VINTAGE RECIPES

[Welland Tribune June 6, 1905]

THE HOUSEHOLD

Hint about Asparagus

Wash the asparagus and cut the tips and tender parts of the stalks into pieces less than an inch long. Boil them in water enough to cook them without burning until they are tender. Then season with salt, pepper, cream or milk, and butter, using the liquor in which the vegetable boiled for part of the sauce. Cooked in this way, it goes under the head of “spoon victuals”, and should be served in individual vegetable saucers.

Strawberry Short Bread

This is not the ordinary though justly famous and familiar strawberry shortcake, but a dainty bit for the gods, so delicate when properly made that it literally melts in the mouth. Mix together one pound of flour, four ounces of powdered sugar, and eight ounces of butter; sift the sugar and flour together four times, then work the flour in thoroughly, handling it in the same way that pastry is prepared, rubbing the mixture between the palms of the hands until it is thoroughly blended. Knead the whole together until it forms a solid mass, using no liquids whatever to moisten, the butter holding the ingredients together after it has been manipulated a sufficient length of time with the hands. Divide into two portions, then the mass adheres, and press one part into a hollow dish so that it will form a hollow shell. Bake in a slow oven until the cakes are a delicate brown, and then remove; fill the hollow cake with mashed and sweetened berries, mixing with them a gill of cream, or placing a layer of cream on top, fit the flat cake on top, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve the whole at once while still warm. This cake will keep indefinitely and become richer as time goes on, if any of it is left over in making the layers, mold into thick, small, round cakes and bake, then set away until used.

RHUBARB RECIPES

[Welland Tribune May 19, 1905]

Custard

Cut stale sponge cake in slices and arrange in a glass dish in alternate layers with rich stewed rhubarb. Just before serving, cover with a cold boiled custard made as follows: Beat the yolks of three eggs with a fourth of a cupful of sugar, pour over them a pint of hot milk and cook in a double boiler until it will coat the spoon, stirring constantly. Flavor with lemon. Spread the whites of the eggs, whipped to a stiff froth with three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, over the top.

Tart

Line a pie dish with good paste, brush it over with white of egg and bake in a quick oven. When done, fill the pie with rhubarb marmalade, and when cold heap over it whipped cream flavored with lemon. Do not add the cream until just before serving.

Tapioca

Soak two tablespoonfuls of pearl tapioca in two cupfuls of cold water for one hour; then cook in a double boiler until perfectly clear. Add four tablespoonfuls of sugar, and cook a few minutes longer. Then pour over a pint of rich stewed rhubarb in a shallow glass dish. Serve very cold with whipped cream flavored with lemon.

With Dates

Wash one pound of good dates, add boiling water to cover, and cook until the water is nearly absorbed. Then remove the seeds. Skin and cut a pound of rhubarb in one-inch pieces, put a layer in the bottom of a pudding dish, sprinkle with sugar, add a layer of dates, and repeat until dates and rhubarb are all used, having the last layer of dates. Put in one-fourth cupful of hot water, and bake until the rhubarb is soft.

Shortcake

Make a rich biscuit dough, spread it an inch thick on buttered pie tins, and bake in a quick oven. When done, split open, butter, and spread with thick stewed rhubarb. Serve with cream, plain or whipped, and powdered sugar.

Butter

Wash and chop the rhubarb fine. To each pound allow one pound of sugar. Add a very little water. Just enough to keep it from burning, and cook gently for an hour or longer, according to the age of the rhubarb. Keep an asbestos mat under the preserving kettle, and stir frequently to prevent it from burning. Half orange pulp, black currants or strawberries combine delightfully with rhubarb in making butter, jam or marmalade.

Fritters

Cut rhubarb into pieces two inches long. Cook until tender but not broken, in a rich syrup. Let lie in the syrup until cold; then drain each piece carefully, and dust with powdered sugar. Make a batter with one cupful of milk, one and one-half cupfuls of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of baking powder, and two beaten eggs, Add the milk and the sugar to the whipped eggs, and the flour in which the baking powder has been sifted. Mix thoroughly, then dip the pieces of rhubarb in the batter, and fry in deep hot fat. Drain on unglazed paper, roll in granulated sugar, and serve at once with the syrup drained from the rhubarb.

Blanc Mange in Rhubarb Nests

Make blanc mange after the usual rule, only using about half a cupful less of milk. When it is nearly done add half a cupful of hot strawberry juice. This will make it a pretty pink. Mold in small cupfuls, when firm turn each one out carefully on a pretty china saucer. Have ready cold rhubarb which has been cut in inch lengths and cooked until tender, but not broken, in a very rich syrup. Drain off he syrup carefully, and arrange the pieces of rhubarb around the blanc mange. Garnish with whipped cream.

VINTAGE RECIPES

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard

or

Canadian Cook Book. 1881

DRINKS

Substitute for cream in coffee

Beat an egg to a froth, add to it a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and turn the coffee on it gradually from the boiling pot into the one for the table, in which it should be previously put. It is difficult to distinguish the taste from fresh cream.

Coffee for fifty cups

Two quarts of coffee, four eggs, shells and all; mix this with two quarts of cold water and pour on ten quarts of boiling water. Let this boil five minutes. Take off and pour in one cup of cold water to settle it.

Chocolate

Put four ounces of chocolate in a sauce-pan, with enough cold water to prevent burning. Let it simmer gently a few minutes. When it comes to a boil, add one quart of boiling milk and one gill of cream. Let it boil gently five minutes.

Ginger Beer

Two ounces of tartaric acid, two pounds of white sugar, three quarts of water and the juice of one lemon, Boil these together five minutes; when nearly cold, add the whites of three eggs, well beaten with half a cup of flour and a half ounce of essence pf wintergreen or of lemon. Bottle and keep in a cold place. Take two tablespoons of this syrup and a quarter of a teaspoon of soda for a tumbler of water’ stir violently and drink.Use any essence for flavoring instead of wintergreen that you may prefer.

BEVERAGES

Vienna Coffee

Equal parts Mocha and Java coffee; allow one heaping tablespoon of coffee to each person, and two extra to make good strength; mix one egg with the grounds, pour on the coffee half as much water as will be needed, let the coffee froth, then stir down the grounds and let it boil five minutes; then let the coffee stand where it will keep hot, but not boil, for five or ten minutes, and add the rest of the water. To one pint of cream add the white of an egg, well beaten; this is to put in the cups with the sugar and the hot coffee added.

Koaka Coffee

Put into an ordinary tea or coffee pot the same quantity of K.O.K. as would be used of coffee, pour on sufficient boiling water to extract the strength, letting boil fifteen minutes, after which add enough boiling water for the requirements of the family, remove from the stove and let settle few moments; milk or cream and sugar to taste. It will be found to improve by long simmering on the stove, but be sure to let it settle before using. Do not throw away any of the clear liquid, but heat it up again and add to the next brewing; it is even better than the first.

VINTAGE RECIPES-PICKLES

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard

or

Canadian Cook Book,1881

In order to have good pickles you must use good vinegar-pure cider or white wine vinegar is considered the best. Vinegar should not be boiled in metalic vessels, as the salts produced by such contact are poisonous. Stone-ware jars (not glazed) should be used to keep pickles in. In making a large quantity at a time it is best to seal up a part-in  such cases use green glass jars.

Wash them in clear water, lay them in a jar, and sprinkle them well with salt; as you lay in fresh cucumbers, add more salt. They will make their own brine.

One pail of soft water. One quart of salt, one tablespoon of saltpetre and two tablespoons of alum; pour over the pickles boiling hot; after a few days pour off the brine, scald and skim.

Soak the Cucumbers two days in a weak solution of salt and water, then cover them with boiling water and let it remain two days, then put them in jars with whole spices among them and cover with a new vinegar, boiling hot, and sweetened in the proportion of a teacup of sugar to a gallon of vinegar. The vinegar in which the pickles are kept one year will do for the first vinegar the next. Use for spices black pepper, allspice, cloves and cinnamon; but the pickles are good and will keep without spices. If the pickles are to be kept through the following summer, it is safer to seal them up.

Take one peck of green tomatoes sliced, and six large onions sliced; throw over them a teacup of salt and let them stand twenty-four hours; drain and boil in two quarts of water and one quart of vinegar twenty minutes, then drain again and take four quarts of vinegar, two pounds of brown sugar, a half pound of white mustard seed, two tablespoons of ground allspice, the same of cloves, cinnamon, ginger and mustard, and a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper; put all together with the tomatoes and onions and boil fifteen or twenty minutes, or until the tomato looks clear. Very fine.

Chop fine equal quantities of green tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and a few green peppers, and then pour the water off and pour on boiling vinegar, with mustard and spices.

Take small, smooth tomatoes, not very ripe, scald them until the skin will slip off easily, and sprinkle salt over them. After they have stood twenty-four hours, drain off the juice and pour on a boiling hot pickle composed of one pound of sugar, two teaspoons of cinnamon and two teaspoons of cloves to every quart of vinegar. Drain off the liquid, scald it and pour on them again, every other day for a week. They will require no further care. This is excellent.

Slice white and red cabbage very fine, put into a jar alternately, sprinkle salt on each layer; also whole black pepper, black mustard seed, and cinnamon broken fine; then cover with cold vinegar. It will be ready for use in twenty-four hours.

Take the whitest full-grown cauliflower, cut off the thick stock and split the flower into eight or ten pieces, spread them on a  large dish and sprinkle with salt; let them stand twenty-four hours, then wash off the salt; drain them, put them into a flat jar, scald with salt and water (allowing a quarter of a pound of salt to a quart of water), cover closely and let it stand until next day; afterwards drain them in a hair sieve and spread in a warm place to dry for a day and night. Then put them in a glass jar and pour over them a pickle that has been prepared as follows: Mix together three ounces of coriander seed, three ounces of tumeric, one ounce of mustard seed and one ounce of ginger. Pound the whole to a fine powder; put it into three quarts of cider vinegar, set it by the fire in a stone jar and let it infuse three days. These are the proportions but the quantity of pickle must depend on the quantity of cauliflower, which must be well covered by the liquid; pour it over the flower and secure the jar closely

Take small nutmeg or musk melons, peel them, cut out a slice and remove the pulp and seed; take three heads of cauliflower, one peck of small cucumbers, one quart of small onions, one quart of nasturtiums, one quart of small green tomatoes, one quart of green beans, one pint of radish pods, six or eight carrots cut in rings and a half pint of mustard seed; cut the cauliflower into bunches, leaving a small head on each; put the vegetables into a  large jar, pour over them a brine made of two gallons of boiling water, and a half pints of salt and a lump of alum the size of a walnut; leave them in the brine two or three days, then wash clear in water, drain, and fill each melon, adding a teaspoon of mustard seed; adjust the piece taken out and tie a cord around; place them in a jar, and if any of the ingredients remain fill the space with them. Take six quarts of good cider vinegar, three-fourths of a pound of mustard seed, two ounces of allspice, a half ounce of mace, two or three roots of ginger, two or three red peppers and one tablespoon of pulverized alum. Boil all together and pour while boiling hot over the pickles.

One cauliflower cut in small pieces, one dozen small white onions, two dozen small cucumbers, one quart of string beans, one ounce of black mustard seed, one ounce of white mustard seed, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper, a quarter of an ounce of tumeric, pieces of horse radish cut fine and a gallon of vinegar, or more. Scald the spices and vinegar together and pour over the vegetables boiling hot; after it is cold mix one pound of mustard in vinegar and add to the pickles.

Two heads of cauliflower, two dozen small cucumbers, a half peck of string beans, six roots of celery, six green peppers, one quart of small white onions and a fourth of a peck of small green tomatoes, cut into small pieces; sprinkle with salt and let them stand twenty-four hours, then drain. Take one gallon or more of vinegar, one fourth pound of mustard seed, two pots of french mustard, one ounce of allspice, one ounce of cloves, one ounce of ground pepper, two ounces of tumeric and two ounces of cinnamon; pour the vinegar and spices into a kettle and let them come to a boil, then add the vegetables, and let them scald till yellow and a little tender.

Eight pounds of ripe tomatoes, four pounds of sugar a half ounce of cloves, a half ounce of allspice and a half ounce of cinnamon, Peel the fruit and boil one and a half hours; when partly cold add a half pint of vinegar. Put away in jars.

Five pounds of sweet apples, two pounds of sugar, one quart of vinegar, three nutmegs, cloves, cinnamon and a little salt Boil the fruit in the syrup until soft.

One peck of sorted plums, one quart of good vinegar, six pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of cinnamon, a half ounce of cloves and a half ounce of mace. Boil the sugar with the vinegar and spices, then add the plums and boil until they begin to be soft.

Eight and a half pounds of peaches, three pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, cloves, cinnamon stick and ginger root. Tie the spices in a bag and boil in the vinegar and sugar, and pour over the fruit. Repeat this six successive mornings.

Three-fourths of a pound of sugar, one pound of fruit and vinegar sufficient to dissolve the sugar. Boil the vinegar and sugar together; skim it and put in the cloves, mace and cinnamon; scald the plums till tender, then take them out and boil down the syrup and pour it over the fruit.

Pare and halve the pears, put four pounds of sugar to one gallon of vinegar and boil with cloves and cassia buds, pounded and tied in a rag. Scald the pears a little, if hard, as pouring the vinegar on does not soften them

Cut bunches of not over ripe grapes and lay in a jar with grape leaves between layers. Pour over the whole a cold syrup made as follows; One quart of vinegar, four pounds of sugar and cloves, cinnamon and mace tied in a bag ad boiled in the vinegar.

Boil two pounds of raisins till tender in vinegar enough to cover them. Skim the raisins out and add to the vinegar one pound of sugar. Cloves and cinnamon to taste. Pour the syrup boiling hot over the raisins.

Cut the melon rind into strips or whatever shape desired; make a weak solution of alum and pour over; let stand twenty-four hours; then scald in clear water and drain. To seven pounds of rind, take one quart of good cider vinegar, four pounds off sugar and a half pint of ginger root; put in the rind and boil till it looks clear; then remove the fruit to a jar and boil the liquid until it is a rich syrup.

VINTAGE RECIPES-PIES

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard

or

Canadian Cook Book, 1881

One-half cup lard, one-half cup butter, one quart sifted flour, one cup cold water, a little salt. Rub the butter and lard slightly into the flour; wet it with the water, mixing it as little as possible. This quantity will make two large or three small pies.

To prevent juice from soaking under the crust, beat up the white of an egg, and before filling the pie, brush over the crust with the beaten egg. Brush over the top crust also, to give it a beautiful yellow brown.

One pint of milk, three eggs, a little salt, three tablespoons of sugar. Flavor with vanilla or nutmeg and essence of lemon. If the milk is scalded it will require but two eggs to a pint.

For two pies, take two tablespoons of rice; wash and put it into a farina boiler with a quart of milk; cook until perfectly soft. Let it cool; add three eggs, well beaten, with three tablespoons of sugar and one of butter; a little salt, cinnamon and a few stoned raisins. Bake with under crust

One pint of milk, scalded; two tablespoons of corn starch. Three tablespoons of sugar, yolks of two eggs. Wet the starch with a little cold milk; beat the eggs and sugar until light, and stir the whole into the scalding milk. Flavor with lemon or vanilla, and set aside to cool. Line a plate with pie crust and bake; fill it with cream and cover it with frosting made of the whites of eggs, beaten dry, with two tablespoons of sugar. Bake a delicate brown.

For one pie, beat together one cup sugar, one-half cup corn starch, two eggs. Stir into one pint hot milk; when well cooked and cool, flavor and put between crusts that have been baked and are cold

One pint flour, one-half teacup lard, one-quarter teacup ice-water, teaspoon salt. Bake upper and lower crusts in separate plates, and put the cream between

Line your plate with pastry; fill with sliced sour apples; cover the crust without pressing down the outer edge. Bake light brown and when done remove the upper crust and season with butter, sugar and spice to taste.

One pint stewed sour apples, sifted; butter size of an egg, two tablespoons flour; grated rind and juice of a lemon; yolks of three eggs beaten. Sweeten to taste. Bake with lower crust and when done spread a meringue of the whites of three eggs, beaten with three tablespoons sugar over the top, and brown in oven.

One cup stewed pumpkin, one coffeecup milk, three eggs, piece of butter size of walnut, two teaspoons cinnamon, one teaspoon ginger, a little salt and pepper. Sweeten with molasses.

One full cup stewed squash, one scant cup sugar, one pint milk, two eggs, two tablespoons melted butter, a little salt, ginger and cinnamon.

Cover the dish with crust; put a layer of apples, sliced thin, a layer of pork (salt and raw), sliced very thin and in small pieces. Black pepper and spice to taste. Sugar upper crust. Bake one hour and a half.

One cup powdered sugar, one half cup butter, four eggs, one cup grated cocoanut, one quart milk. Put the cocoanut with the butter and sugar; add the milk and eggs. Makes two pies.

One large lemon, one teaspoon of butter (heaping); one and one-half cups of sugar, three eggs, one heaping teaspoon of flour, one-half glass of brandy. Grate the yellow part of the rind and squeeze the juice of the lemon; beat the butter and sugar to a cream with the yolks of the eggs; then stir in the grated rind and juice, flour and brandy; lastly whip and stir in the whites. Bake with an under crust.

VINTAGE RECIPES-BREAD

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard

or

Canadian Cook Book, 1881

Bread

Three potatoes; boil and mash them in the  morning; add one-quarter cup sugar, one-half cup flour, a little salt; after stirring well, pour over one-half pint boiling-hot water; stir and add one-half pint of cold water; stir that, and add one-half cup of yeast, and put it in a warm place. When it is risen well and rounds up to the top of the dish, stir it down. Do so several times during the day, and at night strain and put it in a jug. Keep in a cool place. It will be good a week.

Boil one-half pound of hops in eight quarts of water until the liquid is very strong; then pour in fifteen or twenty large potatoes; let them boil until they are thoroughly done; take them out; pare and mash them fine. Put in the mashed potatoes a pint of flour, strain your boiling hop liquid into the flour and potato, taking care that the flour is well scalded. Add one pint of molasses, one teaspoon of ginger and one handful of salt; when the mixture is cool enough to put the hand in, rub it through a colander to reduce it to a fine pulp. Add  a sufficient quantity of Pearl yeast to raise it, and let it stand in a large covered jar until morning; then add another bowl of flour, and mix the cakes with Indian meal. They must be hard enough to take up a quantity of dough in the hand; pat it together and cut it into slices. Lay the cakes as you cut them on plates or something that will not impart any taste to them. The cakes must be turned once the first day, and after that twice a day until they are thoroughly dry.

One handful hops, six large potatoes; boil together until well done, and strain through a colander; add sufficient water to make two quarts, and when boiling, stir quickly into one quart of flour and a little salt. When luke warm add one cake Pearl yeast.

Three and one-half quarts sifted flour, one boiled potato. Large; one quart warm water, one teacup yeast. One even tablespoon salt. Mix at night; put the flour in a large bowl; hollow a place in the centre for the potato mashed, water and salt. Stir in flour enough to make a smooth batter; add Pearl yeast; stir in the rest of the flour. Put the dough on the floured board; knead fifteen minutes, using bately enough flour to prevent sticking. Flour the bowl, lay the dough in it, cover and leave to rise. In the morning, divide in four parts; mould into loaves; when light, prick, and bake in moderate oven.

One pint corn meal, one pint bread sponge, two-thirds cup molasses, one teaspoon soda. Scald the meal; when cool add the sponge, molasses and soda. Mix with Graham flour stiff as cake; put in tins, and when light bake one hour.

Two eggs, three cups butter milk or sour milk, one half cup lard, one-half cup sugar, one cup flour, one teaspoon saleratus. One-half teaspoon salt. Three cups Indian meal.

One quart flour, four teaspoons Dunn&Co’s baking powder, a little salt-sifted together; add a full teaspoon of butter and sufficient water to make a soft dough. Roll out, and cut in cakes an inch thick. Bake in quick oven.

Two and one-quarter cups of flour, three cups milk, three eggs whites and yolks beaten separately; three teaspoons melted butter, a little salt. Bake in cups, in a hot oven.

Beat one egg thoroughly; put in coffee-cup; add one tablespoon brown sugar, one tablespoon thick cream or butter; fill with butter milk or sour milk, two handfuls of corn meal, one small handful wheat flour, one-half teaspoon soda-rubbed into the flour. Bake in muffin rings on a griddle.

One cup of home-made yeast or half of a compressed yeast cake, one pint of sweet milk, two eggs, two tablespoons of melted butter, two tablespoons of sugar. Beat the butter, sugar and eggs well together; then stir in the milk, slightly warmed, and thicken with flour to the consistency of griddle cakes. When light, bake in muffin rings or on a griddle.

Muffins should never be cut with a knife, but be pulled open with the fingers.

If wanted for tea, the batter must be mixed immediately after breakfast.

One pint warm water, one teaspoon salt, Graham flour enough to make stiff batter. Have your irons and oven both hot.

One quart of Graham flour. One pint if milk, one pint of water, two eggs, a little salt. Bake in cups or gem pans.

One cup of sugar, one cup of milk, two and one-half cups of flour, one egg, butter the size of an egg, two teaspoons of baking powder, one and one-half cups of huckleberries. To be eaten hot, with butter. This  makes a very delicate tea rush by leaving out the huckleberries, and using only half a cup of sugar.

Three teaspoons Dunn&Co’s baking powder, sifted with one and one-half pints flour; three tablespoons butter, rub into the flour; one-half cup sugar; teaspoon salt; one egg, beaten with one pint milk. Bake in jelly tins. Spread with butter, and put berries between layers.

One-half cup of sugar, one-quarter cup butter, one cup sweet milk, one pint flour, three eggs, two and one-half teaspoons baking powder. Bake in cups for tea.

For a small quantity, say one quart bowl full, take one egg, two-thirds of rice (cooked) to one-third flour; one teaspoon soda, two teaspoons cream tartar, or three teaspoons baking powder; sweet milk enough to make it right consistency.

One pint sour milk, teaspoon soda, a little salt, two eggs, flour to make a thin batter.

If you want your waffles for tea, take one quart warm milk after dinner; put in two eggs, beaten; a small piece of butter; a small cup of yeast. Mix with flour a little thicker than wheat pancakes. Set by warm stove and they will be light for tea. Bake in waffle irons, greased.

For six persons, take two eggs, one-half cup milk, flour enough to make a good stiff batter. Cut old bread in thin slices; dip into the batter, and fry brown in butter. Serve hot.

VINTAGE RECIPES—VEGETABLES

“Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard

or

Canadian Cook Book. 1881

Vegetables

General Directions

1^st Have them fresh as possible. Summer vegetables should be cooked on the same day that they are gathered.

2^nd Look them over and wash well, cutting out all decayed or unripe parts.

3^rd Lay them when peeled in cold water for some time before using.

4^th Always let the water boil before putting them in and continue to boil until done.

Turnips—Should be peeled and boiled from forty minutes to an hour.

Beets– Boil from one to two hours; then put in cold water and slip the skin off.

Spinach—Boil twenty minutes.

Parsnips—Boil  from twenty to thirty minutes.

Onions—Best boiled in two or three waters; adding milk the last time.

String Beans– Should be boiled one hour.

Shell Beans—Require half an hour to an hour.

Green Corn—Boil twenty to thirty minutes.

Green Peas—Should be boiled in as little water as possible boil twenty minutes.

Asparagus—Same as peas; serve on toast with cream gravy.

Winter Squash—Cut in pieces and boil twenty to forty minutes in small quantity of water; when done press the water out, mash smooth, and season with butter, pepper and salt

Cabbage—Should be boiled from one-half hour to one hour in plenty of water; salt while boiling.

Pare and slice thick eight or ten large potatoes. Half fill a good sized kettle with lard or drippings. When boiling put in the potatoes; cook until tender and brown; then take out with a skimmer into a colander to drain off any grease. Sprinkle salt over them. Be sure and not fill the kettle too full with potatoes, as it is better to cook at a time only what the lard covers.

Put a tablespoon of lard into a kettle; pare and slice fine as many potatoes as needed. When the  lard is hot put in the potatoes and cover closely; watch and stir frequently, to prevent burning. When nearly cooked remove the cover and brown them; then stir in salt, pepper and a heaping teaspoon of butter.

Pare eight or ten potatoes, or as many as needed; bake in a quick oven half an hour.

Use boiled potatoes; slice them thin; put in a pudding dish a layer of potatoes, a thin layer of rolled crackers; sprinkle in pepper and salt and three or four small pieces of butter; then add another layer of potatoes, crackers, etc., until the dish is filled. Over all pour a cup of cream or rich milk. Bake from one-half to three-quarters of an hour.

Take five or six potatoes, boil and wash them; add salt, pepper and a little milk. Beat three eggs light and mix with them. Make out into little rolls and cover with flour. Fry in hot lard.

Boil eight or ten large potatoes; when cold, slice them lengthways and put on a toaster or fine wire broiler over a hot fire; when browned remove; salt, and pour melted butter over them.

Cut the tomatoes in slices without skinning; pepper and salt them; then sprinkle a little flour over them and fry in butter until brown. Put them on a hot platter, and pour milk or cream into the butter and juice. When boiling hot, pour over the tomatoes.

Skin the tomatoes, slice in small pieces; spread in bottom of a pudding dish a thick layer; cover with a thin layer of bread crumbs, sprinkle salt, pepper and a few small pieces of butter over them; add layers of tomatoes, until the dish is filled—sprinkle over the top a layer of fine rolled crackers. Bake one hour.

Cut large tomatoes in two, crosswise; put on gridiron, cut surface down; when well seared, turn and put butter, salt and pepper on and cook with skin side down until done.

To one pound of ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced, add one-half pound of brown sugar, one-half pint vinegar, one teaspoon cinnamon. One teaspoon allspice, one teaspoon cloves. Boil two hours.

Bake one dozen ears sweet corn, one cup milk, small piece butter; and bake in pudding dish one hour.

One pint grated corn, two eggs, one teaspoon melted butter; three tablespoons sweet milk, two and one-half tablespoons Boston crackers, rolled. Fry in spider.

Eight ears of sweet corn, grated; two cups of milk three eggs, salt and pepper; flour enough to make a batter. Put a tablespoon of butter into a frying pan and drop the mixture into the hot butter—a spoonful in a place; brown on both sides. Serve hot for breakfast or as a side dish for dinner.

Ten ears green corn, one pint lima beans; cut the corn from the cob, and stew gently with the beans until tender. Use as little water as possible. Season with butter, salt, and pepper-milk if you choose.

Pare and cut in slices half an inch thick; sprinkle with salt; cover and  let stand for an hour. Rinse in clear cold water; wipe each slice dry; dip first in beaten egg, then in rolled cracker or bread crumbs. Season with pepper and salt, and fry brown in butter.

Three long sticks of maccaroni, broken in small pieces; soak in a pint of milk two hours. Grate bread ad dried cheese. Put a layer of maccaroni in a pudding dish; add pepper, salt and butter; then sprinkle the bread and cheese crumbs over it, and so continue until the dish is filled. Bake until brown

One bunch of oysters; boil and mash. One pint sour milk, half a teaspoon soda; flour to make a batter; add two eggs, beaten and the oysters. Fry in hot lard—drop in spoonfuls.

Three grated parsnips, three eggs, one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon sweet cream, butter half the size of an egg, three tablespoons flour. Fry as pancakes.

One quart of beans, soaked over night; in the morning put them in a kettle with cold water and boil ten minutes; change the water and put with them a small piece of salt pork. Let them boil until nearly tender, then take them out of the kettle with a skimmer, put in a baking dish, with pork in the center; cut the rind in small squares; sprinkle over the top one tablespoon of white sugar; bake three hours. If they bake dry, add the bean broth.

VINTAGE RECIPES—SUNDRIES

“Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard

or

Canadian Cook Book. 1881

SUNDRIES

Put a pint of cider and a cup of brown sugar into enough water to cover the ham; boil three hours, or until the skin will peel off easily. Remove the  skin, cover the ham with a crust of sugar and bake in a slow oven three hours.

Half a calf’s liver; season and fry brown; hash it, not very fine; dust thickly with flour, a teaspoon of mixed mustard, as much cayenne pepper as will lie on half a dime; two hard boiled eggs. Chopped fine

a piece of butter, size of an egg; a teacup of water. Let all boil a minute or two, then serve.

Cold veal is also nice dressed in this way.

Have a steak weighing two pounds, and an inch and a half thick. Put two ounces of butter in a stew pan; when melted, put in the steak with one-quarter pound of lean bacon, cut in small pieces. Place the stew pan over the fire; turn the steak occasionally until a little brown, then lay it off into a dish. Add one pint of water, one glass sherry, a little pepper and salt; let simmer slowly one hour. Skim off all the fat, and add twenty button onions; simmer until onions are very tender; remove the steak to hot platter. And pour the onions, sauce, etc, over

One and one-half pounds round steak, chopped fine; two eggs, one tablespoon flour, two tablespoons milk; salt and pepper to taste. Drop in spider and fry until done.

Three pounds of the nice part of a leg of veal, chopped fine; six crackers rolled fine; two eggs, well beaten; a piece of butter size of an egg; one tablespoon of salt; one teaspoon of pepper, one-quarter of a nutmeg. Work all well together; then make into loaf and put into a dripping pan; cover with cracker crumbs and bits of butter. Have a little water in the pan and baste often until done.

Two pounds veal and one-quarter pound salt pork, chopped fine; one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon pepper, two crackers, rolled fine; two eggs, eight tablespoons cream. Mix crackers and meat add the eggs and other ingredients. Bake two hours, covered with a pan.

If you have not cream use six tablespoons of melted butter.

Four or six eggs; beat whites separate; small teacup milk, piece butter, size of a walnut; one tablespoon flour, a little salt. Beat yolks; add butter, milk, flour and salt, lastly the beaten whites. Butter a dish just the right size to hold it and bake in quick oven.

Soak a teacup of bread crumbs in a cup of sweet milk over night; three eggs, beat yolks and whites separately; mix the yolks with the bread and milk; stir in the whites, add a teaspoon of salt and fry brown. This is sufficient for six persons.

Scald in salted water; remove the stringy parts; put in cold water five or ten minutes; drain in towel; dip in egg and bread or cracker crumbs, and fry in butter, or boil them plain.

Boil a chicken in as little water as possible until the meat will fall from the bones; remove all of the skin, chop together the light and dark parts; season with pepper and salt. Boil down the liquid in which the chicken was boiled, then pour it on the meat; place in a tin, wrap tightly in a cloth, press with a heavy weight for several hours. When served cut in thin slices.

Two chickens, jointed small; cook them tender; season with butter, salt ad pepper; thicken the gravy with flour. Make a  cruet as for soda biscuit; line the sides of pie dish with crust, half an inch thick; fill the dish with the chicken and gravy; cover with crust; bake half hour.

Two large chickens, jointed and boiled in two quarts of water; add a few slices of salt pork; season. When nearly cooked, add a crust made of one quart of flour, four teaspoons baking powder, saltspoon salt; stir in a stiff batter with water; drop into the kettle while boiling; cover close and cook twenty-five minutes.

Open the chicken as for boiling; put into dripping-pan with a little water; season with butter, pepper and salt; cover with another pan and cook until done; take off cover and brown them. Make a gravy in dripping-pan, of milk and browned flour; pour over chicken.

The breast of two boiled chickens, chopped; one cup of soft bread, two eggs, two spoons chopped parsley. Mix well together pepper and salt to taste. Roll six crackers, mix with one egg, well beaten. Make the croquettes into pear-shapes with your hands, put in wire basket, and boil in lard.

One can of lobsters, chopped; one cup bread, softened with water; two eggs, pepper and salt to taste. Mix all together. Roll fine eight medium sized crackers; one egg, beaten and mixed with the crumbs. Make the lobster into round or pearshaped balls, and roll in the cracker crumbs. Fry in a spider with lard,

Let them lie in salt and water for an hour; cover with water and stew until tender; season with butter, salt and pepper; cream if you wish.

Chop two quarts cold boiled potatoes; mix one teaspoon salt, one-half teaspoon pepper, two tablespoons parsley, two tablespoons grated onion, one gill vinegar, one-half gill oil or melted butter; pour over potatoes; stand half an hour before serving.

Look them over carefully; wash and put them over the fire; more than cover with water; cover the saucepan and stew until the skins are tender, adding more water if necessary; add one pound of sugar to a pound of berries. Let them simmer ten or twelve minutes; then set away in a bowl or wide-mouthed crock.

Toast the bread; butter it and spread with mustard; then melt the cheese and spread over, and put together the same as sandwiches.

One cup boiled rice, one egg, well beaten; thicken with bread and cracker crumbs; then roll in cracker crumbs and fry in lard.

Mix stale bread crumbs or pounded cracker with butter, salt, pepper and egg; add summer savory or sage. If wished, oysters chopped may be added. Mix thoroughly together, adding a little warm water for wetting if necessary.

Six large spoons flour, three eggs, saltspoon salt, milk enough to make like soft custard; pour into shallow pan, in which there is a little beef dripping.

Two tablespoons flour, two tablespoons butter; brown the butter and flour in dripper; add water to make thin for gravy; boil; add one pint oysters, chopped; pepper and salt to taste.

Two tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon of flour; mix well; pour on boiling water till it thickens; add one hard boiled egg, chopped fine, and two tablespoons of capers.

Mix one tablespoon of white sugar to half a teacup of good vinegar; add mint, chopped fine; one-half teaspoon of salt. Serve with roast lamb or mutton.

After taking out the meat pour off the fat; add water, season, and thicken with flour.

Half a cup butter, two tablespoons flour; rubbed thoroughly together, then stir into pint boiling water; little salt; parsley if wished.

Boil the giblets very tender; chop fine; then take liquor in which they are boiled, thicken with flour; season with salt, pepper and a little butter; add the giblets and dripping in which the turkey was roasted.

When the bread is ready to make into loaves, put one into a long bar tin; let stand until light, then steam one hour. Make a dressing of ham, veal and smoked tongue chopped very fine and mixed with salad dressing. When the bread is quite cold, cut into thin slices, spread with the chopped meats and roll.

The breast of lamb and salt pork cut in medium pieces, put in stew pan with water enough to cover; stew until tender; skim and add green peas; when done, season with butter rolled in flour and pepper.

Boil two chickens until dropping to pieces; pick meat off bones, taking out all skin; season with salt anf pepper; put in deep tin or mould; take one-fourth box of gelatine, dissolve in a little warm water, add to liquid left in kettle, and set away to cool; cut in slices for table.

Chop boiled ham fine; season with mustard, pepper, beaten yolk of an egg, and oil if desired.

VINTAGE RECIPES—FISH

“Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard”

or

Canadian Cook Book, 1881

FISH

To fry brook trout or any other small fish.

Clean the fish and let them lie a few minutes wrapped single in a clean dry towel; season with pepper and salt; roll in corn meal and fry in one-third butter and two-thirds lard; drain on a sieve and serve hot.

Wash the fish thoroughly in salt and water; spread it out flat on a wire broiler; sprinkle with salt and set in a dipper in the oven; bake twenty minutes, then brown over hot coals. Pour melted butter over and serve.

A medium size fish is preferable.

A fish weighing from four to six pounds is a good size to bake. It should be cooked whole to look well. Make a dressing of bread crumbs. Butter, salt and a little salt pork, chopped fine. (parsley and onions, if you please); mix this with one egg. Fill the body, sew it up, and lay it in a large dipper; put across some strips of salt pork to flavor it. Put a pint of water and a little salt in the pan. Bake it an hour and a half. Baste frequently. After taking up the fish, thicken the gravy and pour over it.

Have ready in sauce-pan one cup cream, diluted with a few spoonfuls hot water; stir in carefully two tablespoons melted butter and a little chopped parsley; heat this in a vessel filled with hot water. Pour in the gravy from the dripping pan of fish. Boil thick.

Two ounces butter, one-half cup vinegar, one teaspoon ground mustard, one teaspoon salt, a little pepper; let this boil. Then add one cup milk and yolks of two eggs. Let this just boil, stirring all the time.

Cut two or three slices of salt pork into dice pieces, fry to a crisp. And turn the whole into your chowder kettle. Pare half a dozen medium-sized potatoes and cut them in two. Peel a small onion and chop it fine. Put the potatoes into the kettle with part of the onion. Cut the fish (which should be fresh cod or haddock) into convenient pieces and lay over the potatoes; sprinkle over it the rest of the onion, season well with salt and pepper, and add just enough water to come to the top of the fish. Pour over the whole a quart can of tomatoes, cover closely, and allow about as long to cook as it takes to boil potatoes; then add two quarts of milk, and let it scald up again. Season with “Sauce Piquant” or tomato catsup, and more salt and pepper.

Forty-five clams, chopped; one quart sliced potatoes, one half pint sliced onions. Cut a few slices salt pork, fryp to a crisp, chop fine. Put in a kettle a little fat from the pork, a layer of potatoes, clams. Onions, a little pepper and salt; another layer of chopped pork, potatoes, etc, until all are in. Pour over the juice of the clams. Cook three hours, being careful not to burn.

Add a teacup of milk just before serving.

Put the fish in cold water, set on the back of the stove; when water gets hot, pour off and put on cold again until the fish is fresh enough; then pick it up. Boil potatoes and mash them; mix fish and potatoes together while potatoes are hot, taking two thirds potatoes and one-third fish. Put in plenty of butter; make into balls, and fry in plenty of lard. Have the lard hot before putting in balls.

Fifty shell oysters, one quart sweet cream; butter , pepper and salt to taste. Put the cream and oysters in separate kettles to heat, the oysters in their own liquid, and let them come to a boil; when sufficiently cooked, skim; then take them out of the liquid and put in some dish to keep warm. Put the cream and liquid together. Season to taste and thicken with powdered cracker. When sufficiently thick, sir in the oysters.

Put a layer of rolled crackers in bottom of pudding dish, layer of oysters, drained; season with butter, pepper and salt; so on till the dish is full. Then pour over coffeecup of milk. Bake three-quarters of an hour.

Put stale bread in oven to dry, roll then put in dish a layer of crumbs, layer of clams, cut in small pieces; season with butter and pepper; so on until dish is full. Pour over the clam, bake one-half hour. Cracker crumbs may be used in place of bread.

Two gallons of large oysters, drain and rinse them; put one pint of the oyster juice and one pint of vinegar over the fire, scald and skim until clear, add one tablespoonful of whole pepper, one tablespoonful of cloves, one tablespoonful of mace and even tablespoonful of salt; scald a minute and then throw in the oysters, let them just come to a boil.

The oysters should be pickled the day before they are wanted, as they grow tough after standing a few days in the vinegar.

Take large sized oysters, drain and dry; dip in egg and bread cracker crumbs. Fry in hot butter or lard.

VINTAGE RECIPES—SOUPS

“Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard”

or

Canadian Cook Book, 1881

BEEF SOUP

Boil a soup bone the day before wanting it; skim the grease off next day, and melt the jelly; add spices to taste. A little brandy, a small teacup of butter rubbed in browned flour, a little vermicelli, and a grated carrot.

Boil three eggs hard, mash smooth, put in tureen, and pour soup over them.

Two small carrots, four onions, two turnips, two cloves, one tablespoon salt; pepper to taste. Herbs—marjoram, parsley and thyme. Any cooked or uncooked meat. Put the soup bones in enough water to cover them; when they boil, skim them and add the vegetables. Simmer three or four hours, then strain through a colander and put back in the sauce-pan to reheat,

Boil one-half pound macaroni until quite tender, and place in soup tureen, and pour the soup over it—the last thing.

Vermicelli will only need to be soaked a short time—not boiled.

One can of tomatoes. One quart boiling water; strain and add one teaspoon soda, one pint milk, a little butter, pepper and salt; let it scald, not boil; add two rolled crackers.

One gallon of water, one quart peas soaked over night, one-quarter pound salt pork, cut in bits; one pound lean beef, cut the same. Boil slowly two hours, or until the water is reduced one-half. Pour in a colander, and press the peas through. Return to the kettle. And add one small head celery, chopped fine. A little parsley and marjoram. Have three or four slices of bread. Fried in butter, cut up and put in the soup when served.

Boil in one quart of water a small slice salt pork. One or two onions, six or eight good size potatoes, boiled, mashed fine and put with the pork and onions. Boil half an hour, and add milk to make about as this as pea soup. Pepper and salt.

Just before taking up, add a small piece of butter; strain through a colander.

One pint black beans, soaked in cold water over night; add one gallon water, one-half pound salt pork, one-half pound beef, one or two onions and a grated carrot. Strain after boiling three or four hours, add a little wine, one lemon and one hard boiled egg, sliced, into the tureen. Pour the soup over them.

Boil a shank bone of beef all day for a soup of four quarts;One can of tomatoes, boil two hours, then strain; add one teaspoon cloves, one-half teaspoon cinnamon, one-half teaspoon all spice. Mace. Pepper and salt to taste. Grated peel and juice of one lemon.

One teaspoon brown flower, moistened with water, pour into soup and boil half an hour.

One-half dozen eggs, boil hard; chop the whites, leaving the yokes whole; add to soup when serving,

Three eggs slightly beaten, two tablespoons of water, pinch of salt; add flour to make a stiff dough; roll as thin as wafer, sprinkle over the flour, and roll into tight roll; cut into thin slices and let dry for an hour before putting into soup.

Three pounds soup bone, one quart black beans, soaked over night and drained; one onion, chopped fine; juice of one lemon, Pepper salt and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Boil the soup bone, beans and onions together six hours; strain, and add seasoning. Slice lemon and put on top when served.

Four potatoes, two onions, two ounces of butter, one-quarter ounce of salt; pepper to taste; one pint of milk, three tablespoons tapioca. Boil slowly all the vegetables with two quarts of water several hours, then strain through the colander, and add the milk and tapioca. Boil slowly and stir constantly fifteen minutes, and it is ready to serve.

VINTAGE RECIPES – WAYS WITH BANANAS

[Welland Tribune June 23, 1905]

Delicious ways of using bananas are given by Elizabeth W. Morrison in the May Housekeeper.

Cut half a dozen bananas into heaf inch slices and some bread into small pieces and place a layer of these in the bottom of a pudding dish. Add a layer of bananas, two tablespoonfuls sugar and one tablespoonful lemon juice. Repeat these layers until all have been used, having the bread on the topmost. Put over the top a tablespoonful melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake in a quick oven for half an hour. Put a  meringue on top and garnish with sliced bananas dipped in lemon juice

BAKED BANANAS
Place on a buttered dish six bananas peeled and cut in halves lengthwise. Baste with the following dressing: One level tablespoonful butter,juice of one lemon, Use half of this dressing and bake 15 minutes, then use the remainder and bake 15 minutes longer and serve either hot or cold, with currant jelly or fruit sauce.

BANANA CROQUETTES
Cut peeled fruit into two-inch pieces, set in lemon juice over night, then egg and crumb and fry in deep, hot fat. Serve with orange sweet sauce or use to garnish roast fowl or game.

CHARTREUSE OF BANANAS
Line a mold with jelly and decorate with thinly sliced bananas, set with a little more jelly. Rub three ripe bananas through a hair sieve, then add to them one ounce sugar, one tablespoonful gelatine dissolved in a little warm water, the juice of half a lemon, and three gills of stiffly whipped cream; pour into a mould and put on ice or in a cool place to set. Serve with whipped cream arranged at the base when unmolded.

BANANAS WITH FRUIT SAUCE
.Pick over one quart strawberries, drain and mash them. Sprinkle over them one cupful sugar and let them stand until the sugar is dissolved.
Stir occasionally, then squeeze through cheese cloth or press through a strainer Peel four bananas, remove all the stringy membranes, cut them crosswise and arrange them on a shallow dish and pour juice over them. Keep in a cool place until ready to serve..