Old Fashioned Angel Food Cake

 Have you ever tried making an angel food cake from scratch? I don't make it very often, but every so often we have egg whites to use up. This time I had 9 whites. I was just going to pull out my favorite recipe and whip it up, but it called for 14 egg whites!! So I headed for the cookbook collection and found one that only took 8-10 egg whites.

 Now I have made an angel food with a vintage recipe before. It didn't turn out so well, so I wasn't too sure what to expect. I did notice differances between the "modern" recipe and the vintage. In the vintage, you do not whip in the sugar like making a merigue, it is just folded in before the flour. Also the temperature was a lot lower. And the flour to egg white ratio was higher then in the modern recipe.

 A few tips I have learned about angel food. Definatly leave the egg whites out a couple of minuets to warm up, they get fluffier at room temperture. Cake flour makes a big differance. It is finer and blends in better. If you can't stand the bleached taste (llike I can't), mix half cake flour and half all purpose. Cool throughly, there is nothing worse then a mushy cake. I know it is hard to wait, but it is worth it! I my opinon, the little "legs" on the pan don't work all that well, I used a bottle.

As you can see, it didn't last long. I hardly had time to snap a few pictures! And no time to decide what to put on top!! Even though it wasn't as tall as a regular angel food, I was really happy with the texture. Very fine, but still moist. I think this recipe is a keeper!

Wondering why I would have 9 eggs white to get rid of? Extra Special Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream!!

Books, Aprons, Sheet Music, Nurse Cap and Wool!

 My goodness! It is already Wednesday! Yikes! I was planning on getting this post up on Monday......oh well....on to the post!

What, you ask is the title all about? My lovely weekend!

What could be more perfect, then an estate sale, a book sale and a fiber festival?! And yes, I went to them ALL! I have some lovely finds to share with you all, including new aprons! But that will be later. Today it is a nurses cap. I am not sure why I love vintage nurses' caps and uniforms.....probably because I loved the Cherry Ames books growing up. I still get excited when I come across one!

This is one of my fovorite finds to date. I am so so excited about it! Aren't the little tucks wonderful?!

The cap has snaps on the corners of the back piece so it can be laid flat for ironing and starching. A very imortant feature as nurses had a reputation to uphold on their tidiness and starchiness. The construction is so interesting, so simple - yet unique.

Sewing Notions

 In looking through my stash of vintage sewing things, I came across this needle card. Needle cards were a popular advertising item in the early part of the 20th century. It also made nice small gift for grandmothers, old aunties and schoolteachers. I believe this one is from the dime store Woolworth's. Judging from these ladies hair styles and dresses, it looks like it is from the early 1930s. I love how one side the ladies are sewing and on the other they are having tea.

Below are button cards given to me by my great-aunt.  The illustrations are beautiful! Some of my favorite vintage notions. Someday I will think of a really brilliant way to decorate with them. Right now they reside in a drawer.



It Happened in Brooklyn

My sister and I watched "It Happened in Brooklyn" this weekend. Twice! Starring Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Kathyrn Grayson and Peter Lawford. So many great actors packed into one film! The storyline is very simple and sweet. A returning GI tries to resume life in his hometown of Brooklyn along the way encountering a lovely music teacher, friends old and new, dreams out of reach and lots of songs!

The best part? Jimmy Durante cooking spaghetti wearing an APRON! He then sings "I Believe" still wearing it. The apron is so cute, I wouldn't mind one......

On the Go Sewing! - Sewing Kits

Do you have a sewing kit tucked in your purse for emergency repair? Or do you carry a little kit in your sewing bag, knitting bag, or crafty bag? I sure do!! These little kits are indispensable.

This is a vintage one I found in an antique store. It is very very small. Wouldn't take up that must room in a purse! I think 1930s -1940s. When I researched sewing kits this type was most commonly given out as a freebie by businesses. I guess the business name is written on the front, but I can't decipher it, wish I could!

 And this is my sewing kit that I currently use. I made it years ago when I found these cute tins in our fabric store. It came with a bunch of safety pins in it. I made the pincushion by cutting a piece of cardstock the size of the top and covering it in batting and fabric. I also found the cutest pair of folding scissors at an old fashioned dime store.

 Bandaids are an essential for a sewing kit, don't you think?

A Few Apron Patterns

I haven't post a little apron inspiration in awhile. So here is a bit of the 60s! I think I have been watching too much Partridge Family and Mary Tyler Moore! Lol!

 Smocking and gingham-both extremely popular. It has a nice fresh look to it. 1963.

 This one 1964. What do you think of the collar version?!

 This one is my favorite! A 1967 twist on the classic chef apron.

This is a bit different. Looks kind of like a bib to me, but love the colors! From 1968.

Kerri-the Wheaton Terrier

 Here are a few pictures I snapped recently of my puppy Kerri. She is a five year old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier.  I am not sure why she was sitting in front of the couch looking at us, she looks like she is waiting for something.....

 She is definitely all terrier! The minute anyone closes a door, makes a loud noise, opens the refrigerator or digs in a cupboard, she is right there wanting to know what is happening!

How about a glass of orange juice?

I haven't posted about an apron is so long! Here is a change from my usually apron, a thoroughly modern one! I absolutely fell in love with a kitchen towel at Target. Of course the first thing I thought, that needs to be an apron!!

It matches my vintage pitcher!

The towel would have worked perfectly as an apron, except the oranges were going the wrong way. So I un-stitched the hemming, cut a strip off the long side for ties and cut it in half. Then I cut one half in half lengthwise and sewed them on each side of the whole half, tapering the seams a little at the waist and adding darts for a better fit at the waist. It sounds a lot more complicated then it was. You can see in the picture above it is still in a dish towel shape.

Mini Coconut Cream Pies

I am a little sad I have not gotten more of my cookbook project done. Whenever I need a recipe, I look through all my cookbooks to see what options I have. It is quite interesting sometimes all the variations. I was very surprised when I looked up coconut cream pie, only four of my cookbooks had a recipe for it. Two of them were Betty Crocker, a 1920 Metropolitan Insurance cookbook and a variation in a Watkins Cookbook. I am not sure if coconut cream pie is just so simple, it was not included in most cookbooks or it was just popular in the 60s. For coconut cream pie is very very simple, I was pleasantly surprised. Can you make a corn starch pudding? Can you beat egg white? Then you can make Coconut Cream Pie!

I ended up using a basic Betty Crocker recipe, heavily modified. For one thing, I decided to make it dairy free (for my sister) and since there are less people in the house, I wanted to make mini pies instead of a full size pie. In keeping with dairy free, instead of a traditional whipped cream topping I used a meringue on top. What are you going to do with the left-over egg whites anyway? You can also make this recipe using regular milk, but the coconut milk adds to the tropical flavor!

 Coconut Cream Pie-Dairy Free

makes one dozen mini pies

Filling:

1/3 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1 1/2 cups Coconut Milk

2 Egg Yolks

1 tablespoon Margarine

3/4 cup Shredded Coconut

Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Stir in coconut gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Stir a cup or two of the hot mixture gradually into the egg yolks, then blend into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat, stir in margarine and coconut. Pour into a bowl and let cool in refrigerator.

Make half a recipe of Perfect Pie Crust using all shortening. Cut out 6-8" circles and pat into cupcake tin. Bake in oven until done. Remove from pan and cool. When cool, spoon coconut pudding into crusts. Make a meringue by beating the two egg whites with 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tarter until foamy, then beat in 1/4 cup sugar until stiff and glossy. Swirl meringue on top of pies.