I’ve been watching BBC 1’s series The Hairy Bikers – Mums Know Best, which has made me think about my family’s recipes. I have my Mum’s recipe book. She didn’t really need recipes as much of what she cooked was by instinct. Even though the recipes give quantities in pounds and ounces she didn’t use scales, but measured ingredients by spoonfuls until she thought it was right. In fact she didn’t use recipes much at all – there are no meat or poultry recipes in her book and the only fish recipe is for cooking salmon – which is so brief – – “to cook half and hour to three quarters”. There are jam recipes and one for Green Tomato Chutney.
The majority of the recipes are for cakes and biscuits – Lunch Cake, made with lemon and sultanas, Ginger Cake, various Fruit Cakes, a Swiss Roll – made with dried egg, Chocolate Cake, Date Loaf, Bakewell Tart, Bun Loaf, Malt Loaves, Parkin and an Easter Cake which is rolled out when mixed and baked on a greased oven plate and which I don’t remember her making.
One of my favourites is Parkin, made with medium oatmeal, brown sugar, margarine, lard, flour, syrup or treacle, baking powder, ground ginger, milk and water.
I loved this!
Visit Beth Fish Reads for other bloggers who are participating in Weekend Cooking.
BooksPlease 
This is a treasure!! You are lucky to have it.
LikeLike
I love the mix of ingredients for your mum’s Parkin. These old recipes/dishes are a great legacy and bring back such wonderful memories. They are so valuable. I’m glad you have them.
LikeLike
What a wonderful book to have! A fabulous legacy. I love the sound of those cakes. I remember my grandmother’s notebook would have recipes that were just a list of ingredients — no title, no instructions. You would have to guess: cake? cookies? loaf? and what temperature and for how long to bake.
LikeLike
I am sure my mom doesn’t have a cookbook of her select recipes. She doesn’t really like to cook, though I do have her fudge recipe and every couple of years I can talk her into making me a batch. yummy.
LikeLike
What a treasure! I loved reading the different terminologies you have for ingredients. I was trying to guess what sultanas are and thought maybe there are like our saltine crackers?
Have a wonderful weekend!
*smiles*
LikeLike
I’ve often wished that my mom’s Aunt Lizzie (who died when I was five) had kept her recipes like this … from the stories people tell, she was quite the cook. Such a treasure to have something like this!
LikeLike
Family recipes are such treasures. You are lucky to have this legacy to share and make wonderful family recipes.
LikeLike
Wow – what a wonderful heirloom. Treasure it.
LikeLike
I have never heard of Parkin, but it sure sounds intriguing! How wonderful that you have that recipe book. I know whenever I use a recipe that was my mother’s I think of her, so it’s a nice little side benefit in addition to the food itself!
LikeLike
Thanks for your comments – I wish my mother had written down more of her recipes.
Kim, sultanas are like raisins – dried grapes.
LikeLike
How lovely —a book to treasure. I’ve been watching Rachel Allen on Saturdays(although I missed yesterday) I like her homely style.
LikeLike