~ Spice Cake ~

Ingredients: 2 egg yolks, 1 1/4 C. sour milk, 2 1/3 C. flour ,1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 C.  brown sugar, 3/4 C. lard, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, 1 tsp nutmeg, 4 tsp. salt

What to do: Cream sugar, lard and egg yolks together. Sift dry ingredients together. Mix together dry ingredients and creamed mixture. Add sour milk. Pour into greased cake pan. Bake 350 degrees til done.

Cucumber Pickles ~ Pack in a stone crock jar.

What to do: Put small, washed cucumbers in jar. 1 layer of cucumbers then 1 layer of salt. Keep layering until the jar is full. Add water to make a brine. Put and egg in and when the brine will float the egg there will be enough salt and water. Cover jar and let set. Make as many pickles as needed. Soak when taken out over night. Then change water over cucumbers and set another night in clear water. Put in a little bag of pickling spice and let come to a boil in vinegar solution. If you want them sweet add sugar to vinegar  to taste.

Not long ago my Mother gave me a very old cook book. The faded green cover with it's battered pages and binding was published in 1923. The front cover baring the words "Rumford Complete Cooking". It had belonged to my dear Aunt Lois Clement Hubble who was from Radford, Virginia. On the inside cover there was written "Lois Marie Clement Christmas 1924". It was given to her by Mrs. Eliza Jane Midkiff.

As I opened the cookbook I not only found recipes but pieces of my family history. The much loved pound cake recipe who no other can bake like my Aunt Barbara can was hand written on a memoranda page. Come to find out the recipe originally came from my dear Mee-Maw  who had given it to Aunt Lois.

Among the pages I found glued, stapled, and taped recipes taken from probably the Sunday newspaper and loving attached to the blank pages. But most endearing were the recipes hand written by Aunt Lois herself. Seeing the words "Virginia's recipe" made me smile. I can see my Mee-Maw and Aunt Lois sitting around swapping recipes now. Even though Aunt Lois is gone now I know she would of loved to have shared her recipes with you.

Enjoy

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Dawn F. Taylor