Old-Fashioned Chocolate Waffles

Chocolate Waffles

Week-end mornings are the perfect time to make breakfast foods that are just a little special, so when I saw a recipe for Chocolate Waffles in a hundred-year-old cookbook, I decided to give them a try.

The Chocolate Waffles were crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. They contained just the right amount of chocolate. The waffles were not very sweet, but when syrup or other sweet topping is added it was just right.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Chocolate Waffles — Source: Modern Priscilla Cook Book: One Thousand Home Tested Recipes (1924)

I gradually added the hot water to the cocoa, and stirred until smooth. This resulted in a very thick paste. I could not figure out why the old recipe called for then heating this thick cocoa and water mixture to boiling, so I skipped that step.

Chocolate Waffles probably are lovely when served with chocolate sauce, marshmallow cream, or vanilla ice cream, but I just served them with maple syrup and they were delightful.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Chocolate Waffles

Servings: 4-6
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup water

1 cup milk

2 eggs

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons shortening, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Put the cocoa in a mixing bowl, and gradually add the hot water while stirring constantly. Stir until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Beat until smooth. Ladle batter onto a hot waffle iron and cook, following the waffle iron directions.

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Old-Fashioned Creamed Sweet Potatoes

Creamed Sweet Potatoes

I’m always looking for new ways to serve vegetables, so was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Creamed Sweet Potatoes. The recipe actually called for both diced sweet potatoes and celery. The combination worked well together, and I was pleased with how the recipe turned out.

Here’s the original recipe:

When I made this recipe, I was uncertain whether I was supposed to use left-over cold sweet potatoes that had previously been cooked, or if I was supposed to peel sweet potatoes and cut the uncooked sweet potatoes into cubes. I decided to go with the latter approach. The reason I used uncooked diced sweet potatoes is because they can easily be over-cooked and become very mushy. I wanted the sweet potatoes pieces to hold their shape.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Creamed Sweet Potatoes

Servings: 3 - 4
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 cup half and half (light cream)

2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes

1/2 cup celery (about 1 stalk), diced

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon chopped parsley (or 1 tablespoon parsley flakes) – I used parsley flakes.

Put half and half in a saucepan; add diced sweet potatoes. Using medium heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Genty stir occasionally while cooking, being sure to stir all the way to the bottom of the pan since the cream will easily scorch. Once the sweet potatoes are tender, gently stir in the paprika and parsley, then add the celery. Heat for another minute or two (until the mixture is hot and bubbly); remove from the heat and serve.

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Old-fashioned Eggs with Asparagus

Eggs with Asparagus

Happy Easter!

Easter is such a special time of year. It’s so much fun coloring eggs with children or grandchildren – but it’s often then a challenge to figure out ways to eat the eggs. So I was pleased to find a recipe for Eggs with Asparagus in a hundred-year-old cookbook.

The Eggs with Asparagus is a classic recipe with the asparagus topped with chopped hard-boiled eggs embedded in a white sauce.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Eggs with Asparagus — Source: General Welfare Guild Cook Book (The General Welfare Guild, The Beaver Valley General Hospital, New Brighton, Pennsylvania), 1923

Here’s the original recipe:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Eggs with Asparagus

Servings: 3 - 4
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

dash pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped

Put the asparagus, salt, and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil using high heat; reduce heat and simmer until tender (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and drain, reserve the water that was used for cooking.

Meanwhile in another saucepan, melt the butter. Stir the flour and pepper into the butter. While stirring constantly, slowly pour in the water that was used for cooking the asparagus and the cream; bring to a boil using medium heat while stiring constantly. Stir in the chopped eggs (reserve a small amount of the yolk for garnish). Remove from heat and pour over rthe cooked asparagus. Garnish with the chopped egg yolk.

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(Black) Walnuts and Sweet Potatoes

Black Walnuts and Sweet Potatoes

I love the bold, earthy taste of black walnuts – but seldom see them in stores, so I often forage for them. One of my favorite autumn activities is gathering black walnuts, hulling them (oh, what mess!), and then on a cold winter day cracking them to get the nut meats out. I now have a jar of black walnuts in my refrigerator so was excited to see a recipe for Walnuts and Sweet Potatoes that called for black walnuts in a hundred-year-old cookbook.

The recipe was delightful. It called for sugar instead of the usual brown sugar used in sweet potato recipes which allowed the robust taste of the black walnuts to shine.

Here’s the original recipe:

Walnuts and Sweet Potatoes Recipe — Source: Larkin Housewives’ Cook Book (1923)

This recipe calls for a lot of sweet potatoes (12), so when I updated the recipe I reduced it to 4 sweet potatoes (2 pounds). After all the specificity about the number of sweet potatoes, the recipe was oddly unspecific about the amounts for the other ingredients. So when I updated, the recipe I also added amounts for the other ingredients. And, I changed the name from Walnuts and Sweet Potatoes to Black Walnuts and Sweet Potatoes to better describe the recipe.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Black Walnuts and Sweet Potatoes

Servings: 4-6
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: moderate
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2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 4 medium sweet potatoes)

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup black walnuts, coarsely chopped

Wash sweet potatoes and then place in a Dutch oven or other large pan. Cover with water and bring to a boil using high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and let cool enough to handle. Remove skins from the sweet potatoes. They should slip off easily. Then cut the sweet potatoes in quarters and arrange in a shallow baking dish.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 375° F. Dot the sweet potatoes pieces with small pieces of butter, then generously sprinkle with sugar. Top with the chopped black walnuts. Put in oven, and bake until the sweet potatoes are hot, and the sugar is melted and bubbly.

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Old-fashioned Breakfast Apples

I’m always looking for new recipes for simple, yet tasty ways to serve apples – and I recently found an excellent new (old) recipe. The hundred-year-old recipe was for Breakfast Apples, though they are work equally well at lunch or dinner.

The Breakfast Apples were delightful. Apple slices were sautéed in butter then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

Here’s the original recipe:

And, here is the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Breakfast Apples

Servings: 2-3
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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4 large tart apples (Braeburn, McIntosh, Granny Smith, etc.)

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoons sugar

Core and slice the apples (do not peel them). Melt butter in a skillet using medium heat; add salt and stir to combine. Add sliced apples, then put lid on pan. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove lid and use a spatula to turn over the apple slices so they evenly cook on both slides. Put lid back on the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove lid and check to see if the apples are soft. (If they are not soft, cook for several additonal minutes.)

In the meantime, put the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl, and mix together.

Sprinkle the cooked apples with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Serve hot.

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Old-fashioned Hawaiian Delight

Hawaiian Delight on plate I remember enjoying cakes with pineapple when I was young, so was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Hawaiian Delight. Hawaiian Delight is a cake that includes a cinnamon and sugar topping – which is then served with crushed pineapple spooned on top of cake pieces.

The recipe was easy to make. The Hawaiian Delight is an old-fashioned classic type of dessert and was quite tasty.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Hawaiian Delight — Source: Good Housekeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (1922)

The list of ingredients for this recipe includes shortening, but the directions refer to butter, so when I updated the recipe, I listed butter rather than shortening. I think that grated canned pineapple is just an older name for crushed pineapple, so I used a can of crushed pineapple. The recipe called for pastry flour, which is difficult to find where I live, so I used all-purpose flour, and it worked fine.

The old recipe said that Hawaiian Delight should be served hot – though I enjoyed it both hot and cold.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Hawaiian Delight

Servings: 8 - 10
Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 can crushed pineapple, 20 oz.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Put flour, baking powder, salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, egg, milk, and butter in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Put in a greased and floured 8-inch square cake pan.

Put cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl. Stir together, then sprinkle the top of the cake batter with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

To serve, cut into squares, and spoon crushed pineapple on top. May be served hot or cold.

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Eggs and Mushrooms on Toast

I recently came across a recipe for Eggs and Mushrooms in a hundred-year-old cookbook. The Eggs and Mushrooms are served on toast.

The recipe was quick and easy to make – though I found the Eggs and Mushrooms to be a little bland.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Eggs and Mushrooms

Servings: 4
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup mushrooms, sliced (or 1 8-ounce can of mushrooms)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

4 eggs

4 slices toast

Put tomato sauce and mushrooms in a skillet. Using medium heat, heat until hot and bubbly, and the mushrooms are tender. Add salt and Worcestershire sauce.

Break eggs into a bowl, and then slip into the hot tomato and mushroom mixture. Break yolks and stir gently until the mixture thickens. Serve on toast.

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