Friday, March 2, 2012

The Ides of February!

          Most years, it's March!  This year is was February for sure!
          Starting with an insane glitch in my health insurance policy that took weeks to straighten out (turned out to be an internal glitch in their computers), a trip to the hospital for my computer (totally unrelated), and ending with what I thought was a sniffling, sneezing bug (turned out to be a form of rhinitis that is affecting scads of people due to our crazy warm winter weather), I readily embraced March with open arms!
         The health insurance is supposed to be straightened out, the computer is fixed, and my medication is taking hold (I had coughed so much I was in danger of losing my voice....and we certainly can't let THAT happen!!)  

         So....let's celebrate the fact that spring is trying its best to be early (which we know better than to believe in Oklahoma) by visiting the Ledger Ladies for some more of their recipes...I marked some interesting ones whilst trying to be quiet.

        Tucked away in the back of the second ledger were those clipped out recipes from the Cleveland Press plus a torn-in-half offering envelope from the Trinity Lutheran Church in Lakewood, Ohio.  A quick look at the atlas shows us that Lakewood is just outside Cleveland,  so perhaps we can give our long ago ladies a sense of identity and refer to them as the Lakewood Ladies...and perhaps we might not be too far off.
         I've sorted through a lot of the recipes and discarded the ones where the faded handwriting was too difficult to read, or the directions left much to be desired (amazing how many things they "knew" from experience that we would have to have explained today!)    I decided against the recipe that called for "a piece of suet" (aren't you glad!) as well as the one for holiday fruit cake whose ingredients would make your eyes water!
         So...while I'm looking for the arrival of new insurance cards and waiting for the day that my sneezing and coughing will come to a welcome end, let's see if there's something that will interest you from those great gals...the Lakewood Ladies!

 
Treasure Pudding

1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. honey
2 beaten eggs
1 c. chopped fruit  (it doesn't specify)
1 T lemon rind
1 c. grated carrots
1/2c walnut meats
2-1/2 c sifted flour
1 t. salt
2 t baking powder
1/2 t. soda
1/2 t. nutmeg
3/4 c. sweet milk

Cream shortening.  Add honey and blend.  Add beaten eggs.  Add fruit, rind, carrots and nuts.
Sift dry ingredients.  Add alternately with milk.
Bake in tube pan 1 hr. and 15 minutes at 325 degrees.  If baked in pan bake one hour.


Orange Sauce

3 T. flour  mix together with 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. orange juice
1 c. hot water, cook until thick.
 Add:
1 T grated orange rind and
3 T butter.
Serve hot.


Beulah's Frozen Grape Salad  
 (Note in margin says: Good!!)
2 3 oz. pkgs cream cheese
2 T mayonnaise
2 T. pineapple syrup
24 marshmallows quartered
1 #2 can (2-1/2 cups) pineapple tidbits drained
1 c. cream whipped
2 c Tokay grapes, halved and seeded.


Soften cream cheese, blend with mayonnaise.  Beat in the pineapple syrup.  Add marshmallows and drained pieapple tidbits..
Fold in whipped cream and grapes.  Pour into a 1 qt. refrigerator tray.  Freeze until firm.
Cut into squares.  Makes 8 servings.


Nippy Salad   ( Blanche's) 
(This was hard to decipher...thought it might be "nifty"...but read the ingredients.....)

1 pkg. lime jello
1-1/4 c boiling water
1 c. well-drained crushed pineapple
2 pkgs. of Philadelphia cream cheese 3 oz size
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 T horseradish  (it says tablespoons...use your own discretion!)

When jello is partially set, add pineapple, cheese and mayonnaise and horseradish. 
 (I  put mayonnaise, pineapple and 2T horseradish in cream cheese and stir well until smooth and put in jello when partially set...we will assume "I" is Blanche).


          This one particularly intrigued me...I've never eaten an oatmeal cake, but love oatmeal cookies.

Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake 
 9" square pan
1-1/4 c boiling water
1 c. quick rolled oats
1/2 c softened shortning
1 c. gran. sugar
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
1-1/2 c. flour
1 t. soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg

Frosting

1/4 c. melted butter/margarine
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
3 T cream or half and half
1/3 c. nuts, chopped
3/4 c. coconut

Pour water over oats and cover. Let stand 20 minutes.
Beat butter until creamy.  Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy.
Blend in vanilla and eggs.  Add oats mixture.  Mix well.
Sift together flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. 
Add to creamed mixture.  Mix well.
Pour batter into well greased and floured pan. 
Bake 350 degrees 50-55 mins.  Do not remove from pan.

Mix frosting all together; spread on cake.
Put under broiler for just a couple of seconds until bubbly.


           In the next few weeks I'll be gleaning recipes from some other very vintage sources: cookbooks I've found from the family of an Oklahoma beauty queen...and some down right home cooking from the past from good Oklahoma farm cooks!

           In the meantime, enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. These recipes are SO up my alley! I may have to make that oatmeal cake (will let you know how it turns out). Hope you are feeling better.
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete