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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1957-11-14, Page 2Molasses Barrel A Family Stand-by "Barrel Molasses" — just the other day I noticed this sign in a country store like the one my father had in New Hampshire many years ago, It caught any attention be- cause it has been ,a long time since I stopped trying to get the kind of molasses which comes in 'a barrel Now it comes m jars or bottles, and it is not the same. In my father'sstore there was always. a barrel or hogshead of molasses and my grandmother kept a stone jug of molasses on hand in her kitchen. When the molasses was drained out of the barrel there was molasses -sugar, thick and grainy like soft maple sugar, wonderful to spread on a slice of bread when you were a small child, always getting hungry between meals. Some of my happiest recol- lections are of visiting my grandmother and eating the good things she used to make in he. old New Hampshire kitchen with the built-in brick oven, wites Gertrude S. Britten in. The Christian Science Monitor. Civil -War Days - They used a good deal of mo- lasses in those after -Civil -War days, a custom carried over from the time when they could not get sugar. Grandmother used molasses to sweeten her apple pies, and my father afterward always wanted his apple pie sweetened that way. I can remember that years later when sugar was plentous, my mother when making apple pies for the rest of the family would make a large turnover with unsweetened apples for my father When it was baked she would turn back the top crust of pastry, mix the apples gen- erously with molasses, then turn the crust back over the apples; and that was Papa's apple pie. Grandmother also made dried apples pies sweetened with mo- lasses These were made from her own dried applies peeled, sliced, and hung up on strings to dry outside the back door. They would be turned occasion- ally to get them dried through evenly, then put in paper bags and hung up in the attic to keep until they were needed for pies. The pies were delicious, the fruit filling dark red in color. Sometimes pie would be put into dinner pails when in winter the men were going out to work in the woods and would be gone all day. For lunch they would find in their pails a couple of thick roast pork sandwiches, a big piece of dried apple pie, a hunk of homemade cheese, a few doughnuts, and some red- eheeked apples. That would fill them up until they got home in time for supper. For "sauce" to have on hand in the winter months, Grand- mother made a kind of barberry and apple preserve. The bar - berries which you see on hedges around dooryards would not seem to have enough juice in them to make an appetizing combination wi t h anything However, when they were stew- ed, sweetened with molasses, and mixed with apple chunks, the result was a rich and highly flavored concoction which was really good. At any rate, I liked It. Another favorite of mine was what Grandmother called her drop cakes. They were made from a kind of muffin mix, us- ing rye flour, molasses, butter- milk, and soda. This was drop- ped by spoonfuls into deep fat and fried. The drop cakes came Gut in irregular shapes with plenty of outside crust and were especially good served with maple syrup. Grandmother had her own special beverage, made from the heels and crusts of Boston brown bread. These when left to steep in water on the back of the kitchen stove for several hours produced the basis for a rich, dark -colored cereal bever- age already sweetened with mo- lasses and this with milk in it pleased the children,- too, With Boston • baked beans, brown bread, Indian pudding, corn bread, gingerbread, apple pan dowdy, .pumpkin pie all made with molasses—if anyone did not like .molasses, he was out of luck. Uncle Pousant's Restaurant Uncle Pousant's restaurant was just around the corner from our house, on Lexington Avenue (New York) and to the right for a block and a half, In summer you couldn't, miss it if you fol- lowed your nose, for the odor of cooking spices and shishkebab greeted you at the corner of 23rd Street and enticed you past the Florentine Jewelers to the sign that read: Pousant's Ar- menian Specalties; and beneath, in smaller letters, "Pousant Tek- mekian, Prop." If it was mid- afternoon, Uncle Pousant would be out back in the kitchen, peeling artichokes, no doubt, or muttering to himself about the price of eggplant as he basted the evening's lamb • . Uncle Pousant's wife, Hadji, would be setting the tables at this hour... . If Hadji liked the looks of you she .would wave you in, after a furtive glance toward the kitch- en, since Uncle Pousant consid- ered it an insult to his profes- sion to be asked to serve meals at odd hours. But Uncle Pousant had sharp ears' when he sus- pected that his principles were being challenged. "Who's there? A derelict?" he would bellow, not caring wheth- er or not you understood Ar- menian. "Respectable - looking man, Pousant. Looks hungry. One slice from the lamb, eh? Puny fellow, small appetite!" From the kitchen would come a tremendous crash. If it sound- ed to you as though several iron frying pans were being thrown from a great height, you would have judged accurately. When he was irritated, Uncle Pousant did exactly this He reached for the iron frying pans arranged by size on the shelf above the stove and dropped them, one by one in rapid succession, to the cement floor of the kitchen: no damage to pans or floor... , If you were of a brave dispo- sition and had not by this time bolted for the door, Hadji would seat you at a table (a tactful distance from the kitchen), hand you a menu and squeeze her way between,,,tables to the kit- chen. By the time she disap- peared you would realize that the menu was a mere gesture, for it was printed entirely in Armenian. , • As the meal was placed be- fore you Uncle Pousant would stand at attention and study your expression carefully. 1.1 you happened to be a dolt, or suffi- ciently foolhardy to insist a sandwich was all you wanted,. you would find yourself depart- ing swiftly and unceremoniously from Pousant's Armenian Spe- cialties, leaving the rest of us to bear the brunt of your tactless- ness. For the rest of the day, and even the day after, no one could talk to Uncle Pousant without running the risk of re- minding him, no matter how re- motely, of ingratitude, Ameri- cans or sandwiches. Were you to sniff appreciably, however, when Uncle Pousant laid the platter before you, he would return to the kitchen looking as content as he ever could behind those fierce black moustaches.—From "A Houseful of Love" by Marjorie Housepian, When washing a duster, place one teaspoon of raw linseed oil or two tablespoons of erosene in the last rinse water and hang it up to dry. The result — a "dust- less duster". ME WORRY?—Blissfully unaware that he has a sad future in pork chops and cured horns, this prize porker makes a con- tented cow look like a sourpuss. The happy swine snoozes away with a big grin on his bristly facer HAM FOR LUNCH—The "Alas, poor Yorick" scene from Hamlet` is presented to a lunchtime audience at London's Tower Hill by salesman John Corvin The performance is almost more than the young lady at left can take. The 32 -year old Corvin has been giving noon -time performances to raise money for the Mermaid Theatre, But his motives aren't all that altruistic since he hopes to sell the theatre his firm's 'li ghting fixtures.' TA 811 TALKS e)am Andmws. The week-long food editors' conference' in Chicago ended last Saturday, but you will be hearing about some of the foods and methods introduced there in this column for several months. Today I want to tell you about the picture and recipe sent es- pecially for you from Australia, At the international breakfast held for us in the Drake Hotel in Chicago, the Aluminum Com- pany of America gave each food writer a new ffiend. When we entered the Gold Coast room at 8:30 a.m. Friday we saw first the flags of all countries along one long wall of the dining room; on our tables were many small flags. Centerpieces were tall fig- ures moulded of aluminum foil and dressed in authentic cos- tumes of various countries. e 4. • At each food writer's place was a large box With a card bearing her name and the name of a new friend in another coun- try. In the box was American food, packed ready for shipment to the new friend and each friend turned out to be a food writer on a paper in some other country! My new friend is food editor for the Sun -Herald in Sydney, Australia. She has already sent me a gift for you—the recipe of a dessert and also a recipe for the type of brownies made and lied in her country, writes Eleanor Rickey Johnston in The Christian Science Monitor. s * e "This is my favorite dessert —a meringue with fresh fruit. Passion fruit is usually used in this dessert by Australians, but etraw?berries, peaches, or other fruits are equally good," she wrote. a a e AUSTRALIAN PAVLOVA CAKE 4 egg whites 8 ounces castor (granulated) sugar 1 dessert spoon (tablespoon) vinegar Fruit Whipped cream Beat egg whites until very stiff. Add sugar gradually, beat- ing until dissolved and mixture stands up in stiff peaks. Fold in vinegar. Cut a piece of waxed paper the same size as a 9 -inch cake tin, grease it and put the greased side up on bottom of tin. Pile or pipe meringue on top, having it higher at sides to form shell. Keep about 1 inch from edge, as it spreads a little. Bake in slow oven 11/2 to 2 hours. Fill with whipped cream and fruit. • * * The Sun -Herald food editor says this Brownie recipe has taken many prizes in her coun- try. AUSTRALIAN BROWNIES 1 cup good dripping (shorten- ing) 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs Pinch salt 2 cups currants and sultanas- (seedless raisins) mixed 1 large cup milk 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup plain filour 2 cups self-raising flour Beat shortening and sugar to- gether until creamy; add eggs one at a time; beat well. Add, gradually the milk and the flour with spices and salt sifted in it; add fruits. _ (A little sliced peel may be added, if liked.) Bake in a greased dish 11/4 hours in a fairly hot oven. * e An interesting luncheon was served the food writers by the Tuna Research Foundation Sat- urday noon. Fish netting was festooned from the balconies around the walls, interspersed with such fishing gear as hel- mets, boots, poles, corks and lures. The menu was patterned af- ter those actually served on the high seas. Tuna chili chowder, the main dish, was adapted from a wide variety of sea food, vege- table soups which are said to be particular favorites of tuna fish- ermen. Green salad, with oil and vinegar . dressing, garlic bread and fruit cobbler are the actual accompaniments f o r chowder most often served on these clipper ships, and which were served us. TUN CHILI CHOWDER 3 seven -ounce cans solid -pack tuna 11/ cups sliced onions 1 cup sliced celery 11/'teaspoons paprika 1 can condensed tomato soup (103: -ounce can) 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 cans (1 pound cans) red kid- ney beans, (drained) 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 quart water 1 teaspoon salt >/ teaspoon pepper 13/ teaspoons chili powder Drain tuna; reserve 3'a cup oil. Break tuna into pieces. Heat 1/4 cup tuna oil; add onions, green pepper, celery and pa- prika, Cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Add tomato soup, tomato paste, beans, vinegar, water, salt, pep- per, chili powder, and tuna. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serves 6 to 8. • • e One of the hors d'oeuvres most popular with the food writers, at the Tuna 'Foundation nautical luncheons were tuna - stuffed mushrooms. Tuna Stuffed Mushrooms 1 pound small mushrooms 1 61/ ounce can chunk style tuna 11/ teaspoons chopped chives 34cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice Dash Tabasco Salt to taste Additional chopped chives Remove stems from mush- rooms and chop stexns (reserve caps). Drain tuna; reserve oil. Cook mushroom stems in tuna oil until lightly browned. Add tuna, 11/2 teaspoons chives, may- onnaise, lemon juice, Tabasco, and salt; mix well: Brush and saute mushroom caps, then fill with tuna mixture; sprinkle with` chives. Chill. Makes about three dozen. * * * Another favorite at this lunch- eon were tuna bites with chut- ney dip. This snakes about 31/4 dozen. Tuna Bites with Chutney Dip 1 6/ -ounce can chunk style tuna 11/2 cups soft bread crumbs 2 cup milk 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion 1/ cup finely chopped pimien- to -stuffed green olives ;a teaspoon salt Dash pepper le teaspoon Worcestershire sauce Fine dry bread crumbs Combine tuna, soft bread cruttibs, milk, mayonnaise, lem- on juice, onion, olives, salt, pep- per and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Forminto bite -size balls. Roll in dry crumbs. Bake on lightly greased shallow pan in moderate oven (375° F.) about 10 minutes. Arrange on Prime Minister To Open Winter Fair Prominent figures in Canadiai agriculture including' the Hon Douglas Harkness; Federal Min, aster of Agriculture, and Hon W. A. Goodfellow, Minister of Agriculturefor the. Province -•ot Ontario, are included among tht Board of Directors of the Royal Agricultural`. Winter Fair and with the °management and staff are now feverishly preparing for the Royal's gala opening, in the Coliseum here, November 15. This years' Royal which .will, be officially opened by the Primt Minister, the Right Honourable. John G. Diefenbaker, has .as its slogans "Canada's show window of agriculture" and "showplace of champions." Each of Canada's ten provinces will be represen- ted in the 18,000 odd entries which wil] be on display as ex- hibitors vie for the Royal's coveted trophies; ribbons and cash awards. The horse show again promises to be a colourful and exciting spectacle with some of the world's greatest riders and best horses from Great Britain, Ire- land, the United States, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Canada participating in the International Jumping Competitions. Maurice Francis of Shelburne, Ontario, will represent this prov- ince as a candidate in the com- petition for the T. Eaton Cont- pany Agricultural 'Scholarship which will be awarded at this year's Royal. He will compete against candidates from all of Canada's other provinces for, a scholarship which provides all college fees, lodging and board for four-year course at any agricultural College the winner may choose. Other young agriculturists from many parts of Canada, members of 4-H Clubs„ will con- vene in Toronto from November 16 to 21 to participate in their national competitions at the Fair and to demonstrate their ability as judges of livestock, horses, grains, seeds, fruits and vege- tables. • Other interesting features of the 1957 Royal, which has been designated as "International Year" include a cooking school, a wool fashion show, flower show,; two photographic compe- titions, a large display of tropis cal fish and horse shoe pitching competitions. picks. Serve with chutney dip. Chutney Dip a/ cup finely chopped chutney 1 six -ounce jar hollandaise sauce Mix well; NO REGRETS -With the ruins of the school as a background, these elementary grade children enjoy their "vocation" play- ing in the schoolyard at Hugo, Minn. The 50 -year-old, four room brick schoolhouse was totally destroyed by a pre -dawn fire, So far none of the 93 displaced pupils has expressed any regrets about the untimely fire. FROM WHENCE THEY CAME -Back to the sea, some 2,500 pounds of cultured pearls roll down a chute into Tokyo Bay as Pearl Queen Sara Saiga (wearing crown) and the "Misses Pearls" look on. The pearls, considered too low-grade tomarket, even though their' value is about $47,200, were dumped to, maintain the high quality of the Jap an e s e pearl industry. Buddhist priests prayed for the "eternal peaceful rest" of the pearls as they dropped into the deep.