Jam Cake Recipe from 1915

I found this dessert recipe from my 1915 copy of the Quaker Cook Book and thought it sounded like a winner.  You can use any kind of jam that your family likes, but personally, I lean toward blackberry or strawberry.....or orange marmalade.  There are so many choices.  No icing recipe given for it, but I think I will top ours with Cool Whip and fresh fruit of whatever type jam is in the cake.  This is a very easy and light dessert for summer evenings.  Enjoy!

Jam Cake

One cup sugar, one cup butter and lard, one cup jam or jelly, three eggs, one cup sour milk, one teaspoonful soda, one teaspoonful each of cloves, cinnamon and allspice, two cups flour. (Substitute Crisco or butter for the lard, and buttermilk for the sour milk.)

My Adventures in Texas: The State Chamber Conference was held this year at Lost Pines Resort (near Austin).  It was a beautiful, relaxing atmosphere and the resort is really geared toward families (love that!).  Dana said the conference was one of the better ones that he has attended.   (One of the keynote speakers was LaDonna Gatlin,  the sister of the Gatlin Brothers.)
 The evening before the conference started, we enjoyed a side trip to a little place called Bastrop;   "The most historic small town in Texas".  The folks in Bastrop have made preserving their historic buildings, landmarks and downtown business district a priority and it shows.  Homes and vintage church buildings with their original gingerbread trim on the front;   storefronts with original signage and paint colors;  down-home restaurants, bookstores, and antique shops all add to the comfortable, well-worn feel of the town.  There were two eateries on the main street that offered home-cooked food and live music;  we chose the one that seemed to have the most foot traffic.  Maxine's on Main  turned out to be an excellent choice!  The special of the evening was chicken Parmesan with homemade garlic bread and salad, but the menu also had offerings of  fried green tomatoes, collard greens and black-eyed peas (choices for your "meat and three").  Our chicken was served in  huge portions  that could have fed two people.  The salads were so fresh that the shredded carrot topping was actually crisp!  The homemade desserts (in their glass pie case) looked so good that we ordered a piece of coconut cream pie to share....it was the best I've ever had!  We waddled out of that place and down the street to look at the shops and enjoy the rest of our evening.  If you ever have the chance to stop at Bastrop.....eat at Maxine's on Main (eat early in the day, so you have plenty of time to walk!!)

***Good movie to rent:  The Artist***

Swaps:
Common Ground
33 Shades of Green
Blessed with Grace
All the Small Stuff
My Sweet and Savory
Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Making the World Cuter
Mandy's Recipe Box
It's a Blog Party

Chili Sauce-Quaker Recipe 1915

As I took the trash to the curb a few minutes ago, I observed that mornings in Texas are the best time to get outside if you need to do anything that takes even a speck of energy.  It is moderate (I really couldn't stretch the truth and say, "cool"!) and there is a breeze.  After I chat with you and share a recipe, I'm going to dead-head my petunias and water my hanging planter.  I really enjoy living in Texas but the heat is muy caliente'!   Oh well, it makes those Knock-Out  Roses (a beloved  heat-resistant Texas variety) bloom!

I mentioned that I have a recipe to share, and as many of you have told me, you enjoy tidbits from my collection of old cookbooks.  I have a friend, Earlene, who cans every summer and that prompted me to share a canning recipe from an old Quaker cookbook from Carmel, Indiana.  This soft back book was published in 1915 by the "Women's Sunday School Class" and the quote on the front cover says, "With baked and boiled, stewed and toasted;  Fried and broiled, smoked and roasted;  We treat the town."  Hope you enjoy this "treat" from the Quaker ladies in long-ago Indiana.  (My Mom brought me this sweet book from a thrift shop near my Uncle Dave's house.)

Chili Sauce

~Abbie Quick

One peck of green tomatoes, one-half peck ripe tomatoes, twelve onions, three large heads cabbage, one-half dozen green peppers, one-fourth dozen ripe peppers.  Chop fine, mix well, sprinkle with salt and let stand twenty-four hours.  Then drain off liquor and add the following:  Three pounds brown sugar, two tablespoonfuls pepper, two tablespoonfuls cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls mustard, one tablespoonful celery seed;  cover with vinegar and cook thirty minutes.

Note:  As usual, this recipe is copied directly, as it was written,  to retain the literary flavor of the old cookbook and it's recipe donor's writing style.  I make no apologies for these old treasures.  I've found that the home cooks of the past  were often brief and to-the-point;  they had homes and sometimes farms to run.  Most were not writers by trade, but 'knew their stuff' when it came to cooking and preserving produce.  It's an honor every time I have the opportunity to share something from these cooks of the eighteen and nineteen hundreds.

***Good movie rental:   "The Iron Lady" with Meryl Streep***

Swaps:
Simply Sweet Home
The Shabby Nest
Comfy in the Kitchen
The Finer Things in Life
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Ann Kroeker
Momtrends
Grocery Cart Challenge
Designs by Gollum

Tangy Glazed Chicken

I'm happy to report that Ben graduated and that the graduation open house in his honor went smoothly.  I'm sad to report that my mom and dad, after a whirlwind stay,  had to leave yesterday, but I cherish the fact that they could be here.  West Virginia to Dallas/Fort Worth  is a  long trip by car....and Dad has declared that he does not prefer traffic (and all the construction)  here compared to the slower pace of home!   Our pointing out that big construction projects in an area are a sign of a strong economy  did not make him feel any better about driving through it (my dad is the original "small town southern man"  that Alan Jackson refers to in the song).  I think Mom and Dad would agree though,  that seeing their grandson graduate was well worth the drive!
 While we fit a lot of visiting and sightseeing into a week, the main event, of course, was watching our youngest son accept his diploma at UNT's coliseum (large enough to accommodate the family and friends of Byron Nelson's first graduating class of 400 students!).  Ben looked so handsome in his graduation cap and gown, and just like his brothers before him, required an extra tall!  He was excited that the graduation was held at UNT because it allowed the grandparents a chance to get a glimpse of the campus where he will be attending in the fall.
Congratulations, Ben, we're very proud of you!

***HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY DAD ......AND ALL GREAT DADS!***

Today I'm cleaning and catching up on laundry, but I do have a wonderful chicken recipe to share with you.  I got this from a preacher's wife in West Virginia.  Carrie  said that this was a very easy dish that everyone in her family loved.  I hope your family loves it, too!

Tangy Glazed Chicken
Carrie Gallagher

2 chicken breasts
1/4 tsp salt, optional
4 1/2 tsp butter or margarine
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/2 C chicken broth
1/2 C apple jelly or spreadable fruit
3 TBSP orange juice
1 TBSP minced fresh parsley, optional
1/4 to 1/2 tsp dried thyme

Sprinkle chicken with salt, if desired.  In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat;  brown chicken on all sides.  Remove and keep warm.  In the pan drippings, saute' onion and celery until tender.  Add the remaining ingredients;  cook and stir until jelly is melted.  Return chicken to the pan.  Cook, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes or until meat juices run clear.  Top chicken with onion mixture.  Carrie made a note at the bottom that she serves this with rice (I think it would be good with mashed potatoes, too!)

Swaps:
Delightfully Dowling
Beyer Beware
Make Ahead Meals for Harried Homemakers