Taste Test

Suburban Chicago, Spring 1973. We're baking cookies again.

Never miss an opportunity.

 

Suburban Chicago, January 1975. Gigi knows Mom's later dinner creates another chance to mooch.

After we pick, we pit.

Door County, Wisconsin, July 1980. It's the second part of the job.

Ha! I remember how much I loved those curtains when Mom sewed them in the 1970s. The fabric featured a Japanese-inspired motif.

"Luxury Features Galore"

Suburban Chicago, about 1957. The developer of the subdivision in which I grew up lists the modern features of the split-level homes. That Roper wall oven (and those birch cabinets) served our family for 34 years.

Thanks to my friend Mary for making this document available to us.

Kitchen-Sink Reunion

Suburban Chicago, about 1972. Bootsie waits for someone to turn on the faucet.

Patient

Door County, Wisconsin, June 1976. Gigi waits for dinner.

Babos Receptai (Part 15)

Here's a recipe Tatjana got from her daughter—my Dad's twin sister—Jonė.

 Here's how I translated the recipe:

Streusel Kuchen

Streusel Topping:
1 to 1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter (not specified in the recipe, but I would add)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Cake:
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 to 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder (Tatjana probably used one of these)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 sticks margarine
1 stick butter
1 "cup" granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk 

Marmalade or jam 


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and adjust the rack to the center position.

For the Streusel: Mix together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the vanilla. Chill the streusel while you prepare the cake batter.

For the Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cream the margarine, butter, and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.

Alternately fold in the sifted dry ingredients and the milk, beginning and ending with the sifted dry ingredients. 

Spread the dough on a greased, flat baking pan (size not specified). Spread some marmalade or jam over the top.

Scatter the streusel over the top of the cake. Bake for about 40 minutes. If the cake is not ready after 40 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 10 minutes.

Related by Marriage: Bleary

Suburban Chicago, January 2, 1962. Mr. Irene has had a too much "50/50" at his party.

Seated are Mr. Irene's maternal Grandmother Anna, his Grandfather Stanley, and his Godfather Anthony.

A Good Eater

Suburban Chicago, January 1959. There's our trusty refrigerator.

Tested

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Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, April 2, 2016. Our friend Tom reported that he tried my paternal Grandmother's recipe for Devil's Food Cake. He made the cake shortly after I posted the recipe, and the result was a success.

Thanks to Tom for sharing photos of the cake.

Babos Receptai (Part 14)

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, baked only a few signature items. She often made (and I still bake) "Babos Pyragas." She also (over)baked Banana Cake. Occasionally, she made Devil's Food cupcakes from scratch. She never frosted the cupcakes, so they were quite dry. (I dislike cupcakes, by the way, because who wants to eat all that hard crust? Isn't it better to eat the soft, moist inside of a cake?)

Here's Tatjana's recipe for the Devil's Food Cupcakes (notice again the chemical formulas):

Here's how I wrote up the recipe:

Devil's Food Cake

(1) First, cream together:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 whole eggs

(2) Second, sift together:
 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

 (3) Third, stir together:
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla

And now add to the (1) sugar/shortening/egg mixture the (2) sifted dry ingredients and (3) the liquid ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in three additions and the liquid ingredients in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

A cake (Tatjana used a 10-inch tube pan) bakes for about 45 to 55 minutes* at 350 degrees F.

ADDED: A reader tests this recipe.

*Baking time adjusted from the duration I originally had posted.

A Last-Minute Project

Suburban Chicago, March 1970. Happy Easter everyone. (Here's a color image from the same day.)

Related by Marriage: Bridal Fashions

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 1958. Aunt Petra assesses the modern styles.

An Interruption

Suburban Chicago, December 1964. Mom takes a call while she and I bake Christmas cookies.

Related by Marriage: After the Meal

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, November 1965. The family poses in the kitchen of Mr. Irene's maternal Grandparents' home. The group just finished the Thanksgiving meal, and all celebrate a visit from Uncle Ignas.

Standing: Mr. Irene's Dad, Uncle Ignas, Mr. Irene's Mom, and Mr. Irene. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandfather, Stanley, sits at the table.

Thanks to Mr. Irene's Los Angeles Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Cake, in Three Takes

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Suburban Chicago, Spring 1973. My Toronto Cousin and I share a Pepperidge Farm walnut layer cake. There was a period when we used to pick up one of those frozen cakes. We recently looked for that cake, but it apparently has been discontinued.

This photo set shows how pink our kitchen was. Behind us is the dishwasher and the Roper wall oven. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, is washing dishes; the dish rack holds a plastic tumbler from the Jewel Food Store.

I'm wearing a turquoise ring my Parents bought when we first vacationed in Glacier. On my left hand is a minuscule ruby ring that belonged to my maternal Grandmother, Jadzė. I also wear the dainty watch I selected in Switzerland. There's instant coffee and a copy of "Draugas" on the table.

(Neither my Toronto Cousin [ever] nor I [in 1973] smoked; that looks like Dad's ashtray. Do you remember crafting ashtrays and trivets with those little tiles? Who supervised you when you spread the grout?)

Ah! The checkered dish towel is still in use.

Weekend Baking

Suburban Chicago, June 1976. The box of saltine crackers indicates we're making a peculiar torte. It consisted of multiple layers of unsalted crackers held together with a buttercream made from butter and chopped, dried fruit. The torte was very popular in the 1970s among Lithuanians. The recipe mimicked the more complicated preparation of a "Napoleonas."

Here's the recipe, as I wrote it out back then:

Sunday Paper: Floral Edition

Suburban Chicago, June 1972. It must be morning.

We're still counting.

Suburban Chicago, July 1965. That's a sad little cake, but happily it's not coconut!

(Jewel shoppers will recognize those tumblers and plastic dishes.)

Floor Plan

Suburban Chicago, about 1957. Here's the floor plan of my childhood home. I noted earlier that these homes usually housed families consisting of five or six members.

Thanks to my friend Mary for making this document available to me.