Halloween Snacks For Teens

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. ~Henry David Thoreau

We are having a Halloween party for our teens this weekend so I've been thinking about snack and appetizer recipes that I can make for the crowd. We are asking everyone to come dressed as zombies, and we have decorations I've either saved over the years or I bought after Halloween last year.

I don't go all out for themed food because their friends are 15 through 18 years old, and mostly boys. They do love the decorations but inhale the food too quickly to appreciate anything cute. I do have Halloween and fall themed serving platters and bowls that I use each year. I'm making two pans of brownies, and putting out a large bowl of Halloween candy. I will probably serve tortilla chips, nacho cheese and the fixings. I also love dips and I might serve one or two of the following recipes for those that want something besides nachos.

Crab Dip

Ingredients:
2 packages cream cheese (8 ounce each)
2 cans crab meat (6-8 ounces)
2 tablespoons horseradish
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped green onion or chives

Combine all ingredients with a large wooden spoon until mixed well. Cover and chill until just before serving time.

Dried Beef Dip

Ingredients:
3 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each)
4 ounce jar dried beef
1/2 of a large sweet onion, minced

Shred the dried beef, and soak in warm water for 5 minutes to soften. Drain and add to the cream cheese and minced onion. This can also be put into a food processor to blend more completely. Scrape out into a serving dish and serve with bagel pieces, or pretzels.

Clam Dip

Ingredients:
8 ounce block of cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 10 1/2 ounce can of minced clams, drained
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried basil
dash or two of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Soften cream cheese at room temperature. Blend with sour cream. Add the clams, onion, spices and lemon juice. Mix together well until smooth. Chill til serving. Makes 2 cups. Serve with vegetables to dip, pretzels or crackers.

I have an article on OFL featuring Halloween entertaining ideas from 1905. Click Here.

~Brenda

1920 Luncheon Tips: No Pots & Pans

Today I have tips from the September 1920 issue of The Ladies Home Journal. I've had it in my vintage magazine collection for probably over ten years now. Back then it was mostly fiction, but there were sewing and entertaining tips as well. One article gives tips on throwing a luncheon without having to use pots and pans.

The first dish is an oyster relish using a lemons.

Cut the lemons into halves crosswise and remove the pulp. Half bury these cups in small paper cases (they look like muffin or cupcake papers) and fill them with with small oysters and a few bits of lemon pulp. At the last moment (before serving) pour over a dressing made of grated horseradish, vinegar, salt and paprika . Cover the top with whipped cream. Garnish with parsley.

I think you could use a prepared horseradish and add the paprika to it for the same type of flavoring.

The next dish suggested is a salmon soufflé served "very hot".

Mix one cupful of finely shredded canned salmon with one cupful of bechamel sauce (most cookbooks have this recipe or you can Google it.) and a cupful of bread crumbs; add to it two well-beaten eggs, a pinch of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Turn into paper cases; bake about 25 minutes.

I'm guessing the oven should be set at 325 degrees F., and I would put the paper cases on a baking sheet. The salmon should be picked free of the bones and any larger pieces of skin.

Next, the article suggests serving "Manhattan case muffins" instead of bread.

Sieve two cupfuls of flour, two and a half teaspoonfuls of flour, two and a half teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a half teaspoonful of salt into a bowl. Rub in two tablespoonfuls of butter lightly; add a quarter cup of sugar, one and a quarter cups of milk, two well beaten eggs and a cupful of cold boiled rice. Put into paper cases; bake in hot oven.

A hot oven is usually considered 400 degrees F. and I would guess 15-20 minutes for baking time.

The article suggests a method for preparing potatoes that I love because they serve a whole potato stuffed vertically of all things, instead of on it's side like we commonly do now.

Wash and bake large potatoes in their skins; when cooked cut off the tops, take out the insides and pass them through a sieve. Add two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, two tablespoonfuls of warm butter, a little pepper and a pinch of salt and mix all together. Fill the skins with this, using a potato ricer, then sprinkle over a little grated cheese, also a few little pieces of butter. Serve in paper cases.

In addition to these dishes the article recommends serving chicken, lemon meringue pie, tea and coffee.

Handy Household Tips from 1915

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot

Today I have some neat tips from the October 1915 edition of the Modern Priscilla magazine. I've had this copy for many years, and love to get it out each fall.

A Crocheting Help: When crocheting I always have a safety pin handy. When work is left unfinished, put the pin in the loop, close the pin, and many dropped or unraveled stitches are saved.

Making Over Worn Nightgowns: When a nightgown becomes worn at the neck and sleeves, cut the top off under the arms, sew on a band of beading, buy one yard of muslin, cut out neck and sleeves in one piece, sew under arm seams and join to the beading. The neck may be cut round or square and the result is a nightgown which will wear some time.

Pockets for Kitchen Aprons: A good point to remember when making new kitchen aprons is to place the pocket on the left side. It will not catch on the gas range, the food-chopper handle, or the chicken house door. Again, the housewife almost invariably stands with her right side nearest her work and for his reason the pocket is nearly always the first torn spot on the apron.

Old Glove Fingers: Cut the forefingers and thumbs from old gloves. Keep them in a box by the kitchen sink. When you have vegetables to pare, slip them on these two fingers of the right hand. They protect them from the black stains so apt to disfigure the hands after this task.

IN THE KITCHEN

To Prevent Flour Lumping: A spoonful of flour added to a fruit filling for pie, or any other wet mixture, will not become lumpy if mixed with the same amount of sugar before adding. The same is true of cornstarch in making desserts or gravies.

Quick Way to Prepare Coconut: To prepare fresh coconut for any use, in place of using the grater in the old way, just put the coconut through the meat chopper. It comes out light and fluffy and can be done in a few seconds ; and best of all, you have no bruised and bleeding fingers from using the grater.

On OFL I wrote an article on preventing bugs from wintering indoors this winter. Read it here.

Old Fashioned Cookie Recipes

I love baking cookies, but hate having to buy special ingredients. I only keep basic ingredients on hand, and like to keep things simple. Yes, I'm a spur of the moment baker, except at the holidays. These recipes were in a booklet my dad gave me this summer. It was printed by the Detroit Free Press in the 1950's and titled The Detroit Free Press Women's Department Service Bureau. The cookie recipes are basic and simple, which I love. I did change some of the text because the publication has typos and awkward wording.

Rolled Oatmeal Cookies

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup thin cream

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup oatmeal (rolled fine)

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Beat egg until light. Add sugar, cream and milk to egg. Add oatmeal and flour, baking powder and salt mixed and sifted together. Chill, roll out on a lightly floured board, cut with a floured cookie cutter and bake on a greased cookie sheet in a moderate oven at 350 degrees F.

Butterscotch Refrigerator Cookies

1 1/2 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

3 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

Cream butter, add sugar and well beaten eggs. Mix well. Add flour and baking powder sifted together. Mix to a dough. Shape in rolls, wrap in waxed paper and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake or for at least 12 hours. Slice thin and bake on a greased and floured cookie sheet in a 375 degrees F. oven.

Delicious Drop Cookies

2/3 cup shortening

1/2 white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour milk

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Cream the shortening with the sugars. Add the eggs, unbeaten, and then the sour milk. Sift the flour with the soda and spices in another bowl. Add to the first mixture. It may be necessary to add a bit more flour to make the batter the correct consistency. Drop on a greased baking sheet and bake in a hot oven (400 degrees F.) for 8-10 minutes.

Butter Cream Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, separated

2 1/4 cup cake or pastry flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Cream butter and add the sugar gradually. Add egg yolks and mix. Add the flour and baking powder sifted together. Mix thoroughly. Shape with a cookie press or mold into slightly flattened balls and dip tops in unbeaten egg white, then in granulated sugar. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 15 minutes. Makes 4 dozen.

Notes: With simple recipes like these it's easy to make changes in the spices, and change the flavor of the cookies.

On OFL I have an article with spicy cookie recipes for Fall treats.

~Brenda

Old Fashioned Fall Apple Recipes

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

I love autumn as many of you know, and apples are one of my favorite things this time of year, especially when they are fresh from an orchard. I finished an article for OFL last week with old fashioned apple recipes, and afterwards I found another one of my old cookbooks that had a few neat recipes. As I said, I love visiting orchards, but sometimes they aren't the most inexpensive place to buy apples, especially if they're geared more towards tourists. I picked up a bag of fresh Gala apples at the local grocery store for .59 cents a pound this week.

The following recipes are from 1933 edition of Magic Chef Cooking published by the American Stove Company in St. Louis, Missouri.

Scalloped Apples

Temperature 400 degrees F.; Time, 30 minutes

6 medium apples

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

Pare, core and slice the apples. Place in a buttered casserole and add the cinnamon, salt, lemon juice and water. Work the sugar, flour and butter together until crumb like in consistency. Spread this over the apples and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 6 servings.

Apple Dumplings

Temperature, 425 degrees F.; Time, 35-40 minutes

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup fat

4 1/2 tbsp. water

6 apples

6 tbsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. butter

For Syrup:

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

Make a paste of the flour, salt, fat and water according to the directions for Plain Pastry (below). Roll out and cut into 6 inch squares. Place a pared and cored apple on each square. Add 1 tbsp. of sugar, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp. butter to each apple. Fold the dough around the apples. Prick with a fork and place in a baking dish. Heat the water, sugar and butter together until the sugar and butter are melted. Then pour this syrup around the dumplings. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. 6 servings.

Plain Pastry

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup fat

4-5 tablespoons ice water

Sift the salt with the flour which has been sifted once before measuring. The fat should be worked into this, care being taken not to soften it more than necessary. Use a fork or two knives to cut it in. When the fat has been worked until it is of uniform size, add the the cold water, slowly, until the mixture becomes a stiff dough which will hold together in one ball.

Note: Use shortening for the fat in both recipes.

Apple Tarts

Temperature, 400 degrees; Time, 35 minutes

3 cups apples

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 pint cream

Mix the sliced apples with the sugar, salt, flour and cinnamon. Put into small pastry lined tart tins. Pour in enough cream to almost cover. Strips of pastry may be put across the top, if desired, or the tarts can be baked with no covering. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Plain Tart Pastry

1 cup pastry flour

1/3 tsp. salt

1/3 cup butter

3 tbsp. ice water

Measure the flour after sifting once. Sift again with the salt. Cut in the butter and add enough ice water to make a stiff dough. The dough may be baked over small pans made expressly for the purpose, or muffin pans may be used. Makes 6 tart shells.

You can read my new article with more old fashioned apple recipes here.

~Brenda

Homemaking Tips from 1933

I was cleaning my bedroom earlier tonight, and was distracted by my bookshelves. Yes, it happens often:) I pulled out my copy of Foods and Home Making by Carlotta C. Greer, published in 1933. I thumbed through it to find a few tidbits I could share with you. I love the tip on how to be seated and how to sit properly in a chair. I have two teenagers that would have trouble keeping their feet on the floor!

Butter Spreaders: Individual knives are used for spreading butter on bread or crackers. Butter spreaders may be used for placing cream cheese or marmalade on bread. Do not spread these foods on bread. A butter spreader placed on a bread and butter plate parallel with the edge of the table is easily grasped with the right hand.

Eating Crackers with Soup: It is good manners to break up crackers and drop them in soup. Crackers should be eaten somewhat as bread. Break off a bit at a time and eat the small piece without dipping it in the soup.

Crisp Crackers: If crackers are allowed to stand exposed to the air, they absorb moisture and lose their crispness. They become crisp again when heated. Place crackers on a pie pan or baking sheet. Bake them in a hot oven-400 degrees F-for 8 to 10 minutes.

Cake Failures

-Cracked Crust: too much moisture or sugar or baking powder

-Dry: too much flour or too slow of an oven

-Tough: too little fat

-Heavy: too little baking powder or falling during baking or after removing from oven. Falling of cakes may be due to-

1.Too much fat or sugar or baking powder
2.Too little flour
3.Jarring during baking

How and where shall we be seated at the table? Custom makes some things correct. It has been customary to stand behind the chair in which we are going to sit at the table. Stand until the hostess starts to sit down. Then, unless it is inconvenient, move to the left of your chair and be seated. Rise from the left of the left of the chair, also. Sit straight in your chair with your feet resting on the floor-not on the rungs of the chair. If this position if not comfortable, you may cross your feet, but not your knees.

On OFL we have an article on one family's tradition of "sewing day".

~Brenda

October Garden Tips

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

We are almost to October believe it or not. Autumn officially arrived last week, though in California I hear it feels like the middle of summer with the heat wave they are going through right now. Here in Michigan we are back to cool mornings and nights down into the 40's already. It's time to start preparing for cold weather while the days are cool and sunny.

Once the frost starts damaging annuals, or they simply aren't looking nice any longer, pull up the plants and put them in the compost pile IF they are healthy and without mildew or other disease. There are some exceptions: if you want the plant to reseed where you have it now, then leave on the seed heads and allow them to dry and scatter. I do this with morning glories, calendula and nasturtiums. Some annuals have seeds that birds enjoy and those can be left too.

Do clean up any plants, leaves, fruit, vegetables or debris that looks diseased. Do not compost, but bag it up and dispose or burn if you are allowed to do so where you live. Some diseases and pests can survive the winter if left on the ground throughout the winter.

If you have small ponds or water features with plants, you can trim the leaves off once they turn yellow. It's better to remove fallen tree leaves from the water as they gather there instead of waiting until spring. These can be composted also.

Reminder: I know I've nagged about this, but remember to pull up your nonhardy bulbs once the foliage has died back or after a light frost. This includes: tuberous begonias, caladiums, cannas, dahlias, gladioli, and tuberoses. Gently wipe away the dirt with a rag and store them in peat, sawdust or even shredded newspaper in a dry cool area that doesn't get colder than about 60 degrees throughout the winter.

Lastly, clean your tools before winter after you've finished your fall chores. Wash them with soapy, hot water and dry off with a rag. Sharpen any that need it and rub wood handles with mineral oil before putting them away.

Enjoy these lovely fall days. ~Brenda