The Rural Voice, 1992-01, Page 30RURAL LIVING
ADVICE FROM THE PAST HOLDS TRUE
"A well-fed family is usually a happy
family. With an attractive, properly
cooked meal on the table, 'cares and trou-
bles fade away'."
And so begins a handy little cookbook
produced in 1964 that outlines the joys of
cooking a proper meal, including a chapter
titled "Your daughter's second trade —
homemaking." I can hear the gasps and a
few chuckles already but, while reading
carefully through this pocket -sized book, I
came to the conclusion that some of the
ideas are still pertinent today, although I
think I would re -title the last chapter to
read "Your child's second trade — home-
making.'.
A friend from work lent me the book
on behalf of her mother Phylis Haley, who
lives in Glenelg township in Grey county.
It is simply called "Kate Aitken's Cook-
book" and was presented by the Star
Weekly in 1964 with a reprint in 1965. It
was produced by the Special Project Divi-
sion for Wm. Collins Son and Company
Canada Ltd., White Circle Books of
Toronto. I can only surmise that Kate
Aitkens was a columnist with the Star
Weekly and a very popular one by the
looks of the recipes.
Her opening comment about a well-fed
family is so true. You must admit that
sitting down to a nutritious, well -cooked
meal certainly is a joy. You only have to
look at some of the cookbooks being writ-
ten today to realize that there has been a
very definite change in how we prepare
and cook our meals. Recipes to help the
harried working person organize well-
balanced meals with the aid of conveni-
ence products are accomplishing, in 30
minutes or less, the same job that would
have taken an hour or more of Mom's
time.
The art of homemaking starts with
having the basic utensils. Heading Ait-
ken's list is a refrigerator and a stove with
an oven control. Kate leaves no questions
about the basics and discusses exactly
what should be included in the pantry. In
her book, I discovered the exact measure-
ments for seasoned flour; my Mom would
toss a handful of flour into a bag, followed
by a dash of salt and a few grinds of pep-
per. Aitken combines one cup all-purpose
flour, two teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon
black pepper. Combine well and place in
a shaker for use on fish, meats and poultry
before searing. Good basic home cooking.
Today, for an extra lift, you could add a
bit of celery salt or garlic pepper.
For those who loved to cook, it must
have been both an exciting time and a frus-
trating tune. Some of the enduring recipes
that had been improved upon over the
years suddenly had no place in cookbooks,
thanks to modern conveniences and time-
saving steps. Jellied meats, for example,
had commonly been made in the home, but
with packing companies offering a wide
variety of such products at a good price, it
was not a necessity to know how to make a
good jellied ham. (In any case, Aitken
does include seven popular recipes for jel-
lied meats and loaves.) New convenience
products forced cooks to improvise with
old recipes while developing new recipes.
My favourite chapter has to be the last.
If you change the references from "daugh-
ter" to "children," it makes good common
sense to train your children in the essen-
tials of homemaking. We often equate this
warm word with old-fashioned ideas of the
traditional family structure and women
being kept at home. But maybe we should
re-evaluate the whole idea of homemaking.
Families are now a group of people that
live together: many single -parent, some a
mix -and -match of relationships from
previous marriages, and so on.
We make jokes about the old-fash-
ioned language in books like Kate Ait-
ken's, written at a time when values and
roles were differently defined. Maybe we
should return to some basics, like how to
cook carefully and with enthusiasm, to
shop economically and get dinner on the
table in short order — and that means
everyone: boys and girls, and men and
women.
I tried a couple of recipes from this
little book and they were very tasty. The
first, Banbury tarts, is a great idea for a
day of baking. You can use up leftover pie
and cake fillings in these tarts. The Ban-
bury filling is a combination of a marma-
lade and apples; I combined the ingredi-
ents in the food processor.
Banbury Tarts
Oven 450 F.
Make a batch of your favourite pie pastry.
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup raisins, finely chopped
3/4 cup apples, finely chopped
2 tablespoons nuts, chopped
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
1/3 cup white sugar
dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons softened margarine or butter
2 tablespoons rich milk
Roll pastry in thin sheet; cut in 4 -inch
square; place on oiled cookie sheet. Mix
all remaining ingredients; place 1
tablespoon of mixture on each square.
Fold over like a handkerchief; press edges
together. Prick with fork; if you want to
give each tart a personal touch, prick the
initial on it: A for Anne, B for Bill and so
on. Brush with rich milk; bake in hot oven
for 20 minutes. This quantity makes 12
tarts. I found the oven too hot when I
made my first batch so I followed the same
method I use for pies: I baked the tarts at
400 F for 10 minutes, then reduced the
heat to 325 F. and watched until the tarts
were golden brown, about another 8
minutes.
This next recipe should be made on a
day when you are doing other baking. It
requires the loaf to sit for 24 hours before
cutting very thin slices.
Dill Bread
Temp. 350 F.
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup cream cottage cheese
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 tablespoon shortening
2 teaspoons dill seed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, well beaten
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Sprinkle yeast and one teaspoon white sug-
ar on lukewarm water. Let stand 10 min-
utes; stir well. Heat cottage cheese to
lukewarm; combine with yeast mixture 2
tablespoons sugar, onion, shortening, dill
seed, salt, baking soda, and egg. Add flour
cup by cup, beating well. Turn on floured
board and knead till smooth and elastic.
Place in oiled bowl; cover; let rise in warm
place til light (1 hour). Shape into loaf
and place in oiled pan . Bake in moderate
oven. Do not cut for 24 hours. Sliced
thinly, this bread is especially tasty with
salads.0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger, in addition to
working in advertising production for The
Rural Voice, raises two children, and is a
skilled cook and gardener.
26 THE RURAL VOICE