Molasses Bars

Here are some good looking men! These are my uncles!

Here is Gram's original recipe in her own handwriting. It's not showing up very big on this blog but that's ok. My mom and Aunt Prissy found Gram's box of recipes the other day while going through here things. Jackpot! What a treasure! So this was one of the recipes in there. There are so many more recipes to come. I can't wait to make them.

I had never had these molasses bars until I JUST made them. I love anything molasses, gingerbread, spiced anything. I don't know it reminds me of fall my favorite time of year. So I didn't know what I was in for when I made these. First let me say SO EASY. I literally just threw all the ingredients in a bowl and mixed. The baked so fast. Then it was time to taste, awesome. They are so good. On a cool fall day with a cup of tea...perfect.

Speaking of tea...my Gram always cracked me up when she made a cup of tea. She would only let the tea bag sit in the hot water for a short time. She once told me "three dunks, that's all I need" She then proceeded to dip her tea bag with a spoon three times in her hot water. What I wouldn't give to sit down and have a cup of tea with her right now. I thought that as time went on missing her would be easier. But it hasn't been. I think of her everyday. Sometimes it's something so small. Like the other day when the census person came to our door, and they asked for my name, including middle name. "T" for Trudy ..I miss my Gram. Or it's the big things, like planning our trip back to Maine and overwhelmed with sadness that she won't be there.

Ingredients

6 TBS margarine

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

Mix all ingredients well. Bake 20-30 min. Then spread with topping when still warm.(use general frosting recipe)

So it didn't say how hot to make the oven I guessed 350 and it was just right. The frosting is just powered sugar and milk and vanilla.

Saturday Baked Beans

Thanks Mom for giving me the recipe!

From my Mom:
Pa had to have these every Sat night when we were growing up, and I mean every Sat night no exception that was bean night. It was served with steamed hot dogs& rolls usually red, and brown bread and homemade cold slaw. Some of us kids did not like the beans so we had the hot dogs. We never had to eat anything we did not like.

These beans are amazing. NOT too sweet, like in the can (Bush's beans have nothing on these) but just right. I remember our own Saturday night beans growing up. I know this may sound really gross, but my favorite thing in the whole world to eat is these baked beans mixed together with Gram's potato salad. I love to take a fork with some the potato salad and dip it into the baked beans. YUM

I was surprised how easy these were to make. I love them....and no one else in my house will eat them. That was until Hannah tried them and she loves them. So we will eat them together.

I wish my Gram had the chance to meet Hannah. I know she loved her. She talked about her all the time. When we last talked I told her I would teach Hannah how to say "Meme"(Meh-May) Hannah is saying lots of things "mama, dada, nahnah,cawcaw" so Meme is right around the corner.

Beautiful Hannah! (She actually did eat baked beans this day this pic was taken)

1 bag of navy pea beans
Soak 1 bag of beans overnight
Ingredients
Beans that have been soaked overnight
1/2 C Grandma's molasses
finely chopped onions 1/4 cup
1 small whole onion
2-3 slices bacon
2 teas onion salt cover
Directions:
Rinse beans well and place in bean pot( you can use a crock pot but the traditional way is in the bean pot). Add molasses,chopped onions and water to cover beans, then add whole onion and bacon and onion salt. Put in oven at 350 for an hour then turn oven down to 250 and bake all day. Check every so often to make sure that the water is still covering the beans.


cold slaw:
1 cabbage shredded thin and then chopped
3 carrots peeled and cut up fine.
1 good sized onion chopped fine about
1/2 cup mayo enough to coat cabbage then sprinkle with celery salt.

The beans that have soaked and all the other goodies added in.
Beans hanging out in the oven all day. The smell is amazing!

Yum they are finally ready to eat.....

The perfect companion....cold slaw!

So the only thing missing from this picture is a steamed red hot dog. But since I live in Washington State now, I could not get my hands on such a treasure. The people on the west coast have no idea what they are missing.

"Rondalettes"

WOW I love this picture. My Grandfather was so handsome! And the smile on Gram's face...perfect.

This recipe is so special to me. This is a treat I remember having at Gram's so many times. They are my favorite sweet treat that she made. I always called them "homemade poptarts" but they are lovingly called "Rondalettes" The reason this recipe is so special to me is because it has a very special memory to go with it. Not just we ate it and it was good kind of memory but a very personal one. Years back I wanted this recipe. I asked Gram if she would give it to me and she said "oh well I don't know it to tell you, I just make them" I laughed because I had heard that answer before. So she said "next time you come over we will make them and you can write down what we do" And that is exactly what we did. "About this much of this" she would say "Wait what was that? How much of that?" I asked back. So we made a couple batches of these "rondalettes" and I wrote down the recipe. We had so much fun that afternoon. We laughed and talked about memories. She loved it when I told her things I remembered about Pa and she would ALWAYS fill in the blanks. I remember talking a lot about Pa that day. I wish Gram was with me making these "rondalettes". I am so thankful that she took the time to show me how to make these and that I wrote it down. I am more thankful that for that afternoon in her kitchen. I knew where she kept everything. We danced around, grabbing the sugar, oil, and choosing the jelly. My Gram was a very little lady, I towered over her and I am only 5'4. But her heart was BIG. She loved BIG. It's been almost 3 months since Gram passed as I write this, but it's still doesn't seem real. The void in my life without her is just as big. Life does go on when those we love are gone, but it's different. I miss her so much. "Love ya Beth" I keep hearing in my ears. I am thankful for each memory I have of my Gram like cooking this recipe together. I only wish I had more.

Ingredients

4 cups of jiffy mix or Bisquick is fine (Gram always used jiffy products)

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup veg. oil

1 1/2 cups milk

jelly (your choice, we used strawberry that day but raspberry would be good too)

Frosting (simple milk and powered sugar)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients until blended well.

Form rounded drops by the tablespoon and make a "well" in the middle of each one. Add jelly to fill the "well"

Bake at 350 for 15-20 min

cool and frost

This recipe makes almost 3 dozen

I did one Tablespoon of batter and 1/2 tsp jelly. Make sure your little "well" doesn't show the bottom of the pan or when they are cooked the jelly will fall through.

Notice how the frosting isn't perfect? That's the way Gram did it. I suppose if you wanted to be fancy you could put the frosting in a zip lock back and pipe it back and forth. But personally this is the way I like them.

"Sticky" Rice

Here is me and my Gram.

The last conversation I had with my Gram was around on my birthday. She never forgot my birthday or anyones for that matter. We talked and talked. We talked about Pa, we talked about the kids, we talked about Christine's upcoming wedding, we talked about how much we missed each other. One thing I remember her saying was how proud she was of me moving out to Washington. I thought it was an odd thing to be proud of so I said "oh that's nothing to be proud of" and she said "oh but it is, you are very brave to leave the only home you've known, leaving behind family and friends but you are still always so happy and take such good care of your husband and kids, and that is what I am proud of" I loved hearing those words from her.

On to the recipe. This was such a signature Gram recipe. I vividly remember sneaking in front of line at the Thanksgiving spread to get a spoonful of Gram's sticky rice...yeah only a spoonful because Gram only made a little bit of this rice. We call it sticky rice because well...it sticks together. I think Gram was way ahead of her time with this one because now when you go to the grocery store there are tons of "flavored" rices to choose from, chicken, broccoli, Spanish, you know they come in the big envelopes. But leave it to Gram to have her own version. It reminds me of the time when microwave popcorn first came out. It was so expensive. But Gram made her own using regular popcorn a pat of butter and a paper lunch bag.

The sticky rice isn't a recipe that will be featured on the Food Network, or grace the cover of Martha Stewart, but to my family it is one of those recipes that will always remind of us Gram.

Ingredients:

2 chicken bullion cubes

Long Grain rice (NOT THE INSTANT)

Butter (I used 4 tablespoons)

Directions:

Boil 2 cups of water and the bullion cubes

once it comes to a boil and the cubes have dissolved add butter

Add 1 cup rice

reduce heat and cover (20-25 min)

the rice should be WELL cooked and "stick" together

This rice came out "pretty close" to Gram's. I can't tell you why I just know because I remember Gram's rice.

Gram's Simple Pie Crust Recipe

Per request a special post just for Gram's pie crust:

1/2 cup chilled shortening
3 TBS ice cold water
1 1/4 cups flour

Combine with fork until the mixture forms a ball. Key to Gram's perfect crust is not handling it too much. I form a ball and roll it out on a well floured surface right away.

"Little Rolls"

I love this picture of my mom and grandparents at her graduation! They look so proud. My mom is BEAUTIFUL!

This recipe is one my mom has made for me and my brothers and sisters before and she had it growing up as well. These are "cinnamon" rolls. But not the ones you are thinking. They are light and flakey. They are small and wonderful. I forgot just how wonderful they are.



As told to me by my mom:

As I child I loved these more than all the holiday pies. Another amazing treat is what we called the "little rolls". Using Gram's pie crust recipe, roll the dough very thin and spread with softed butter, sugar and cinnamon to all the edges. Start rolling the dough to form a long log. Cut into 1 inch pieces with sharp knife. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown.(we bake them upright see pic)Cool completely. We sometimes add white frosting. Either way they are delectable and fill the house with an irresistible aroma of home made goodness! Every time I have served these everyone thinks I have worked in the kitchen all day, when in fact simple, simple, simple and so inexpensive!! Perfect for gifting.

So I did

3Tbs Butter softened and then just a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

We bake them up right...I don't know why but that's the way we do it.=)

Ok YUM...flaky and Delicious.