magazine circa 1953 told a story of just how women used their time back then. (By the way the price on this issue is 7 cents.)
A few tasks the fifty’s wife was expected to execute in her spare time while keeping a spotless home, tending a garden, keeping fit and immaculate for her husband and raising perfectly behaved children were:
From the home workshop section:
*Care and repair of your husband’s suit, (detailed instructions included)
*New Awnings for Old Frames, (detailed instructions included)
*Ways to Mount Medals, (detailed instructions included)
*And last but not least;
Make a Modern Room from Old Pieces.
This small job in a few words, involved two overblown floral chairs becoming a strait back pair covered in yellow denim and a sectional bookcase that becomes a unit to run under the window wall. If this wonder woman had a little spare time she could transform an old door, a dresser and an old mattress (cut in three) into a couch plus an end table. The author kindly suggests that throw pillows across the back against the wall would be great for stretching out. We know that she will not have time for that stretching activity because as the book suggests, she will be busy exercising to keep her figure attractive for her husband.
Now back to the index:
Under needlework we find instructions for a bias tape quilt and, in case quilting is not enough sewing, directions for a three pattern wardrobe for her self, patterns included. Then when she finished those little tasks she could make cookies for the church bazaar and just to add a little guilt to her life, under the heading, Korean Civilians Need Warm Clothes, we find: If you don’t knit, then crochet warm clothing for Korea. (No excuses accepted)
By now I am sure you get the idea. I admit that it was fun perusing the magazine as well as wondering how the heck they did it all.
Anyway now you know the whole story and should have a new respect for mom or grandma.
(Keep in mind that this was pre pill days so she probably did all this while pregnant.) Makes you wonder why people speak longingly of the good old days doesn’t it?
Today’s recipe is my adaptation of a recipe from that era.
Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding
1 cup sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
6 tblsp. cocoa
½ cup milk
2 tblsp. melted shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup chopped pecans
(Walnuts may be substituted)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
Sift flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons of cocoa.
Add milk, shortening and vanilla; mix only until smooth.
Add pecans.
Put in greased, shallow1 quart baking dish.
Mix brown sugar with remaining 4 tablespoons cocoa, sprinkle over mixture in baking dish.
Pour 1 ½ cups boiling water over the top (this pudding when baked has a chocolate sauce on bottom and cake on top)
Bake in moderate oven 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes.
Serve warm or cold, with cream if desired.
This is definitely a must make pudding, for chocolate lovers everywhere.
Ellie
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Congratulations Collingwood Ontario Canada!
All the signs say ‘Welcome Elvis Fans’ and welcoming is what Collingwood Ontario Canada does best. Collingwood, a town of 35,000 inhabitants, works hard to produce a memorable experience for anyone wise enough to partake of the ‘Live the Dream!’ festival commemorating Elvis Presley’s music.
I admit that I was a total skeptic when it came to ‘tribute’ or ‘performance’ artists or what, in my uneducated days, I called imitators. Why then you may ask did I go to an Elvis festival?
For the last few years I have heard my friends Karen and Brenda rave about the show, the performers and indeed the whole Elvis experience, and being a curious critter I felt the need to understand the source of their enthusiasm. I invited myself along, and the ladies joined by Alice graciously acquiesced. After spending a weekend observing the artists and the fans at the ‘Live The Dream’ Elvis festival in Collingwood, I stand in awe of the respect shown to those that honor Mr. Presley by keeping his memory alive and by the audience who applaud and encourage every performer regardless of their level of expertise. They made a believer out of a dedicated skeptic.
I would encourage those of you looking for an affordable family vacation to visit www.collingwoodelvisfestival.com. to learn more about the festival and of the plethora of activities offered there.
Kudos to the staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event not only a memorable one, but a pleasurable experience worth repeating.
To eat like the king or perhaps simply to satisfy your curiosity, follow this link to
http://elvis-lives.8m.com/kingsfood.html
I don’t know if Elvis would have enjoyed today’s recipe, but I think you all will.
Autumn is upon us and busy lives need quick, simple and delicious casseroles. This was Vickie’s favorite before her allergy to tomatoes worsened to the point that she must avoid all tomato products, poor girl.
Hamburg Biscuit Casserole
1 tbsp. shortening
1 lb. hamburger
1 small onion chopped
Salt & pepper
1 can tomato soup
Water
2 cups canned green beans
Biscuits/home made/mix/canned your choice
Method: Heat shortening in skillet, add ground beef and onion brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add the soup and ½ can water Mix in 2 cps canned green beans drained. Pour into an 8 inch square casserole and top with biscuits.
Bake in preheated 425%F. oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
A thought regarding the tribute to Elvis Presley:
My regard for those artists who took time with the mentally challenged individuals dancing in front of the stage rose exponentially with each artist. I may have been a little irritated if I found myself in a similar situation, but not this group of ‘Performance Artists’ both professional and non-professional competitors were gracious and kind.
While enjoying an Anthony Vaugn performance I met a fellow writer, Linda Gerow. We swapped stories and I learned that she writes for several papers in her area.
Ellie