"There is no one recipe for happiness, but love is always an ingredient." Anonymous

Sibling Writing Assignment: Grandma's Cookbook and a Recipe for Applesauce Cake

Once a week my siblings join me in a writing assignment. It started as a way to help me with a memoir/recipe project I am doing. Different points of view help with memoir. Each of us now has a blog to call our own. You can find theirs here and here. The assignment this week from SilverValleyGirl was “ to focus on one object from Grandma’s house and share what memory it evoked when thinking about that object.”

When Grandma died I was honored to receive her Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book. The familiar red and white design on the cover is faded and a bit stained from years of use. In her handwriting in the front is the date July 9, 1956. I would have been about 18 months old when she received it. I don’t know where it came from or why she picked that particular cookbook.
Grandma had this cookbook open on the counter numerous times when we went to visit. Her little kitchen would be filled with smells of banana bread, apple pie, spaghetti, or applesauce cake. When I leaf through the pages of this cookbook I love to find her handwritten notes by recipes. It might include how she would change the recipe a bit or what frosting to make for a particular cake. I could just picture her intently writing those notes. Grandma was serious about her kitchen tasks. Another thing I love is how certain pages are stained from being open during the preparation. I do the same thing with my cookbooks. The most cherished recipes have the telltale stains. I have since bought my own original Betty Crocker cookbook because I didn’t want to stain the pages of this heirloom further. ( note- I realize you can get those cookbook holder/protectors, but they don’t work for me… go figure).

One recipe I love from this collection is Applesauce Cake. It brings back memories of crisp days of autumn in Spokane when we would visit Grandma. The leaves along the street were turning glorious colors. Grandma had put her garden plot to bed for the winter. Maybe Dad was going to a WSU football game at Joe Albi Stadium and we got to stay and help her in the kitchen. I can still smell the apples simmering on the stove waiting to be canned for applesauce. I can picture the cake cooling on the counter, waiting to be served after a special dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and home canned green beans. The mixture of textures with the moistness of the applesauce, the softness of the raisins, and the crunchiness of the walnuts blended this cake into a slice of heaven. Grandma was influential in my life and my love for cooking, recipe collecting, and creating a welcoming place to gather around the table .

We do a fall potluck with all the neighbors in our area at Sherman Creek Orchard each November. Rich makes cider and everyone gathers to visit, share food, recipes, and leave with fresh pressed cider. I made this cake for the gathering (with Sherman Creek apples of course). It was a big hit!
(I have added a few notes after the original recipe that will help update it.)

Applesauce Cake pg. 128 Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book , 1950 edition.
“Watch this cake disappear!”
First, make thick unsweeted Applesauce (see below). Grease and flour a 9x13 oblong pan.
Cream until fluffy:
½ cup soft shortening
2 cups sugar ( Grandma’s handwritten note… 1 of the cups- brown )
Beat in thoroughly:
1 very large egg (1/3 cup)
1 ½ cups applesauce
Sift together:
2 ½ cups sifted Gold Medal Flour
1 ½ tsp. soda
1 ½ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. allspice
Add to mixture with ½ cup of water
Stir in…
½ cup walnuts, cut-up
1 cup seeded raisins, cut-up
Temperature: 350 (mod. oven)
Time: 45 to 50 min.

Grandma’s note:
Use Penuche Icing ( pg. 171)
Mix together thoroughly…
2 2/3 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup shortening
1/3 tsp. salt

Stir over low heat, and then bring rapidly to a full boil, stirring constantly. Boil to 220 or exactly one minute. Remove from heat. Beat until lukewarm and of right consistency to spread.

(Pg. 129) All you have to do-
To make 1 ½ cups applesauce: wash, quarter, and core 6 to 8 tart apples. Add ¼ cup water. Cover and cook to a mush, stirring occasionally. Press through a sieve or food mill.

My notes on the recipe:
I bake it in a bundt pan. I might sprinkle it with powdered sugar instead of the frosting.. or leave it plain. Store bought applesauce works fine. I do think chunky is better. I use oil instead of shortening. Do they still sell shortening?(: I have never cut up a raisin in my life… just throw them in whole. Adjust any other way you see fit. Enjoy!

Can Birds and Cats Live In Harmony?

We suffer a dilemma at our house. We enjoy birds in our yard, but we also love our cats. Is it fair to feed birds knowing you have six cats lurking about with a mission in life that has to do with birds? Looking at the pictures above you will see that we have done everything we can to accommodate the birds. I didn't even realize until today that JEJ had moved a birdhouse way up on a TV antenna that is not used any more just to help the birds. The red house represents the home of a family of starlings that come back every year. We used to have a pair of bluebirds that always returned to one certain birdhouse, but a cat crawled up their post one time and they were long gone. They still return, but to a different, safer place. We try to balance the critters in our yard, but sometimes it is a challenge.

The Healthiest Way to Gamble

"One of the healthiest ways to gamble is with a spade and a packet of gardening seeds."

Seed shopping is one of those simple pleasures in my gardening life that I look forward to in the late winter. I used to painstakingly go through about ten seed catalogs and ponder over types of carrots, colors of beans, and size of marigolds. Now I am more hands on. I like to go to the store and hold the seed packets, read the information, and sort and organize garden plots in my mind as I select varieties of seeds. The sign above has been a fixture in our house since we began gardening together. JEJ tends the vegetables and I am the flower farmer. This usually keeps peace in the family.

One gamble is when to put in the seeds. The seed packet info can be a bit confusing, especially when we have a twenty degree span of temperature and three types of precipitation on a given spring day. I just know that spinach and peas can go in early so we start out being safe with those seeds.

Also, there is the bird factor gamble. I'll go out and peer into the dirt looking for a sprout, but can't figure out if the birds ate the seeds or if it's too early for germination. Both of us usually end up putting in more seeds when this happens. That has it drawbacks. One year bachelor buttons came up slow, but were in every raised bed. Another time both the first and second batches of zucchini plants came up. I think we still have canned relish on the shelf from that bumper crop.

Another gamble is the pets in the garden. I am always surprised that Annie doesn't have sunflower seedlings growing between her toes after one of her garden digging sessions. It never fails with Shelby and her timing. The first day seedlings peak up in the bed of zinnias Shelby decides to herd all the cats to the flower beds.

The last gamble is labeling. I put colored sticks imprinted with black Sharpie words. JEJ puts the seed packets somewhere near the vegetable rows. All it takes is a wind, two dogs, or a heavy-footed wife to move, remove, or bury a marker for a plant. Last year we had a mystery plant. The label was long gone. First JEJ thought is was a type of squash. I was concerned it was some new, weird weed. After weeks of investigating and waiting, we discovered is was a cantaloupe plant that had come from seeds in the compost pile. Thank goodness it was a healthy gamble.

All the plants come up eventually. Some sprout up in different places. A giant sunflower may end up in the front of the bed. There may be marigolds mixed with asters, but it all works. It really is the healthiest way to gamble.

March and Morning Glory Muffins

I am ready to start March with a healthy breakfast. When these muffins are baking the kitchen is enveloped in a comforting, spicy smell that reminds me of Grandma's house. Find a favorite tea blend or brew a fresh cup of coffee and enjoy these warm out of the oven . They make a great snack at work also.

Morning Glory Muffins
1 cup sugar*
2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups grated carrots
1 large apple, grated
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Sift sugar,flour,baking soda, cinnamon, cloves,and salt together. Set aside. Combine eggs, oil , and vanilla in bowl; mix well. Stir in carrots, apple, coconut,raisins, and walnuts. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Spoon into greased muffin cups. Bake 350 for 22-27 minutes. Makes 15 or more.
* You can use unrefined sugar or Splenda to make it healthier.

The Land of Counterpane

Mom was there to comfort me numerous times during illness or injury. When I got a bloody nose rolling in the garbage can, she was there to help wipe up the blood. Before my surgery she sat there talking to me as if everything was normal and we did this once a week. When I cut my arm she used her “for guests only” white towels with the pink tulips to wrap my bleeding gash. When I had the bike wreck by the little park she put ice on my eye and put salve on my road rash.

I have a strong memory of being sick at 14 E. Portland in Kellogg. I was about five years old. Mom stayed home from teaching that day. For part of that year Dad was home babysitting me because Bunker Hill was on strike. I still remember feeling special having Mom all to myself for the day. I got to lie in Mom and Dad’s “big bed”. Mom arranged pillows behind my head to help me sit up. She had to give me a yellow liquid medicine that tasted awful, but was there with a glass of water. I spit some of the medicine back in the glass with the water. I think I was concerned about doing something wrong. Mom comforted me and went on as if nothing happened. I also have a memory of Mom reading A Child’s Garden of Verses . “The Land of Counterpane” and Stevenson’s words are still etched in my memory.

When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day.

Actually that day the toys were oranges, scotch tape and a box of Kleenex. I must have become restless as the afternoon wore on. Mom allowed me to wrap the oranges like little gifts with Kleenex and scotch tape. I thought it was a marvelous way to spend an afternoon in bed. I think I even gave Dad a gift of wrapped oranges when he got home from work.

Looking back on my sick day I remember the softness of the pillows and bedspread in that big bed. I also remember the warm light from a lamp glowing on my tissue paper gifts. The most important part of that day was the gift of time spent with my mom. Touching my forehead with her cool hand helped erase my fears. Listening to her voice recite the words of “The Swing” and “The Land of Counterpane” as she sat by the bed made me feel better. Holding the little blue book of poems and recited poems she seemed to help take me to another time, a sunnier day.

That was an early experience with comfort. Mom provided a safe haven in that Land of Counterpane. I didn’t understand it as a young child. My life continued to be peppered with numerous illnesses, heartbreaks, and injuries. In different ways Mom has always provided that comfort and safe haven for me. I understand its significance now.