Treasure from My Mother

In 1953 I was a high school graduate working in the office at the car agency in my small town and living at home. Since I didn't date much, I'm sure my folks were worried about my marriage possibilities. After all, it was the mid-50s, and appropriate options for girls in those days were slim to say the least--the norm was to marry right after high school.

I wasn't much interested in cooking, except for pies and cakes, which was fun for the sheer drama of a beautiful dessert. After all, Mother was an excellent cook, and that was her job, of course, running the house, which included making the meals. Nowadays that premise would create chaos, if not out-and-out riot.

For Christmas that year my present from my parents was a cookbook, "The American Woman's Cook Book." I was impressed that this "new and revised edition" was published that same year. On the flyleaf it is inscribed in Mother’s handwriting, "Christmas 1953, From Mother & Dad to Carol Jean."

As I tore off the wrappings (I could tell it was a book, always a joy to receive) I recall Mother saying, "You’re going to have to learn to cook one of these days when you marry."

Not to worry, I did get married in 1955, and put that book to good use. Through these ensuing 54 years, I’ve checked out the chart for baking times, looked up what to do with extra egg whites (or yolks), and investigated equivalent measures.

There are facts about milk (buttermilk, for instance, "is deficient in vitamins, although valuable for its lactic acid"); facts about eggs (high temperature when frying eggs makes them leathery); and facts about sugar includes the tip that since honey is 1/4 water, if one is substituting it for sugar, reduce amount of other liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup.

Page 3, "Methods of Preparation of Food," has bailed me out of confusion from a recipe many the time. For instance, the first time I came upon julienne in a recipe, I found the definition in my book: "To cut vegetables into thin matchlike strips."

When I lived in the Texas Hill Country, I was frequently the recipient of wild game from hunters I was acquainted with. Having heard wild duck is tricky to prepare so people will eat it, I searched "American Woman's Cook Book" and came upon what turned out to be excellent advice: "if bird is not fat, cover breast with 2 thin slices of salt pork." Not having ready access to salt pork, I substituted bacon. I became moderately famous for my roast wild duck.

Though dog-eared and now-brownish pages are splattered with who knows what over the years, this 856-page hardback has held up and not even lost any pages. After moving to the Texas Coast eight years ago, I pulled it out to see how to cook oysters, as they are one of the sea treasures available right off the boat at the harbor in Seadrift. Sure enough, "Oyster Fritters" guided me to success. I treasure this cookbook not only because it came from my Mother, but also because, in what modern-day cookbook would you find instructions for cooking Breaded Calves’ Brains?

OYSTER FRITTERS
1 1/2 cups oysters
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chop the oysters. Make a batter of the eggs, milk, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the oysters into the batter and drop by spoonfuls into deep hot fat (350 to 365 degrees F.).

Story ID:	1976
Written by:	Carol J Garriott (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Organization:	home/retired
Story type:	Family History
Location:	Madison Kansas USA
Year:	1953
Person:	Ruth Vining McGhee