The Good Earth

Carnival of the Recipes
Imagine my surprise when I perused The Carnival of the Recipes - 23rd Edition last week and discovered two recipes from my childhood - Down in the Dumps Pudding (which we call Fudge Pudding) and Hot Milk Spongecake. Mom made Hot Milk Cake frequently for dessert, but I haven't had it for years and Fudge Pudding is just plain fun to make. I recommend both to you. I also noticed a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. The addition of hard-boiled eggs is interesting and, yes, purchasing stock is much much easier. Finally, a recipe from someone who really knows campfire cooking. I can't wait for spring! (Wow, so much linkage - unusual for me.)

I feel inspired to post a heritage recipe. This was served by Olive Sayles, my maternal great-grandmother, to her ladies groups. According to my mother, she topped it with whipped cream and a peach half and called it (yikes! I forget. Something about eggs. Eggs in a nest?)

Soft Ginger Bread
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sour milk
1 egg
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp each ginger and cinnamon

That's it. No instructions. I added this to the recipe card: Bake in a 9" square pan at 350 degrees until done.

In today's world of cake mixes, it can't be assumed that everyone would know to combine the dry ingredients, cream the shortening, add sugar, then eggs and molasses. Then alternately add dry ingredients and wet ingredients (milk). Beat well. I suppose it would take about 20-30 minutes.

UPDATE: Mom just told me that while this is my great-grandmother's recipe dating from the late 1900s, it was my grandmother who served it with whipped cream and a peach in the 1930s. And if you don't know what sour milk is, add a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk. I just imagined someone leaving a cup of milk on the counter for several days.