“Had I but a penny in the world,
thou shouldst have it for gingerbread.”
—William Shakespeare
I love gingerbread. I haven't baked it in a while. I find the history of gingerbread fascinating. It is an ancient food. It was toted along by pilgrims as they went on the Crusades. That idea makes me want to re-read Canterbury Tales.
Oddly enough, I don't have a favorite recipe. Instead, everytime I have a yen for the stuff, I try a different recipe. This was made with the directions from All About Home Baking. This slim volume was published in 1933 by General Food. The plaid cover only adds to its charm. There are a lot of fine recipes and menu ideas. Are the Ladies coming over for a morning of bridge? You are going to serve them Frozen Cheese Salad, Apricot Muffins and Spice Drops. An August morning calls for breakfast served on the porch. You will enjoy Frizzled Beef and Currant Coffee Rolls. This era involved a great deal of thriftiness. My heart skipped a beat at the picture of the beautifully organized Hoosier cabinet with the caption "The stage all set to make a butter cake".
Abruptly changing topics: I find this time of year a little funny. I consider Valentine's Day to be the end of winter, but at the same time, for me, Spring does not start until St. Patrick's Day. Kind of a grey, blustery no man's land time of year, I guess.
N.B. I looked up "frizzled beef". It is creamed chipped beef. Veterans refer to it as s**t on a shingle. My own late father, a veteran of the Korean War, called it DVOT - Dog Vomit on Toast. I'll skip it, thank you.
You are really missing out! Creamed chipped beef on toast is Out of This World!!!
Posted by: Vicki | February 17, 2011 at 09:31 PM
Perfect name for this period: "No man's land time of year"
I also love gingerbread and have to agree with the ol' Bard's quote! :)
Posted by: Gina | February 27, 2011 at 08:49 AM