If my mom and dad were still alive, they would be celebrating their 77th wedding anniversary on Sunday.
It is difficult to understand what their lives were like all those years ago, but from stories heard over the years, they might not have had much money, but they always somehow managed to put food on the table and have enough to offer friends who dropped in.
Cooking was a basic skill, learned by trial and error, or through the guidance of older mentors. A pinch of this and a handful of something else quite often were the verbal instructions, memorized from recipe to recipe.
Perhaps one of the cookbooks my mother might have used in her early days of marriage was A Guide to Good Cooking compiled in the 1930s by Five Roses Flour.
This book, besides recipes, offers ideas for a well-balanced life:
• Allow one pint of milk daily for each adult and up to two pints for each child.
• Serve three vegetables daily, one of which should be green and one uncooked.
• Serve two fruits daily, one of which should be raw.
• Serve two whole grain products each day.
• Allow one serving of any two of these foods each day: meat, fowl, fish, eggs, cheese, dried peas or beans.
• Not more than two cups of tea or coffee daily for adults. No tea or coffee to be given to children who are not fully grown.
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Today’s recipes and kitchen tips come from A Guide to Good Cooking.
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Hot Cheese Sandwich
1/2 cup grated nippy cheese
1 egg, well-beaten
1/4 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
bacon and rounds of bread
Cream the cheese. Add egg and seasonings and spread on bread that is cut one-half inch thick. Place a slice of bacon on each round, bake in a quick oven until the bacon is done. Serve with a green salad.
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Peanut Butter Bread
2 cups Five Roses flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/3 cups milk
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Lightly rub peanut butter into the flour mixture. Add milk. Bake in a moderately slow oven (325 to 350 degrees F) for one hour.
For a richer bread, use 2 eggs. Reduce baking powder to 3 tsps. and milk to 1 cup. Increase sugar to 1/2 cup. Raisins may be added.
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One-Egg Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 beaten egg yolk
3 tbsps. milk
1 1/2 cups Five Roses flour
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Sift dry ingredients. Cream butter, add sugar gradually. Add egg yolk and mix well. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk and vanilla.
Form dough into cookie-sized rolls, wrap in heavy wax paper then chill for several hours or overnight if possible. Cut in one-eighth inch slices and arrange on greased cookie sheet. Bake in a hot oven. Cool on brown paper. Don’t stack until thoroughly cold.
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Bacon Rarebit
1 cup diced bacon
2 cups milk
3 tbsps. bacon fat
3 tbsps. Five Roses flour
1 cup grated cheese
1 tsp. dry mustard
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
toast or crackers
Cook the diced bacon until crisp. Make a sauce of the bacon fat, flour and milk. Add the grated cheese and mustard and stir until the cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Add seasonings. Serve on toast. Sprinkle crisp bacon over each serving.
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Jellied Salmon Salad
1 tbsp. gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2/3 cup boiled dressing
1 cup canned salmon, flaked
1/4 cup chopped, stuffed olives
salt and paprika to taste
Soak the gelatin in cold water. Dissolve over hot water and add to the dressing. Fold in the salmon, celery and olives and add seasonings to taste. Mould and chill. Unmould on shredded lettuce.
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Tongue and Raisin Sauce
1 fresh beef tongue
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1 lemon, sliced thin
2 dozen whole cloves
Simmer tongue in water almost to cover, for four hours. Remove skin while hot. Return to cooking liquid until ready for use.
Make sauce by combining the remaining ingredients.
Place tongue in baking pan. Pour the sauce over. Bake in 375 degrees F oven for about 40 minutes, basting several times. Serves eight.
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Spareribs with Celery Stuffing
1 1/2 lbs. spareribs
2 tbsps. butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cups soft bread cubes
1/2 tsp. salt
Brown the onions in fat. Add celery, bread cubes, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup water. Place dressing in baking pan and cover with seasoned spareribs. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
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Thought for the day: “Trust that little voice in your head that says: “Wouldn’t it be interesting if . . . and then do it.” — Duane Michaels
Joyce Walter can be reached at 691-1259 or jwalter@mjtimes.sk.ca
