Tasting the Past – Myrtle A.’s Date Bread

Myrtle A.’s Date Bread.

Fresh out of the wooden box… another dessert. I went for this recipe this week based on simplicity. Also, I had all of the ingredients in the pantry and in the fridge. In other words, it’s a simple recipe to prepare on a weekday.

Two things in this recipe took me by surprise. First, all the prep for the bread is done in a single bowl. Dry and wet ingredients are often mixed separately before being combined. In this case, after hydrating the chopped dates, everything was thrown into the bowl. Second, the bread is cooked in two phases. The date bread is initially set to bake at 325°F for 40 minutes. The heat is then turned down to 275°F for an hour and 20 minutes.

Tasting the Past – Rhubarb Preserve Jelly

The finished product: Opal’s Rhubarb Preserve Jelly.

There is a bit of nostalgia attached to rhubarb. It might seem weird, but it takes me back to my childhood. I’ll always remember munching on sticks of rhubarb from my parents’ backyard while dipping them in a small bowl of sugar to offset the tartness.

I was quite excited when I stumbled upon this recipe in the wooden box. According to the writing on the card, this recipe is from Opal. I don’t know much about this Opal woman, but she seemed to have quite the sweet tooth. A copious amount of sugar is required for this jelly. No matter how you look at it, four cups is a lot of sugar!

Tasting the Past : Orange-Nut Cake

The small wooden box is very much a vault filled with recipes that require copious amounts of butter and sugar. This latest instalment makes no exception.

This Orange-Nut Cake recipe is from a certain Mrs. D.A. Wilmott from New Haven, Connecticut. The recipe was visibly printed in a newspaper. It was cut and glued to both sides of a recipe card. On one side, all the ingredients and the method were listed. On the other, a black and white photo of the cake cut into 16 pieces.

A Tarnished Spoon for The Tarnished Spoon

Sometimes, a little personal touch goes a long way. That’s exactly what happened when my partner offered me the most thoughtful gift: an actual tarnished spoon… engraved with the name of the blog.

Eric, my partner is the proud owner of Lucky Patina, an Etsy shop specialised in vintage wares. While browsing the interwebs, he stumbled upon Wooden Hive, a fellow Etsy store. Kerrie Hunziker-Balma’s creations breathe a second life to vintage silverware. She does so by personalising flatware and repurposing old spoons into wedding favour or neat garden markers with great patina.

A simple gift that has added a spoonful of personality to this blog.

Tasting the Past: Ann’s Sour Cream Date Dreams Cookies

Ann’s Sour Cream Date Dreams Cookies

So far, Tasting the Past has made me indulge in my sweet tooth quite a bit. Even Elda’s Rye Bread, was rather on the sweet side. This latest recipe out of the wooden box makes no exception to the rule. Behold Anns’s Sour Cream Date Dreams Cookies!

Ann clearly knew what she was doing. Her recipe had a star ingredient with which dreams are made of – at least of the baking kind: sour cream. I had forgotten how it could enhance so many recipes. The sour cream creates a certain moisture and tanginess. A recent blog post from The Kitchn sings the praises of this ingredient and reminds us of how this dairy product can make a difference in numerous recipes.

Product Review: Cooking with Gusto

Putting the Texas rub to the test with beef brisket.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word  “gusto” as “vitality marked by an abundance of vigor and enthusiasm”. That’s essentially how I go about things in the kitchen. It’s that very blend of excitement and a touch of suspense that makes cooking so much fun.

Recently, I was able to bring a little extra gusto in the kitchen… quite literally! My partner offered me an assortment of chillies and barbeque rubs from Gusto Spice over the holidays.

Tasting the Past: Elda’s Rye Bread

Elda’s Rye Bread: the finished product.

I really love bread. The smell of warm baked goods is nothing short of amazing… There is something incredibly comforting about fresh loaf bread. At home, whenever I head to the farmer’s market, my first stop is always at the St. John’s Bakery table filled with a great variety of loaves When travelling, I’ll most certainly search for the local bakery to find something delicious fresh out of the oven… Did I say I say I love bread?

I was more than thrilled to find a bread recipe in the wooden box that would be perfect for Tasting the Past. Although my previous ventures into the world of bread baking had been marred by misadventures. Either the dough just didn’t rise or the bread simply didn’t bake long enough… In other words, the odds weren’t necessarily stacked in my favour. But I would this would not want to let that interfere with the process.