Recipes inspire memories

by Mrs Marvel

Since I started this blog about a month ago, I have been asking my mother a lot of questions about the ingredients, the people who are credited for the recipes, and various family members and relationships. I hope that Mom is enjoying these looks  into the past as much as I am. Since Gram passed away more than 20 years ago, it is difficult to remember a lot about her even though this project has helped me remember the sound of her voice. Some might not think that is a big deal, but in the days before easy access to home movies and audio recordings, preserving the sound of a loved one’s voice was impossible.

Anyway, my hope is to make it easier for my generation and our children to remember and know a little bit more about the lovely lady Gram was. Here are a couple reminiscences from Mom, about her days as a girl growing up in Erie, PA and spending time in Gram’s kitchen. Continue reading →

Butterscotch Pie

by Mrs Marvel

Here’s another delicious sounding pie recipe that is also gluten free (hi Jill!). My assumption here is to combine all and maybe cook into a pudding, the put into a pie crust and refrigerate. Happy testing!

Butterscotch Pie

2 cups milk

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs (yolks)

1 tsp vanilla

Cherry Pie

by Mrs Marvel

This pie recipe is written on a bank deposit slip. It’s a little hard to decipher and it looks as though Gram wrote it in a hurry. I’m not clear on the process but could probably figure it out after a few tries. My guess is that “p juice” might be pineapple juice. The recipe is mainly for the filling. Use whatever crust recipe you like. I happen to like Pillsbury prepared crust.  :-)

Cherry Pie

Drain cherries

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbs flour

6 tbs p juice ?

Color

2 cups cherries

butter

Temp 425

Whipped ice cream

Angel Pie

by Mrs Marvel

Maybe I chose this recipe because I call my daughter Angel Pie. I don’t know, but it sounds delicious and I will have to find an excuse to make it one of these days. This is reminiscent of pavlova, which my friend who spent a year in Australia introduced to me. She makes the best pavlova! Pavlova is a meringue crust with whipped cream topping and although it looks intimidating, it’s very easy. Anyway, this is also a gluten free food for those who want it, and it looks like a wonderful dessert. The recipe was written in pencil and yes it is difficult to read as it has faded over time.

I don’t know if Gram made this pie with an electric mixer or not. I can’t imagine how long it would take to whip the eggs until they stood in peaks by hand. If you use an electric mixer, you should whip it quite a while. My friend also noticed recently that when she used a straight-sided bowl, her egg whites didn’t fluff up as much as when she used a bowl with sloping sides and a wider opening. It could be because more air was able to be infused into the egg whites with the wider bowl. I don’t know, but take that with you as you go into battle, so to speak. Secondly, about whipping cream…what is most available in the store these days is ultra-pasteurized heavy whipping cream. Some people feel this has a more metallic taste due to the extra processing for longer shelf-life. If you are able to find pasteurized heavy whipping cream, it tends to whip faster and have a more creamy taste. It’s not as processed. Put your metal bowl and mixer whisk into the freezer before whipping for optimal results.

Angel Pie

Beat 4 egg whites until foamy, adding 1/4 t cr. tartar. Beat until it stands in peaks. Gradually beat in 1 c sugar & bake in deep pie tin (9″) which has been well greased. Bake at 275 20 min then 300 for 40 min. Cool.

Filling – Beat 4 egg yolks, add 1/2 c sugar, juice of 1 lemon. Cook over hot water until thick – cool. Whip 1 c. cream, flavored w/ 1/2 t lemon extract. Put 3/4 over pie crust then spread on filling & add rest of cream. Make the day before using.

Pickled Onions

by Mrs Marvel

Here is another of Gram’s “jotted on a scrap” recipes. The back of this paper is some sort of advertisement for a fire company/fire extinguisher/fire something in Erie, PA. I will probably try this recipe later on this year. Pickling onions are small onions, maybe a bit bigger than pearl onions, tender and come in the summer and fall. It strikes me that you could probably also pickle larger onions if you quartered them. My mom used to make pickled cucumbers in a similar solution, and a lady I knew a long time ago added pearl onions to her cucumbers and they always tasted great. I don’t know how long to let this stand, but if it’s anything like the pickled cucumbers it should sit overnight and will be great in two days, use by one week or they get mushy.

Pickled Onions

2 # pickling onions

1 c white vinegar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 c sugar

1 1/3 c water