(Undated: 8 cent stamp: To Winnipeg: best guess: March or April 1974)
Dear Eleanor:
I am writing
about that I did not talk much to Bryan and Diana
I am sorry but I am not very
good at talking to all people I run out of what to say that Bryan I am sorry I
will make up for it in person I hope he will understand I think he’s a nice guy
and besides Dad was at me that I will run you brock talking so long and he said
I will not have anything left to say when you come. There is a lot I would have liked to ask you
about the cake
if its not all right to
put only soft icing like you had last time being it will be used up I don’t
think it needs almond icing as its nice with only what they put over almond
icing but its up to you it will cost less with only one icing I will have to
take in first week in May and have it done and it will be over.
I will try and use the table after Easter as
they may be coming less with the kids
We killed a pig this week when you phoned I was in the middle
of floor scrubing and waxing the living room everything looks clean I had a
rest after I finnish the floors now befor supper had notting to do so thought I
will write to you as I haven’t written for a long time
I washed the kitchen curtain and they look good.
I stoped knitting may try and make few blocks for a quilt I
will do in the same pattern like the one you mentioned
you want strips but it all block of strips I hope it will look good I was
wondering if those velvet pant to use as a centere block I will make up one
block and see how it looks I likely will not have it done till next winter and
that after Christmas with so many wedding I don’t think I can do much more than
garden and poultry and besides I don’t mind making blocks in summer when I hve
time but making the quilt it takes over a week and I do it in Nestor’s room so
don’t want it sitting there when some one comes
I phoned Diana tonight but she was out with Bill I am glad
she’s having fun Dorthey said she may bring Diana some day
I will have to keep
the house in order now not that I don’t but there is days that the kids and men
track up my floor But I may wax my kitchen floor tomorrow it needs two coats
and its hard the men allways trot in and out mostly when I am working with
floor. But Dad is going to town tomorrow
if Diana & Dorthey do go home you write or tell what you would like them to
bring from home.
I will close for now Oh I looked at that Deep fryer it has a
timer to set and chart on it it can even roast a very small chicken I am
sending all my love to you dear & Bryan.
May God bless you both in everything
Love Mother
Nick said why I didn’t wish happy Easter from him to Bryan.
Mom was worried about decorating the cake, which she made, so the icing was added by a professional baker. I had found the design in a Cordon Bleu magazine.
MARY’S DARK FRUIT CAKE (for Christmas or Weddings)
********************
Mary’s Dark Fruit Cake (for Christmas or Weddings)
1 cup butter ½ cup citron
1 cup brown sugar 1 and ½ cup flour
3 eggs ¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ cup sour cream ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 cup raisins ½ tsp. cloves
½ cup slivered almonds 1 tsp. allspice
1 cup currants ¾ tsp. baking powder
1 cup chopped dates ¼ cup orange juice
Bake in slow oven (250 to 300 degrees) until done.
********************
This recipe is more detailed than most of Mom’s recipes. Old-tyme cooks didn’t use precise measurements: as Mom put it, they did it ‘by gosh or by golly’, adding things like flour until the dough felt right. And they cooked in a woodstove which meant the heat was hard to regulate – not to mention that the temperature gauge on the front was always broken so the cook also had to judge when the oven was ready, once again using that old ‘by gosh and by golly’.
I had to quantify many recipes by watching Mom and writing things down as she breezed through some complicated procedures. So, when you see the numbers by the recipes, you should know that those weren’t ever put there by the Mary. But, if you like things a little more systematic, like me, here are a few more instructions for that cake:
1. Grease a 9x9 cake pan and line it with 2 thicknesses of parchment or waxed paper. Butter the top layer of paper.
2. Chop the dates, mixing them with a little of the flour.
3. Add the rest of the fruit, again mixing in a little flour to separate the pieces.
4. Add the almonds to this mixture.
5. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
6. Mix the spices, baking powder, and baking soda into remaining flour.
7. Cream the butter and sugar well.
8. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
9. Add orange juice and sour cream. Beat.
10. Stir in the flour and spice mixture.
11. Stir in the fruit and nut mixture.
12. Bake for 3 to 3 ½ hours. If the top of the cake browns too rapidly, cover with a piece of aluminum foil.
Test by pressing the surface lightly with a fingertip. If the cake feels firm and no finger imprint is left, the cake is done.
13. Invert on a wire cake cooler for a few minutes before removing the baking tin.
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