Here is a delicious cake recipe I often stir up and bake – it’s just as yummy now as it was years ago, during the depression era.
“POOR MAN’S CAKE”
About 1/2 cup oleo or shortening
1 cup brown sugar – beat these until smooth.
Then add: 2 eggs and 2 cups fresh chopped apples.
Now beat until smooth in texture. Then add enough flour plus 1 teaspoon baking soda, some cinnamon and nutmeg, if available, until you have a firm batter. Last add 1 teaspoon vanilla and a couple hand fulls of raisins. Pour into a greased pan – bake in a moderate oven until done (about 35 minutes). When cool, cut into nice size slices, eat and enjoy! It’s delicious and nourishing.
We ate lots of potatoes at our home – fried, boiled, baked, soup or hash. Mashed potatoes were always served every Sunday. I don’t recall anyone ever saying “Potatoes again.”
When I recall these memories I wonder how in the world our mother and the other ladies managed. Now I realize they were very special people.
Matilda (Winters) Cardin
Englewood, Colorado
Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then Capper’s Weekly asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from Capper’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.