Griddle Cake - -2 cups cornmeal mixed with 1
cup water or more --1/2 teaspoon salt --mix, add water until stiff. Cook on hot greased
griddle. about 10 minutes to each side.
Corn Sticks - - use corn muffin recipe.
Spoon Bread:
was a great supper favorite served hot with lots of fresh butter
2 cups white cornmeal; 2 and one half cups boiling water; 2 Tablespoons fat; 1 and one
half teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon soda; 2 eggs; 1 and one half cups sour milk or buttermilk.
Stir the cornmeal gradually into the boiling water and let stand until cool.
Separate the
eggs, beat yolks and stir into the cornmeal together with the fat, salt, egg yolks, and
sour milk in which the soda has been dissolved. Add the egg whites, beaten stiff. Pour
into a greased baking dish. Bake in a hot over (425 degrees) for 40 minutes.
Dressing for baked chicken or
whatever:
I called my mother one day "Mama, how do you make your dressing?" Wed. Dec 15,
1965 Dear Sally: Enjoyed talking with you this a. m.
The way I make my dressing: I use stale bread broken up, cracker and corn bread broken up,
if I don't have cooked corn bread I use about 1/2 c of corn meal. Then I pour boiling
water over all, don't get too much, then I mash it up with potato masher, then I add
poultry season, black pepper, an egg, celery and onion if it is liked, add some of the
grease from chicken or margarine. I don't measure anything just by the look of the amount.
I have gotten good dressing from A&P all you have to do is add the water.
Hope your girls will soon be over chicken-pox. The last of Julia's came down with it over
the week-end. J. R. is the only one of John's (that's come down with the chicken pox). They
are suppose to be in The Christmas Pageant this Sunday night, J. R. to sing a solo, Debbie
an angel. I hope it will be so they can carry it all out. Love, Mother
Feeding the Grandchildren
CONDIMENTS
Minced Meat
5# raisins; 5# green tomatoes; 2# English walnuts; 5# sugar (3# brown & 2# white); 5#
apples; one-third tsp. cloves; one-third tsp. cinnamon; one-third tsp allspice; one-half
cup salt; Boil from 30 to 45 minutes.
Watermelon Pickles:
7 pounds melon rind. Peel and cut rind, and soak in alum water (overnight) (teaspoon
powdered alum to dishpan of cold water.) Drain and wash in cold water; cook in cold water
until clear or transparent, then drop in boiling syrup.
Syrup: 1 quart vinegar, 3 pounds sugar, a small amount of stick cinnamon and cloves placed
in a bag and cooked with vinegar and sugar.
DESSERTS
Funny Cake: (from her Home
Demonstration Club)
1 cup of sifted flour, half cup of shortening, half teaspoon of soda, half cup of milk,
half teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of vanilla, Two thirds cup of sugar, one egg,
uncooked pastry shell, one and one-half squares of melted chocolate,
Measure, flour, soda, salt, and sugar into sifter. Place shortening in mixing bowl and
cream, sift in dry ingredients. Add three fourths of milk and vanilla. Blend 2 minutes
with electric mixer. Add egg, melted chocolate, and rest of milk and beat one minute. Pour
into pastry lined pie pan. Pour lukewarm sauce over batter and bake at 350 degrees for 50
minutes.
Sauce: 1 square of chocolate, half cup water, two-thirds cup sugar, fourth cup butter, 1
teaspoon vanilla.
Place chocolate and water in saucepan over low heat. Cook and stir until chocolate is
melted. Add sugar, stirring constantly and bring to boil. Remove from heat, add butter and
vanilla. Stir and cool to lukewarm.
Lemon Meringue Pie (Grandmama Parker)
Eagle Brand Can.
1 crumb or baked 8 inch pie shell, One and a half cup of Eagle Brand Milk, Half cup of
lemon juice, Two eggs separated, 1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind or one fourth teaspoon of
lemon extract, One-fourth teaspoonful Cream of tartar if desired, 4 Tablespoons of sugar.
Combine lemon juice and rind; gradually stir in E. B. milk; add egg yolks and stir until
well blended, Pour into cooled pastry shell; add cream of tartar to egg whites; beat until
a peak and gradually add sugar; beat until stiff but not dry. Pile on pie filling and bake
in a slow oven. 325 degrees until lightly brown, about 15 minutes. Cool and serve.
Molasses Pudding (Molasses Cake
Dessert)
1 egg, half teaspoon salt, half cup melted shortening, 1 cup molasses, 1 cup hot water, 1
Tablespoon sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon soda.
Break egg into mixing bowl and beat well. Add salt and shortening, then molasses and
sugar. Blend well; then add water with soda dissolved in it, alternately with the flour.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes in a moderate oven, 350 degrees. Serve with whipped cream.
One-egg cake: (Mama's basic)
Scant half cup of butter, 1 egg, two thirds cup sugar, half cup milk, one and one-half
cups flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Cream butter, add sugar, add egg, beat vigorously, add milk and flour alternately, pour
into greased and floured cake pan. and bake in Moderate Oven 350 degrees for approximately
30 minutes.
$100.00 Cake (Mrs. Sessoms)
One-half cup butter; 2 cups sugar; 4 oz. or squares of chocolate; 2 eggs; 2 cups of sifted
flour (add 2 tsp. of Baking Powder if plain); one and one-half cups of sweet milk; 1 cup
of nuts chopped; 1 tsp of Vanilla.
Cream butter and sugar, add melted chocolate and beaten eggs; sift and add all dry
ingredients alternately with milk; add nuts and Vanilla. Bake in three layers at 350
degrees.
Uncooked Filling: one-half cup butter; 2 oz. chocolate; one and one-half cups of powdered
sugar; 1 tsp of lemon juice; 1 egg beaten whole with juice; pinch of salt; 1 tsp Vanilla;
1 cup of chopped nuts.
Cream together all ingredients and add nuts; spread on cake.
Orange Cup Cakes:
Third cup butter, One and one-half cups self rising flour, two-thirds cup sugar, half cup
of orange juice, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon grated orange peel.
Cream butter and sugar, Add egg, beat until blended, Add flour, and orange juice
alternately, Add orange peel and pour into greased muffin tins or paper baking cups. Bake
in 350 degree oven for twenty-five minutes, when cold, frost with Orange Frosting.
. . . . . . ..
This brings to mind the first time Mama baked her cup cakes in paper cups for the annual
Home Demonstration Club picnic. One of the members watched her neighbor devour one of
mother's cakes, cup and all. After he finished she inquired, "Mr. Mitchell, what do
you think of Mrs. Moore's cup cakes?" "Mighty tasty!" he replied,
"but the crust was a mite tough."
Pineapple Upside Down Cake:
3 egg yolks, 3 Tablespoons butter, 1 Tablespoon Lemon juice, 1 cup of cake flour,
one-fourth teaspoon salt, Pineapple slices, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla, 1 teaspoon
baking powder, three-fourths cup brown sugar, 3 egg whites, Red cherries, Grated Rind
one-half lemon.
Beat yolks adding sugar gradually. Beat egg whites stiff and add with lemon juice and rind
to egg yolks. Fold in flour and dry ingredients. Add vanilla. Melt butter in pan and add
brown sugar. Place pineapple rings in bottom of pan. Pour in batter and bake at 350
degrees for approximately 40 minutes. When baked remove cake from pan and garnish with
whipped cream and cherries. Apricots, peaches, or apples may be used in place of pineapple
if desired. (Probably from her home demonstration club.)
Scuppernong Ice Cream:
1 quart milk, 1 pint cream, 1 cup maple syrup (or 1 and one half cups sugar), 4 eggs, 1
cup Scuppernong juice, 1 cup Scuppernong pulp.
Beat egg yolks until light and yellow, add Syrup and cook until thick, Scald milk and add
to syrup and egg mixture, let thicken and add pulp, cool and add juice, whipped cream, and
stiffly beaten egg whites - Freeze.
I remember the ice cream would need to be stirred several times once it started to freeze.
This was a fall specialty at our home around the second week of October when the
Scuppernong grapes were ready for eating. It was Yummy! There was an extensive old
vineyard at Maple Lawn covering a couple of acres. Mama made the ice cream in our kerosene
powered refrigerator.
FOOD
Fried Chicken: 1st the pan -- Mama's
chicken frying pan was a well-seasoned cast iron pan with deep sides about 5 inches deep
and also a cast iron top. One day one of her neighbors visiting with her in the kitchen
knocked the pan onto the floor. It hit on the handle breaking out and leaving a neat
"vee"
where the handle used to be. Great was Mama's consternation, in fact the whole family was
in distress because her wonderful seasoned pan was broken! Then Daddy said, "I bet
Cling Mitchell can weld that handle back on your pan." Mr. Mitchell was the
blacksmith all week and the barber on Saturday there in Powellsville. Yes, he fixed
that pan and Mama was still using it to fry her chicken thirty years later.
2nd the chicken -- Every year Mama raised 300 white Leghorn chicks
with proper mash, etc. The hens replenished the hen houses and the young cockerels --we
ate -- as fried chicken or later in the season as smothered chicken.
3rd the slaughter -- Prepare some boiling water. Select your chicken and
take it to the chopping block --and with a sharp axe, chop off the head. Then toss the
chicken away from you and let it flop around until it stopped. Then you took the
slaughtered bird and quickly dipped it in the boiling water. That made it easier to remove
the feathers. After thoroughly pulling all the feathers, the chicken was dressed for
cooking. We children learned about the inside parts of the body from helping with these
exercises as Mama kept her keen interest in teaching science to us children.
4th cooking -- The chicken was cut into carefully dissected pieces, rolled
in flour that had been seasoned with salt & pepper. The pan was heated on top of the
wood range with about a half inch of lard. She browned the chicken quickly on all sides
and covered it tight with the cast iron lid and then moved the pan onto one of the less
hot spots to cook until it sounded done (no more water sizzle.)
Cooking a country salt-cured ham.
Wash ham thoroughly; scrape all mold off. Place in large pot and cover with water. Boil
until done - approximately 20 minutes per pound.
Ham liquor may be used for cooking greens, butter beans, etc.
Butter Beans: Fresh --cook approximately one
hour. Frozen -- cook approximately 20 minutes. Cook in seasoned water. If cooking with
meat - place meat in water and bring to boil first.
Greens: Wash greens thoroughly -- 3 waters or
more ---- place in seasoned boiling water. Cook --young greens - 20 minutes. Older greens
up to an hour.
Dumplings - - mix 1 cup corn meal with enough
water to hold shape - cook in boiling liquor for 15 to 20 minutes.
Corn Soup: Mama used the water in which she had
boiled the breakfast ham or side-back for stock to cook the corn. Mama would go out with
her tow-sack into the field of corn and pulled about thirty ears for a meal. She would
then shuck the corn and she cut most of the corn off the cob. (but she would cook us a few
little ears on the cob at our request.) She cooked it and then added salt, pepper
& butter to taste.
Daddy staggered his corn plantings so that we had young corn all summer
long. We ate old fashioned (non-hybrid) regular field corn. It was delicious!
5-cup Salad:
1 cup coconut, 1 cup mandarin oranges, 1 cup little marshmallows, 1 cup pineapple bits, 1
cup sour cream. (This is a very successful quick side dish or dessert; I usually cut back
on the sour cream, Sally.)
Typical breakfast; hot oatmeal; hot biscuits and eggs usually fried to
order. bacon or ham. All in time to catch the school bus at 6:30 a m.
Dinner was served as the noon day meal.
It was often a deep-dish chicken pot pie with dumplings; a beef stew; or a boiled meal
with ham hock and greens or cabbage.
Our salad greens were usually well cooked and served hot.
And oh yes don't forget the hot biscuits or cornbread served with plenty of fresh churned
butter.
We ate quite a bit of fish, especially, shad with roe in the spring.
Steak-a pound of round steak pan broiled plus a gallon of gravy with mashed potatoes
served eight just fine.
Sunday dinner was usually roast chicken; the chicken was put on as we left the house for
Sunday School and church and when we returned very often with the preacher in tow the
chicken would be ready to serve the wood range having done its proper job. There would be
rice or and mashed potatoes and gravy plus several veggies from the garden often butter
beans (baby limas). and candied sweet potatoes. As the chicks got big enough to eat we had
lots of fried Chicken all summer long--once Mama served us kids fried chicken three times
a day for a week to get us to quit arguing over who got what piece. We were still
squabbling as she gave up.
Supper: Oyster stew was a favorite of my father's and we enjoyed if often
during the "r" months.
Spoon bread, pan cakes, or Scrambled eggs with sweet-breads or brains were also candidates
for our light meal. If someone had been fishing in the swamp we would eat the
catch--mostly catfish, maybe a perch or two or a jack and lots of little red-eye.
this didn't come from my mother -- but it
could have - she used the same system. except we never had to spread any
thing on the grass - plenty of clothes lines.
an e-mail from Cynthia Corbett
Washing Clothes Recipe
Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride
the following recipe:
This is an exact copy as written and found in an old
scrapbook - with spelling errors and all.
WASHING CLOTHES
Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water.
Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert.
Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boiling water
Sort things, make 3 piles
1 pile white,
1 pile colored,
1 pile work britches and rags
To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth,
then thin down with boiling water.
Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard,
and boil, then rub colored don't boil just wrench and starch.
Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle,
then wrench, and starch.
Hang old rags on fence.
Spread tea towels on grass.
Pore wrench water in flower bed.
Scrub porch with hot soapy water.
Turn tubs upside down.
Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs.
Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell
and count your blessings.
================================================
Paste this over your washer and dryer.
Next time when you think things are bleak, read it again,
kiss that washing machine and dryer, and give thanks.
First thing each morning you should run and hug your
washer and dryer, also your toilet---those two-holers
used to get mighty cold!
For you non-southerners -wrench means rinse.
Thanksgiving 1970
Mama making breakfast 1973
to be continued
Care package of recipes from my mother-in-law.
Recipes from
Friends
Links to places that offer some of
that good food - ship anywhere:
Bertie
County Peanuts
Smithfield Hams
Eastern North Carolina Barbeque
