Vintage Eats Recipe : 1948 Uncooked Harvest Pudding

Are making dinner rolls beyond your ken?

Does the thought of mashing potatoes make you cringe?

If so, you may think you shouldn’t try to contribute to a holiday meal where it seems everything is either cooked on a stove or in an oven.

Good news! If you can slice and dice, you can create a luscious fruit salad that fits many criteria for 21^st century dishes — and which guests will want seconds of!

During a recent visit to Rod’s Rustics Antique Shop in Ossian, Indiana, I purchased this copy of ‘Everyday Cooking with Introduction for Brides’ cookbook. It was written by Mary Dean Williams and produced by Indiana Farmers Guide Publishing Company (Huntington Indiana 1948).

This spiral-bound, 141-page book has sections including ‘Adventures in Homemaking’, ‘Planning and Preparing Meals’, ‘The Family Income’, and ‘Guiding Family Growth.’ In the middle it lists dozens of recipes that sound easy to make and don’t require many ingredients. Remember, this was for women, newly married, who may not have had much experience with preparing food.

At the back of the cookbook are pages dedicated to recipes for each month — probably based on food that is seasonal and available at that time for women who were mostly likely tending Victory Gardens – food grown specifically to provide enough food for troops in World War II.

Under ‘November’ are such unusual (at least to me) recipes as Steamed Suet Pudding, Rabbit Pie, and Split Pea and Salami Soup. I don’t know that I will ever attempt any of these (Have you? If so, I want to hear about it!). But I am providing one for you from this section — Uncooked Harvest Pudding — which I tried and which my family loves!

Uncooked Harvest Pudding is economical, sugar-free, fat-free, high-fiber, fast and easy to make – and, best of all, delicious!

And with a short week before the big American holiday of Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 23, this recipe most likely has ingredients many of you already have on your shelves, thus minimizing your shopping list.

Note: The recipe calls for six single-serving molds. My recipe didn’t stick together so I transferred it to a small bowl:

1 c. raisins

1 c. finely chopped apples

½ c. finely chopped figs (I exchanged this for finely chopped celery)

1 c. finely chopped nuts

1 t. grated lemon peel

½ c. honey

½ c. lemon juice

Pour boiling water over the raisins and let stand for 1 minute. Drain and add to the chopped apples, figs, nuts and peel. Stir in honey, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Pack firmly into 6 tiny molds and let stand for at least 2 hours. Turn out and serve with whipped cream or alone.

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Vintage Find of the Week:

This small Tom Turkey seemed the appropriate item to feature since his big day is this week!

I found him in my local thrift shop – Community Thrift in Bluffton, Indiana. I love this thrift shop because the staff is friendly, they keep shelves full with clean, gently-used items, and they give most of the proceeds from sales to people in need in our community.

Tom Turkey is one part of a salt and pepper set. He was the only one available so I’m using him only for decoration. He makes me thankful I only have to go to a grocery to find a fully-dressed turkey that needs a little bit of preparation to produce a great meal.

Other things I’m thankful for:

My relationship with God. I couldn’t get through life without Him as my guide.

My husband and children and extended family. I love them all dearly for their support.

Friends are also a tremendous foundation for me.

Last, but not least, I’m grateful for our military people who keep us safe and do their best to help people around the world.

What are you thankful for?

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

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