Frigee-Maid Cookie Mold

This was one of those quirky thrift store finds that I just couldn't pass up.  I love refrigerator cookie recipes, but never quite got the hang of wrapping the wax paper properly.  Frigee-Maid to the rescue!

Inspired to Cook (finally)

Inga surrounded by her Jerseys!

Has anyone else seen the new show on PBS called Around the Farm Table?  It's hosted by adorably kitschy Inga Witscher, who, with her husband, runs a small, organic dairy farm near Osseo, Wisconsin.  I happened to catch an episode earlier this week, and I am a changed person.

Blueberry Buckle

And this is how I found my Blueberry Buckle coffee cake last Thursday morning.  Note to self: always take blog photos before the Husband goes off to work.  

A few weeks ago we brought home half a beef and had to clean out the freezer.  My bucket of blueberries was taking up too much real estate and needed to get used up, pronto.  So I grabbed my 1950s Betty Crocker cookbook and made her prized coffee cake recipe.  Easy and moist, this is a great basic recipe for add-ins.  

Slogging through Canning Land

Ruth Kerr, President, photo circa 1948

Armed with the Words of Wisdom from Mrs. Alexander H. Kerr, I just peeled and cored and simmered and packed and canned my way through a five gallon bucket of pears.  Days before I had admonished my well-meaning neighbor for "bringing me work," but now after the fact, those little jewels sitting on the counter make me proud.

Great Depression Cake

Found this little gem in the 75th Anniversary Edition of my Sun-Maid Raisin Cookbook.  Initially, the name caught my attention.  It's a moist, spicy cake that does not use milk, eggs or butter (hence its popularity during the Depression).  But also, my dad loved raisins and the running joke in our house growing up was his eye-roll inducing comment to Mom about how any given dish would "taste better with raisins."  Secretly I think Mom hated it, but being the good wife she put raisins in chocolate cake, homemade chocolate pudding, mince meat pie, red cabbage and her famous, from-scratch raisin bread.  So you see, there's no getting away from it for me.  And more than once has Hank stopped mid-chew to come to the quick realization that, yes, I put raisins in this too!

Great Depression Cake

1 c sugar
1 c coffee
1 c raisins
1/4 c shortening
1 apple, peeled and grated
1 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg
1/2 c chopped walnuts

In small saucepan, combine sugar, coffee, raisins, shortening and apple.  Simmer 10 minutes.  Cool.  In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.  Add cooked raisin mixture.  Pour batter into greased 9x9 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Cool and dust with powdered sugar.  May substitute water for coffee.

It was a hit with the family.  I added whipped cream as garnish instead of the powdered sugar.  And any dried fruit could be added or substituted if you're not a lover of raisins.  Having a piece for you, Dad!

Move over, Bisquick!

While I like using pancake mix, I don't like paying extra for what is essentially flour.  Here's a recipe I got from my mother for mixing up your own.

8 cups flour
3 cups powdered dry milk
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbl baking powder
1 Tbl salt
2 cups shortening OR 1 1/2 cups oil

Mix well in a large bowl.  Stores for a long time (although I always seem to use it up fast) and can be used for everything from pizza crusts to biscuits to potpie topping.  Hello pancake breakfast!   

Pork Roast on the Wood Stove

We've been using the wood stove for a while now, mostly to take the chill out of the night.  But it seems that winter may be here in earnest now. That means, after the kids are on the bus and I feed all the animals, I go directly to the stove and do not pass Go.  Once she comes up to temp, I can put something in the oven.

Wood stove + fire = hot, sleepy cats

The stove has a flat griddle on the top, and I use this for cooking as often as I can.  It's perfect for heating up a saucepan of veggies for supper or simmering chili all day.  But I also have a small tin box oven, approximately 14 inches square, that I can sit directly on top.

It has two removable grates inside (similar to a conventional oven), an open floor and an oh-so-accurate temp gauge in the front door, reading  "Low Medium High."  A 9inch square or two loaf pans fit perfectly.  So tonight I decided to put in a pork roast.  Typically I allow an extra 30-60 minutes cook time when using this oven.

As long as I keep the fire stoked and get the temp gauge up the "D" in "Medium," it does a great job! 

Here's my Cranberry Pork Roast recipe:

2 1/2 - 3 lb pork loin roast

salt & pepper

1 can (16 ozs) whole cranberry sauce

1/4 c honey

1 T orange peel

1/4 t cloves

1/4 t nutmeg

Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper to taste.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour over roast.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until meat thermometer reads 160degress.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. 

Interesting little side note about the wood stove...we put it in our dining room, and it heats the whole house.  We were able to pipe it directly into the original brick chimney.  In renovating the dining room, we tore off the ceiling and found a grate directly above the stove.  This grate is open to the master bedroom above and is the only source of heat for that room.  Mister put a small exhaust fan in that opening to blow the warm air from below into the bedroom.  Cool air from the second floor of the house then sinks down the stairs and is warmed.  It's a perfect set up!  Of course the back bedroom doesn't factor into this loop very well, but that's part of the old farmhouse charm!

Time to scrub the kitchen!

Success!  Three batches of strawberry jam!  Last year none of my jam set up so while it was great on pancakes, it was hell on pb & j.  Last week we hit the pick-your-own patches, loaded up nearly 11 pounds of berries and took over the kitchen for two consecutive afternoons.

While I would love to say that I have some secret recipe from Oma, 

or at least some secret tip that makes my jam the food of gods, I can't.

Pretty much I follow the directions that come in the SureJell box.

Somebody at SureJell must have an Oma, too, right?

So the canner was on full blast while the jam simmered and 

splattered its way up my kitchen walls.  

Mom keeps telling me I need a jelly kettle...one of these days.

And voila! beautiful jars emerge from the steaming sauna...

...making me feel like the Domestic Goddess I dream to be one day!

And now I'm off to scrub another pint of jam off my kitchen walls...

How to Preserve a Husband

Be careful in your selection.  Do not choose too young.  When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use.  Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle; others are constantly getting them into hot water.  This may make them sour, hard and sometimes bitter; even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses.  Wrap them in a mantle of charity.  Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream.   Thus prepared, they will keep for years.


~ taken from Ball Blue Book: Easy Guide to Tasty, Thrifty Home Canning and Freezing; 1966; Ball Brothers Company Inc.; Muncie, Indiana

Super Lamb Laundry Day

Doesn't everyone do laundry on Mondays?  Something about sorting, hanging and folding that just naturally puts a sense of order to your whole week.

Here's my recipe for homemade laundry soap adapted from the one used by the Dugger Family.  I altered the ratios to make it a bit stronger.  And since I didn't have a 5 gallon bucket on hand, I adjusted the amounts to use in my lamb milk replacer bucket.  I call it Super Lamb Laundry Soap!

1 bar Fels Naptha
2 c. water

Using a small saucepan, grate soap into water and melt.

Fill bucket half full with hot water (approx. 1 1/2 gallons).  Add melted soap and mix well.

1 c. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 c. 20 Mule Team Borax

Add powdered soap to bucket.  Mix until dissolved.  Fill bucket to top with hot water (approx. 3 gallons total).  Cover tight and let sit overnight before using.  Use approx. 1/2 to 3/4 c. per large load.  Great all purpose laundry soap with low suds. 

***CAUTION : This should not be used directly on lambs of any age.*** 

***They prefer their wool coats to have a natural barnyard aroma.***

 

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