A few days ago my sister Linda posted this comment on Facebook:
"I would like to go back in time for a day. I would like to eat one of my mom's good meals with the family crowded around the table (made from the garden and probably a roast).
I'd like to see my dad resting on the family room floor after a hard day's work (probably snoring).
I'd like to listen for the phone to ring...to see if it is for our house or Leta Hall (party line).
Sigh....."
(Norman Rockwell knew what she meant! Image from Google)
That comment started a chain of events, including some sentimental reminiscing by family and friends.
I'm not including all the comments that followed, but a few that help paint a good picture of two people (our parents) who knew how to have fun, appreciated the value of hard work, showed love through their generosity, and could turn every day ingredients into a wonderful culinary experience.
Here are some of the replies:
Phyllis (a friend): "Your mom did always have a great smell coming out of the kitchen. I loved coming to your house. Treats were the best!"
Jenny (our niece): "I would so love that, too. I would also wish for a delicious Orange Roll that she made...yummy! Dang, I miss them! They were 2 amazing people.! Do you know how to make her orange rolls? If so, when I come down you need to teach me. I've told Brady how very scrumptious they were! I can't believe how many of us would fit in that tiny area now." (She's talking about the area around the kitchen table.)
Linda (my sister): "Jenny, I have mom's recipe. We will have to try to perfect it together. We also didn't know better than to stuff a million people around that little table in the nook. Gosh, those were the days!"
Julie( another sister): "Hot, homemade bread with butter, buttermilk cake with penuche frosting, chicken salad with hot rolls, and yes, of course, THE ORANGE ROLLS! I could go on all day, naming my favorites that mom used to make. It surely would be fun to spend a good old summer day with them! They were the best!"
Diane K (a friend): "You're making me wish I were a Hall girl!"
Lisa (a friend): "I think my mom and Mid (our mom) had the same orange roll recipe, and she also made a buttermilk cake with penuche frosting. I bet they shared their best recipes with each other and those were some of my favorites."
Carol (Lisa's mom and a best friend of our mom), mom. and dad
So, now that I have made myself very hungry for some good old home cooking,
I think I will attempt to make the famous buttermilk cake with penuche frosting. I haven't even thought about this recipe for many years. Here is the recipe:
Mom's Famous Buttermilk Cake
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
(Mix together until creamy)
Add 3 eggs- one at a time- mixing after each
Add 1 cup buttermilk
(Dissolve 1 teaspoon soda in the buttermilk)
Beat together.
Bake in two round cake pans or 1 cookie sheet
at 350 degrees (about 25 minutes for round cake- about 12-15 minutes for cookie sheet)
Easy Penuche Frosting
Melt 1 cube butter
Stir in 1 cup brown sugar
Cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, after it boils
Add 1/4 cup milk
Cool and add 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Spread on cake and sprinkle with chopped nuts
(This cake from Google is kind of like it.)
(Or this..... with nuts.)
****
It is now several hours later.
I planned for my Sunday dinner to have the famous cake.
My mouth watered as the cake cooked in the oven.
My taste buds were eagerly awaiting the first bite.
I was almost there.... in the past...almost.
Help! My frosting was too thick and wouldn't spread.
I thinned it a bit, but it still only covered part of the cake.
It also seemed to harden and clump.
THIS WAS NOT THE WAY I REMEMBERED IT AT ALL!
Oops! I forgot to add the milk to the frosting- or let it cool first!
(Don't make this cake while talking to your family!)
Even though it did NOT look like my mother's beautiful two layer cake, it did taste good,
and the memories it brought back were wonderful!
(Don't make this cake when you are on a diet, either!)
Thanks, Linda, for reminding me about some great times with our parents!
P.S. I will try this cake again some day soon....when I need to remember....
and the recipe is now out there for my family to try it, too.
"From morning till night,
sounds drift from the kitchen,
most of them familiar and comforting....
on days when warmth is the most important need
of the human heart,
the kitchen is the place you can find it;
it dries the wet sock, it cools the hot little brain."
E.B. White
♥
JoAnn
I
