Sunday, August 1, 2010

What's a Huckleberry?

Another two pages in one of my old falling-apart cookbooks belonging to my grandmother, this time a bit later, 1924. I was specifically looking for an original pie crust recipe, and it was adjacent to Huckleberry Pudding, Pumpkin Pie and Spice Cakes. I have no idea what Huckleberries are, except for what I found at Wikipedia below. From what it says, it seems blueberries could be substituted.

For the wiki lowdown on Huckleberries, click here.

Huckleberry Pudding
3 cups sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 Tbs butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp B. powder
little salt
2 cups berries
Steam 1 hour. 
(Edit: Would 'steaming' be the same as pouring water around a custard pan as it cooks? I'm not familiar with 'steaming' anything but vegetables...)

Pumpkin Pie
1 qt pumpkin
1 pt milk
3 eggs
1 tsp ginger
2 tbs flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp butter
salt to taste
enough for 2 pies.

Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 Tspoon salt
1/2 cup Shortening
1/2 or 1/4 cup water.

Spice Cakes
1/2 cup Shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
3 Tspoon R. B. powder*
1/2 Tspoon cinnamon
1/4 Tspoon nutmeg
1/4 Tspoon cloves
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped raisins
Cream shortening and add sugar and beaten egg. Add flour, baking powder and spices which have been sifted together. Add milk, mix well. Add raisins. Bake in moderate oven.

* I have no clue what R.B. powder is. I know it's baking powder, but not sure what the R is. Maybe a brand name?

U P D A T E : 
Long-time reader, PhantomX has commented that R.B. powder is Royal Baking Powder, a popular brand in the 1920s. He even sent this vintage cookbook cover. A big thanks!


What a cool vintage cover design! I really like the navy blue background. There is something about the silhouetted ivory-colored dish and the browned biscuits that remind me of a peaceful full moon hanging in a gorgeous not-quite-black sky. It evokes warm, family Sunday night suppers, absolutely perfect for the subject matter. The typography is quite nicely done as well, simple, easy-to-read yet the colors are elegant and homey at the same time. Really well done by the artists of the day!

14 comments:

  1. R.B. Powder stand for Royal Baking Powder, by a company of the same name; popular brand in the 20's.

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  2. Awesome, thanks! I would never have figured that out.

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  3. Casey, this just might interest you.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Ranch

    By the way I can't wait for biscuit baking weather too come to go along with some nice homemade soup. Countdown to fall begins...

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  4. i love biscuits but always find autumn a very depressing season. i can certainly wait for that!

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  5. CASEY, TURN THAT DEPRESS FEELING OF FALL INTO DELIGHT. TAKE WALKS EVERYDAY AND LOOK AT ALL THE BEAUTIFUL COLORS OUT THERE. FALL IS SO BEAUTIFUL IN NEW ENGLAND. REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT. MAKE A PILE OF LEAVES AND JUMP IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM. IT'S A GOOD WAY TO FEEL LIKE A KID AGAIN..

    I'M GOING TO TRY AND MAKE A PIE THIS WEEK AND I'M GOING TO USE THAT PIE CRUST RECIPE. YUM

    GRANNY

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  6. oh that brought a smile to my face, Granny, you making that old pie crust recipe! I hope it turns out great! my grandmother used to make little treats with the leftover dough. she'd roll it out and spread butter and sugar and cinnamon on it. then she'd roll them up like a jelly roll and cut them into small slices and bake them. try it if you have any dough left over!

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  7. This post reminds of the days when I was in cooking class with my drunk instructor. She was always spent and taught us all sorts of recipes that were handed down from her mother from Ireland.

    As a joke, every time she bent down or leaned over the counter one of us would throw power on her as*. She was so drunk that she even walked around the hallways not realizing what we did and the vice principal had to stop her and told her to go on vacation after he smelled her breathe. Not sure if he saw her backside...

    Just thought Casey you would like this unbelievable story.

    : )

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  8. Woody: You know I always love a good story! I don't think you can expect kids to respect a drunken teacher, so you might have done her a favor!

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  9. CASEY, MY MOM ALWAYS DID THE SAME THING. SHE ALSO WOULD LET ME ROLL OUT LITTLE PIECES AND PUT THE SUGAR ETC ON IT. I FELT SO GROWN UP. YOU JUST CAN'T BRING THOSE DAYS BACK. WE NEVER FINISH DINNER THAT MOM HAD A CAKE OR PIE BAKE FOR MY DAD. HOMEMADE ICECREAM ALWAYS A TREAT IN THE WINTER. WE WOULD GO OUT AND BRING IN THE ICE HANGING FROM THE ROOF WHILE MOM WOULD COOK UP THE CREAM. THEN GO DOWN CELLAR TO CRANK THE MACHINE. WE THOUGHT WE DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN. I CAN STILL REMEMBER THE TASTE OF THAT ICE CREAM.

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  10. I've never had homemade ice cream! I see them make it on TV in electric makers now, but I remember hearing about having to crank the original ones. That seems more the way I'd like to do it, then you can really appreciate the taste when you've had to work for it! Great memory, Granny, thanks for sharing with us again1

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  11. OH CASEY! I am SO sad about you never having had homemade ice cream!! Every 4th of July it was fried chicken, potato salad, homemade lemonade and home churned ice cream! YUMMY!
    As our children grew, we still had the homemade ice cream and brownies to go with our cookout...
    If you were closer, you better believe you would be here having some homemade ice cream with us! oh, and homemade thick
    hot fudge to go on top of it all...ahhhhhhhhh....wonderful!
    mare

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  12. OK, Mare, you really got me with homemade hot fudge! I've never had that either, We weren't much for desserts, lol. My little town has a 'gourmet' ice cream place and when I feel like treating myself, I get a container of it, chocolate chocolate chip is my fave!

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  13. "Would 'steaming' be the same as pouring water around a custard pan as it cooks?"

    Actually it is similar, but it's done on the stove top.

    The pudding in a heat-proof baking dish or even a special mold is covered tightly with wax paper and foil and is placed on a rack in a large saucepan of gently boiling water. The water should reach halfway up the side of the dish and then the saucepan is covered.
    Some of these puddings steam for hours.

    This is the way that traditional Christmas puddings are made - the ones with suet.

    My grandmother used to make steamed brown bread in a coffee can to go with her baked beans. Same principle. Maybe the brown bread and beans is a Boston thing.

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  14. Thank You Marius! I just might try this in the fall. I remember my mother making brown bread and baked beans. I remember the coffee can too, but I thought she baked it that way in the oven with the beans. The beans would have to cook for hours and hours, and I think she put the bread in towards the end. I might be wrong about that.

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