Posted in Collectibles, House & Yard, Scotties, St. Patrick, tagged Ireland, Irish, scottie, scotty, St. Paddy, St. Patrick on March 8, 2012 | 7 Comments »
I have a lot of green in my kitchen any time because I collect Jadeite and Depression Green items. Some things I bring out especially for St. Patrick’s Day.
Some pieces were bought on a trip to Ireland …
Many items were gifts….
Most of the pieces are handmade ….
I even have special potholders for the occasion…
I have a very thin line of Irish in my ancestry, but I raised four very Irish children, so St. Patrick’s Day is a major holiday in this house.
Posted in China, Collectibles, Family, Memories, Scotties, Valentine's Day, tagged 1940s, birthday, collectibles, cousin, Family, greeting cards, Jadeite, nesting hen, party on February 23, 2012 | 6 Comments »
Buddy and Carol Ann, ca 1942
When I was growing up in the 1940s, my favorite aunt was my mother’s sister, Mabel. Her two children, 9 and 6 years younger than I, were my favorite cousins. They were the babies of the family and I loved watching them grow up.
Carol, Buddy and Mabel
Every year on Washington’s Birthday, February 22, we had a holiday from school and went to Mabel’s house to celebrate her little girl’s birthday which fell on February 23. Mabel would have a cake purchased at the grocery store and decorated with the little hard sugar flowers and letters to spell out Happy Birthday, Carol Ann.
Carol Ann, Third Grade
Yesterday, for the first time in over 60 years, I enjoyed a birthday lunch with my cousins. My daughter and I invited them to meet us at the Cracker Barrel where we lingered for a couple of hours reminiscing. As it turned out, it appeared to be a party for me because of all of the gifts Carol brought. She has been an antique dealer for years and chose some special items from her personal collection that she thought I would like….
A tiny nesting hen covered dish…
A Jadeite hobnail bowl with handles…
A Snowbabies ornament, a Bakelite Scottie button, and a notebook dated 1939, filled with handwritten recipes.
In addition, she brought a stack of greeting cards that my family had sent to them in the 1940s and 50s ….
All of the things I love the most.
After all these years, they’re still my favorite cousins. Happy Birthday, Carol.
Posted in Baking, Collectibles, Cookies, Cooking, Drop Cookies, Scotties, tagged 1940s, Baking, chocolate, cook, Cookies, Cooking, recipe, Recipes, retro, Scottie cookie jar on January 17, 2012 | 9 Comments »
One of my Christmas gifts this year was a small 4-½ x 6 inch leather bound book engraved “Cooking Recipes”, purchased at an antique mall in Sugar Creek, Ohio. The pages are edged in gold and there are 10 index tabs for food categories.
The real gold in this book, though, is the collection of handwritten recipes. There aren’t a lot of recipes – just 25, 22 of which are desserts. The book itself could have been from the 1930s, but I believe the recipes are from the 1945-1950 era. This is based on a lot of recipes calling for shortening, for using the word “oleo” rather than margarine in most recipes and the attention given to oven temperatures. I believe it’s post-World War II because of all of the sugar-laden desserts.
The handwriting is clear and ingredients are listed correctly, although most of the recipes give no idea of how the item is to be prepared, what kind of pan to use or how long to bake. That’s why I’ve decided to make each of the recipes, using the products specified, and adding my own instructions. I like to think that the woman from the 1940s kitchen (who would have been about my mother’s age) would enjoy having someone fuss around with these recipes again and turn out some delicious food for the family.
These Chocolate Drop Cookies are a very simple little cookie, soft on the inside and slightly crunchy outside.
CHOCOLATE DROP COOKIES
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.
Cream together the butter/margarine, egg, shortening and sugar. Add the melted chocolate to the creamed mixture. Stir the soda, salt and flour into the creamed mixture. Add milk and vanilla.
Drop by rounded teaspoonful onto baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between cookies.
Bake @ 400 degrees F for approximately 8 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool.
Makes about 54 small cookies.
What better way to serve these cookies than on a vintage EAPG dessert plate. I have a fair-sized collection of EAPG but recently found the 6-1/2 inch diameter dessert plates which I did not have yet. They were 50 cents each for 9 plates at the local Goodwill thrift shop.
I baked some of the cookies with an almond pressed in the top and some with a piece of pitted date.
This cookie jar looks vintage but was a Christmas gift this year picked out for me by my 12-year-old grandson. He knows what I like.
Posted in Collectibles, Friday Memories, Scotties, tagged fall, Memories, Memory, scottie, scotty on November 18, 2011 | 2 Comments »
On Friday, I pause and remember a single, wordless moment from the past week – inspired by The Warden’s Log.
Posted in Collectibles, Family, Scotties, tagged 79th, birthday, Family, scottie, scotty on September 26, 2011 | 5 Comments »
My oldest daughter, who lives with me, loves to celebrate birthdays. This is what I found on my kitchen table on Monday morning.
I collect anything with a Scottie and this is one item I didn’t have yet.
Posted in Collectibles, Family, Scotties, Spring, tagged afghan, crocheted, cross-stich, Mother's Day, scottie, scotty, wall hanging on May 9, 2011 | 6 Comments »
For Mother’s Day, each of my daughters gave me something homemade and each had my favorite scottie motif. My youngest daughter crocheted an afghan, using a cross-stitch pattern which she adapted.
It’s perfect with the black and red against a white background. This is a large afghan – 54×68 inches.
My oldest daughter made up a wall hanging that included a page from an old cloth book, a miniature dress and a tin scottie plate.
There is a panel of a scottie purse stitched on even weave linen in the tiniest stitches imaginable.
A great Mother’s Day made even better by scotties!
Posted in Christmas, Collectibles, Friends, Scotties, Seasonal, tagged Christmas, friend, gift, package on December 22, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Yesterday, I found a package from my online friend, Darlene in Columbus, Ohio, setting by the front door. Inside were three beautifully wrapped gifts. The first one was this mini-quilt – she remembered I love scotties!
The next package contained a hand-crocheted bag for me to carry my books to the library.
The third gift was a delicious snack and an original Christmas card.
Christmas is so much fun with nice friends like Darlene.
Posted in Baking, Breakfast, Collectibles, Cooking, Muffins, Quick Bread, Scotties, tagged Baking, breakfast, cook, Cooking, healthy, muffins, oat bran, Quick Bread, recipe, Recipes, reduced fat, sour cream on August 7, 2010 | 2 Comments »
I started out with a recipe from Joy the Baker, one of my favorite food bloggers, but made quite a few changes. I switched out some of the high fat items and used oat bran rather than wheat bran. Please note that this is not bran cereal, but oat bran such as we used to buy in health food stores and now is available in most groceries. Joy said that her version improved after a couple of days and mine did, too. Carefully packed on the kitchen counter, they will be delicious up to 5 days. This is a nice breakfast muffin – not too sweet and full of healthy ingredients.
OAT BRAN SOUR CREAM MUFFINS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Grease/flour 12 muffin cups or insert paper or silicone liners.
In a medium bowl, place the oil, light brown sugar, egg and molasses.
*I used some pure natural cane molasses from Amish Country (Holmes County, Ohio) because I like its slight sorghum flavor. Something like Grandma’s Molasses would also be good.
Whisk these ingredients until smooth. Whisk in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the oat bran and flour just until dry ingredients are absorbed. Gently stir in the raisins and nuts.
Divide batter between 12 muffin cups. Bake @ 400 degrees F for approximately 15 minutes – until tops are golden brown and a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Remove pan to rack to cool. I like the silicone liners now that I’ve discovered letting the muffins cool in the liners for 5-10 minutes makes it easy to pop them out of the liners.
Allow muffins to cool completely on a wire rack. Then store in a tightly covered container for up to 5 days.
Really tasty with a cup of morning coffee.
The next picture has nothing whatsoever to do with oat bran muffins, but I collect vintage linen and scottie items and had to share this gift from my oldest daughter. I love the ladies in the background enjoying their card game while poor hubby is coping with feeding the baby – a revolutionary idea back in the 1930-40s.
