Berry Roll (1916)

 The Myrtle Reed Cookbook (1916) 

BAKED BERRY ROLL

Sift two cupfuls of flour with two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Work into it a tablespoonful of butter and mix to soft dough with a cupful of milk. Roll into an oblong, cover with berries, sprinkle with sugar, roll up, fasten the edges and bake or steam, basting with syrup to which a little butter has been added. Serve hot with any preferred sauce.

Upon noticing my strawberry patch blooming, I thought it might be a good time to burn through some of the frozen strawberries in my freezer from 2021.  Then I noticed I was somehow out of white sugar?? How does that happen?!  

It was at this point that I noticed faults in the containment pastry, and spent about 30 seconds patching

Patching efforts were insufficient. Also I forgot to baste with buttery syrup. 

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Quick run-down on Myrtle Reed: she was a romance author and poet, who died tragically from suicide in 1911. She once wrote, “The only way to test a man is to marry him. If you live, it’s a mushroom. If you die, it’s a toadstool.”  Her estate was divided between eight charities she had been patron of during her life. During her funeral, her flat was robbed of everything valuable. Her cookbooks were published after her death. The one linked above is written in a  dryly humorous style that makes me think she must have been fun.  

Verdict: This is indeed a simple and quick dessert!  It took me about 10 minutes to put it together, and about 30 minutes at 350 F.  It’s kind of dry, but that makes it soak up sauce better.  Melted ice cream, in this case!  It’s pretty much biscuit with berries and sauce inside.  Husband, two girls, and I all liked it, and felt that it would be a welcome, if stodgy, addition to a meal. Youngest Child hid under the table and gnawed on the heel slice like a squirrel. 

Rhubarb Jam (1948)

 Inglenook Cookbook (1948 Ed.)

Rhubarb Jam

5 C. Rhubarb 

1 lb. Orange slice candy

5 C. Sugar 

Cut the candy in pieces. Cook until thick. Stir to prevent scorching. Seal while hot. —Mrs. D. L. Thompson, Marshalltown, Iowa 

Note: Use extreme caution when canning vintage recipes. Always use recipes that have been tested by trusted sources, which here means people with a lab and oversight, not your grandma.  Err on the side of using vintage canning recipes fresh  

My rhubarb plant is lush and ready to help

It was at this moment that I regretted my choice of vessel

But it was fine. 

Verdict: It’s great!  If you, like me, enjoy 1.) rhubarb and 2.) orange slice candies, you will love it.  It is kind of like rhubarb with a zing or orange sherbet or orange soda.  It’d be easy to make a cheap shot at how sugary it is because there’s literally candy added, ha ha, but those jokes are a little silly to anyone who has made jam. You know what jam is?  It’s sugar. With some fruit in it. It’s just spreadable candy, so you might as well put pre-made candy in it and give it a head start. Mrs. D. L. Thompson of Marshalltown, Iowa, your creativity intrigued me, and you followed through with a great product.  I bet you’re in heaven now, where you belong for gifting this recipe to the world. 

Be sure to chop the orange slices pretty small, because although you might think they will melt, they do not at this temperature. 

Apple Custard (1916)

 Myrtle Reed Cookbook (1916)

In the last few years, I worked for a while for Extension Services, providing information on how to feed yourself and your family a nutritious diet on a limited income. One thing I was always on the lookout for was recipes that used stale bread, as our local food bank always gets SO MUCH day- old bread!  This recipe is a great match for SNAP-Ed, as is cheap and contains fruit, dairy, protein, and could use whole grains if you used whole grain bread. It is even low fat and low sugar!  

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APPLE CUSTARD

Sweeten four cupfuls of stewed and mashed apples with half a cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and the juice and grated rind of a lemon. Add half a cupful of water, two eggs well beaten, and two cupfuls of bread crumbs mixed with one tablespoonful of flour. Add a cup of milk, heat well, turn into a buttered baking-dish, and bake for forty minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with Hard Sauce or with sugar and cream.

Modernized Apple Custard

4 C. Unsweetened applesauce 

1/2 C. sugar 

2 T. melted butter 

1/4 C. Lemon juice OR grated rind and juice of 1 lemon 

1/2 C. water 

2 eggs 

2 C. Breadcrumbs, preferably from stale bread 

1 T. Flour 

1 C. Milk 

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Mix together all ingredients, and pour into greased baking dish. Bake 40 min., or until just set. Serve with sugar and cream, or just straight up. 

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Verdict: Both I and the kids thought that at first glance, it looked like cat sick. Husband hasn’t come home yet, so we will have to see what he thinks later. One must acknowledge this, that it is just not photogenic. What it is, though, is a refreshing, cool, appley delight!  I liked it, the kids liked it.  It is good without cream and sugar, but that does make it better. It’s just a nice, simple, light dessert. I bet that babies and toddlers would adore it, which sounds like a criticism, but it isn’t.  If you added vanilla and spices and things it would be fine, but I don’t think it really needs it. The flavor is just “apple.”  And that is enough. 

Update: Husband thought it tasted like “slightly thicker applesauce.”  Make it for yourself and decide who is right!  (me)

Banana Cream (1916)

 

The Myrtle Reed Cookbook [1916]

BANANA CREAM

Peel five bananas and rub through a sieve with five tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and a tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Add half a package of gelatine which has been soaked and dissolved in a little milk, and when cool, but not set, fold in a cupful of cream whipped solid. Mould, chill, and serve with whipped cream

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I used a blender instead of a sieve, and about half a cup of milk total (cold to bloom the gelatin, hot to melt it).  

Verdict: pretty good!  I really thought the banana was going to go all brown and ick, but it stayed a nice, pleasing banana color. I used half a tablespoon of kosher gelatin, but it came out veeeeery soft and mousse-ish. Ideal for chilling and serving in individual dishes, but if I were to mold it again, I would bump it up to a full tablespoon. The banana and powdered sugar and unsweetened whipped cream was just the right amount of sweetness. 

I found a good source of discount red-band bananas, so expect many banana recipes to come!  

Bonus recipe:

COCOA

Directions are given on the package the cocoa comes in. If not, buy another kind.

Update: Donut the cat was a big fan. Yes I know cream isn’t actually good for cats, we shoo’d her off. 

Roast Beef Pie (1917)

 A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband (1917)

A GUEST TO A DINNER OF LEFT-OVERS

"AHA, I've found you out!" Bettina heard a laughing voice shout as she hurried up the steps.

"Why, Jack, when did you come to town?"

"This afternoon. Went to Bob's office the very first thing, and he insisted on bringing me home with him to dinner. I told him it might 'put you out,' but he spent the time it took to come home assuring me that you were always waiting for company—kept a light ever burning in the window for them and all that. He said that I'd see,—that you'd be on the doorstep waiting for us!"

"And after all that—you weren't here!" said Bob reproachfully.

"I'm just as sorry as I can be not to live up to Bob's picture of me," said Bettina. "I generally am waiting for Bob,—almost on the doorstep if not quite. But this afternoon I've been to a shower for Alice,—do you remember Alice, Jack?"

"Very well. The gay dark-eyed one. You don't mean to say that she's found a man who's lively enough to suit her?"

"Well, she seems to be suited, all right. But I must fly into an apron if you boys are to get any dinner within a half-hour. Jack, you'll have to pardon me if after all of Bob's eloquence I give you a meal of left-overs——"

"Don't apologize to a bachelor, Bettina. He probably won't know left-overs from the real thing," said Bob.

"Bachelors are said to be the most critical of all," she answered. "But I'll do my little best to please."

That night Bettina served:

[223]

Roast Beef Pie
Bread                                                                      Butter
Sliced Tomatoes with Salad Dressing
Marble Cake                              Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Roast Beef Pie  (Three portions) 

2 C-chopped cold roast beef 

1 C-gravy 

1 C-cold diced potatoes (cooked)

2 T-chopped onion

1 C-flour

2 t-baking powder

2 t-lard

¹/₈ t-salt

6 T-milk

Mix the beef, gravy, potato and onion. Place in a shallow buttered baking dish. Make a biscuit dough by cutting the lard into the flour, which has been sifted with the baking powder, and salt, and gradually adding the milk. Pat the dough into shape and arrange carefully on top of the meat. Make holes in the top to allow the steam to escape. Bake in a moderate oven twenty minutes.

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Yesterday, I threw some stew beef, onions, carrots, and potatoes in the slow cooker with some water and powdered gravy mix. Bettina informed me that this should be a pot pie, so that is what I did!  

I made the biscuit top as Bettina instructed 

Verdict:  All enjoyed!  I heated up the leftover stew first, so the chill wouldn’t make the underside of the topping all soggy and slimy. In full disclosure, I did have to sub butter for the lard, as that is what I had. Bettina would understand. My husband and two kids marveled at my skills, and it did actually take under half an hour to make and bake!  The crust was lovely and biscuity, and dressed up the leftover stew a lot.