Pumpkin Pie 1877 Version

Marie Calendar doesn't have anything on the women of 1877. Here's a recipe for their "Delicious Pumpkin Pie":

Cut a pumpkin into thin slices, and boil until tender in as little water as possible, watching carefully that it does not scorch; set the stew-kettle on top of stove, mash the pumkin fine, heaping it against the sides of the kettle so that the water may drain from it and dry away; repeat this process until the water has all evaporated, and the pumpkin is quite dry. This will require from half an hour to an hour. Mash and rub through a sieve, adding, while warm, a good-sized lump of butter; to every quart of pumpkin, after it is mashed, add two quarts of milk and six eggs, the yolks and whites beaten separately, sugar to taste, one teaspoon salt, tablespoon ground cinnamon, one grated nutmeg, teaspoon ginger; bake in a hot oven until well set and a nice brown. It is as well to heat the batter scalding hot, stirring constantly until it is poured into pie-dishes.-- Mrs. Gov. Irwin, California [Practical Housekeeping, Buckeye Publishing Company 1877.]

Labor Free Labor Day for the Family Cook

Labor Day is often seen as the last big family and friends gathering before the kids go back to school and we start the "fall" frame of mind readying the house, yard and cars for the winter to come.

All too often the cooks that make such gatherings a treat for the rest of the family miss the time to spend with those for whom they prepare the feast.

Why not make this Labor Day gathering a 'labor free' day for the cooks. This festive and easy Labor Day menu with linked recipes make it possible to make-ahead the ultimate comfort foods and take a break from the kitchen on Labor Day.

Check out Labor Free Labor Day Menu and you can have a double treat of enjoying the company of others while enjoying the foods you like at the same time.

August is Top Month for Baby Showers

July and August are the months with the most baby showers in the US. Have you gotten invitations and need gifts for the moms-to-be. May we suggest Oneida Baby/Child Stainless Flatware Sets. They are beautiful, functional and durable enough for every day use. It's Oneida so it'll last long enough to be passed down to little brothers and sisters and then to their children when they come along.

Oneida is not releasing any more of the Child's 3 Piece set which includes the Knife, Fork and Spoon to distributors until after the first of the year so if it's the Paul Revere 3pc Child's Flatware set that you want for the holidays, get it now. The other choices of Paul Revere and Chateau Baby/Child Flatware look like they will have normal distribution.

The Kitchen is the heart of the home.

The kitchen is often called the heart of a home. Major appliance makers recently devised a “spy camera” system (with the consent of selected homeowners) and found that the kitchen plays an increasingly central role in everyday life even today in our fast paced carry-out world.

From gadgets to grandmother’s prized set of silverware we pass along our kitchen treasures from generation to generation, each carrying memories of the past or dreams of labor saving and fun food gadgets & toys.

In my family the great aunt's silver is vacuum sealed and stored away. It's the set of Oneida Stainless "silverware" that we use every day and it's retained it's luster all these years. My pattern is Chateau. In talking to several of my friends who bought their sets between 1960 and 1970 most of them have the Chateau pattern too. Seems appropriate that Oneida has Patterns for a Lifetime!