When your job is first begun. . .

Moosey said this little poem quite often to ALL of us:


"When your job is first begun, 

Never leave it till  it's done. 

Be the labor great or small, 

Do it right or not at all."

The "Mrs. Napp" spoon

Photos by Alex Bonner

This is the spoon that Moosey used to stir the tea when she made it.  I helped her stir the tea many a time.  I can't remember who Mrs. Napp was or why Moosey had her spoon. . .anybody know?

Moosey with Zach and Matt

Moosey in the center with Zach on the left and Matt on the right.  She must have been going to teach them how to shoot her pistol.

Sisters 1967

Cook Out 1967

Family Picnic

Moosey hanging clothes

Moosey 1973

Moosey with Deb and Mel

April 1957

Moosey and Aunt Jicey

Moosey

Moosey and Pa Horne

Aunt Tot and Moosey

Pa Horne, Moosey and Aunt Jicey

Coon and Sweet Potatoes

Photo by Alex Bonner

Recipe in Moosey's handwriting:

Just a line to tell you about the coon.

Put some red pepper in and salt.  Boil til tender.  You can put 2 or 3 little sweet potatoes in there until they are tender.  Take out.  When the coon gets tender, put in pan with the sweet potatoes around him.  Put some oil on him, set in oven a few minutes, not til he gets brown but just a little.  

That's the best I can remember about those days when I used to cook everything.  Cook him whole---the sweet potato will make him look better.  Peel them.

My favorite part of this whole recipe is"The sweet potato will make him look better" -- I'm sure it would!  I think my brother, Alex, made this one time, but once was definitely enough.  Let me just say, his wife, Kelly, is a saint!  :-)

Hushpuppies

1 cup corn meal
1 T. sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup sweet milk

As with a lot of Moosey's recipes, no instructions were given.  Just mix and drop by spoonfuls into hot oil until nice and brown.

Grandpa Horne

Grandpa Horne on the porch

Mr. Armitage's Pancakes

Moosey's pancake recipe that she got from her long time neighbor, Mr. Armitage:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs, well beaten
2 T. melted shortening
1 t. soda
2 T. sugar
2 cups buttermilk

Deb in Aunt Jicey's kitchen

Deb in Aunt Jicey's kitchen 

Topping for Tot's Chocolate--Oatmeal Cake

1 cup brown sugar
1 stick oleo
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 t. vanilla
1 cup coconut

Heat sugar, oleo and milk until thick.  Stir constantly.  Add vanilla and coconut.  Broil 6 inches from top for 3 to 5 minutes (this does not have to be done).

Aunt Tot's Oatmeal Cake

1 1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup half and half
1 T. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350*.

Pour boiling water over oats in bowl and let sit 2 minutes.
Add brown sugar, granulated sugar and other ingredients.  Mix well.  Be sure no lumps are in it.   Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Fill Yer Craw

Mel remembers:
I remember one of her frequently quoted sayings when she'd been cooking and she  was ready to serve...  done er raw, fill yer craw.

Feeding a Grandbaby

Moosey feeding a grandbaby (my brother, Alex) on the swing at Uncle Ralph and Aunt Tot's house.  July 1966.

Moosey playing "Coonshine"

My cousin Mel sent me this picture.  We all remember Moosey sitting at the piano playing this ragtime tune called "Coonshine".  Mel remembers, "Always loved to hear her play it was so festive when she did and she would let out a yell at the end of the song."

Moosey playing the piano at Uncle Ralph and Aunt Tot's house with Uncle Ralph in the background.

Moosey's Cookies

My cousin Mel sent me Moosey's Cookie recipe:
"The cookie recipe she wrote down for me when she was living with Mom.  She was in her ninetys at the time.  Notice that she figures I don't need instructions, just ingredients."

Moosey's Fruitcake

Moosey always had a fruitcake at Christmas time.  Always stored in a tin with a rag soaked with Mogen David wine.

My cousin Mel says:
" I have her old fruitcake recipe that she gave me to "continue the tradition".  She has written my name and some corrections on it and then I've written some specifics about the time to pressure cook it on the side.  I carried this on for years and now Paul has taken on a lot of it.  He is the motivator and he chops all the ingredients and has made some modifications in the recipe."  

Moosey's Dumplings

Moosey's dumplings were the ultimate comfort food in our family. If you ever had a bad day, Moosey's chicken and dumplings made EVERYTHING better. Of course, she had no recipe.  She had made them so often, she didn't need one. One day, I sat on the little step stool in her kitchen and literally measured everything she put in the pot!  My cousins probably did the same thing.  Maybe our recipes are the same, maybe not.  But it doesn't matter; spending time with her in the kitchen learning how she did it was priceless.  We all mourned the day she decided making them was too much trouble and she would just use flour tortillas.  Of course, she was probably 90 years old by then, but it was just NOT THE SAME!  Later we discovered Mary B's dumplings in the freezer at Walmart; she loved Mary B's biscuits, and I think she used the dumplings sometimes too.  I find that they are a pretty good substitute when you don't have time to roll out dumplings. Just don't give me flour tortilla dumplings.  :-)


Moosey's Dumplings

2/3 cup hot broth with a little milk
1 1/2 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup shortening

Mix together and roll out.  (Moosey always used a layer of newspaper topped with a layer of wax paper to roll it out on)

Let sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes.

Roll again.  Cut up into strips.

To the hot broth remaining, add:
3/4 stick butter
4 cups milk

Let boil, then add dumplings one at a time and simmer for 8 -10 minutes.


Lately, I've been using Mrs. Wilkes' chicken and dumpling recipe from the Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House Cookbook.  It is the closest I've ever been able to come to replicating Moosey's dumplings. 

Mrs. Wilkes' Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken
2 1/2 pounds chicken, cut up and ready to cook
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Place chicken in a saucepan and cover with water.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Boil over medium heat
for 30 minutes. Pour off the broth and save for the dumplings.

Dumplings
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper

Mix flour, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the water in a bowl and knead until dough is firm. Mash flat on a floured surface. Let stand for 10 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin until knife-blade thin and cut into 2-inch squares. Drop into boiling broth. Cook for 10 minutes over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and return the chicken to the pot. Pour the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk into the mixture and stir. Remove from the heat. Serve with salt and pepper to taste!

Family Dinners

Moosey

A Crowd is Not Company

According to Mom, this is one that Moosey quoted often:

A crowd is not company

and faces are but a gallery

of pictures.  You can be

so lonely in a crowd.

A Spoiled Rotten Cat Lives Here

This hung at Moosey's back door. . .postscript was added after old Vic was killed by the neighborhood dogs.  I think he was 17 when he died.

Moosey's Last Birthday Party July 31, 2009

One thing about baldness. . .

Nothing keeps a meeting from being brought to a close like a mouth that isn't.

An inquiry is sooner forgiven than an insult.

It takes a good man to be a good listener.

There's one thing about baldness; it's neat.

Corn Salad

1 can whole kernal corn
1 small onion
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Drain corn.  Add chopped onion and tomato.  Mix in mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate 4 hours.

Pralines

2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Cook until sugar dissolves.  

Remove from heat and add: 
1 tsp. vanilla 
1 cup pecans
3 T. oleo

Quickly spoon out on oiled paper.

Tot's Cookies

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup margarine
1 2/3 cups flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon flavoring

No other directions given. . .

Chicken Pie

Ingredients:
1 fryer
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 stick of oleo
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 additional cups of chicken broth

Boil a fryer until real tender.
Take meat off bones and put in a 9 x 13 x 3 pan inch pan.

Pour a can of cream of chicken soup mixed with 1 cup broth over chicken.

Take 1 1/2 cups self rising flour and mix with one stick of melted oleo and 1 1/2 cup buttermilk.

Spread over chicken.  Pour 2 cups chicken broth over and around on top.  Bake in oven @ 350* or 375* until brown (about 1 hour).

Beef and Noodles

Beef and Noodles

One of my favorite recipes that Aunt Tot used to make.

Heat in heavy pan or Dutch oven:
2 T. oil

Add:
2 lbs. ground beef

Cook until lightly browned.  Stir with a fork to break up the meat.

Add:  
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper

Cook until transparent, then add:
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 can tomatoes
3 cups water
1 cup catsup
1 T. Worchestershire sauce
1 t. Tabasco sauce
1 t. garlic
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 t. chili powder

Mix well.  Bring to boil, cover tightly, reduce heat.  Simmer 20 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Fruit Cake Squares

2 cups chopped nuts
2 sticks oleo (margarine or butter)
2 cups flour (if using plain flour, add 1 tsp baking powder)
1 box light brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
3/4 lb. candied cherries
3/4 lb. candied pineapple

Cream together sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla and oleo (margarine).  Grease and flour an 11 x 17 pan.  Mix all together and bake 1 hour @ 300 *.  Cut into squares when cool.

Pineapple Pound Cake

From the kitchen of M. McGee:

2 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
5 eggs - separated
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. soda
1 (8 oz) sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. lemon flavoring
1 cup crushed pineapple ( undrained )

Mix soda and flour, sift together 3 times.
Cream butter and sugar--then egg yolks and sour cream and flavoring.
Blend in flour in 3 additions.
Beat until creamy, then add pineapple.
Fold in egg whites (beaten until stiff)
Bake in 10 inch tube pan @ 325* for 1 1/2 hours.

Glaze optional:  Pineapple juice and confectioner's sugar

Strawberry Punch

1 small strawberry jello (3 oz.)
1 can unsweetened pineapple juice (large)
1 (8 oz) bottle Real lemon juice or 1 can pink lemonade
1 1/2 cups sugar

Dissolve Jello and sugar in hot water and add other and fill gallon jug with water-- 

Words of Wisdom

The test of a real leader is whether he can be the boss without being bossy.

Think before you criticize.

The fellow who throws mud always ends up with dirty hands.

Conceit is God's gift to little men.

Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax.

Nothing is worth more than this day.

A new idea is a delicate thing. It can be killed by a sneer or yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown.

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.

Citrus Glaze for Pound Cake

Citrus Glaze for Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1/2 lemon
grated zest of orange

Mix together and use to glaze pound cake.

Buttermilk Pound Cake -- Katherine's recipe

Katherine's Buttermilk Pound Cake

3 cups plain flour, sifted
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup Crisco (use butter flavor)
1 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. butter flavor

Cream crisco and sugar, then add eggs one at a time. Add buttermilk, salt and other flavorings. Beat until mixed well. Then add soda and flour. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Do not open door until time is up.

May ice with 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar and juice of one orange and 1/2 lemon. Most of the time use orange and grate as much of the orange as you like.

Coconut Pound Cake -- Katherine's recipe

Katherine's Coconut Pound Cake

1 1/2 cup shortening
2 1/4 cup sugar
5 eggs
3 cups flour (all purpose)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. coconut flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
1 box flake coconut (7 oz)

Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat at high speed for ten minutes, then add flour, baking powder, salt, coconut and vanilla flavoring, milk and coconut. Place in cold oven. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Barbecue Chicken (Mary's Recipe)

Barbecue Chicken

1 chicken, cut up
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup flour

Mix pepper, salt and flour. Dredge chicken pieces in the mixture and brown in the hot shortening.

Sauce:

1/2 of a chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. chili powder
2 T. vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
few drops tabasco sauce
1/2 cup catsup (ketchup)
1 cup water

Mix ingredients for sauce, heat and pour over chicken. Bake until done.

Icing for Strawberry Cake

Strawberry Icing

1 1/2 boxes powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup coconut (Angel Flake)
1/2 cup strawberries

Mix and spread on strawberry cake.

Strawberry Cake

                                                         Strawberry Cake

1 box white cake mix
1/2 cup sweet milk
4 eggs
1 box strawberry jello
1 cup Wesson oil
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup strawberries, mashed
1 cup Angel Flake coconut

Mix cake mix and jello. Add milk, oil and eggs one at a time. Beat well after each one. Fold in 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 cup strawberries (mashed) and 1 cup Angel Flake coconut. Bake by directions on cake mix.

Words of Wisdom

When God measures a man, He puts the tape around the heart instead of the head.

You can't escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

To be great is to be understood.

Be silent. Silence never betrays you.

Ice and iron cannot be welded.

A promise made is a debt unpaid.

Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.

Every man's affairs, however little, are important to himself.

Some minds are like concrete--thoroughly mixed and thoroughly set.

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

Coconut Pecan Frosting

3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 t. vanilla
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/3 cup coconut
1 cup pecans

Combine milk, sugars, butter and vanilla. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat (may appear curdled). Quickly stir small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks, then stir into hot mixture. Return to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add coconut and pecans. Cool to spreading consistency, beating occasionally.

Words of Wisdom

Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak. James 1:19

April 30th, 1962

Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and, following them, you reach your destiny.

Divinity

Divinity

1 cup water
1/2 cup water
1/8 t. cream of tartar
3 egg whites
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 t. salt
1/4 cup water
1 t. vanilla
1 cup nuts

Put the 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and cream of tartar into a saucepan. Stir to blend, then boil rapidly without stirring to 240 degrees (med. ball) or until syrup will spin a thread 6 inches long when dropped from a fork.

In another saucepan, have combined the 2 cups sugar, corn syrup, 1/4 t. salt, and 1/4 cup water.

When the first mixture is done, place the second mixture over the heat and boil with occasional stirring until syrup reaches 280 degrees (med. crack stage).

Meanwhile pour the first syrup while still hot over the beaten egg whites, adding slowly and beating continuously until stiff and smooth.

Set aside until second mixture is done. Cool a minute or two, then pour it slowly over first mixture, continuing to beat until smooth and so stiff that it is hard to handle. Stir in flavoring and nuts. Spoon pieces onto waxed paper.

In the Kitchen with Moosey

Moosey standing at the sink, with my mom, Aunt Jicey and Aunt Tot at the counter. I know some good things came out of that kitchen!

Dream Frosting

1/2 cup margarine
3 1/2 T. cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 box powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Combine oleo (margarine), cocoa and milk, beat slowly and bring to boil. Turn off and add other ingredients and beat until right to spread.

Sheet Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oleo
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. soda
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon

Sift flour and sugar into bowl and blend well. Place oleo, shortening, and water and cocoa in sauce pan and bring to rapid boil. Pour over flour and sugar mixture. Combine remaining liquid and add all at once to batter and mix. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Frost with Dream Frosting.

Words of Wisdom

To do nothing because we can only do a little is the greatest of mistakes.

Fortunate is the person who is able to control his tongue under tension.

A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.

Moosey's Words of Wisdom

This is probably one of a few diaries where Moosey kept her "words of wisdom". . .Bible verses, quotes, newspaper clippings.

Cinnamon Crisps

Cinnamon Crisps

1 cup oleo (2 sticks)
1 t. cinnamon
2 cups self rising flour
1 egg, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup nuts

Cream oleo and sugar, then add egg yolk. Sift flour and cinnamon together and add sugar mixture. Spread dough out on ungreased cookie sheet. Beat egg white and spread over dough. Press nuts in and bake at 200 degrees until brown -- about 30 minutes or more. Cut before removing from pan while still warm.

For those of you who aren't familiar with oleo. . .that was the original term for margarine (a.k.a. oleo margarine). I prefer to use unsalted butter in this recipe these days.

Moosey's Recipes

When my grandmother died, my mother gave me a box of recipes that belonged to her. I haven't even looked through all of them yet. I am going to try to post them all to share the wealth with the rest of the family. Perhaps my cousins will have recipes to contribute as well.