Old Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Sheryl

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Wednesday, September 4, 1912:  Same as yesterday.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

The previous day, she’d written:

Nothing doing today.

Sounds like a slow couple of days in Grandma’s life.

I wonder if Grandma’s mother was busy preserving foods for the upcoming winter months while Grandma in school. . . or did she wait until Saturday for major canning projects when she had her daughters home to help.

Maybe she made Bread and Butter Pickles.

Bread and Butter Pickles

8 cups cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 cups onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons salt

2 cups vinegar

3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons turmeric

3 inches stick cinnamon

2 teaspoons celery seed

4 peppers (red and green), finely diced

Mix cucumbers, onions, and salt together in a large ceramic bowl or casserole dish. Let stand two hours; drain. In a large pan mix together vinegar, sugar, turmeric, cinnamon, celery seed, and peppers. Bring to a boil. Put in drained cucumbers and onions. Boil for 15 minutes. Jar and seal.

Makes about 3 1/2 pints. (I usually double the recipe, but it requires a very large pan.)

Note: Small thinly sliced zucchini or yellow summer squash can be substituted for the cucumbers for excellent pickled squash.

I make this recipe almost every summer and they always turn out great.

(I probably should note that this recipe isn’t from my side of the family. I got this old recipe from my mother-in-law, but it is a typical traditional Pennsylvania recipe. In any case, the pickles are really good. )

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Apple Crisp Recipes: Comparison of Old and Modern Recipes

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Sheryl

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:    

Saturday, August 24, 1912: We’ve been expecting company for the last several days, but it seems to be as if they aren’t coming. It seems to be the luck around here.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Did they make food in anticipation of the company that didn’t show? Since apples are in season, maybe they made an apple dessert..

I tried two Apple Crisp recipes to see which was the best.  First I made the recipe that was in an old Pennsylvania Grange Cookbook; then I made the recipe on the Betty Crocker website.

Old Pennsylvania Apple Crisp Recipe

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

3/4  teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 egg, slightly beaten

5 medium apples

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour, sugar (1/2 cup), salt, and baking powder; add melted butter and egg. Stir together until crumbly.

Pare and slice apples, and place in an 8” X 8” baking dish. Cover with the flour mixture. Bake approximately 45 minutes or until the apples are soft.

Then I made the apple crisp recipe on the Betty Crocker website:

Betty Crocker Apple Crisp Recipe

4 medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cream or Ice cream, if desired

Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.

Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream.

The verdict—Both recipes were good and I’d recommend either recipe.

The oatmeal made the Betty Crocker recipe was crunchier. And, the flavors were a little more subdued with the Old Pennsylvania recipe because white sugar (rather than brown sugar) and fewer spices were used.

Filed under: Food | Tagged: , , , | 16 Comments »

Crab Apple Chutney Recipe

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Sheryl

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Thursday, August 15, 1912:  My store of thoughts doesn’t amount to very much today.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

What did Grandma (and the other members of her family do) on days when she couldn’t think of anything worthwhile to record?

Might they have canned food to eat during the upcoming winter months?

Earlier this week I made Crab Apple Chutney using an old recipe that I imagine was similar to recipes used a hundred years ago.

Crab Apple Chutney

3 pounds crab apples

1 orange

1 box (15 oz.) raisins

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly pressed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Core and dice crab apples. Peel and dice orange.

Combine all ingredients in large pan. Bring to a boil; then simmer, covered until the crab apples are tender (about 30 minutes).

Ladle into 4 pint jars (or 8 half-pint jelly jars); cover with syrup, filling to within 1/4 inch of jar top. Wipe jar rim, and put lids on. .

Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

This recipe is excellent—and I make it whenever I have crab apples. The chutney really brings out the taste of pork or beef.

If you are looking for crab apple recipes, check out a post I did last year:

Old Spiced Crab Apples (Pickled Crab Apples) Recipe

Filed under: Food | Tagged: , , | 8 Comments »

Blueberry Buckle (Blueberry Coffee Cake) Recipe

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Sheryl

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Wednesday, July 24, 1912: That’s all.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

This entry makes me think of the Bugs Bunny cartoon line–That’s All Folks.

Maybe I should just call it a day–but I keep thinking that something must have happened a hundred years ago today.

Blueberries are ripe, so maybe Grandma made a Blueberry Buckle. It’s an old-fashioned cake that I’ve only ever seen in Pennsylvania.  A buckle is an archaic word for a one-layer cake.

I make this recipe once or twice each summer. The smaller, tarter blueberries that we get towards the end of blueberry season are perfect for this recipe.

Blueberry Buckle (Blueberry Coffee Cake)

Cake

1/4 cup soft butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 cups washed fresh blueberries

Crumb topping

1/4 cup soft butter

1/2 sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, add sugar and beat until light. Add egg and beat well. Add dry ingredients, alternatively with milk. Beat until smooth.* Gently fold in blueberries. Pour into 8 X 8 X 2 inch pan.

Mix all of the topping ingredients to create a crumb-like mixture. Sprinkle over the batter. Bake about 45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.

*The batter is very thick. May need to stir by hand after dry ingredients have all been added.

Filed under: Food | Tagged: , , , | 10 Comments »

Old Lemonade, Iced Tea, and Currant Punch Recipes

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Sheryl

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Saturday, June 29, 1912:  Put the hammock up this morning after having quite a time with Ruthie. She’s my boss absolute. It’s gotten very hot now.

Photo source: Wikipedia

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Sisters!  Was the disagreement about the hammock or something else?

Grandma’s mother bought the hammock the previous day. With the weather turning hot—it sounds like she bought it at the perfect time.

Laying in the hammock with a cool drink sounds like the perfect way to spend a hot summer day.

Here’s a couple recipes for cold drinks from a 1912 cookbook:

Lemonade

Boil two cups of sugar and four cups water until a rich sirup is formed. Add one cup lemon juice. Dilute with ice water.

Iced Tea

Make tea. Serve in glasses with crushed ice, with one tablespoon lemon juice in each glass.

Current Punch

4 cups currant juice

4 cups sugar

12 cups water

6 lemons

6 oranges

2 cups tea

Boil sugar and water five minutes; add tea, juice, lemons and oranges sliced, and a large piece of ice.

Lowney’s Cook Book (1912)

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Angel Food Cake with Black Raspberries Recipe

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Sheryl

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Sunday, June 23, 1912: Went to Sunday School this morning. Tweet came home with me. Ma and Pa had gone away and we had the place to ourselves. Miss Carrie was over after dinner.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Sounds like a fun Sunday with visits from two friends—Helen “Tweet” Wesner and Carrie Stout.

I wonder if Grandma made any deserts to serve her friends. Black raspberries would have been  in season.

Maybe Grandma made something like Angel Food Cake with Black Raspberries.

Angel Food Cake with Black Raspberries

Cake

12 egg whites

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar plus an additional 3/4  cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Separate egg whites and bring the egg whites to room temperature. Meanwhile stir together the flour and 3/4 cup of sugar in a medium bowl.

After egg whites have reached room temperature, put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt into a large bowl.  Beat until foamy. Slowly add the 3/4 cup of sugar (about 2 tablespoons at a time) while beating. Continue beating until the mixture holds stiff straight peaks. Gently stir in the vanilla and almond extract.

[Note: In Grandma's day, they would have beaten the eggs by hand. I feel tired just thinking about it.]

Sprinkle a small amount of the flour and sugar mixture (about 2 tablespoons) onto the whipped egg mixture; and then fold it in. Continue sprinkling and folding the flour and sugar mixture until it all is folded in.

Gently spoon the batter into an ungreased 10 X 4 tube pan (angel food cake pan). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake is lightly browned and the top springs back when lightly touched.

Invert pan until cool (at least 1 hour) and then remove cake from pan.

Black Raspberries

Crush a few black raspberries , stir in several tablespoons of sugar, and add enough water to make the consistency of medium sauce. Refrigerate for at least one hour to give the sugar in the sauce enough time to lose its granularity. Serve over the cake. Sprinkle which whole black raspberries.

An aside—When I was a child I loved the black raspberries that grew in the hedgerows. These days I never can find them in stores.

Two years ago my husband and I planted several black raspberry plants, and this is the first summer that we have lots of berries.

The black raspberries are awesome—even better than I’d remembered them.

Filed under: Food | Tagged: , , , | 18 Comments »

Old-fashioned Cherry Pie Recipe

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Sheryl

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Thursday, June 13, 1912:  I guess I’ve forgotten.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

My sour cherries are getting ripe and I made an old-fashioned cherry pie. Grandma mentioned picking berries on June 10—but hasn’t mentioned cherries. I wonder if cherries ripened this early in 1912.

Here’s the recipe I used to make the pie:

Old-Fashioned Cherry Pie

Pastry for 9-inch two crust pie (see pie pastry recipe in previous post)

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup flour

4 cups fresh pitted sour cherries

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Stir the sugar, flour, and almond extract into the cherries.  If the mixture is very juicy add additional flour. Turn into pastry-lined pie pan. Make a lattice top crust and flute edges. Brush crust with a small amount of milk; sprinkle with sugar.  Bake in oven for 10 minutes; then reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is lightly  browned and juice just begins to bubble.

I made my own pie crust dough using the recipe that I previously included in the post for Rhubarb Sponge Pie.  I doubled that recipe since I basically needed two crusts for this pie.

For the lattice top crust, I cut the dough into strips about 3/4 inch wide and laid them on the top of the pie. I try to lay every other one perpendicular to the previous one—but the lattice never ends up being woven exactly right.  I never worry much about that because the pie tastes so awesome.

Filed under: Food | Tagged: , , , | 18 Comments »

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