CLOTTED CREAM -- INA'S RECIPE

Same house, different era

After Grandpa Jack Dobson died in 1946, their daughter Myrtle came to the farm to serve as Ina’s caregiver. In late middle age herself, Myrtle was still spry, energetic, and strong. Her early years with Ina were productive. They spent many hours together while Ina dictated her life story. Perhaps they also sorted things in the house. Myrtle was a great organizer.

AND – Myrtle reorganized Ina’s recipe box. I know she did because she initialed notations on recipe cards and also added recipes to the box. It’s easy to tell Myrtle’s even, legible cursive, always written in ink, from Ina’s penciled scrawl. Ina’s recipes are disappearing, fading right off the cards. It’s too bad, but I’m not going to use those recipes anyway. Modern methods are so much better.

Myrtle’s recipes reflect an interest in the expanding cuisine of the 1950s, while Ina’s are for cakes, cookies, bread, a few salads, canning, and preserves. I also come upon oddball recipes that are such fun to read. Here’s one for clotted cream:

1 gal milk. Let stand 24 hours. Place in pan of water on stove and heat till a ring forms around edge. Do not boil. Then stand this aside for another 24 hours, when it will make a heavy new firm cream. Delicious.

Ina's recipes, written in pencil, are fading away

I had never heard of clotted cream, so I googled it, and AI gave me this brief overview: Clotted cream is a thick, rich, and luxurious British dairy spread made by slowly heating heavy cream so the cream rises and forms buttery "clots" on the surface. It boasts a silky texture similar to softened cream cheese, a nutty-sweet flavor, and contains 55-64% butterfat. So, it’s a cross between cream and butter and is delicious when spread on scones and topped with jam.

If you want to make clotted cream, I recommend searching a recipe using today’s methods. Remember, Ina’s milk was actually raw milk from the cow. Today’s recipes call for cream. I’m intrigued, but I probably won’t go to the trouble since we seldom use cream. We don’t even stray from skim milk to one-percent unless we absolutely have to, and yes, my custards are watery. That’s just the way it is.

But – when I was a child, we always had a jar of cream in the fridge. My dad loved cream, and in those days, we could buy raw cream from our “egg lady.” Daddy used it frequently on his cereal, in his coffee, and on whatever else he thought would be enhanced by a tablespoon or two. I considered that jar nasty and didn’t touch it.

And Mother would whip cream for strawberry shortcake. We use non-dairy whipped products instead – or nothing at all. Mother also made cream puffs, which she would serve to the ladies of her sewing circle. Don’t look to me to make them for you.

As we move into summer, I think of Ina's big vegetable garden and tasty fresh produce – so good for us – but the farm diet was also heavy in fat – eggs, bacon, cream, butter, and don’t forget about lard. Today we worry about fast food, but perhaps every generation has its food challenges. KW

PLAIN FOOD AND LEFTOVERS

 

We have about three feet of snow and it is cold. It began piling up week before last and we have had sub-zero weather off and on ever since. Dad keeps a lantern in the cellar “of a nite” and nothing has frozen. – Ina Dobson, February 1936

Hallie wonders: “Now I’m curious about the recipes. Was it mostly, ‘here are your peas, here are your potatoes and here’s your chicken’ or did they make casseroles and soups and such? Did they have an ice box / refrigerator? Could they ever just heat up leftovers for dinner or did they have to cook every night because they couldn’t store the food?”

The short answer is that it was just plain food – meat, potatoes, garden vegetables and berries in season, and homemade bread. If they had leftovers, I’m sure they used them up quickly.

Refrigeration was not available at our farmhouse until Vance (my dad) brought in a propane fridge in the ‘50s and parked it where the water tank sits today. In the old days, the family had a cold house built into the bank off the kitchen porch, which they called the “cellar.” It had sawdust between the walls, and it was cool even in summer but as the above note indicates, things could freeze there in the cold of winter. In 1996, when the pine tree hit the house, it also obliterated the cellar and that was that. It was time for it to go anyway.

So, yes, they had a way to preserve food, though not to today’s standards. Sunday’s pot roast might have been stored in the cellar and served again on Monday. Next, any leftover meat and vegetables could be cut up and warmed in gravy. My mother did this, and I loved it. Or, they might grind up leftover beef roast, potatoes, and onions for a tasty hash, a favorite of mine that I haven’t tasted since childhood and likely won’t again.

Of course, Ina roasted or stewed chicken, and in those days, chickens were smaller than today. Chicken probably wasn’t left over too often, and that was a good thing since it doesn’t keep well. I know that Ina made soup, and this was another means of using leftovers. My dad said homemade soup was better than the canned variety we all know so well. I didn’t agree. If canned soup is an acquired taste, I have acquired it.

I think the main meal was usually at noon, so meal prep took place in the morning, especially in summer. When the farm crew was working, they needed a good midday meal, and then perhaps the family ate leftovers in the evening, but sometimes they were so tired that they just had bread and milk. And it wouldn’t surprise me if during strawberry season they had strawberry shortcake for supper. (I would if I could get away with it.)

Myrtle Dobson

Recipes? I believe that cooking for the homesteading farmwife was less about following a recipe and more about what she learned at her mother’s elbow or through her own experience. I have Ina’s recipe box, and I see that she exchanged recipes for cakes and cookies with her neighbors. It does not contain recipes for casseroles except for those written by Myrtle c. 1950. Frankly, Ina took to the grave the recipes for family favorites, reinforcing my opinion that she wasn’t much into recordkeeping.

Coming soon – Ina’s recipe box

MEMORIAL DAY BOUQUETS

 

Cottonwood Butte from Gilbert Cemetery

It was cold this morning as Mike and I visited the Gilbert Cemetery with two fresh bouquets – one for Milo’s grave and the other for my dad’s. Sometimes I place artificial flowers on all the family graves, but this year I have other things to do.

Yesterday as I toured the yard, I thought I had enough flowers for the two bouquets – lilacs, iris, spirea. This morning, the lilacs are turning brown, the remaining iris are few, and the spirea flowers are dropping like snow. More iris will bloom out in a day or two but too late for us. We must visit the cemetery early this year.

The caretaker was mowing in preparation for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. We had a nice visit and expressed appreciation for his work. This is an old cemetery, and we know from experience that not many will visit, which makes his efforts all the more meaningful. I suppose we have more graves here than any other family – 24.

Milo’s marker is next to Ina and Jack’s, his great-grandparents.

Coming up – more about farmhouse kitchen practices. KW

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON INA’S GARDEN

 We are about to dine off roast chicken and dressing and baked onions & apples. “Plenty of onions,” says you, and I agree. – Ina Dobson to son Vance, Dec. 31, 1933

Myrtle Dobson (left) and her sister, Pearl Dobson Sanders

On the previous post, Hallie commented that in 1935, the Dobsons had lived here over 40 years and were still taking notes on what worked best. She observed that the experiments never end. Yes, Ina’s little notebook indicates that someone, probably her daughter Myrtle (a.k.a. Lynn), suggested the need for garden recordkeeping and set her up with the little notebook. I see that Ina missed a few years. Perhaps Myrtle wasn’t around and it wasn’t so important to Ina. I can relate because I have a garden journal now, and I not only forget to make notes but forget that I even have it! I understand the desire to keep organized records for review the next year, and maybe Ina did, too. I just don’t think Ina was totally on board with the process.

Pearl Sanders, Bernice Dryden Dobson, & Myrtle Dobson

Gardening is an experiment, and Ina’s notes leave out a lot. When did she plant? When and how did she fertilize? When and how much did she harvest from her garden? Why was her bean crop short in 1935? Did she plant again late in the summer for a fall crop? Did she hoe the weeds or did Grandpa Jack? I think rodents were a problem, but I’ve heard that prior to Dworshak Dam, the deer ran mainly on the other side of the river. I know the garden wasn’t fenced.

At any rate, the vegetable garden was important to subsistence living. Today, 55% of the American diet comes from processed food, contrasted to less than 5% in Ina’s day. During the summer, they had vegetables in abundance – at least in a good year. Imagine – 11 tomato plants for two or three people! I plant three, and if they bear, it’s enough for the two of us. And why on earth did she need four rows of lettuce? She doesn’t mention spinach. Maybe she couldn’t plant early enough for spinach. Maybe they just didn’t care for spinach.

It’s clear from her notes that Ina loved onions, grew plenty of them, and served them as a side dish. The only time we actually eat onions is when included in pot roast, but my research shows that they are quite nutritious.

Ina also grew plenty of potatoes, but there’s no mention of corn in her notes, but I know from the family letters that Grandpa grew popcorn. In December 1932, Aunt Shirley wrote that “we have so little popcorn this year as something got so much of it before we gathered it in.” My dad was proud of the corn on the cob he grew here for years, but he didn’t grow popcorn.

Gardening is weather-dependent, and in Ina’s day, the weather was different. She saw late frosts and wet soil in the spring, and it could turn cold and frost in August. The growing season was definitely shorter then than now.

Growing up here on the farm, my dad’s knowledge of gardening was cultured through his mother. I think knowing what to do and when to do it became second-nature. He was a good gardener, puttering over his garden, watching it day by day, providing a little fertilizer here or a stake there. KW

INA’S GARDEN NOTES

 

My grandmother, Ina Dobson, with her daughter Myrtle at their garden in 1950

Please have plenty of vegetables cooked and a big cake, canned or fresh fruit. If handy, chicken. – Ina Dobson, 1926

Hallie opined that the homesteaders knew exactly how much food they would need to feed a family through the winter, and I commented that they might have known but wondered it they would always have it. Living off the land can be such a gamble.

As I thought about it, I remembered Grandma Ina’s little record book. This little notebook was an advertising giveaway from the “American Wire Rope” manufacturer obtained at the John Oud Hardware Company in Orofino. It’s just a common pocket notebook with lined pages, but someone, probably one of Ina’s daughters, made it special by pasting a bright cover onto it and labeling it “garden book.” She also tied a little pencil onto it.

It’s clear that two people made entries – Grandma Ina in pencil and the daughter (either Aunt Lynn or Aunt Shirley) in ink. I thought I’d transcribe some of these notes here since the subject of food readiness more or less came up. The dates are confusing, but I think it’s because sometimes it’s what she planted for that year and sometimes she’s making notes for the next year. Sometimes it’s an inventory of what’s on hand, not what she put up. These are her notes, and she never meant that they should be read by anyone else. It just proves Hallie’s point that she knew how much produce she needed.  

In 1935 when Ina began this notebook, her children were grown and long gone with the exception of Aunt Shirley, who was in and out. So, the household had dwindled to two or three adults with occasional visitors, and it’s fascinating to see the size of her garden. It surely puts me to shame.

1935

·      Peas – about 2 ½ rows, early and late. Decided to plant all marrowfat in 1936.

·      Beans – 1 row white stringless; 2/3 row brown (John Boehm)

[Their neighbor John Boehm probably shared those beans with her.]

·      Got peas and beans from Bee [her sister Bertha] for part of canning of short crop. [I think this means that Ina’s crop was short, so she filled in with peas and beans from Bertha.]

·      Pickling onions – 9 short rows. Plenty into fall.

·      Tomato seed saved from best plant. Note date on package of seed in box.

·      Plant 4 rows of lettuce. Thin for early use.

·      2 dozen tomato plants well-spaced enuf.

Canning Record for 1935

·      Peas – 23 qts. canned the 3-hour way. Note from 1934 tried and proved. Can like this in 1936. Cook open pot until tender, then 1 hour process. Taste fresher.

·      Beans – 24 qts.

·      Beets – 6 qts.

·      Tomato puree

On August 2, 1938, she notes what she should plant in 1939:

·      About 1 row peas or less. This all kinds.

·      1/3 row beets, parsnips, and carrots

·      8 or 9 rows of onions ample

·      4 rows of lettuce ample.

·      2 rows radishes

·      1 row cress

·      3 rows Swiss chard

·      3 rows golden wax beans

·      6 cucumber hills ample

·      2 Garden Queen squash [A classic acorn squash, also called Table Queen]

·      1 dozen watermelon

·      About 6 or 8 zucchini squash

1940:

Cut four 2-gallon pails of potatoes. It made 6 rows across garden. There was one row of volunteers.

1941:

Jack cut three 10-qt. pails heaped up of potatoes. One pail Irish made some 2 rows south of orchard. 2 pails Early Rose and 1 pail small Irish planted on flat May 2.

1942:

To can raspberries, make a thin syrup and pour boiling hot over berries. Put jars into hot water about same as jars are after syrup is in. [That’s what it says.] Bring to a boil, then pull to back of stove for a little longer – 10 to 15 minutes. This is fine. Try to put up strawberries the same way. Also Logans. Myrtle and I canned raspberries as above this year of 1942.

[The following are inventories. I found it interesting to see the variety on hand.]

Oct. 6, 1936

This was probably written by Myrtle

Fruit on hand:

·      Cherries, Bing – 11 qts.

·      Royal Ann – 1 qt.

·      Olivet – 1 qt.

·      Italian prune – 1 qt.

·      Logans – 2 qts.

·      Raspberries – 1 pt.

·      Strawberries – 3 pts.

Oct. 6, 1935

·      Olivet cherries – 5 qts.

·      Apricots – 5 pts.

·      Peaches – 6 pts.

·      Gooseberries – 6 pts.

·      Pears – 1 qt.

·      Petites – 5 qts.

·      Pickled beets – 5 ½ qts.

·      Elderberries – 2 pts.

Fruit

·      Cherries (Olivet) – 16 qts.

·      Apricots (Clarkston, WA) – 24 pts.

·      Peaches (Elberta) – 1 box, 15 pts.

·      Pears (local) – 13 pts.

·      Elderberries – 3 pts.

 

WASHING MACHINE WOES

Two years ago (2024), we bought a brand new Whirlpool washing machine for the farmhouse. It worked well for me, but last summer (2025), the dealer called to say this particular model was manufactured with a faulty motherboard. They wanted to replace it while the machine was still under warranty. Well, we weren’t experiencing problems, so they said that they would order the part for the eventuality that we would need it.

A couple of weeks ago – before I had even begun to do laundry at the farmhouse this season – I found the washer’s motor purring along on its own. The only way to stop it was to unplug it. The dealer said that they would install the aforementioned part when they had other orders in our area, which happened on Thursday (May 7). The repairmen arrived mid-morning, installed the new motherboard, ran diagnostics, and pronounced the machine good to go. That’s when I should have said, “Just sit tight while I run a small load of laundry.” But of course, I didn’t say that, and they left.

Mike was nervous about the repair and suggested I try the machine immediately, but I would not be pushed. “I’ll wash tomorrow,” I said. So, when Friday came, I loaded the machine, selected my options, and pressed “start,” but it just wasn’t right. It would only fill and then drain. I turned dials and pressed buttons, but no way would it run through the cycles. I was left with soggy, soapy, unwashed clothes. I called the dealer then, and he told me to unplug the machine for at least ten minutes and try again. I did that three or four times to no avail. I spent hours working with the machine because I didn’t want them to drive here only to have it be my fault.

Mike and I have experienced frustrating appliance problems for the last ten years. And you know, I marveled that in their latter years, my parents struggled with their appliances. Honestly – I thought their age was a factor. Well, 40 years ago, we didn’t realize that we were sitting on the cusp of the “it-can’t-be-fixed” era. The dealer admitted that 75% of these washing machines have defective motherboards. I say if 75% are defective, the other 25% are likely defective, too. He said he would work with us, but we will have to wait until they are coming our way.

The big question is – Will this washing machine ever be fixed and dependable? KW

GARDEN DILEMMAS

 

Just a country scene

The little tick I found on my leg the other night announced that tick season is indeed upon us. It only gets worse. I raked the path around the pond prior to Mike’s mowing, and in the next hour I took a tick off my shirt and two off my neck. Now it’s a given that my skin will crawl for the next two months. I won’t be able to tell if it’s a tick or just the creeps. Now I remember why gardening in the spring is odious to me.  

Empire Apple Blossoms

Over the warm weekend that we were in town, the farm dried out a bit. The puddle where the clothesline stands is now completely dry so that I can hang clothes without wearing boots. The puddles in the fields are smaller, and Mike was finally able to reinstall our mailbox. The water in the hole at “Mailbox Corner” finally dried out enough to complete the job.

All three tomato plants are small but have blossoms, but true to form, the peas and spinach are making a sparse showing. Why? After considerable online research with no real answers, I concluded that even though I planted mid-April, it was still too late. I further conclude that I will probably never be able to plant early here.

Empire Apple Tree

Well, to continue reasoning along the gardening dilemma – I sent Mike to the store for a head of lettuce the other night, and he came back ranting that he had paid nearly $5.00 for it. “Everything is going to be more expensive,” he exclaimed. “EVERYTHING! Plant lettuce.” But as long-time followers know, my gardens don’t produce much of anything. It’s not like I have a big garden plot where I can grow a “victory” garden of vegetables to sustain us throughout the year. Produce is always sparse – or even non-existent, like the peas and spinach.

I just think it’s too darn hot out there. We can’t water enough to make up for those spring/summer rains that used to bring relief to our corner of the world.

Meanwhile – the strawberry plants are blooming and the rhubarb came back. The blossoms have fallen from the cherry tree, and I hope for another good harvest. The Empire apple tree is just beautiful this year. I can’t say the same for the Honey Crisp, but it IS still alive. (I was a little worried.) The pear tree in bloom was lackluster. And the lilacs are gorgeous. KW