VINTAGE RECIPES

My mother had three recipe boxes – her first, her second, and the one that was current as she moved from the family home. (Hard to believe that was almost 30 years ago.) Also, one drawer of her kitchen desk was devoted to recipes from magazines, newspapers, friends, product packaging, etc., and in the basement, she had a drawer filled with a similar collection from bygone eras. On a shelf were Grandma Portfors’ (mother’s mother) two recipe boxes. To my way of thinking, all this constituted a treasure trove. I braced myself for a fight with my older sisters.

 “What about the recipes?” I cautiously ventured.

“You can have them,” said one. The other, nodding in agreement, said, “and take the cookbooks, too.”

“You don’t want them?!” I asked in disbelief.

“No,” they answered emphatically and in unison.

Score! I came home with Mother’s (and Grandma’s) recipe boxes, her cookbooks, and a packing box full of loose recipes and pamphlets. I couldn’t believe my good fortune! Harriet and Joni had just let me walk out of the house with our family’s recipe history. (It would be 20 years before I fully recognized my love of fading vintage paper.)

The recipe boxes are still intact – sort of – but I had to work through that box of loose clippings and pamphlets. I couldn’t keep it all, but I came out of it with an interesting collection of vintage recipes.

Today, recipes abound. All you need is your smart phone and internet access, but back in the day it wasn’t so. The homemaker kept her eyes open for tasty recipes to expand her repertoire.

So, I have this bulging folder full of old recipes. Some are so faded that it’s time to salvage them if I’m going to, and I thought it would be fun to share some of them here. It may not be practical to try these recipes in your own test kitchen, but they have vintage value nevertheless.

Let’s start with Aunt Ethel’s recipe for “Chicken Fried Hot Dogs,” which my mother wrote on a recipe card. Interesting that Mother would go to the trouble to write this out. If I served this to my husband, he would think I’d taken leave of my senses, but back in the day, we weren’t so concerned about all that fat and salt, and some folks even said that a good ol’ beef wienie hit the spot. KW

COTTAGE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Here we are – two weeks out from Christmas and one week into the new year – and we have made just one trip to the grocery store (outside of buying milk) just to pick up a few items. I buy a lot of food before Christmas so that I have on hand everything that anyone could want. (There’s no quick trip to the market from the farmhouse.) In addition to having a surplus of food due to the holidays, I also have to make room for the contents of the farmhouse fridge. I’m trying to use things up and also combine containers.

I discovered a brand-new carton of cottage cheese in the back of my fridge the other day with an expiration date of Nov. 9. Yikes! Upon examination, it still seemed good. I have this theory that if products remain sealed in the fridge, they will last beyond the expiration date, but what would be the best way to use it now? Of course, Bess would be happy to have it on her food, but I remembered a chocolate cookie recipe I used in the ‘70s. I lost track of it years ago, but as luck would have it, I found it as I was reviewing Mother’s recipes. Here it is:

COTTAGE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

2 cups butter or margarine

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 cup cottage cheese

1 T vanilla (yes, a tablespoon)

2 eggs

5 cups flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Powdered sugar

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy.

Add cottage cheese and vanilla; beat thoroughly.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together flour, cocoa, soda, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.

Stir in nuts and chocolate pieces.

Form into one-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar.

Place on greased cookie sheet. (Parchment paper worked great!)

Bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Yield: 6-7 dozen cookies

This makes such a big batch that it was difficult to mix. It could easily be halved, and another time I would do that. I was just so determined to use that cottage cheese! Also, I discovered that I had no powdered sugar, so I did without, but it did make a difference in the end product.

This recipe was printed in the “Bon Appetite” section of the Washington Water Power Family Gazette, August 1976. The home economist was Mona Mitchell. Back in the day, I looked forward to this little flier, but eventually it all went away. I’m not sure we have home economists any more – or even who owns our utilities company. But back in the day, Mona was great. KW

SNOW AT GILBERT

Christmas Eve, 2019

As I got up Monday morning (Jan. 6), Mike said the weather didn’t look good for the rest of the week, and we should go to the farm and do what we needed to do.

It wasn’t an early start because we went to yoga first. It was 10:20 when we left the town house. It rained at 37 degrees as we traveled up the Clearwater. We stopped at Subway in Orofino and picked up a couple of sliders for our lunch.

Jan. 6, 2020

We began to see snow before we were halfway up the Gilbert Grade. With the press of a button, the Trail Hawk easily went into “snow mode,” and we had no difficulties. We passed the snowplow on his way down the grade, and as we wended our way across the ridge, we saw another plow at work. At the last turn, the road isn’t maintained in winter, but seeing that we were accessing the property, the snowplow followed us in. We had no problems in the lane. Mike estimated 5 to 6 inches of snow.

I unloaded the refrigerator, gathered the bedding and towels, and picked up a few items we wanted. I also removed the ornaments and lights from the tree, but the rest of that process will have to wait. Mike drained the holding tank and worked on the wall furnace. Then he loaded the 4-wheeler onto the trailer. Bess fussed the whole time we were there.

Jan. 6, 2020

It was 3:15 as we left to return to town. It had ceased to snow, but the wind was blowing. We decided to avoid muddy, slushy curves and go the alternate route through Nezperce. As we traveled Russell Ridge Road, I noticed the temperature was 34, but at Culdesac it was 43. (I also know how fast Mike was driving and other useful info.) The temp was 49 as we arrived at the town house, 50 at bedtime, and still 50 when we got up this morning! KW