My mother was rarely seen without an apron tied around her waist. I still remember Mom putting on a little fresh lipstick, brushing her hair and reaching for that starched and ironed apron when 5 o’clock neared and it was time for Daddy to come home from the mines.
A friend sent me this article about aprons recently that I hope you will enjoy as much as I did.
Aprons
I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears .
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.
Good Old Fashioned Pancakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tbs. butter, melted
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
I made a batch of these recently and it barely took any more time than to mix up the bought pancake mix. These are so simple but so good.
For a bit more zip, you can add
1 tsp. of vanilla. You really don't need it though 
Fried Yellow Squash
Vegetable oil - 1" depth, heated until just before smoking
yellow squash, cut in 1/8" - 1/4" slices
1 cup buttermilk
mixture of :
1/2 yellow cornmeal
1/2 all-purpose flour
salt to taste
Soak squash in buttermilk to cover, at least 5 minutes. Dredge in cornmeal, flour, salt mixture.
Fry in vegetable oil until golden, turn and fry until lightly golden on other side.
Salt lightly as remove from oil & drain on paper towels.
This also works for fried green tomatoes (cut green tomatoes at least 1/4" slices).
If you like fried okra - batter should be 1 cup milk + 1 egg. Dredge in same mixture as above & salt as you do for squash & drain on paper towels.
Daddy always planted a lot of potatoes so Mom would dig some of them while they were small for this recipe. Small new red potatoes can be found in most stores now and are perfect to use.
Old Fashioned Potatoes with Thickening
2 pounds medium potatoes
1 quart water
4 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
generous dash of pepper
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 cup milk
Peel potatoes and quarter. Add water, butter, salt and pepper. Bring to rolling boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender; remove from heat.
In small bowl, mix cornstarch with milk. Pour over potatoes and stir well. Return to medium heat and cook until liquid thickens. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.
Makes 4-6 servings.
I've spoiled my family. I used to buy the packaged pudding mix but one night I was out of that and everyone wanted banana pudding. So--I just whipped up a batch of homemade. It really doesn't take much longer than opening up a box of mix and the flavor is so much fresher. Now, I wouldn't dare make 'nanner puddin' with a mix.
Original Nilla Banana Pudding
3/4 c. sugar, divided
1/3 c. flour
Dash salt
3 eggs, separated
2 c. milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
45 Nilla Wafers, divided
5 med. ripe bananas, sliced (about 3 1/2 cups)
Preheat oven to 350º . Mix 1/2 cup of the sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
Reserve 12 of the wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard onto bottom of 1 1/2-quart baking dish; cover with layers of 1/3 each of the remaining wafers and sliced bananas and custard. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make a total of 3 layers of each, ending with custard.
Beat egg whites on high speed of electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
Spoon over custard; spread evenly to cover entire surface of custard and sealing well to edge.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Top with reserved 12 wafers just before serving. Garnish with additional banana slices, if desired.
This recipe has been passed down through the Arthur family for generations. My mother-in-law gave the recipe to me 40 years ago. Katherine was a lovely lady and a wonderful friend to me even before I married her oldest son.
Grandma Arthur's Nut Cake
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup shortening
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. chopped walnuts
1 tsp. Blue Label Brer Rabbit syrup
1 tsp. buttermilk, mixed with 1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 lb. chopped dates,coated with flour
Cream sugar, shortening, and eggs until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix until well blended. Stir in dates and mix well. Pour batter in a well greased and floured tube or bundt pan. Bake at 300º until done. ( This makes a nice gift for someone special for the holidays)
Note from my kitchen:The brand of syrup is very important in this recipe.This recipe is over 100 years old.
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It's been an exciting time watching TAG go from an idea John had, then watching Jeff make it come alive with his programming skills. Having the opportunity to be part of the development of TAG has been an exciting, sometimes frustrating, but always rewarding experience.
