Loading...
Zurich Herald, 1957-11-07, Page 2other day 1 noticed this sign in a country store like the one my Father had in New Hampshire many years ago. It caught my attention be- eause it has been a long time. since I stopped trying to get the kind of molasses which comes in a barrel Now it comes in jars or bottles, and it is not the same. In my father's store 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 piesfor 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. 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 Restaura t 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 Specalti s; and bene h, 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. Puny slice from the lamb, fellow, small appetite!" From the kitchen would come a tremendous crash. I£ 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 timeshe. 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 e;xpression.car`•e'fully:. If you ' ha/tilted tobe a dolt, or. suffi- ciently _foolhardy to . insist: a; esalidwic'h was all you wanted, yoti 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. 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 w.i 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 eat in irregular shapes with plenty of outside crust and were especially good served witfi` 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 s•:e.: .x ...:: .: ::CL.F,�..'?.'��%;:rv'sa'v??'v;;c:�.•>:a4F:°'wi%.�,. 4, 6i n: .. ��:5'•, i6i"r2iw:#te8kr 'L HAM FOR LUNCH—The "Alas, poor Yorick" scene ,from Hamlet is a resented to man a is a lunchtime e audience at London's Tower Hill by, salesman o ruCin. .h pes been giving noon -time than the young lady at left can take. The 32 -year-old erformances 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 lighting fixtures. r44r TABLE TALKS �.. clam A,.dpe.s 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 far 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 friend. 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. 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 i pork chops and cured hams, this prize porker makes a con tented cow look like a sourpuss. The happy swine snooze away with a big grin on his bristly face. n s * • 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 Johnstone in The Christian, science ..Monitor. „ * * "This is my favorite dessert —a meringue with fresh fruit. Passion fruit is usually used in this dessert by Australians, but strawberries, peaches, or other fruits are equally good," she wrote. AUSTRALIAN PAVLOVA CARE Tuna Research Foundation Sat- urday noon. Fish netting was festooned from the balconies around the walls, interspersedh with such fishing gear as mets, boots, poles, :corks and lures. The menu was patterned af- ter those actually served on the high seas: Tuna chill 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 11/2 cups sliced onions 1 cup sliced celery 11/z'teaspaons paprika 1 can condensed tomato (101/2 -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 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1%z teaspoons chili powder Drain tuna; reserve 1/4 cup oil. Break tuna into pieces. Heat 14 cup tuna ,oil; add onions, green—pepper,celery and pa- prika. ; qpk , until onions are ten ef',•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., 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. • An interesting luncheon was served the food writers by the soup ' 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 ssaute mushroom caps, 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 makes about 31k dozen. Tuna Bites with Chutney Dip 1 61/2 -ounce can chunk style tuna 134 cups soft bread crumbs x% cup milk 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon finely choplied onion 1/Z cup finely chopped pimien- to -stuffed green olives 1/4 teaspoon salt Dash pepper 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce Fine dry bread crumbs Combine tuna, soft bread cruuuibs, milk, mayonnaise, lem- on juice, onion, olives, salt, pep- per and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Form into bite -size balls. Roll' in dry crumbs. Bake on lightly greased shallow pan in moderate oven (375° F.) about 10 minutes. Arrange on • • • One of the hors d'oeuvres most popular with the food writers, at the Tuna Foundation nautical luncheon were tuna - stuffed mushrooms. Tuna Stuffed Mushrooms 1 pound small mushrooms 1 61/2,ounce can chunk style tuna 11/'teaspoons chopped chives ri cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon lemon juice Dash Tabasco Salt to taste Additional chopped chives Remove stems from mush- rooms and chop stems (reserve caps). Drain tuna; reserve oil. agriculture including' the 'Hon Douglas Darkness, Federal Min ister of Agriculture, and kion W. A. Goodfellow, Minister o1 Agriculture for the Province' o, Ontario; are included among the Board. of Directors of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and with the management . and stat)' are now feverishly preparing foe the Royal's gala opening in tha Coliseum here, November 15. This years' Royal which will be officially opened by the Prim( Minister, the Right Honourablt John G. Diefenbaker, has as its slogans "Canada's show window of agriculture" and "showplace of champions." Each of Canada'* ten provinces will be represen- ted in the 18,000 odd entries which will be on display as ex- hibitors vie for the Royal'$ coveted trophies, ribbons and. cash awards. The horse show again promises to be a colourful and exciting spectacle' withsome .of 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 Com- 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 a 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, fruitsr and,r,vege- Other interesting features of the 1957 Royal, •wiiicli;has-been designated as "International Year" include a cooking school, a wool fashion show, flower show„ two photographic compe- titions, , a large display of tropi- cal fish and horse shoe :pitching competitions, picks. Serve with• chutney dip. Chutney: Dip 3. 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 "vacation" 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. s of uued arls FROchute into Tok of BayAasECM—Back THY Pearl Queen Sara Saga (wear ng csome 2,500 rown) candr thep�(" Misses Pearls 's chutee y to even value is lock on. werepsr todmaintain thecs - high* quality of the J ihough n e seer pearl industry. Buddhist dumped Buddhist priests prayed for the "eternalpeac'efulrest" of the pearls as they dropped into the .deep. F