My Favorite Things ~ Old Books

Old books are one of my favorites things. I enjoy finding them in treasures hunts at the Goodwill, Second Hand bookstores and tag sales. I even love their smell! LOL



One of my favorites is "Grandma's Cooking" by Allan Keller ~ a combination fictional story and cookbook. It's dated 1955 and is an old library withdrawal from a local high school. Throughout are little handwritten comments and additions to the recipes. On page 165, some dreamy high school girl wrote "Babies" in flowery print. Wish I knew who she was ~ things like that just fascinate me.



Chapter 8 is entitled Maybaskets and Old Lace. It begins:

"Maytime in Windham Couty was a wondrous thing to behold. Grandma's great French lilac bush burst into blossom, filling the air for hundres of years around with its heady, overpowering scent. The johnny-jump-ups bloomed under the strawberry shrub and forsythia, and the bare spots in the front and side yards disappeared into a thick carpet of green."

On page 109 begins "Pages from Grandma's Recipe Book" and is filled with all sorts of wonderful chapters including a chapter for wild game with recipes using venison, rabbit and partridge. Other recipes have names like Autumn Spice Cake, Aunt Rachel's Stew, and Farmer's Delight.

Though I haven't yet tried it, I wanted to share one delightful recipe from the pages of this book. I enjoy the comments the author adds afterward.

Windham County Applesauce Cake
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 C plus 2 T flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp mace
1/4 tsp allspice
2 1/2 T cocoa
1 3/4 C unsweetened applesauce
3/4 C black walnut meats
1 C chopped raisins

Cream together butter, salt and sugar. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Sift together twice flour, soda, baking powder and spices to mix them well. Add dry ingredients alternately with applesauce to creamed mixture. Beat well after each addition until smooth. Mix in raisins. Add the chopped walnuts, if desired.

Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake in moderate oven at 350 degrees for 60 minutes, or until done. A 10-inch square pan will give about the right thickness to the cake.

Grandma served this applesauce cake, both hold and cold, with big wedges of sage cheese. With a glass of milk, it was almost a meal in itself. Many's the time the cake, cheese and milk stayed a small boy's hunger between the close of school and supper at the end of the day.

Blessings,
Lea