Grandmothers Recipes

My Grandmother was so proud to be passing on her loved recipes to me. You can guarantee that when we visited, we would never leave without a few news ones she had forgotten to give me.

Years go by before we understand the depth of her love and protectiveness in our lives and by sharing these recipes with me, I will pass them down to future generations. But as we mature we do finally understand when looking back and seeing through older eyes and a wiser heart her unconditional love, devotion and how lucky we were to have this amazing woman - our grandmother.

6 Loaves and a buttered cake, all good for school lunches or an after-school snack

In my Grandmothers days recipes were written on bits of paper, which I still have a lot of them around in my recipes books.

Buttered items were one of the main items on a table with a cuppa, which you do not see much these days.

Muffins and fancy cakes are the order of the day these days.

Here I am going to add a few loaves which are good for school lunches.

The first one, was good for left-over tea, from the tea-pot, but you can always make a cuppa with a tea bag or two, you never know what the loaf will taste like with some of the flavours you can have this days in teas.

COLD TEA LOAVES

3/4 lb currants, 1/2 lb brown sugar, 3/4 lb sultanas, 1lb flour,

pinch of salt, 4 good teaspoons baking powder, 1 beaten egg, 3/4 pint cold tea

Soak currants, sultanas, brown sugar and cold tea over-night.

Stir in sifted flour, salt, baking powder and beaten egg.

Mix well. Divide into two tins and bake 1 hour in a moderate oven.

FRUIT LOAF

1 1/4 cups water, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup fruit, 1 tablespoon butter,

2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda

Method

Boil water, fruit and brown sugar 10 minutes.

Add butter.

Cool the mixture until nearly cold then add flour and baking soda.

Put in loaf tin and bake 1-1/2 hours at 250 to 300 degrees

APRICOT LOAF

1/2 cup chopped apricots, 1/2 cup chopped raisins, 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar,

3/4 cup milk, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt,

1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 4 ozs melted butter, grated rind of half orange

Method

Sift flour, salt,baking powder and soda in bowl.

Add apricots, raisins, then sugar.

Add well. Put in greased loaf tin.

Bake about 1 hour 350 degrees, Allow to stand 10 mins before turning out.

BANANA LOAF

8 oz butter, 1 small teacup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon soda, 1/4 cup milk,

1 egg, 1 teaspoon baking powder, pinch of salt, 1 1/2 breakfast cups flour,

2 mashed bananas, vanilla

Method

Beat egg and sugar. Add melted butter and the mashed bananas and beat well.

Dissolve soda in milk and add with other ingredients.

Put into loaf tin and bake in a moderate oven for 3/4 hour

DATE AND NUT LOAF

2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon golden syrup, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 cup boiling water,

1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup mixed fruit ( dates and nuts), 1 egg

Method

Place butter, sugar, syrup, soda and fruit in bowl.

pour over the boiling water and let cool. Add dry ingredients and egg.

Put into loaf tin and bake in moderate oven for 1 hour.

DELICIOUS HEALTH LOAF

1/2 cup chopped dates, 1/2 cup hot water, 1 cup bran, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda,

1 heaped cup flour, small 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon golden syrup,

Few chopped nuts, Milk

Method

Soak dates, soda and hot water, for 1/2 hour or more.

Sift flour and add other ingredients and add sufficient milk to make a fairly soft mixture.

Bake in a moderate oven three-quarters of an hour.

BUTTERED CAKE

1 egg, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder,

small amount milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon

Method

Beat egg and sugar, add flour and baking powder, the butter and a little milk.

Put in a small flat tin and sprinkle top of cake mixture with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake 15 mins at 350 to 400 degrees. Serve buttered. Nice to eat when still warm.

Tasty Winter Soup

2 onions

2 cloves garlic

2 sticks celery

2 courgettes

2 carrots

1 tablespoon olive oil

425 can tomatoes in juice

410 can tomato puree

2 cups beef stock

100 gram can white beans

1 teaspoon dried basil

Peel onions and chop very finely, Crush, peel and chop garlic.

Trim celery and courgettes. Peel carrots. Chop celery, courgettes and carrots very finely.

Heat oil in a large saucepan and sauté onions and vegetables for 5 minutes or until onion is clear.

Add tomatoes in juice, tomato puree and stock. Cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add drain beans and basil to soup and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve hot. Serves 4.

Sausage and Vegetable Bake

450 grams sausages

200 grams bacon

3 medium sized carrots

2 onions

1 - 450 grams can tomato soup

100 grams tasty cheddar cheese

Method

Wrap sausages in pairs in rashers of bacon.

Grill until bacon is brown, then pack into shallow casserole dish.

Grated the carrots and finely chop the onions and spread over sausages.

Heat tomato soup and add cheese, stir until cheese melts.

Pour over sausages and vegetables, and bake in a moderate oven 40 - 45 minutes.

Serve with Mashed Potatoes makes the meal complete.

These two recipes served on a cold winters night makes a very nice and easy meal to warm up the heart.

Danish Sausages with Apple

1 1/2 pounds of Beef Sausages ( I use any flavor, most times pork).

3 or 4 cooking apples

half a pint milk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

butter for frying (I still use butter as it gives a nice flavor but add a little oil to it, so not to burn).

Pour milk and vinegar into a saucepan and bring the mixture gently to the boil.

Add the sausages, boil for one minute, and turn off heat, leaving the sausages in the liquid for about 10 minutes.

Drain the sausages while melting the butter in a frying pan, and then fry the sausages gently until they are browned.

Core and quarter the apples, fry them in the same fat and arrange them on a serving dish with the sausages.

Corn-stuffed baked tomatoes and mashed potatoes are among the many possible accompaniments for this easy time-saving recipe.

Children always love to eat something that is a little sweet, as long as they are active they will soon burn it off,my children loved this cake, it was one of my recipes that was given to me by my family when I got married,and is still a favorite, and healthy, as all children need a little fat and sugar in their daily diet..

Marshmallow Crunch

4 weetbixes

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut

4 oz kremelta vegetable fat

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

Crush weetbix in a bowl with sugar, flour, salt, coconut.

Melt shortening, add vanilla essence (DO not over heat)

add this to dry ingredients, mix well.

Press into square tin.

Bake at 325 F, 15 - 20 minutes

Cover with.

Marshmallow Icing

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 rounded tablespoon gelatin

6 tablespoons water

vanilla essence flavoring, pink coloring

Put sugar, water, gelatin into a saucepan, stir over a low heat until boiling.

Boil 2 minutes without a lid.

Cool.

Beat till thickened, add vanilla essence and coloring and pour over crunch, cut into fingers when set.

Quick and Easy Microwave Treat

Easy Rocky Road

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

100g marshmallows cut into quarters

1/4 cup coconut

100 grams milk chocolate chopped or broken

50 grams semi sweet chocolate

Method

1. Combine peanuts, marshmallows and coconut in a bowl

2. In a glass jug place both chocolates and microwave on HIGH 4 minutes to melt, stirring occasionally

3. Pour over other ingredients fold in well.

Press the mixture into a 20 cm greased dish. Allow to cool.

4. Cut or break into pieces when quite cold.

TIP - 1 cup rice bubbles can be added to dry ingredients,increased the chocolate by an extra 50 grams.

Temperatures for Baking

BUTTER - 1 level breakfast cup = 8 oz or 225 grams

BUTTER - 1 level tablespoon = 1/2 oz or 15 grams

CHEESE (grated) - 1 level breakfast cup = 4 oz or 115 grams

COCONUT - 3 level tablespoons = 1 oz or 30 grams

CORNFLOWER - 2 level tablespoons = 1 oz or 30 grams

CURRANTS - 1 level breakfast cup = 6 oz or 170 grams

SULTANAS - 1 level breakfast cup = 6 oz or 170 grams

FLOUR - 1 level breakfast cup = 6 oz or 170 grams

GOLDEN SYRUP - 1 level tablespoon = 1 oz or 30 grams

SALT - 1 level tablespoon = 1 oz or 30 grams

SUGAR - 2 level tablespoons = 1 oz or 30 grams

SUGAR - 1 level breakfast cup =8 oz or 225 grams

WHOLEMEAL - 1 level breakfast cup = 3 oz or 85 grams

Average Hen Egg Weighs 2 oz or 55 grams

LIQUIDS

1 breakfast cup = 1/2 pint or 300 ml

1/2 breakfast cup = 1 gill or 150 ml

1 tablespoons = 1 oz

TEMPERATURES FOR BAKING

VERY SLOW 225 - 275F, 105 - 135C, 2 - 3 Gas,

SLOW 300 - 325F, 150 - 165C, 3 - 4 Gas,

MODERATE 350 - 375F, 175 - 190C, 4 - 5 Gas,

HOT 400 - 450F, 205 - 230C, 6 - 7 Gas,

VERY HOT 475 - 500F, 245 - 260C, 7 - 8 Gas,