In the winter, especially around the holidays, most of my memories of my Grandmother are of her in the big ranch house kitchen. The big, black "Home Comfort" range was kept stoked with coal, while I *helped*, mostly by tasting!
By some miracle, one of the very few keepsakes that survived the second fire in my life was Grandma's cookbook. I remember her telling me that she received it as a wedding gift when she married Grandpa, when she was just 16 years old.
The book itself is worn to the point where there is no title visible on the cover. Recipes that she cut out of magazines and newspapers over the years have been pasted on all of the non-recipe pages, most dating back to the early 1900s.
I am entertained by the recipes, which start with the basics. "To Roast A Goose". Having drawn and singed the goose ... can you imagine what the average housewife of today would do faced with a just-plucked goose? Further on, the cook is instructed to "tie the goose securely round with a greased string and paper the breast to prevent scorching" and adding that the fire must be brisk and well kept up.
The final note to the cook is a warning that "if a goose is old it is useless to cook it, as when hard and tough it cannot be eaten."
Even more precious to me are several recipes that were particular favorites, written down in her own handwriting, faded now as well as spotted and blotched from years of use.
One unexpected find as I paged through was a small lock of light brown hair, tied with a piece of string. It has to be a lock of my mother's hair when she was a child. Another amazing keepsake, preserved all these years.
The recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies I particularly recall, a favorite I often asked for and one of the first I *helped* Grandma make. She was so familiar with the recipe some of the ingredients don't show amounts, but some experimentation on my part has produced cookies "just like Grandma used to make".
Grandma's oatmeal and raisin cookies
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups oatmeal (do not use the quick-cook oatmeal)
Mix the above ingredients well.
1 to 2 cups raisins depending on how many raisins you like in your cookies and let stand for 15 minutes. Then add:
3 cups regular flour (plus, see below)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 to 5 tsp cinnamon (depending on how "cinnamon-y" you like them)
Stir until dry ingredients are well mixed, then continue adding flour by the 1/2 cup until you have a moderately stiff dough. Place bowl in refrigerator to chill 30 to 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop dough onto cookie sheet in rounded spoonfuls. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until top of cookie is firm to touch and leaves no indentation.
I eat far too many of "Grandma's cookies" when I make them and they always take me back to the winter days when I sat at the kitchen table, waiting impatiently for the first cookie warm out of the oven.
By some miracle, one of the very few keepsakes that survived the second fire in my life was Grandma's cookbook. I remember her telling me that she received it as a wedding gift when she married Grandpa, when she was just 16 years old.
The book itself is worn to the point where there is no title visible on the cover. Recipes that she cut out of magazines and newspapers over the years have been pasted on all of the non-recipe pages, most dating back to the early 1900s.I am entertained by the recipes, which start with the basics. "To Roast A Goose". Having drawn and singed the goose ... can you imagine what the average housewife of today would do faced with a just-plucked goose? Further on, the cook is instructed to "tie the goose securely round with a greased string and paper the breast to prevent scorching" and adding that the fire must be brisk and well kept up.
The final note to the cook is a warning that "if a goose is old it is useless to cook it, as when hard and tough it cannot be eaten."
Even more precious to me are several recipes that were particular favorites, written down in her own handwriting, faded now as well as spotted and blotched from years of use.
One unexpected find as I paged through was a small lock of light brown hair, tied with a piece of string. It has to be a lock of my mother's hair when she was a child. Another amazing keepsake, preserved all these years.The recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies I particularly recall, a favorite I often asked for and one of the first I *helped* Grandma make. She was so familiar with the recipe some of the ingredients don't show amounts, but some experimentation on my part has produced cookies "just like Grandma used to make".
Grandma's oatmeal and raisin cookies
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups oatmeal (do not use the quick-cook oatmeal)
Mix the above ingredients well.
1 to 2 cups raisins depending on how many raisins you like in your cookies and let stand for 15 minutes. Then add:
3 cups regular flour (plus, see below)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 to 5 tsp cinnamon (depending on how "cinnamon-y" you like them)
Stir until dry ingredients are well mixed, then continue adding flour by the 1/2 cup until you have a moderately stiff dough. Place bowl in refrigerator to chill 30 to 60 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop dough onto cookie sheet in rounded spoonfuls. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until top of cookie is firm to touch and leaves no indentation.
I eat far too many of "Grandma's cookies" when I make them and they always take me back to the winter days when I sat at the kitchen table, waiting impatiently for the first cookie warm out of the oven.
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