Remembering the recipes
by Ken Weyand

Not long after Discover Mid-America began a recipe section was added. Edited by various people over the years, including yours truly, “Heirloom Recipes” were examples of old-time, family recipes contributed by readers.

Along with the recipes, readers were encouraged to offer comments as to the recipes’ origins, resulting in many historical tidbits. The contributors would be rewarded with subscriptions and discounts on the subsequent recipe books that were produced.

The first Recipes and Stories of Early-Day Settlers was published in 1988. The non-recipe portion was a compilation of articles about local history written by various contributors to the paper.

The day after Christmas 1988, James J. Fisher, in his Midlands column in The Kansas City Times, reviewed the book under the headline: “Cooked a skunk lately?” He described our past recipe columns and their emphasis on “plain victuals.”

But the recipe that caught his eye in the book — he called it the book’s culinary piece de resistance — was contributed by F. Maxine Adams from Fulton, MO, who coaxed it out of her grandfather, an old Civil War veteran who had apparently “lived on some pretty spare rations during his service days.” Her grandfather’s instructions:

Skin clean, remove scent glands from under hind legs. Put in strong salt water and boil for about 20 minutes or so. Drain off this here water, add fresh, and seasons: pepper, bay leaves, sage. Steam until tender. Larpen’ good eaten! Baked sweet tater and wild greens go good with yer skunk.

The second volume, published three years later, was themed Steamboat Adventures and chronicled the development of river travel, which opened up mid-America to settlement. Stories included the saga of the New Orleans, an early steamboat built by Robert Fulton, which plied the Ohio and Mississippi rivers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.

A typical recipe in the second volume was “Flannel Cakes,” submitted by Mary E. Brown, of Fairview Heights, IL. The recipe contains a reference to “gill,” an old term describing a quarter-pint. The recipe:

Beat six eggs very light, stir in them two pounds of flour, one gill of yeast, small spoonful of salt and sufficient milk to make a thick batter. Make them at night for breakfast, and at ten in the morning for tea. Have your griddle hot, grease it well and bake. Butter and send them to the table, commencing after the family are seated.

The first Recipes and Stories volume went into three printings. The second was printed in a larger quantity and was sold for more than 12 years. Both volumes are now out of print.

Over the years the “Heirloom Recipes” column continued to be a staple of Discover Mid-America’s editorial family. Not all the recipes were for food. The Homemade Soap recipe, contributed by Marjorie Swaim, Windsor, MO, is an example. “Mother used to make lye soap regularly,” Marjorie wrote, “and cut the bars in small pieces to add to her hot wash water for heavily soiled clothes.” The recipe:

Add 3 quarts water in 3 quarts fat drippings and boil. Set in cool place for fat to set up. Cut fat out of container. Empty water and dregs from pan. Scrape wastes from fat. Pour fat in clean kettle and melt over low heat. Dissolve one-pound can of lye in one-quart cold water. Let stand until cool then add melted fat slowly. Stir continually. Mix 3 teaspoons Borax, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, _ cup cold water and _ cup ammonia Add to first mixture.

Stir until thick and honey colored. Pour in a pan lined with white cloth. While still pliable, mark pieces in size of bars you wish. When hard, store in dry place.

In December 1998, we published some old German recipes submitted by Janet Moser, Guttenberg, IA, who was a long-time contributor to the column. Many of the recipes were from Janet’s mother and grandmother. One recipe that stood out was for doughnuts made from mashed potatoes. The recipe:

1 cup mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, 3 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk, 5 teaspoons baking powder, 3 cups flour (more if necessary). Roll and cut. Fry in hot lard.

Late in 1999, the columns began to shrink as other columns and features competed for space (and my time). Reader participation had slacked off, with many of the recipes coming from repeat contributors. By the December issue, “Heirloom Recipes” was history.

Ken Weyand is senior contributing editor. He can be reached at kweyand1@kc.rr.com.

Holiday recipes from Neosho area evoke childhood memories

Although our extensive holiday events feature prevented our publishing these holiday recipes last month, I think they’re appealing throughout the year, especially wintertime. They not only satisfy our hunger and offer “stick to the ribs” nutrition, but they also bring back childhood memories to the contributor, Katherine M. Jackson of Neosho, MO. “The thoughts of long ago bring to mind all the great family meals and recipes that have been passed down from one generation to another,” she wrote.

Date-Sandwich Cookies

Filling
1 1/2 cups chopped and pitted dates 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar 1 cup nuts, chopped

Dough
1/2 cup shortening 1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, beaten 1 tablespoon cream
2 cups flour 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda

First mix the filling, combine dates, sugar and water. Cook until until thick. Add in the nuts and let cool.

Cream shortening for dough, add sugar, and cream well. Beat in egg; add cream. Add sifted dry ingredients. Mix well and chill dough. Roll between two sheets of waxed paper into a rectangle 1/4-inch thick. Remove top sheet of waxed paper. Use a round cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can, re-roll scraps of dough and cut out more cookies until dough is all used. Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake a 400† until lightly browned, for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cookies cool.

Take a baked cookie and lay it upside-down on waxed paper. Spread date filling on it, put a baked cookie on top of the filling with the flat side down on the filling. Press gently together.

Keep repeating the process of making “cookie sandwiches” until filling is all used.

“These are Grandmother Olga Topel’s trademark cookies,” Katherine wrote. “She made them always, but especially at Christmas time. She would wrap them individually in waxed paper. One cookie was like getting two cookies in one helping.”

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

6 to 8 potatoes, sliced thin 2-3 cups milk to almost cover potatoes
3 tablespoons cornstarch 1/4 cup water
(Mix cornstarch with water, stir until smooth)
1 whole onion, sliced in rings 1 teaspoon salt & pepper
2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon parsley
6 to 8 slices of ham

Wash and peel potatoes, slice. Cover potatoes with water and set aside. Peel and slice onions. Butter a 12” x 13” cake pan or large casserole dish. Drain water from potatoes, discard water. Put a layer of potatoes in the pan and onion, cover potatoes with milk.

Stir in the water and cornstarch mixture. Spread potatoes out in pan and make another layer. Add more milk and stir so that the cornstarch gets distributed throughout the pan. (This will thicken the milk and make a creamy mixture for the potatoes.)

Sprinkle the salt, pepper and parsley on top of potatoes. Place the ham slices on top of potatoes in a layer, mostly covering them.

Cover pan or casserole dish with aluminum foil. Put a cookie sheet under the pan or casserole dish in case the milk mixture boils over in the oven. Bake at 375† for 45 minutes or until potatoes are done.

“My mother, Evelyn Topel, made this dish when I was a child,” Katherine wrote. “I make it for my family every time we buy a ham. Delicious!”

Honey Cake

1/2 cup oleo or cooking oil 1 cup honey
1 egg 1/2 cup sour milk or buttermilk
2 cups sifted flour 1 teaspoon soda
Add 1 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon spice if wanted

Pour into a greased cake pan. Bake in a moderate over until done. (You can make sure cake is done by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake and if it comes out clean it is done.)

Variation: You can add two tablespoons cocoa and a little more milk for a Cocoa Cake.

The Honey Cake recipe was handwritten in 1943 by Katherine’s aunt, Bessie Moser. “She would recycle greeting cards by cutting them down into recipe-card size and centering a pretty picture on one side. One the plain side she would write down her recipe.”