Grandmother Wren

SCRIPTURE CAKE

Behold there was a cake baken. I-Kings, 19:6

> ½ cup butter
Judges, 5:25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.

>2 cups flour
I-Kings, 4:22 And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour…

>½ tsp. salt
Leviticus, 2:13 …with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.

> 1 cup figs
I-Samuel, 30:12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him…

>1½ cups sugar
Jeremiah, 6:20…the sweet cane from a far country…

> 2 tsp. baking powder
Luke, 13:21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened

> ½ cup water
Genesis, 24:11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

>1 cup raisins
I-Samuel, 30:12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him…

> 3 eggs
Isaiah, 10:14 …and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth…

> Cinnamon, mace, cloves
I-Kings, 10:10 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones…

> 1 tblsp. honey
Proverbs, 24:13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste

> ½ cup almonds
Genesis, 43:11 … a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds

Blend butter, sugar, spices and salt. Beat egg yolks and add. Sift in baking powder and flour, then add the water and honey. Put fruit and nuts thru food chopper and flour well. Follow Solomon’s advice for making good boys—1st clause of Proverbs, 23:14-Thou shalt beat him with the rod. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake for 1 hour in 375-f oven.

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(and please don’t beat boys with rods to make them good… I’m quite certain this is much better advice for making good cakes -  The  contemporary English translation of this verse is Don’t fail to correct your children…
Grandmother Wren  )

Look what Grampy found at the flea market! (and then offered as a giveaway on his blog. Excuse me? It became more of a take away in the living room. Look what Grammy has!)

The New Deluxe Sunbeam Automatic MixMaster Mixer recipe book from 1957.

Let’s make some pie!

PASTRY
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teasp. salt
1/2 cup shortening (not butter, margarine or oil)
3 to 4 tbsp. ice water

Sift flour and salt into large MIXMASTER bowl. Add shortening,
Beat on No. 1 speed, scraping bowl, until like coarse crumbs—
about 2 min. Sprinkle water over flour mixture, beating on No. 1
speed, only to blend—about 1/2 min., scraping bowl. Use only
enough water to hold dough together. Press into ball, roll lightly
on floured cloth covered board from center out to edge, forming
circle about 1/8″ thick. Fold in half, fit into pan, unfold, trim 1″
beyond edge of pan. Tuck edge under and flute with fingers.
Press pastry firmly to entire surface of pan with fingers. Prick
all over with fork. Chill 1/2 hour. Bake 425° F—12 to 15 min. or
until browned. Cool before adding filling. Makes: 1—9″ crust.

Note: Let the kiddies roll out left over pieces for sugar and
cinnamon strips or jelly tarts

For Two-Crust 9″ Pie: Use 2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, 1 teasp. salt, 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. shortening, 1/3 cup ice water.

Oil Crust: Sift together into large MIXMASTER bowl, 1 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour,
1 teasp. salt. Pour into measuring cup, but DO NOT STIR, 1/3 cup salad oil, 3 tbsp. cold
milk. Pour over flour. Beat on No. 2 speed only until blended, scraping bowl. Press into
smooth ball. Wipe table with damp cloth, place pastry between 2—12″ square sheets waxed paper, roll out until pastry reaches edges. Peel off top sheet. Place pastry on bottom of 9″ pie pan paper side up. Carefully peel off paper. Fit to pan, flute and prick with fork. Bake 475° F—8 to 12 min.

Crumb Crust: In small MIXMASTER bowl, mix on No. 3 speed until blended 1 1/3 cups graham crackers or vanilla wafer crumbs, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine, 1/2 teasp. cinnamon, scraping bowl. Save out 3 tbsp. to sprinkle on top of pie. Press remaining crumbs to cover bottom and sides of pie plate, using back of spoon. Chill. Fill as desired.

Meringue Crust: Beat 4 egg whites and 1/4 teasp. cream of tartar in large MIXMASTER bowl on No. 12 speed until stiff—about 1 1/2 min. Slowly beat in 1 cup sugar, beating 1 1/2 min. longer. Spread over bottom and up sides to rim of well-greased 9″ pie plate, making bottom 1/4″ thick, side 1″ thick. Bake 1 hour at 275° F or until brown and crisp. Cool. Fill with ice cream, top with sweetened berries.

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Maya has developed a passion for Dunkin’ Donuts grilled cheese flatbread.

It is good.
But at three dollars and change for the flatbread, another couple of dollars for orange juice (really, now!), add a flatbread and some coffee for Grammy and a donut for dessert (we are at Dunkin’ after all) – well, our little lunch checked out for pennies under twelve dollars.
A nice enough treat to follow a trip to the library, but not one that we can indulge in often without making Grammy wince.

This morning, we decided to try making our own flatbread and cheese.

We dissolved 2 & 1/2 tsps. of yeast (or one packet – but if you bake a lot, it’s much cheaper to buy yeast by the jar) and 1 tsp. of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water. We let it rest for 10 minutes or so, until the mixture was smooth and bubbly. (if you’re tempted to explain to little bakers about yeast being alive and eating the sugar, creating the bubbles and making the bread rise – Don’t. It will only lead to worry about cruelty to yeast.)

Callously dump the yeast mixture into a large bowl

Mix with 2 cups of flour. Add more water, a tbsp. at a time, until the flour is moist enough for the dough to gather.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two.
Lightly oil a large bowl, put the dough in the bowl and turn it to coat with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place for a half hour.

Punch the dough down, knead it again lightly, then roll out on a floured surface.
Preheat your oven to 475.
Place the dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet and brush with 2 tbsps. olive oil.
Salt lightly.
Bake for 15 minutes (check after 10). When bread is nicely browned, cover with grated cheddar and return to the oven for a couple of minutes to let the cheese melt. (slices of American cheese work too)

As good as Dunkin’ and served with the pride of accomplishment. (but without the donut for dessert. We’ll have to work on that part.)

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This recipe is Mrs. Henry E. Gage’s recipe for the Original Girl Scout Cookies from 1920. A good recipe – easy to roll out without chilling. Maya and I made these this morning and cut them into Christmas shapes. They’re waiting on the counter now, we’ll be frosting them after dinner.

If you want to make the traditional Girl Scout version, just cut them into trefoils.

You’ll need:

1 cup butter or margerine
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Mix ingredients in the order given. Roll, cut with cookie cutters, and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

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I’ve been wanting to make a real mincemeat pie for Christmas.
Not the kind of mincemeat that you can buy in a jar – all sugar and raisins and not one mince of meat… I want to make the kind that my great grandmother made at Christmas time.

I found some recipes in Mrs. Wilson’s Cook Book, the 1920 edition. But… I don’t think anyone cooks with suet anymore. I don’t think you can buy food grade suet. I think you can only buy suet mixed with seed for the birds. I don’t think that the seed would sit well with Grampy’s teeth. Suet and Grampy’s arteries? Well, I just don’t know…

Here are the recipes, along with a lovely picture of my great grandmother (whose arteries were fine, by the way, even with the suet).
If anyone has a suggested substitution for suet (I’m loving that word ) please let me know. I don’t think you can just leave it out – it’s probably what holds the whole concoction together.

I really want to make mincemeat pie.

MINCEMEAT (from Mrs. Wilson’s Cook Book)
During the Christmas holidays open house was kept by the barons and knights of the early days. Great festivities and merrymaking was the order of the time. The great fête took place on Christmas day. On that day the mistresses of the households vied with each other in a friendly rivalry with their dishes of mutton pie.

The mutton pie, as it was known in 1596, is the mince pie of to-day. It was also known by the name of Christmas pie or shredds. In Herrick’s time it was considered vitally important to put an armed guard to watch the Christmas pies, lest some sweet-toothed rascal purloin them and then there would be no pies to grace the feast. As ever in warring lands, food commodities were scarce and expensive and accordingly considered a great luxury.

MINCEMEAT
Mincemeat may now be prepared for the holidays; and if kept in a cool place it will have sufficient time to blend and ripen. Here are some inexpensive recipes:

One-half cup of suet,
One-half cup of grated carrot,
Six cups of apples, chopped fine,
Two cups of raisins, chopped,
One-half cup of cooked meat, chopped fine,
One-half cup of citron, chopped fine,
One-half cup of orange peel, chopped fine,
Two tablespoons of cinnamon,
One-half tablespoon of nutmeg,
One-half tablespoon of cloves,
One and one-half cups of molasses,
One cup of boiled cider.
Mix in the order given. Pack into a bowl or crock. Cover closely and then set in a cool place to ripen. Cold left-over meat may be used.

NEW ENGLAND MINCEMEAT

Place one-half pound of hamburg steak in a saucepan and add one cup of cider. Cook for fifteen minutes; then remove from the saucepan and place in a large bowl and add

Six ounces shredded suet,
One-half pound currants,
One-half pound of raisins,
Two pounds of minced apples,
Four ounces of minced citron,
Four ounces of minced orange peel,
Four ounces of minced lemon peel,
Two tablespoons of cinnamon,
One tablespoon of allspice,
Three-fourths of tablespoon of cloves,
Two and one-half cups of syrup,
One cup of boiled cider.
Mix in the order given, then pack in glass or crock. Cover closely and then set in a cool place to ripen.

ORANGE MINCEMEAT

Squeeze the juice of three oranges. Place the peel in a saucepan of cold water. Cook until tender. Drain and then pour through the food chopper. Place in a bowl and add

Six cups of apples, chopped moderately fine,
One cup of suet, chopped fine,
One cup of raisins, chopped fine,
One cup of evaporated peaches, chopped fine,
One cup of evaporated apricots, chopped fine,
One-half cup of citron, chopped fine,
One cup of grated carrot,
Two tablespoons of cinnamon,
One-half tablespoon of allspice,
One-half tablespoon of mace,
One-half tablespoon of ginger,
One-half tablespoon of cloves,
Two cups of molasses,
One cup of boiled cider.
Mix in the order given and then pack in a large bowl or crock or stone pot. Cover closely and then put in a cool place for ten days to ripen.

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