Let them eat cake. (The country kitchen).Had it not been for the fact that my mother was born in a different century, I would have thought she was within earshot ear·shot n. The range within which sound can be heard by the unaided ear; hearing distance: listened until the parade was out of earshot. of Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (ăntwənĕt`, äNtwänĕt`), 1755–93, queen of France, wife of King Louis XVI and daughter of Austrian Archduchess Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. when she proclaimed, "Let them eat cake!" A good Ozark cook, she could prepare almost anything, but when her table-swaying meals were reduced to leftovers, that's when she could really shine. Seldom did she consult her old frayed family cookbooks Family cookbooks are collections of recipes, that may or may not be a generation or more old, sometimes including family history and photos of the family members. These cookbooks may be written in notebooks, put in ring binders, or professionally published by one of several , relying instead upon a good knowledge of food and her adventuresome nature. We were a big family, nine in all. To keep us all fed she turned leftovers into stomach-filling meals. The small amount of black-eyed peas left from our noon meal reappeared on the supper table as a platterful of golden brown pancakes. Tasting her delicious potato pancakes Potato pancakes, also known as kartoffelpuffer or latkes or latkas (Yiddish: לאַטקעס), are shallow-fried cakes of grated potato and egg, often flavoured with grated onion. , you'd never know they were made from a little bowl of cold unappealing leftover mashed potatoes n. pl. 1. Potatoes which have been boiled and mashed to a pulpy consistency, usu. with sparing addition of milk, salt, butter, or other flavoring. It is a popular accompaniment to a meat course [U.S., 1900's], providing bulk and calories to a meal. . Not all of her "cakes" were made from leftovers. Her tasty hot fish cakes were always made fresh. One can of mackerel mackerel, common name for members of the family Scombridae, 60 species of open-sea fishes, including the albacore, bonito, and tuna. They are characterized by deeply forked tails that narrow greatly where they join the body; small finlets behind both the dorsal and was stretched to feed the whole family. There were never any uneaten fish cakes left at the end of a meal. They went fast. We were served cakes at least once a day. For breakfast it was pancakes, either plain or the cornmeal corn·meal also corn meal n. Meal made from corn, used in a wide variety of foods. Also called Indian meal. Noun 1. type. The other meals included fish cakes, squash cakes, potato pancakes, or pea cakes. Vegetables and dessert were placed on the table, but the other "cakes" were the heart of each meal. As a young bride, many years ago, I found it difficult to cut her recipes down to feed just two people. We always had more than we could eat, leaving our refrigerator filled with leftovers. Mama's old cake recipes really helped a young couple stretch their small food budget. Seems each generation of our family takes the old recipes and creates their own new versions by adding their own choice of ingredients. The younger ones like to put the hot fish cakes on a bun with mustard and pickles. We all like to eat the hoe hoe, usually a flat blade, variously shaped, set in a long wooden handle and used primarily for weeding and for loosening the soil. It was the first distinctly agricultural implement. The earliest hoes were forked sticks. cakes with a steaming hot bowl of chili. As long as we have leftovers from our noon meal, supper at our house will always be "a piece of cake!" Hoe Cakes 1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup boiling water Mix ingredients together as quickly as you can. Grease hands and form batter into cakes about 2 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Drop into hot fat, sufficient to half cover cakes. Fry until crispy crisp·y adj. crisp·i·er, crisp·i·est 1. Firm but easily broken or crumbled; crisp. 2. Having small curls, waves, or ripples. brown, turning once. Serve hot. Potato Pancakes 2 cups cold mashed potatoes 1/2 cup self-rising flour 2/3 cup milk 3 eggs Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into pancakes and fry. (Corn or onions may be added to the mix.) Apple Skillet Cake 1-1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup oil 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 egg 2 apples, peeled and sliced 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup chopped pecans Sift together flour, salt, soda and sugar; add remaining ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased iron skillet. Bake in 350[degrees]F oven 40-50 minutes. Serve warm with a little butter on top. Fish Cakes 1 onion, minced 2 tablespoons butter 2 cups canned fish (salmon or mackerel) 3/4 cup cracker crumbs 1 egg, lightly beaten Salt and pepper to taste Cook onion lightly in 1 tablespoon butter. In a large mixing bowl combine cracker crumbs Noun 1. cracker crumbs - crumbs of crackers used especially for coating or thickening crumb - small piece of e.g. bread or cake , egg, onion, fish, salt and pepper
Shape mixture into 6 cakes. Brown the cakes in a heavy skillet in the remaining butter. Serve hot. Poor Man's Cake 2-1/2 cups flour 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup shortening 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add salt and sugar. Add to the bowl vanilla and 3/4 cup of the milk. Mix until the flour is dampened. Beat 300 strokes. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 inch pan and dust it with flour. Pour batter into pan and bake in a 350[degrees]F oven for 30-35 minutes. Cool. Lemon Glaze 1 cup powdered sugar Juice from one lemon Mix the juice with the powdered sugar stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Pour over warm cake. Let cool. Half of this cake was served at our noon meal with the lemon glaze glaze, in pottery glaze, translucent layer that coats pottery to give the surface a finish or afford a ground for decorative painting. Glazes—transparent, white, or colored—are fired on the clay. . The other half (unfrosted) was cut into squares and placed on small dessert plates. As she passed the plates around the table, Mama topped each one with canned peaches letting the juice soak in and drizzle down the sides. CAROL CHANDLER 11307 CHANDLER LN. HARRISBURG, AR 72432 |
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