Rediscovered treasure

 Ada Dedell 1924, aged 42

Today I did some rearranging of paperwork and supplies in my office and I discovered a manila envelope, labeled in my mother's handwriting "Recipes - Ada May Greenia Dedell- in her handwriting." Ada, my grandmother, was born February 25, 1882. Ada like so many of her generation was an excellent cook. I remember well enjoying the meals she cooked for me when I stayed at her house for a few weeks in the summer. We would walk around the block to the neighborhood grocery store in the early afternoon or late morning and buy fresh vegetables and meat for our evening meal. I especially remember shelling peas and eating about as many as I put into the pan. I expect that she planned on that happening!

The treasure part is that one of those recipes was her mother's recipe for Rhubarb pie. Ada's mother, Nellie Ruth Greenia, was born in 1855. This is the recipe for Nellie's Rhubarb Pie just in time for spring rhubarb in the northeast:

"Skin the rhubarb. Cut in 1/2 inch pieces. Fill the crust with the raw fruit and sprinkle liberally with sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. Bake about 3/4 hour."

When everyone cooked nearly every meal at home, it was assumed that the cook needed very little in the way of instruction. First my grandmother and then my mother expanded the instructions and now I am adding what I think is required for today's cook.

Rhubarb Pie Filling

3 cups rhubarb cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 bottom and 1 top pie crust

Follow the instructions on the package for the pie crust. If you have made your own pie crust, you do not need to be told what to do.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Rinse the rhubarb and cut it into 1-inch pieces, removing and discarding any tough ends and all of the leaves. Combine the rhubarb, sugar and flour in a large bowl. Place the bottom crust in a pie pan. Pour the mixture into the bottom crust and cover with the top crust. Make a few slashes in the center of the top crust to allow steam to escape. Trim the crust to fit the pan and crimp the edges of the top and bottom crust together. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 and lower the heat to 350. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown. Cool on a rack and serve at room temperature.

Breakfast muffins

I wanted to see what a photo of food in the oven would look like. The first shot I tried was taken through the oven window and it was nothing but white from the flash. The second shot was through the oven window without flash and it was a very foggy image of the cupcakes. The final shot, above, was taken with only the oven light. I really rushed the shot because I didn't want the oven temperature to go too low and ruin the muffins.



The proof is in the Jerry! My biggest fan and harshest critic, my husband, just had his second muffin for breakfast. Now I know the recipe is a winner. You don't have to eat them only for breakfast. They would be excellent with tea in the afternoon and for those without a sweet tooth, like me, they made a fine dessert.

I really recommend whole wheat pastry flour for baking. It is especially good in fat-free baking and is commonly available in larger grocery stores and online.

Zucchini Breakfast Muffins

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup Florida crystals sugar or regular sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce or 3 4-ounce containers
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup rice milk
1 cup firmly packed grated zucchini
3/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Place foil liners in 12 standard size baking cups. (Fat-free baking is more likely to stick to the pan, so I encourage you to use these.)

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar.

Pour in the applesauce, oil and rice milk (I prefer rice milk because it imparts no noticeable flavor to the muffins). Stir until mixed, stir in zucchini, raisins and walnuts. You want to stir enough to distribute all of the ingredients fairly evenly throughout the batter, but not so much that you begin to take out the air.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a knife in the center of one comes out clean and the tops are lightly browned.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or microwaved for 10 seconds if refrigerated.


Next time I plan to try adding about 1/4 cup of Ghirardelli's Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa. But if no one asks in a comment, I won't tell you how it turned out!