19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, July 12, 1914: Went to Sunday school this afternoon. Besse and Curt were out this evening.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma’s sister Besse and her husband Curt lived in nearby Watsontown, and probably came out to the farm on a pleasant summer evening. Did the family sit on the porch and chat about everything—and nothing?
I bet they ate some dessert while they chatted . . . probably something made with fresh fruit.
My black raspberries are ripe, so maybe they had something with black raspberries. . . maybe Black Raspberry Cobbler.
Black Raspberry Cobbler
1 quart (4cups) black raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 450° F. Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons flour, and mix with the raspberries. Put into a 2 quart dish. In a separate bowl combine 1 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two knives. Add all the milk at once, and stir with a fork until the dough clings together. Pat pieces the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and place on top of fruit mixture. When all of the dough is used, most of the top of the fruit will be covered, but there should be gaps here and there so the steam can escape. Bake for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 325 ° F and continue cooking until berries are hot and bubbly, and the crust is lightly browned. Serve warm.