Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 10, Number 46, DeMotte, Jasper County, 3 October 1940 — Household News [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Household News

by Eleanor Howe

Everybody enjoys singing a song of harvest home, even if they haven’t had a personal stake in bringing in the crops. At your harvest home party, if you follow tradition, you’ll have cornucopias filled with fall fruits and garlands of wheat or grasses grouped at the center of your festive board. Little dolls dressed in overalls and aprons make amusing favors. Farmer in the dell, blindman’s buff, puss in corner, and the never to be forgotten game of charades, in which the participants can give their all in dramatic acting, are traditional juvenile game favorites that are likely to give the grown-up contingent an equally good time. You may want to do a little bit of folk dancing, with the old time fiddler, the pianist, and even an accordionist hitting off “country” songs. When it comes to refreshments, you may decide upon anything from a big picnic spread to cookies and a refreshing beverage. A fruit pie is the most appropriate happy ending to your harvest home feast. Just a hint to you homemakers if you have trouble keeping the delicious juice in a pie; quick cooking tapioca may be used as a thickener, thus eliminating the traditional hazard of

runaway juice. Doughnuts and hot spicy cider are always an attractive and favorite combination to serve at a party of this type. Or you may like to use the old

oaken bucket for serving punch. Cherry Pie. 2Vz tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca 1 cup sugar Vi teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon melted butter 1 No. 2 can sour cherries (2Vi cups) % cup cherry juice and 2 tablespoons water (to make 1 cup) 1 recipe pastry Combine quick-cooking tapioca, sugar, salt, butter, cherries, and cherry juice; let stand about 15 minutes. Line a 9-inch pie plate with half of pastry rolled Vi inch thick, allowing pastry to extend 1 inch beyond edge of plate. Fold edge back to form rim. Fill with cherry mixture. Moisten edge of pastry with cold water; arrange lattice of pastry strips across top. Flute rim with fingers. Bake in a hot oven (450 degrees) 15 minutes, then decrease heat to moderate (350 degrees) and bake 3p minutes longer. Rich Drop Doughnuts. (Makes IVi dozen) 2 eggs 6 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons shortening (melted) 2 cups flour *4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder V« teaspoon nutmeg 6 tablespoons milk Beat eggs until very’ light, and gradually beat in the sugar. Add melted shortening. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg, and add to the first mixture alternately with the milk. Drop from a teaspoon into deep fat heated to 375 degrees, and fry until well browned. Drain on unglazed paper. Sprinkle whth confectioner’s or powdered sugar. Hot Spiced Cider. 2 quarts cider 1 cup browTi sugar 1 6-inch stick cinnamon 6 whole cloves 1 teaspoon allspice Add spices and sugar to cider; place in kettle and let simmer over heat (not boil) for 15 minutes. Strar and serve hot in small glasses. Ac a little grated nutmeg, if desired Baked Ham. 1 whole ham 1 teaspoon whole cloves lVfe cups sweet cider IVz cups brown sugar Vi cup orange juice Wipe ham with a damp cloth and place in an uncovered roaster, skin side up. Roast in a very slow oven (300 degrees) allowing 25 minutes per pound of ham. About Mr hour before the ham has finished baking take from oven. Remove skin and pour off all excess fat. Cook cider and sugar together to thick syrup

stage. Add orange juice and pour mixture over ham. Dot with whole cloves. Return to oven and bake Vz hour longer, basting frequently with liquid in pan. Old Fashioned Jelly Roll. 4 eggs 3 4 teaspoon baking powder teaspoon salt 3 /4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 /4 cup cake flour 1 cup jelly Break the eggs into a bowl and allow them to warm to room temperature. Then combine eggs with baking powder and salt. Set the bowl of eggs in a

smaller bowl in which you have poured hot water With a dover beater, beat the eggs, baking powder, and salt mixture until it is thick and light. Gradu-

ally beat in the sugar and continues beating until very light and fluffy. Remove the bowl from the hot water and, with'a spoon or spatula, fold in the vanilla and the flour which has been sifted several times. Line a 10 by 15 inch jelly roll pan with buttered wax paper, and pour the batter into the pan. Bake for about 12 minutes in a moderate oven (350 degrees). Remove cake from pan and turn onto a towel which has been dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Pull off paper and trim edges from the cake. Roll, and cool. When the cake has cooled, unroll it and spread with jelly which has been whipped to make it spread more readily. Date Nut Cake. 3 cups raisins 2 cups dates (cut fine) 1 cup pecan nut meats (cut fine) 1 teaspoon soda 1 cup boiling water Put fruit and nuts into bowl; dissolve soda in boiling water and pour over the fruit. Let stand while preparing the following batter mixture: % cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 egg 2 n 4 cups cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powdt i 14 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Cream butter and add sugar gradually. Add egg and mix well. Add fruit mixture. Mix and sift all dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk and vanilla extract. Place batter in three well-greased layercake pans. Bake in a moderate oven (365 degrees) for approximately 35 minutes. When cool, put layers together with boiled icing to which chopped dates and raisins have been added. Then ice with the plain boiled icing. Chocolate Nut Gingerbread. % cup butter 1 cup brown sugar 2 ounces chocolate (melted) 2 eggs 1% cups cake flour lVfe teaspoons baking pow’der 2 teaspoons ginger Va teaspoon cloves Vi teaspoon salt % cup milk cup nut meats (chopped fine) Cream butter thoroughly and add the sugar slowly. Add melted choco-

late and eggs, one at a time, beating well. Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk, beating be-

tween each addition. Add nut meats. Bake as a loaf cake in a moderate wen (350 degrees) for approximatey 45 minutes. Serve with whippec •ream, sprinkled with cinnamon, oi with chocolate fudge icing. Magic Fruited Macaroons. (Makes about 30) Vi cup sweetened condensed milk 2 cups coconut (shredded) 1 cup dates (chopped fine) Mix together the sw r eetened condensed milk and coconut. Add finely chopped dates. Drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) 10 minutes, or until a delicate browm. Remove from pan at once (Released by Western Newspaper Union.)

HARVEST HOME PARTY (See Recipes Below)