A few days ago, I found a box that needed a good declutter. Inside was a 'record' book. My mom had a hidden stash of similar books (unused) and they fit the bill for any need. Need a journal? Here, use one of these. Need a book for writing poetry? Here, use one of these. She seemed to be in possession of a never-ending supply. I'm not sure if she still had a case from when she was in business school or if she brought them home one at a time from work (though that does not sound like something she would do).
I wish I had taken a side-on view before I started going through it. It was unclosable, and stuffed full of letters, clippings, etc. This 'record' book was my mother's recipe collection. I told Carey this morning that it felt like I was unearthing an ancient book of spells or something. Kinda looks like it too. I can attest that it has battle scars from being used out on a crowded, and often, wet countertop.
The two photos above are samples of what it looked like chock-full. The letters were from friends and family members...a great aunt...a second cousin...and possibly my great grandmother. There was one from my sister who is gone now. I didn't recognize all of the handwriting, but I was tickled pink to find so much of it written in my mother's hand. She was somewhat ashamed of her handwriting, and very seldom wrote letters. If you were lucky you got a perfunctory note dashed off with a signature.
It looks very small now (on the left) after spending two very late nights, and an early morning, going through every single scrap stuck between its pages.
I discarded almost all of the recipes she had clipped from newspapers and magazines. A majority listed ingredients that we don't even keep in our kitchens these days...lard...oleo...something called Spry? The Spry seemed to be a product name as it was listed twice and capitalized both times, but I've never heard of it, and couldn't tell from the context exactly what kind of product it was.
The box now holds the loose recipes that interested me, either for the recipes or for the handwritten messages. One I was particularly excited to come across was a recipe that my mother wrote down on the back of a punched time card. Not sure whether it was her time card or my dad's (as they both worked at the Navy base where they had to punch in), but I love it because my mother was in charge of payroll at her job, and she would routinely bring home a large box of timecards and sit up at night checking and double checking them.
But THIS is something that I have been searching for for FIFTY years! It is a copy made from, I believe, an autumn of 1975 Woman's Day or Family Circle magazine. It is a recipe for a dried fruit pie. I believe it used apricots, dates, and prunes, and didn't call for any additional sugar because the fruit made it sweet. I remember my mom making it just once or twice, and I remember it being delicious. Otherwise, why would I have gone through every single magazine in her house after she died (and believe me there were a few...hundred) looking for the recipe? And periodically searched the internet for any recipe resembling, even trying to back search old issues of both of the named magazines I was so sure it had originally been printed in.
I am going to have to make it very soon, and I'll let you know if my pie lives up to my memory.
Late breaking news...
My curiosity got the best of me, so I Googled "vintage kitchen product Spry." It was a vegetable shortening which was the competition for Crisco back in the day. Maybe I hadn't heard of it because my mom was a Crisco girl, or maybe it was a regional product we didn't have here in Texas.
Still, going through that recipe book was fun and educational. :)
