A Taste of the Past
I got a letter in the mail today!! Yes, the mail - you know the box attached to the front of your house? It actually can contain interesting items besides bills and spam. Is junk mail of the paper variety called spam? Just wondering.
Anyway, I knew right away who it was from and what it was. It was a letter from my mom containing a recipe that I had asked for last week. My parents are retired and, on top of all of the exceptionally interesting things that we talk about that reflect our exceptionally interesting mutual lives, sometimes we take delight in talking about every-day events, like what we're going to make for supper, when and what we're going to bake next, and what's on sale at the Co-op this week. You know, the stuff that relationships thrive on, the ordinary being shared.
I guess I was telling them that I was trying to bake my way through a carton of buttermilk, wishing that buttermilk was sold in smaller cartons! They told me about some of the ways that they like to use buttermilk - like the "old German" dish of buttermilk in a bowl with boiled eggs sliced into it, served with a piece of bread to sop it all up. I've got one word for that dish: P-A-S-S. Then mom reminded me that she used to use buttermilk to make this cake that we literally grew up on - "Crumb Cake". I have gone searching through my recipe files, looking for a copy of this recipe a few times, and could never find it, thinking that it was strange because this was such a staple at home. I often substituted my spice cake craving by making the "Lazy Daisy" cake instead, which is good, but it's not mom's Crumb Cake.
So, when her handwritten copy of the recipe arrived in the mail this afternoon, I scanned the list of ingredients and knew that I had everything I needed to make this. I started to get myself organized, and the simplicity of the recipe struck me. It - is - so - simple. And, when I think about it further, that reflects the times in which we used this recipe. Back in those days, we baked crumb cakes to survive, almost. We were a farming family who worked hard. We didn't have much. In the spring, we managed a herd of cattle that had just had babies and filled the windowsills with tomato plants to kick-start the garden. In the summer, we worked hard in the huge garden and in the hay field. In the fall, we ALL harvested day after day until every speck of grain was in the bin. In the winter, we cared for our cattle again. There were no breaks. And we worked hard and we were hungry. So cakes and cookies weren't just after school treats, they were necessities to fuel us for the work that was required for this family to survive. Crumb cake showed up after school, for the 1/2 hour that Dad and Mom would stop their chores, have a cup of coffee, and sit with us to listen to our stories of school. Crumb cake was taken to the field in the harvest time with a quart sealer of coffee for Dad while he worked non-stop. Crumb cake was eaten for dessert after supper with a cup of sweet tea, after the cattle had been bedded down for the cold winter's night.
Today's bakers are making artistic rolled cookies, with lavish icing designs. They are baking cookies with chopped up chocolate bars inside to accelerate the "wow" factor. Layered cakes are getting higher and higher.
But my mom made us Crumb Cake, with milk that came from the cows in our barn or with the buttermilk from the butter she churned herself.
Okay, now I'm starting to get choked up.
And I'm starting to feel like I must have grown up in the Dark Ages.
They were different times, for sure.
So, for your nostalgic pleasure, here is a cake with a very simple list of ingredients, and a very rich set of memories for this chickie.
Crumb Cake
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup margarine.
Rub together into crumbs and take out 1 cup for topping.
Now add:
1 cup milk (soured with 1 tsp vinegar, or buttermilk if available)
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda OR baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup raisins (soaked or boiled to plump)
Mix. Put into 9" square baking pan, greased. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top and pat down. Bake 30-40 minutes in a 350 F oven.
Mom says that it could also be made into muffins instead. She also says that it turns out better in a metal pan; the glass pan cooks it too fast and makes it dry out on the bottom. That's her story, and I'm stickin' to it.
Anyway, I knew right away who it was from and what it was. It was a letter from my mom containing a recipe that I had asked for last week. My parents are retired and, on top of all of the exceptionally interesting things that we talk about that reflect our exceptionally interesting mutual lives, sometimes we take delight in talking about every-day events, like what we're going to make for supper, when and what we're going to bake next, and what's on sale at the Co-op this week. You know, the stuff that relationships thrive on, the ordinary being shared.
I guess I was telling them that I was trying to bake my way through a carton of buttermilk, wishing that buttermilk was sold in smaller cartons! They told me about some of the ways that they like to use buttermilk - like the "old German" dish of buttermilk in a bowl with boiled eggs sliced into it, served with a piece of bread to sop it all up. I've got one word for that dish: P-A-S-S. Then mom reminded me that she used to use buttermilk to make this cake that we literally grew up on - "Crumb Cake". I have gone searching through my recipe files, looking for a copy of this recipe a few times, and could never find it, thinking that it was strange because this was such a staple at home. I often substituted my spice cake craving by making the "Lazy Daisy" cake instead, which is good, but it's not mom's Crumb Cake.
So, when her handwritten copy of the recipe arrived in the mail this afternoon, I scanned the list of ingredients and knew that I had everything I needed to make this. I started to get myself organized, and the simplicity of the recipe struck me. It - is - so - simple. And, when I think about it further, that reflects the times in which we used this recipe. Back in those days, we baked crumb cakes to survive, almost. We were a farming family who worked hard. We didn't have much. In the spring, we managed a herd of cattle that had just had babies and filled the windowsills with tomato plants to kick-start the garden. In the summer, we worked hard in the huge garden and in the hay field. In the fall, we ALL harvested day after day until every speck of grain was in the bin. In the winter, we cared for our cattle again. There were no breaks. And we worked hard and we were hungry. So cakes and cookies weren't just after school treats, they were necessities to fuel us for the work that was required for this family to survive. Crumb cake showed up after school, for the 1/2 hour that Dad and Mom would stop their chores, have a cup of coffee, and sit with us to listen to our stories of school. Crumb cake was taken to the field in the harvest time with a quart sealer of coffee for Dad while he worked non-stop. Crumb cake was eaten for dessert after supper with a cup of sweet tea, after the cattle had been bedded down for the cold winter's night.
Today's bakers are making artistic rolled cookies, with lavish icing designs. They are baking cookies with chopped up chocolate bars inside to accelerate the "wow" factor. Layered cakes are getting higher and higher.
But my mom made us Crumb Cake, with milk that came from the cows in our barn or with the buttermilk from the butter she churned herself.
Okay, now I'm starting to get choked up.
And I'm starting to feel like I must have grown up in the Dark Ages.
They were different times, for sure.
So, for your nostalgic pleasure, here is a cake with a very simple list of ingredients, and a very rich set of memories for this chickie.
Crumb Cake
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup margarine.
Rub together into crumbs and take out 1 cup for topping.
Now add:
1 cup milk (soured with 1 tsp vinegar, or buttermilk if available)
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda OR baking powder
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup raisins (soaked or boiled to plump)
Mix. Put into 9" square baking pan, greased. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top and pat down. Bake 30-40 minutes in a 350 F oven.
Mom says that it could also be made into muffins instead. She also says that it turns out better in a metal pan; the glass pan cooks it too fast and makes it dry out on the bottom. That's her story, and I'm stickin' to it.
Oh...I wish I lived closer! Crumb cake fresh out of the oven is THE best! I think I even asked for it for a relatively recent birthday. Great memories too. Now I'm all choked up too!
ReplyDeleteI read this to Mom and Dad. They really enjoyed it. Dad just added one more thought: "Tip the piece of cake over and pour cold cream on top. Then eat it!"
ReplyDeleteSo... when are you gonna start posting pictures of the recipes you share with us?? I would love to see how yours looks so I can determine if I did it right! And, I'm sure a picture would persuade me to make it :)
ReplyDeleteI just learned about your blog from second cousin Dixie. Although I'm not as crazy about baking as you are, I have been enjoying reading it. Although our nationalities are different, our farm backgrounds are very similar.
ReplyDeleteI well remember eating and baking crumb cake. It is also in The Guide to Good Cooking, the Five Roses Cookbook, which I own. It calls for granulated sugar, cloves as well as cinnamon, currants as well as raisins, and to bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
I no longer own a 9 inch square metal pan, but I have a 9 x 13 and could double the recipe.
Thanks for the memories!
Elaine C., thanks for reading and sharing memories!
ReplyDelete