From Grammy's Recipe Box: Temperature in Cooking

This is another contribution from Grammy's recipe box. I inherited this recipe box as a young girl when my Grammy passed away from ovarian cancer. Over the years, I have cherished its contents. Some recipes date back to my Grammy's mother El and Grammy's aunt Esther in the 1910-20's. If you use a recipe or cooking tip from Grammy's recipe box, I'd love to hear about it.

To see more of Grammy's recipes, click on the "Grammy's recipe box" label at the end of this post.


This card sits in the front of Grammy's recipe box. It was obviously an important reference. Written in fountain pen, I'm guessing it dates back to the 1910-30's. It's a simple reference--one that was probably very important in the kitchen of my great grandmother and my Grammy.

I'm including conversions below for readers outside the U.S.:

Freezing temp 32F/0C
Body temp 96.5F/35.833C
Simmering temp 185F/85C
Boiling temp 212F/100C
Coagulation of protein 158-167F/70-75C
Ferments are destroyed 160F/71.11C

Both Grammy and her mother lived at near sea-level. I know that when my Grammy moved to a higher elevation (in the early 1940's) she probably had to adjust her temperature references.

I'm curious as to why "coagulation of protein" was such an important temperature. And I wonder if the temperature listed for "ferments are destroyed" is still accurate according to today's standards. I haven't researched this and would be interested in anyone's insights and findings.

A Braver Woman Than I

This is another contribution from Grammy's recipe box. I inherited this recipe box as a young girl when my Grammy passed away from ovarian cancer. Over the years, I have cherished its contents. Some recipes date back to my Grammy's mother El and Grammy's aunt Esther in the 1910-20's. If you use a recipe or cooking tip from Grammy's recipe box, I'd love to hear about it.

To see more of Grammy's recipes, click on the "Grammy's recipe box" label at the end of this post.


I recently posted how I am too afraid to make up the vintage recipe for homemade marshmallow that I found in my Grammy's recipe box. Well, there is a braver woman than I out there named Emiline at Sugar Plum. She took on the daunting challenge and succeeded! You'll have to visit her blog to see her amazing food photography that showcases her results.

Emiline wrote in her post about this vintage recipe adventure of hers:

"The recipe was simple and I loved the vintage(?) feel of how it was written. I'm not sure how old Grammy was when she made marshmallows, but I kind of picture her making these in the 50's, wearing cateye glasses and saddle shoes, maybe while watching I Love Lucy."

Here's how vintage the recipe truly is... it was written in fountain pen by my great-great-aunt Esther sometime between 1910 and 1930-ish.



The way I can date this recipe is that some of the other recipes my Grammy's box are actually dated with Esther's name in the top right corner. This undated recipe looks like those dated ones so that's how I can zero in on a date. I can imagine that Esther probably jotted down a lot of the recipes that her niece, Elsie (my Grammy) would have witnessed Esther making and fallen in love with. Elsie probably made this recipe from that time forward into the 50's (and beyond) as Emiline envisioned.

And those cat-eye glasses and saddle shoes Emiline envisioned? Well, I don't think Grammy wore saddle shoes BUT here is a photo of little me wearing my Grammy's cat-eye glasses! I loved her glasses (she had more than one pair) because she always got the really snazzy ones--some with little rhinestones.

As for watching "I Love Lucy" while making the recipe? Well, that would have been problematic because as that show was being watched by most households in the U.S., my Grammy was living in the Indian Valley nestled in the northern woods of California where TV signals didn't really reach until the 60's. She would have been accompanied by radio if anything.

Grammy probably also made this recipe at an earlier time when she lived in the San Francisco Bay Area during the thriving and bustling 20's, 30's, and 40's. Here are two great photos of my Grammy Elsie outside her place of work at a grocer's in downtown Oakland in the 1930's. She's the one sitting on the curb in the first photo...

Yup, my Grammy was a stylish marshmallow-making woman! And now that honor belongs to Emiline at Sugar Plum. Way to go, Emiline!!!!!!

From Grammy's recipe box: Vintage Sunkist Recipes

This is another contribution from Grammy's recipe box. I inherited this recipe box as a young girl when my Grammy passed away from ovarian cancer. Over the years, I have cherished its contents. Some recipes date back to my Grammy's mother El and Grammy's aunt Esther in the 1910-20's. If you use a recipe or cooking tip from Grammy's recipe box, I'd love to hear about it.

To see more of Grammy's recipes, click on the "Grammy's recipe box" label at the end of this post.

I don't know about everywhere else, but here the temps are soaring into the triple digits. I just can't think about food all that much when it's this hot.

But heat like this does make me think about tall cool glasses of refreshment! In my Grammy's recipe box, I found these three practically pristine vintage Sunkist recipes.


I don't know if it's the recipe that I love more or if it's the vintage illustrations. Ever since I was a very little girl, I loved the illustration style of the mid-20th century. There was (and is) something about the shading, the colors, and the printing that makes me feel all twittery inside (that's that best way I can describe it). These illustrations that are included on these recipe cards are a perfect example of what I mean.Well done colored pencil drawings do the same thing to me. I know... I'm weird... Moving on...

These cards were originally printed on recipe card stock in the standard recipe card size. But they don't have any copyright or publishing information on them. And like I said, they are practically pristine which means my Grammy probably put them in the recipe box when she first got them and then never took them out again.

This has to have been a Sunkist promotional of some sort. I wonder if Grammy sent for them with labels. It's hard to say. What I like most about these is the recipes are classics. The drinks would still be as popular, easy to make, and refreshing now as they were over 50 years ago. You gotta love that!

Since these are so beautifully illustrated I thought you might like to download hi-res versions of the above recipes to print out for your own recipe box. I've made them available online at Flickr. The instructions for downloading the hi-res version will be on each recipe at that site.

Click here for Grape Juice Lemonade
Click here for Sunkist Lemonade
Click here for Sunkist Orangeade

Not Brave Enough for Homemade Marshmallow

This is another contribution from Grammy's recipe box. I inherited this recipe box as a young girl when my Grammy passed away from ovarian cancer. Over the years, I have cherished its contents. Some recipes date back to my Grammy's mother El and Grammy's aunt Esther in the 1910-20's. If you use a recipe or cooking tip from Grammy's recipe box, I'd love to hear about it.

To see more of Grammy's recipes, click on the "Grammy's recipe box" label at the end of this post.

Okay, I admit it... I'm not brave enough to try to vintage recipe for home marshmallow that I found in my Grammy's recipe box. There. I said it.

Not to make excuses, but I have visions of me in the kitchen creating more heat than is sane (considering the August heat we're having) and ending up with a mess akin to the attach of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on New York City.

I love to Twitter and one of the people I follow both on her blog and on Twitter is Emiline at Sugar Plum. She mentioned the other evening on Twitter that she was considering making some homemade marshmallow. I asked her later if she had and admitted my lack of bravery in trying Grammy's recipe. This was her reply, "I didn't try :( I decided it was too much work -might try in a few minutes. Need to find a recipe. Wish I had Grammy's recipe."

Well, Emiline, ask and ye shall receive! Here's the recipe. May you be braver than I.

This is typed exactly how the recipe reads:

Marshmallow

Soften the following ingredients well:

• 2 T gelatine
• 1/2 c cold water

Cook the following ingredients to 236 degrees F or until it threads about the length of the arm:

• 2 c sugar
• 3/4 c boiling water
• 1/8 t salt

Pour syrup slowly over gelatine, beating constantly until thick and cool (about 20 min.). Flavor as desired. Color. Butter a shallow pan slightly and dust with powdered sugar. Turn the mixture out on this and smooth top evenly. Dust with powdered sugar. Let stand overnight. Cut in squares. Roll in sugar.

Variations:
Chopped nuts, figs, raisins, or candied cherries may be added to the recipe. Plain marshmallow may be cooled in cocoa-nut before dipping in sugar, or dipped in melted chocolate.

When A Zucchini Gets Away From You

This is another contribution from Grammy's recipe box. I inherited this recipe box as a young girl when my Grammy passed away from ovarian cancer. Over the years, I have cherished its contents. Some recipes date back to my Grammy's mother El and Grammy's aunt Esther in the 1910-20's. If you use a recipe or cooking tip from Grammy's recipe box, I'd love to hear about it.

To see more of Grammy's recipes, click on the "Grammy's recipe box" label at the end of this post.


It's my fault. I was the one on "zucchini watch", and I failed in my duties. I failed to check the zucchini yesterday, and it got too big (as zucchini will do).

So what do you do if your zucchini gets away from you?

We decided to try a vintage recipe, "Stuffed Zucchini", out of my Grammy's recipe box. The recipe had been cut out of a magazine and looks like it's circa 1960s-1970s.

Hubby did the preparing on this one and found the recipe to be very easy to follow (which is a pleasant bonus when making a vintage recipe).

Here's what the recipe says (with our editorial comments in red italics):





Stuffed Zucchini
No browning or boiling, just bake and serve.

2 pounds zucchini [obviously, we just had one BIG one!]
1/2 pound ground beef
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dehydrated onion flakes [Hubby used French's Fried Onions instead]
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 teaspoon salt [definitely needed more]
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup spaghetti sauce [Hubby used Prego traditional]

Halve zucchini. Scoop out centers leaving 1/4-inch shell; place in shallow baking dish. Coarsely chop zucchini centers; mix with next 8 ingredients. Spoon into shells. Top with sauce. Bake in 350 degrees F in oven for 30 minutes. Serves 4. [If you use 2 pounds of zucchini]


In the future, Hubby suggests that browning the ground beef would be better. Why? Because brown food tastes better!!!! And it would also reduce baking time.

Hubby said that the baking aroma brought back memories of his grandmother's kitchen because culinary creations of this kind were common during the 1960s. After baking was over, Hubby let it cool a bit since it came out of the oven the temperature of "hot magma".

Once it had cooled a bit, the tasting commenced. The flavor of the sauce against the filling mixture was good, but it definitely needed more salt. Once Hubby pumped up the salt, the flavor came alive. Hubby said it's not something that he would be addicted to, but it is most definitely a great quick meal option for using up zucchini from the garden--particularly zucchini that's gotten out-of-control huge!

Got Leftover Mashed Potatoes? Bake A Cake!

This is another contribution from Grammy's recipe box. I inherited this recipe box as a young girl when my Grammy passed away from ovarian cancer. Over the years, I have cherished its contents. Some recipes date back to my Grammy's mother El and Grammy's aunt Esther in the 1910-20's. If you use a recipe or cooking tip from Grammy's recipe box, I'd love to hear about it.

To see more of Grammy's recipes, click on the "Grammy's recipe box" label at the end of this post.


Despite the outside temperature being close to 100 degrees F today, I decided to embark on baking a vintage recipe from my Grammy's recipe box that I'd never seen made up before.

This recipe is written in fountain pen in my great-great-aunt Esther's handwriting with her name on the top right corner. The title is written simply "Potato Cake".

Okay...

Well, let's see what the recipe says (my editorial comments are in red italics):

2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 cup mashing potatoes (warm)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons chocolate [Ahhhh! So it's a chocolate cake?!?!]
1 teaspoon each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts [Can't put those in because Hubby is allergic.]

Cream fat [I guess this means the butter], sugar, yolks, and potatoes. Add milk and dry ingredients. Add stiffly beaten whites and bake in layers. Temp 350 degrees 15 min., 400 degrees 3 min., 350 degrees 30 min. [HUH?] Serve with chocolate fudge filling and walnuts. [Can't find the recipe for the chocolate fudge filling... darn!]

The first thing I did was discard the baking times because I decided it was easier to make this into cupcakes. Then I realized I was out of cupcake wrappers, so I went to the store to buy some. That's when I found the mini cake pans by Wilton that let you put filling inside the mini cakes. Bingo! That's what I wanted!

Everything went smoothly once I got back into the kitchen. I used unsweetened cocoa powder for the chocolate that the recipe called for. Once the batter was made up, I filled the cupcakes and the mini cake pans and baked according to the instructions for the cake pans. The cupcakes baked for about 15 minutes. The mini cakes baked for a little over 20 minutes.

Hubby wandered into the kitchen after the cupcakes had cooled for over a half an hour. He said, "Mmmmm! These smell good!" I told him to try one of the cupcakes without any icing on it. These are his exact unedited words:

"They sure knew what they were doing back then... Nice chocolate flavor and then you get the cloves... That's good! The cloves thing kinda stays with you... And now I want more... And they're fluffy and moist... It tastes very autumnal!"

The cake is a hit! It is a very dense cake although moist and fluffy (and Hubby said). I'm sure that it would work well in a bundt pan best. The cupcakes have the weight of light muffins.

Now what to do about an icing and filling...

I dug through the recipe box and found another recipe for "Caramel Icing & Frosting". It sounded like a possible match. The recipe reads:

• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon butter
• Put sugar in saucepan, add milk and stir until dissolved. Boil 3 minutes. Take from fire, add butter. Turn into a cold bowl and beat until creamy. Add vanilla. May add chopped nuts.

I followed the recipe as written. Everything was going along fine until I started beating the mixture to make it creamy. The mixture started to cool and become more of the consistency of real caramel candy!

Thinking quickly, I decided to add a little more milk and a little more butter. That solved the problem but it was more of the consistency of a glaze then the filling I needed. Realizing that the fat content of our 2 % milk is almost assuredly lower than the fat content of the milk Aunt Esther used, I added a bit of half-and-half, whipped it for a few minutes, and then I added a full cup of powdered sugar. That made the consistency more like a filling I could use with the mini cakes.

With the mini cakes cooled and the caramel icing/filling fixed, I filled the wells of the mini cakes, stacked the two layers, iced the whole little cake, and then put it in the refrigerator to chill. Then I garnished it with whole walnuts (Hubby can easily pick those off).

Both Hubby and I agree that the combination of the flavors, spice and caramel, are a perfect match. Yum! But I'm sure that there are a lot of other combinations you could think up for this classic vintage recipe. Let me know if you come with one and make it. I'd love to hear what you paired Aunt Esther's "Potato Cake" with. I still can't believe it has leftover mashed potatoes in it.

From Grammy's Recipe Box: "Chocolate Creams"

This is another contribution from Grammy's recipe box. I inherited this recipe box as a young girl when my Grammy passed away from ovarian cancer. Over the years, I have cherished its contents. Some recipes date back to my Grammy's mother El and Grammy's aunt Esther in the 1910-20's. If you use a recipe or cooking tip from Grammy's recipe box, I'd love to hear about it.

To see more of Grammy's recipes, click on the "Grammy's recipe box" label at the end of this post.


In my continuing exploration in creating vintage recipe dimensional art shadowboxes, I decided today to make up an old recipe out my Grammy's recipe box. This is the first of many recipes I will be making in order to photograph the finished result and then illustrate it in watercolors for the art pieces.

I inherited my Grammy's recipe box at her passing when I was 10 years old. It's a lovely wooden box with her maiden name initials on the front (she didn't marry until her late 20's). The box is full of recipes that span from around 1910 through the 1970's. The older recipes, written in fountain pen, are yellowed with a wonderful aged patina. Some have splatters of batter on them. Some are missing corners or the ink is smudged. Some recipes are actually dated with the name of the person who introduced the recipe, and I was pleased to find a few that belonged to my great-grandmother and must have come from her recipe box.

Very few, if any, of the recipes are illustrated. And I think I've only witnessed a handful of them being made in my presence. Most of them are for foods that I've never seen or tasted. So this culinary and artistic journey proves to be quite an adventure... and today's experience was no exception.

I decided to start with the handwritten recipe for "Chocolate Creams". They seemed simple enough. But as I have discovered with many of the recipes in the box, the measurements on the ingredients are a bit vague--like exactly how much confectioners' sugar goes into the "cream" to make it a stiff paste. As Hubby pointed out, one was probably supposed to learn how to make it from watching someone else do it again and again. So I had to experiment a bit and tweak a little.

The results are these decadent candy delights that feel "sinful" to even have in the kitchen. Hubby did try some of the "oops" candies and deemed them officially "sinful" in every way that a chocolate-covered almond and vanilla flavored sugar-paste ball can be. Of course I had to taste as I mixed to get the flavoring just right. All the recipe said was "6 drops of flavoring" (see what I mean by vague). The tasting alone gave me a sugar buzz that I'm still feeling as I write this over an hour later.

But I have to admit that the many of the finished candies are promising subjects for the watercolor illustrations I'll be painting. I'll be sharing the finished art piece here as soon as I have it illustrated and constructed. In the meantime, if you want to see the other completed pieces that make up the debut collection of my vintage recipe dimensional art, just click here.

This is how the recipe is written (I did some tweaking that I'll note after):

Chocolate Creams
1 egg white
2 T cold water
Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
6 drops flavoring
1/4 lb. sweet chocolate

Beat the egg and water together only til mixed; add the sugar til the ingredients form a stiff paste (about 1-1 1/2 cups). Work in flavoring with sugar; then form into small balls. Grate the chocolate and put in a cup over hot water to melt. Dip the balls into it one at a time; using a fork for the dipping. Lay separately on waxed paper and, if necessary, dip a second time.

Now for my tweaks and tips:

• It took more than 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to create a paste that could be rolled. I just kept adding until it was stiff enough then rolled the centers using powdered sugar to keep it from sticking.
• I used almond extract AND vanilla as a flavoring and it took way more than just 6 drops to fit my taste.
• I used semi-sweet chocolate chips but I think that next time I'll use an even darker chocolate since the centers are so sweet that the darker chocolate would work. It took more than only a 1/4 lb. to have a deep enough bowl of dipping chocolate. Once I had a deep enough reservoir the dipping was really easy with a fork, and it only took one dip to coat the centers nice and thick.
• I suppose you could flavor the centers with about anything that you can think of. You could even color the center paste to make it different too.
• These need to be kept refrigerated (especially in warmer weather). I had some little Wilton's treat bags that I packaged them in to give away to friends.