I had a sudden surge of nostalgia the other day, and wondered if I could find my Grandmother's recipe for a Saffron Loaf.
(As Saffron cake/bun/ bread is a staple of Cornish Diet, I could have bought any of them, but I wanted to make my own.)
So this little book came out.
Grandma's recipe book, with notes by many of the recipes giving the name of the friend whose recipe it was.
As in, 'Fruit cake, Mrs Hooley', or
'Sponge pudding, Dorothy, very good'
Isn't this beautiful handwriting?
Every now and then a different 'recipe' is interspersed with the others. This one is for furniture cream, between the pages for Yorkshire Parkin and Puzzle pudding.
This one is the oddest.
It's for a tonic, a pick-me-up.
Not too sure about this!
'Put 3 eggs into the sieved juice of 4 lemons.
Let them stay for 4 or 5 days until the shells are dissolved... Carefully lift the eggs out into a basin. empty out of skins, beat up well and sieve them into lemon juice.
Add a noggin (!) of rum and sugar to taste.
Cork up in a bottle.
Dose, a wine glassful 3 times a day.
Twice a day is often enough.
It will clear all coughs.'
I think twice a day would be more than enough for me.
So many of the recipes are very much geared to frugality and wartime shortages. It's a fascinating little book, and even nicer as every now and then a recipe in my mother's handwriting is popped in. Maybe I should add one or two.
I never did find the Saffron loaf, but so enjoyed my browse with Grandma.
17 comments:
This is just a lovely story Barbara, and yes, her handwriting was so beautiful. Such a precious book full of kitchen stories/recipes - I know you are thrilled to have it even if the saffron cake didn't appear.
I have a few of my mum's handwritten recipes plus a very old cookbook with some of those Stork Margarine leaflets tucked inside. Remember them, from the '50's I think? I must go search them out as your post has 'tweaked my fancy' - and made me miss mum's always fabulous sponge cakes etc.
Hope all is well in pretty Cornwall.
Hugs - Mary
The handwriting is beautiful! That was the first thing I noticed. : ) Your grandmother's recipe book is truly a treasure. My great-grandma gave me her recipe book. Some pages are handwritten recipes and some pages are recipes direct from the newspaper. I love to look through the cookbook, as it brings back so many sweet memories of my great-grandma and grandma. They both were wonderful cooks and taught me so much.
how lovely to have a family cookbook that has been treasured and passed on. My grandma was a good cook but sadly I didn't take any interest, no book to refer to! I hope you find your saffron recipe.
How beautiful to re-discover the recipes in your treasure book, Barbara. It saddens me to realize that we will be/are the last generation of hand writers. However, my hand writing is not worth to be preserved, nobody could read the scribbles.
what treasures! that is a real blessing! I have a small church cookbook from my Grandma that is from the 1930s, really special! I don't know if I have ever had a saffron loaf - would love to know what recipe you use in the end! :)
That’s so special! I have a recipe written in my grandmother’s handwriting. I love having it,
That is a great little trip down Memory Lane! Such a treasure to have this family recipe book!
The handwriting is so special. What an interesting compilation.
Oh yes, I can imagine! It is a wonderful treasure with wonderful handwriting :)
Have a nice day & love, Carolien
What a treasure you have in your grandmother's recipe book. Yes, her handwriting is beautiful. I love to see penmanship from that generation because they were taught to write so beautifully.
That's wonderful! I spend hours looking at nostalgia items when I find them. Recently found hundreds of old photos from my dad's side of the family. My mom had a fabulous recipe book that was so old, with notes etc. Not sure what happened to it after she passed.
What a wonderful memory. A few years ago, we found a receipt for my in-laws trip when they immigrated to Canada, and on the back was a cookie recipe, in German, that my husband and his siblings remembered their mother making. We worked hard and translated the recipe and kept it. I just recently ran across it again, and decided to bake them for an upcoming family gathering. So nice to have something of the past in our lives today. But, what is puzzle cake? That one intrigues me!
What a lovely treasure to peruse. I'm sure many memories floated to the surface as you read.
Barbara...what a treasure you have there in the pages of that book :)
My dear Barbara, what a delightful treasure to have. And I am with you thinking two glasses of the "Pick-Me-Up" would be more than enough!
Hugs to you
What a lovely treasure Barbara! My grandmother, unfortunately, never wrote any of her recipes down, it was all stored in her head. Consequently, I will never be able to reproduce her soft sugar cookies, or anything else I remember from my childhood.
Your grandmother had lovely handwriting. Those were the days when children were taught to practice their writing until it was perfect. I hear that most schools in the U.S. don't even teach cursive writing anymore!
What a lovely memento of your grandmother. Lots of fun to see what was 'in' in her day. And, of course, lots of tips during war time frugality. An interesting glimpse of one woman and the era she lived in.
Too bad about not finding the saffron loaf recipe.
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