100 YEARS of GOOD COOKING!

My Aunt Annie lived with my Aunt Toots in Indiana for a few years after her divorce, and as I understand it, this was really therapeutic for them both. They loved to cook and together they made quite a team.

One of the things I’ve inherited from them is a neat little cookbook (copyright 1958) called 100 Years of Good Cooking. This particular book is from Minnesota. How the gals found it, I don’t know. But you can tell from its condition that they must have loved it, because it looks well-used.

States have wonderful heritages, and among them are often cherished recipes that travel from region to region, territory to territory, and handed down from one generation to another. And it seems that several of the Midwestern states commissioned statehood cookbooks to celebrate their Statehood Centennials, and what a cool thing to do. This book is a real treasure.

The recipes are arranged according to counties, which means nothing to me, but it’s interesting to see the regional tastes. The book explains that many, if not most, of the recipes were created around regional harvests.

As I read through the recipes I also noticed how they lacked any pretense. Bacon Fat Gravy, for instance. Pretty hard to gussy that one up. Black-eyed Peas and Collards was another one. The fact was, people ate simply, frugally, and out of their gardens. So black-eyed peas were always on hand in the larder and collards were always in the garden. These seasoned cooks instinctively knew what combinations went well together.

And they also knew how to whip up a meal in what Aunt Annie called “no time flat!” I remember one day when I was out running errands with three small children in tow and decided at the last minute to stop by to see her. It was around noon and she insisted we stay for lunch. And I’m telling you, “in no time flat” she had homemade mac ‘n cheese, a garden-fresh salad, and strawberry shortcake with freshly whipped cream on the table. I was in AWE. “How’d she DO that?” I wondered to myself.

Well, Aunt Annie, Aunt Toots, and all the other seasoned cooks out there know how it’s done. Practice, practice, and more practice. And as the years add up, it’s the rest of us that are blessed by their accumulated skills and love of the fine art of cooking.

The bottom line, the take-away for me, is that great cooking doesn’t need fancy ingredients or fussy procedures. It’s that old-timey, simplified, REAL approach to cooking that in the end, wins us over! It has me, anyway. And so with all this said, I thought I’d share a couple of these 100 Years of Good Cooking recipes with you. They’re billed as practical and easy to follow. Let me know if you like them!

Chocolate Potato Cake

Serving size: 6
Calories per serving: 973

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter softened
1 cup mashed potato
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder (non-aluminum, such as Rumford’s)
1/2 to 1 cup raisins


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar and butter, add potatoes and cocoa, mix thoroughly. Add beaten eggs and beat until mixture is smooth. Add dry ingredients (sifted together) and the milk, alternately, reserving a little flour to dredge the nuts and raisins. Add vanilla. Bake 45 min. or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes 1 large loaf or 2 large layers.

Salmon Puff

Serving size: 4
Calories per serving: 238

Ingredients:
6 slices bread
1 tall can salmon
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons finbely chopped fresh dill weed (or 1 teaspoon dried)
salt to taste


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut bread into triangles. Cover bottom of square baking pan with half of bread. Flake salmon and put over layer of bread. Cover with remaining bread. Beat eggs with the milk, dill and salt. Pour over salmon mixture. Let stand ½ hour. Bake 45 min. Top with canned, thickened peas (in white sauce).