Exchanging Portraits (Part 67)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1937. A friend of Mom's passes along a memento.

Traveler's Memento

Frankfurt, Germany, about 1948. Dad saved a stack of postcards from his travels in Germany.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 60)

Australia, August 12, 1952. A friend of Mr. Irene's Dad sent this memento.

Presidential Memento

Kaunas, Lithuania, July 7, 1928. The American Consul to Lithuania wrote, "At five o'clock, Lily and I called on Mrs. Smetona and played dice as usual, after having coffee. Lily bought a photograph of President Smetona a few days ago and she asked Mrs. Smetona to request the President to sign it. The adjutant went to his office and brought the picture back signed."

Thanks to the Consul's Granddaughter for making this photo available to us.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 57)

Probably Seligenstadt, Germany, 1949. A friend of Mr. Irene's Dad passed along this memento before the friend sailed to the United States.

The Site of the Exhibit

Schweinfurt, Germany, December 1946. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, kept this photo among her mementos from the cultural exhibit.

Class Notes (Part 21)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. In this Class Notes entry, another anonymous artist sketched a rose.

Carnations

Chicago, Illinois, Spring 1946. An acquaintance gave this snapshot to Mom in the mid 1950s.

Class Notes (Part 20)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. In this Class Notes entry, my Mom's friend delivers a simple bouquet.

Class Notes (Part 19)

Kaunas, Lithuania September 27, 1934. In this Class Notes entry, my Mom's friend wrote:

For memories from Julia.

The Nightingale is a beautiful little bird
May it sing for you
a happy tune.

Written in the second class.

Caption: "I'm carrying gifts for you!"

It looks like stickers were popular in the 1930s, too.

Purposeful

Suburban Chicago, 1965. Shortly after I posted today's "A Closer Look" photo, I came across this image. Tatjana asked my Dad to take this snapshot so she could send it to our relatives who lived behind the Iron Curtain. This picture reminds me of the original, 1912, photo on which I based the "A Closer Look" post.

Class Notes (Part 18)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. An anonymous artist contributed to this Class Notes page. I wonder if my Mom's maternal Aunt, Dora, drew this still life.

Class Notes (Part 17)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. A friend named Irene sketched this Class Notes entry.

Class Notes (Part 16)

Kaunas, Lithuania, October 1933. In this Class Notes entry, my Mom's friend recalls a conversation with a rabbit.

Class Notes (Part 15)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. My Mom's friend called this Class Notes entry "A View."

Class Notes (Part 14)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend explored the watercolor medium.

Travel Clothes

Unknown Location, about 1949. My Dad's friend Casey sent this vacation memento.

Class Notes (Part 13)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

For Memories

I have one rose
I give it to you

I have one friend
To her I give everything

From your friend N.

Class Notes (Part 12)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend draws a fairy.

Babos Receptai (Part 12)

Whoa, you say! This is not the handwriting of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana! How can it be one of "Babos Receptai?"

This recipe was written for me by Tatjana's daughter, Jonė. It's a recipe for Lithuanian Crumb Cake. Although that treat is ubiquitous in Lithuanian cuisine (the crumb cake appears at weddings, teas, and fashion shows), my paternal Grandmother rarely baked it. Tatjana thought her cake, "Babos Pyragas," was much better. I disagreed, and I was disappointed we had no "family recipe" for the Crumb Cake. Fortunately, my Dad's twin sister had one.

Here is how I wrote up the recipe:

Trupininis Pyragas

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

about 1-1/2 cups lingonberry preserves, or other tart jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position. Preheat a baking stone for thirty minutes. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and dust it all over with fine, dry breadcrumbs. Shake out excess crumbs. Set the prepared baking pan in the freezer while you prepare the ingredients.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until very light in color. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and continue beating until very smooth. On lowest speed, or using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients, combining only until the flour disappears.

Reserve about half (approximately 3 cups) of the dough in a small bowl and set aside. Press the remainder of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread lingonberry preserves evenly over the dough. Carefully crumble the remaining reserved dough over the preserves.

Bake about 30 to 34 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

*     *     *     *     *

BONUS!

A few years after I tweeked this recipe, I started baking it with a cottage-cheese filling. The cheese version is my favorite; here is the recipe:

Trupininis Pyragas su Varškė

Crust:

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

finely grated rind of one-half lemon

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

scant 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

scant 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) cottage cheese, drained (measure before draining)

3 tablespoons instant-blending ("Wondra") flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position. Preheat a baking stone for thirty minutes. Generously butter and flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. 

For crust: Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until very light in color. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and sour cream; continue beating until very smooth. On lowest speed, or using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients, combining only until the flour disappears. The mixture will (and should) be crumbly.

Reserve about half (approximately 3 cups) of the dough in a small bowl and set aside. Press the remainder of the dough into the prepared pan.  Place pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

For filling: In the workbowl of a food processor, mix together the sugar with the lemon rind until the rind is finely chopped. Add the egg yolks and beat for about one minute, until the mixture becomes thick and pale in color. Add the butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Add the cottage cheese and process until the mixture is entirely free of lumps. Add the flour and process with 2 or 3 on/off pulses.

Spread the filling over prepared crust. Crumble the reserved half of the dough over the filling.

Bake for 30 to 36 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown slightly. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Store in airtight container at room temperature.