Posts in Category: Mid-West

The Story of Our House

A few of you commented on the ramekins I used in our last post.  Where did they come from, you ask?  They actually came from our house.  Kevin and I moved to Seattle from Southern California almost two years ago.  In the autumn of 2008, we started looking for a house, but–being the picky people we are–we couldn’t find one that was perfect.  During this time, we drove past an estate sale and wandered in.  The house was a wreck: it hadn’t been updated in 30 years, everything was threadbare and dirty, and I remember saying to Kevin “well, at least we’re not looking at this house.  (Famous last words, trust me.)  I found a box of Anchor Hocking casserole dishes and ramekins at this estate sale in the Meadow Green pattern, which was produced between 1967-1977.

To make a long story short, we bought the house a few months later and it became our threadbare and dirty house!  Originally, Kevin and I were searching for a ‘time capsule’ house that had vintage style and didn’t need much work.  Sadly, they were out of our price-range, so we had to make some major renovations to the house in order to turn it into a place we’d be proud to call home.  But that’s the subject of another post–back to the ramekins!

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An Apple A Day

It took us a long time to choose a recipe from the Cathedral of Holy Trinity’s Cookbook, which is featured in our previous post.  Since we made a casserole last week, we decided on another mid-western staple: the bar cookie.  Kevin has been super-busy at work lately and I know the other engineers could use some treats to help them get through their long days, so cookie-bars seemed like a perfect choice.  Moreover, we had some apples that needed a new lease on life, so we decided on Apple Bars!  I was a little skeptical about the ingredient list (mainly the Corn Flakes), but they turned out perfectly!

Cookbook Spotlight

I love my collection of vintage cookbooks.  I especially enjoy paging through the spiral-bound cookbooks that are printed by community and church groups.  I find most of these at thrift stores for just a few dollars and they always have great local dishes.  The cookbook I’m featuring in today’s post is produced by the Parish Council of Catholic Women of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm, Minnesota.  This cookbook has many recipes that reflect New Ulm’s rich German heritage, including one for Essigkraut that I can’t wait to try.  There’s also many recipes dedicated to Minnesota’s famous casseroles or hot-dishes!

Later this week, I’ll be posting a recipe from the cookbook, so check back!

Mrs. Boland’s Walnut Brown Bread

For our inaugural post, I’m choosing a recipe from my husband’s grandmother, who hails from Minnesota.  I found this one amongst a stack of 3×5 cards with recipes for various cookies, desserts, and breads that his mother saved from the trash when they were cleaning out his grandmother’s house a few years back.  Kevin’s grandmother is a practical woman who grew up in South Dakota and spent most of her adult life in Minnesota.  Judging by the title, the recipe was given to her by a Mrs. Boland.