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

Muffins or Gems? What is the Difference?

I've always wondered what the difference was between a muffin and a gem. Gem recipes are always lumped in with the muffin recipes, and are made in muffin tins. So, what IS the difference? It's a little like Jello became synonymous with gelatin, though it was a brand name. The Gem Company made and sold kitchen equipment, including muffin tins. They were such a popular company that people started calling muffins cooked in their tins "gems". I looked through my cookbooks and found some recipes for gems to share.

Apple Gems

Modern Priscilla Cook Book, 1924

1 cup cornmeal

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar

5 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. molasses

1 cup milk

4 sour apples

Sift dry ingredients, add molasses and milk and beat until smooth. Peel and chop apples, adding them to batter. Put into muffin-tins and bake in a moderately hot oven. Time in oven, 25 minutes. Temperature, 375 degree F. Servings 12.

Raspberry Bran Gems

Good Housekeeping's Book of Menus,

Recipes & Household Discoveries 1926

1 cupful graham flour

1 cupful whole-wheat flour

1 cupful bran

1 teaspoonful soda

2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder

1 tablespoonful sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoonfuls cooking oil

1 teaspoonful salt

2 cupfuls sour milk or buttermilk

1/2 cupful raspberry jam

Mix all the dry ingredients together; add the oil, the egg well beaten, the sour milk, and the jam. Beat together thoroughly and pour into well-greased gem pans. Bake twenty-five minutes in a 400 degree F. oven.

Notes: You can sour milk by taking away a tsp. of milk and adding a tsp. of vinegar to the remaining milk. Let it sit a minute, stir and use. If you have non-stick coated muffin pans then just spray with cooking spray instead of greasing or buttering the pan.

Date Gems

Rumford Complete Cook Book 1934

1 cup chopped dates

2 cups flour

1/2 level teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening

1 egg

1 cup milk

2 level teaspoons Rumford Baking Powder

Stone (pit) the dates and chop coarsely. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Cut the shortening into the flour, then mix in the dates and form to a stiff batter with the beaten egg and milk. Bake in hot, well-greased gem pans in a moderate oven about twenty minutes.

Note: Moderate usually means 350 degrees F.

On OFL we have muffin recipes that will be great to bake this fall.

~Brenda

"Spread Your Own Party" from 1934

Anyone who's followed this blog for awhile or my writing on Old Fashioned Living knows I love finding articles or books with references to old fashioned parties and celebrations. Though I love all of our modern technology and being able to chat with all of you online, we've kind of lost some of the simple ways to entertain along the way. I was looking through my cookbooks this weekend and found an idea for a canape party. I think this would be wonderful for a baby or bridal shower. It's from the Practical Recipes for the Housewife, published by the Detroit Times in 1934.

Let canapes run riot in your after-bridge refreshment menus-indeed, they have to the extent that hostesses are now having "spread your own" parties. By that we mean they simply provide the canape spreads, the crackers, and let the guests help themselves. Unsalted crackers are favored for the canape spread-toasted if you wish, or some prefer Melba Toast, which it is possible to buy if you do not wish to go to the trouble of making it.

Celery, olives, marinated in salad oil, and perhaps salted nuts will add sufficient variety to satisfy anyone's appetite. However, if a more elaborate menu is desired, one creamed hot dish with tiny biscuits, followed by a simple dessert may be included.

They suggested using some of these canape spreads that serve 6-8 persons.

Roquefort and Cream Cheese Spread

Mash one four ounce package Roquefort cheese with one three ounce package cream cheese, one tablespoon minced onions and one-quarter cup top milk or cream.

Cottage Cheese and Green Pepper Spread

Combine one-half pound fresh cottage cheese with two tablespoons minced green pepper, one tablespoon minced onion, a dash of cayenne and one tablespoon garlic flavored French dressing. (Allow one cut clove of garlic to stand in French dressing for several hours or longer.)

Lobster Spread

Combine one six-ounce can of lobster, minced, one tablespoon lemon juice, one and a half tablespoon mayonnaise and one tablespoon garlic flavored French dressing (above).

Minced Ham and Egg Spread

Combine one-eighth pound minced cooked ham (two-thirds cup) with three shelled hard-cooked eggs, minced, two tablespoons minced onion, one and a half teaspoon prepared mustard, one teaspoon bottled condiment sauce and two tablespoons mayonnaise. (Kitchen Bouquet is considered a condiment sauce.)

Pineapple and Chicken Spread

Combine one-quarter cup canned crushed pineapple with one-half cup chopped chicken and two tablespoons mayonnaise.

Crabmeat Spread

Mix one six and a half ounce can of crabmeat, minced with one-half cup chopped celery, one-quarter cup minced pimento, one quarter cup garlic flavored mayonnaise, one-eighth teaspoon salt and one-eighth teaspoon paprika.

On OFL we have some tea sandwich recipes for parties.

~Brenda

Warm and Hearty Fall Soups

The days and nights are starting to cool off here in Michigan finally. I always think of baking and fixing soup when it cools off. They both make the house smell wonderful, and warm the body. Today I have a few soup recipes to try out this fall.

Potato Bacon Cheese Soup

Ingredients:
6 to 8 large baking potatoes
2 cups whole or 2% milk
4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup butter or margarine
8-12 strips bacon, cooked, drained
1 cup sour cream, light or regular
8 oz. (1 cup) Mexican Blend cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Bake or microwave potatoes until tender. Cool until you can handle, then peel. Mash or dice the potatoes for the soup. In a large pan, melt the butter, then mix in the flour by stirring it in to the melted butter. Cook this mixture on a medium heat for 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the milk and broth until everything is dissolved and mixed smooth. Add the salt and pepper, potatoes, cooked and cheese. Crumble the bacon and mix in. Cook the soup until the cheese has melted and all is heated through. At the last minute, stir in the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Barley and Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups split peas
6 cups water
2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth (4 cups)
1/3 cup minced sweet onion
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. dried, crushed thyme
1/2 cup barley
6 cups water
1 cup carrots, diced
2 cups diced cooked ham

Drizzle a tiny bit of oil in a soup pot, and saute the onion til softened. Rinse the split peas. Place in a soup pot with the onions, adding 6 cups of water, chicken broth, seasonings, and garlic. Boil for 2-3 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1 to 1/2 hours or until peas are tender.

Meanwhile, combine the barley with 6 cups of water in a saucepan. Boil one minute, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 1-1/2 hours or until most of the water has been absorbed. (You can also buy quick cooking barley and cook according to directions.)Drain the barley using a colander and add to the split peas. Stir in chopped carrots and the ham. Simmer 15 to 30 minutes longer until the carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Makes 6 servings.

Beefy Mushroom Potato Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chuck
7-10 potatoes (peeled and cubed)
2 cans low sodium cream of mushroom soup
2 cans beef broth
1 16 oz. light sour cream
1 cup very thinly sliced and halved sweet onion

Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until tender. In a soup pot brown beef and onions. Drain fat. Add the cream of mushroom soup with the beef broth and heat to boiling. Reduce the heat to low and add the sour cream. Drain the potatoes and add to the soup pan as well. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

On OFL we have more hearty soup recipes here.

~Brenda

Garden Tips for September

A late summer garden has a tranquility found no other time of the year. ~William Longgood

It's just about time to plant spring bulbs. Remember, if the bulb is a smaller type of bloom such as crocus, snowdrops or any miniature variety of daffodil, tulip etc. you'll want to plant them in groups, fairly close together to really get the most from them.

Walk around your property and make decisions on if and where you want any new flower, vegetable or herb beds. Work up the area, remove rocks, and add any organic material now, so it has fall and winter to start working in the soil. You will appreciate this SO much in the spring when you have a fertile area for planting.

Don't forget to rake up crabapples that have fallen. They can be used for apple butter, cider, and jelly. If all else fails, compost them.

If you have tomato plants, start watching the weather forecast for early frost warnings. Cover the plants with a sheet or plastic on the nights it may frost. Once we start getting heavy frost, pull up the plants and hang them in the basement to finish ripening or use the green tomatoes in recipes like we have on OFL.

September and October are perfect in cold climates for planting evergreens such as pine, spruce, hemlock or yew. Watch for deals at nurseries, and plant as soon as you purchase them. Don't go deeper than an inch or two lower than they were planted in the container. Water heavily, and give them a mulch of chopped leaves. If deer are a problem for you in the winter, be sure to surround the new evergreens with chicken wire or other fencing for the winter.

On OFL we have recipes for using green tomatoes in recipes here.

~Brenda