Lily Salad

You are in for a treat!!!  At first I thought Jessie was using lilies.......

Remove the shells from as many hard boiled eggs are there are people to be served. Beginning at the small end of the egg cut the whites lengthways in 5 sections almost to the base, taking care to leave the yolks whole .
Turn back the petals - thus forming an open lily.
Roughen the yolk with a fork.
Place on lettuce leaves on a flat glass dish.
Serve with mayonnaise sauce  and bread and butter.

This is as precise as Jessie has ever been, down to the flat glass dish - to assume the illusion of the lily pad on water.

And just to check out what she meant, this is my attempt!!

Marrow Chutney

2lb marrow
1/2oz ground ginger
2 pints vinegar
1 or 2 onions
1/2lb sugar
1 dozen peppercorns
2 dry cayenne pods (if available)

Wash marrow, do not peel
cut into slices, half an inch thick
remove pips and cut into cubes
put in a dish and cover with salt.
Leave for 24 hours then drain off all moisture
Boil the vinegar with the peppercorns, ginger and cayenne pods for ten minutes
add marrow cubes, finely chopped onions and sugar
boil for 30 minutes
Bottle hot and seal


Very timely with the current marrow crop!!
I had to look up cayenne pods, I had no idea she meant chilli......

Hard Boiled Pickled Eggs

1 dozen eggs, boiled for 20 minutes
Vinegar to cover, add whole pepper, mustard seed and 2-3 cloves and bring to boil.
Pour over eggs in broad necked bottle and tie up tightly
Will be ready for use in about a month

My experience of picked eggs is that huge jar at the end of the bar, the one that you never see anyone eating from but they go down all the same!!

Ginger Wine

4 drams essence of ginger
3 drams essence of cayenne
1/2 oz tartaric acid crystals
Burnt sugar to colour
3lb lump sugar
4 quarts of boiling water


that's it, no method at all.  I don't even know where you would get essence of cayenne these days!!

marmalade

6 Seville oranges
3 lemons
9lbs sugar
6 pints of water

Method
Slice the fruit, remove pips, add water and allow to stand for 24 hours.  Then boil without sugar for about an hour or longer, until the peel is soft.
Add sugar, boil till peel is transparent and the marmalade jellies when tested.

Xmas Shortbread

2 1/2 lb butter
1 lb sugar
4 lb flour


I have no idea what makes this a festive shortbread, unless Jessie only ever made it at Christmas.  Once again no method, but shortbread is not complicated.......this from the woman who burnt her jam yesterday!!!

Mincemeat

2lb currents
1lb raisins
3/4 lb suet
2lb apples
1 1/2 lb fine sugar
9d rum
3/4lb L peel
packet allspice
1 nutmeg



No method to this one, just a list from Jessie, so I have no idea how big the packet of allspice would be, I just hope she remembers not to grate her nutmeg from the stalked end!!!! (see post on how to grate a nutmeg)

Prescription for Catarrh

as much boric acid that will lie on 6d three times - and twice of salt and once of soda. Wine glass full of water to mix.
Use in syringe.


Sorry if you are eating your breakfast!!!!
A few things to note, first of all Jessie had wine glasses and I bet they were no where near the monster glasses we have today.  And for anyone younger than 40,  6d is in old money, and is sixpence!

There are a few 'recipes' in Jessie's book like this...

To Grate a Nutmeg

Never begin to grate a nutmeg at the stalked end as it is full of holes


Wise words from Jessie, how many of us have made the fatal mistake of grating our nutmeg from the stalked end!!!!

Cheese Scones

Today felt like a cheese scone day, straight out of the BeRo book......

My Damson Jam - for Rosie

2.2lb Damsons
2.2lb sugar
3/4 pint water

Wash the damsons and remove any stalks
put in jam pan with water on a medium heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, breaking up the damsons every 5 minutes or so to release the stones from the fruit.
Add the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved, then with a slotted spoon scoop up the stones that should be floating on the surface.
Turn the heat high to allow the mixture to boil for about 10 minutes, test to see if it has reached the setting point, if not boil for a couple more minutes then test again.
pour in warm jam jars.

If you see any stones as you pour into jars, remove them.  But I always but a caveat on the jar if I am giving them as a gift, as there is always a stones or two that get through and you don't want anyone loosing a tooth!!!!

Let me know how it turns out

M

Marmalade

3 pints water for every lb of fruit (sliced)
stand for 24 hours or more - them boil for 1/2 hour.
1 1/2 lbs sugar to every lb of boiled fruit
Boil for 3/4 hour or longer

What I need to remember is that this was Jessie's personal recipe book, so her instructions would just have been prompts for her, which could explain the lack of them!

Damson Jam

Damson season will be with us soon, and I will be making my damson gin, but in the meantime, one from Jessie


Damson Jam
5lb damsons
2 pints water
Boil quickly for 20 minutes
Add 7lbs sugar and boil for 10-15 minutes

That's it......

Gooseberry jelly

I'm back, been a bit busy!!!!

So here is a quick one

2 quarts gooseberries
3 pints water
1 lb sugar to every pint of juice


Jessie does assume a level of skill as there is no method to make it, just make as you would any other jelly. Cook the gooseberries and water until cooked, suspend in muslin, over night.  Do not push the mix through or you will get cloudy jelly.....and no one wants that!
Discard the pulp, measure the liquid, add sugar, boil until setting is achieved.  pour into sterilised jars.

Rhubarb Jam

Quick and simple, I don't know why we aren't all out there making jam.......

2lb rhubarb
6 oranges
4lb sugar

cut up the rhubarb, grate the rind of the oranges and cut off the pulp.
put with juice of oranges add only liquid into pan and boil till soft.
add sugar and boil for 10 minutes

Scotch Drop Scones (Miss Sykes)

I have no idea who Miss Sykes was.....but she knew the size of a walnut!!!!


7 tablespoons sifted flour
4 tablespoons soft sugar
1 teacup of milk
1 pinch salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs

Put flour and salt into a basin.
Beat sugar and eggs; make a hole in the flour and pour in the eggs and sugar, stirring round carefully and adding milk by degrees; beat up.
Grease a griddle, and make it very hot.
Lastly add baking powder and drop in spoonful's on the hot griddle and turn when the bubbles appear.
NB. Can be made richer by rubbing butter the size of a walnut into the flour

Treacle Scones

1/4 pound flour
1/4 teasp salt
1/4 teasp baking soda
1/2 teasp cream of tartar
3/4 oz lard
1/2 teasp cinnamon
1/2 teasp ginger
1/4 teasp mixed spice
1 dessertspoon sugar
1 dessertspoon treacle
sweet milk

Rub fat into flour - add dry ingredients and mix to a dough with milk and treacle mixed (1/2 gill)
Hot oven - 10-15 minutes

FYI
4 gills is equal to a pint

Curry (Gazette)

This one is also taken from the Westmoreland Gazette.

1lb uncooked meet
2oz butter
1/4lb onions
1 dessertspoon rice flour
1 dessertspoon curry
1 tablespoon dess coconut
1/2 pint stock
seasoning
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method
Melt the butter in a sauce-pan, add the onions which have been finely chopped, and cook for about 5 minutes.  then add the meat cut into small pieces, the curry powder, rice flour and coconut: and stir over the fire or gas for another 5 minutes.  Now add the stack gradually to make the curry soft but not sloppy, and season.  Cover and cook slowly till tender. (about 2 hours)


I like the way she tells you to add something, THEN tell you how is should be.

Vegetarian Cutlets

1oz margarine
1 gill of milk
1 1/4 ground rice
1 dessertspoon of grated onion
2 or 3 tablespoons of mashed potato
salt and pepper
egg and crumbs

Place onion and margarine in a pan and allow to melt
Mix ground rice and milk, and add to mixture in the pan
Stir until thick then add mashed potato and seasoning
Allow to cool then form into cutlets
Dip into egg then breadcrumbs and fry in deep fat

Supper Dish

Written on the top of the page is that this recipe came out of the Westmoreland Gazette on 14/03/1925


1/2Llb boiled potatoes
1/2Llb tomatoes
1Llb cold boiled fish
1oz cheese
1/2 pint white sauce
2oz butter
2oz breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon milk
salt and pepper to taste

Bone, skin and flake the fish
Slice tomatoes and put in a saucepan with half the butter and a little salt and pepper.
Simmer until soft then rub through a sieve
Put tomatoes, fish and white sauce into a fireproof dish.
Mash potatoes - add milk and seasoning and place around mixture.
Grate cheese over it, cover with sifted breadcrumbs
Add remainder of the butter in pieces, and brown in a quick oven


Yum Yum!!!!!!
So much boiling of stuff.......

Vegetable Time Table

A  departure from the recipes as Jessie supplies us with a Vegetable Time Table....


White artichokes              30-35 minutes
Beetroot                            1half-2 hours
Turnips                             1 hour
Carrots (young) 1/2 hour. (old) 2 1/2 hours
Parsnips                              20-30 minutes
Cabbage                              30-35 minutes
Spinach                               25-35 minutes
Broad Beans                        25-35 minutes
Runner Beans                      20-30 minutes
Broccoli and Cauliflower    25-30 minutes
Green peas                           20-25 minutes
Brussel sprouts                     20-25 minutes
asparagus (old)20-25)           15-20 minutes
Vegetable marrow                 20-30 minutes 
Leeks                                     25-30 minutes
Onions (large)                       30-40 minutes
Potatoes (old)25-30)   (new) 15-20 minutes


Direct from the school of  'Boil it all to death'

Stuffed Tomatoes

You see, its not all ginger!!


Pulp of tomatoes with parsley, chopped onion and seasoning.
Make to right consistency with breadcrumbs and bind with an egg



Yup, that's it, short and sweet.....

Gingerbread (DEP)

I can see a pattern emerging, and it appears to be Ginger!!


2 breakfastcupsfullof flour
1 breakfastcupfullof sugar
2 teaspoonful of ginger
1 tablespoonful butter (well rubbed in)
2 tablespoonful treacle
1 egg - well beaten
1 teacupful milk
1 teasp cab soda dissolved in a tablespoon boiling water should be added at the last minute
Beat the mixture well for 8 minutes
Bake in a moderate oven for 25 or 30 minutes


I am writing these recipes exactly how they are written in my Grandmas book, I cant help but wonder if breakfast cups were all a universal size, and what does DEP stand for?

Grasmere Gingerbread

1lb flour
1/2 lb butter or margarine
1/2lb moist brown sugar
1/2 teasp bicarbonate of soda
2 teasps ground ginger

Rub fat in flour
add sugar, ginger, soda
mix well together and press firmly into a well greased tin
Bake in a moderate oven until golden brown
cut into squares while hot

Gingerbread

1 lb plain flour
pinch of salt
teasp ginger
teasp spice
6 oz sugar
4 oz fat
3/4 lb treacle (two rounded tablespoons)
1/2 pint milk
1 teasp soda

Melt fat and treacle in a pan
add to dry ingredients
put milk in the same pan and bring to the boil
remove from heat, add soda and stir into mixture
bake 1 hour in a moderate oven


How do you get a rounded tablespoon of treacle?

First Steps

This is the little red book which started it all