Grandma’s recipes brings together recipes from a group of related women. They lived in Toowoomba, Queensland, from 1910 onwards. The recipes represent Australian home-cooking through the twentieth century, when the Depression and World War II affected daily lives dramatically. There are also recipes that you will wonder at, but probably not want to recreate – like recipes for making coffee from wheat. Reading the recipes offers a glimpse of the lives of mothers and home-makers – a role that is hidden from society at large, but represents a big influence on family, friends and neighbours.

2. Popovers

3. Yorkshire bran loaf

4. Yorkshire cheese cake

5. Yorkshire fruit cake

6. Yorkshire pudding 1327150177800<br /> Peanut parkins<br />These biscuits are delicious. They cool quickly and need to be lifted off the tray before they cool, because they shatter.<br />Ingredients1 ¼ cups sugar1 cup plain flour1 tablespoon butter1 tablespoon golden syrupgrated rind of orange or lemon½ teaspoon each of ginger, mixed spice, bicarbonate of soda¼ cup boiling watera few peanutsDirectionsMix dry ingredients. Melt butter and syrup.Dissolve bicarbonate of soda in ¼ cup boiling water.Mix well. Add peanuts.Place small pieces on a greased oven slide. Bake in a moderate oven (180 C).Leave plenty of room as they spread – 5 or 6 to the tray at a time is plenty.<br />Popovers<br />When they are done on one side they pop over by themselves. Granddaughter Sandra used to eat them with syrup or jam.<br />Ingredients1 egg¾ cup milkpinch nutmegpinch salt¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda¼ teaspoon cream of tartar1 cup flourDirectionsBeat egg and milk. Add nutmeg, salt and bicarbonate of soda.Sift cream of tartar into flour.Beat well.Fry walnut-sized balls in deep boiling fat.<br />Yorkshire bran loaf (sticky bread)<br />Use any cup size. <br />Ingredients1 cup of each of the following:All Branmoist brown sugarseedless raisinsmilkself-raising flourDirectionsStir first 4 ingredients and leave overnight.Stir in flour.Put into loaf tin and cook for 1–1½ hours at 325 F (160 C).<br />Yorkshire cheese cake <br />Lizzie’s granddaughter Sandra suggests cottage cheese or ricotta instead of curds. Junket tablet is a source of rennet.<br />Ingredients – curds(no quantities given)rennetmilkDirections – curdsAdd rennet to milk and strain, or use sour milk and strain off whey.Ingredients – cheese cake2 eggs 2 ounces sugar (60 g)2 teaspoons melted butter, if desired2 ounces currants (60 g)½ pound curds (250 g)rind of a lemonuncooked plain pastry casenutmeg to sprinkle on topDirections – cheese cakeBeat eggs and sugar and add melted butter, if desired.Stir in currants.Add curds.Put into an uncooked plain pastry case. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Cook until firm in a fairly slow oven (170 C).<br />Yorkshire fruit cake<br />To be eaten with cheese. Traditionally all the fruit and nuts are ground. I’ve suggested some directions, as none were provided.<br />Ingredients1½ tablespoons plain flour1½ tablespoons caster sugar1½ tablespoons butter12 eggs2 pound currants (1 kg)¼ pound sultanas (125 g)¼ pound lemon peel (finely ground) (125 g)¼ pound ground almonds (125 g)¼ pound cherries (125 g)1 nutmeg, grated1 glass rum1 teaspoon ground mace or black treacle1 uncooked plain pastry caseDirectionsCream butter and sugar. Add eggs.Add flour and spices to ground fruits.Combine all ingredients.Cook pastry case filled with weights such as dried peas, in oven for about 15 mins. Remove peas when cooked.Put mixture into cooled pastry case. Cook in a slow oven (150 C) for a long time – test after 1½ hrs.<br />Yorkshire pudding <br />A savoury pudding, this traditional British dish is to be served with roast meat and gravy. The Yorkshire pudding should rise into hills and valleys. The critical thing is to get the right sized tin for the recipe, and for the fat to be really hot.<br />Ingredients1 eggsalt and pepper½ cup milk1 tablespoon cold water2 rounded tablespoons flourDirections Mix well together and leave in refrigerator for at least an hour.Pour batter into hot fat in a baking tray. Cook in hot oven (230 C).<br />1733550245110<br />Dot Featherstone <br />4038600264795<br />Making do in the Depression – the thirties<br />Dot and Joe Featherstone followed her brother Jack Moody and his wife Lizzie a few months later from Middlesbrough to Toowoomba. Dot, Joe and their five boys arrived in Australia on SS Themistocles in January 1912. It was the same summer as Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole and Sir Robert Scott perished on the way back from it. This period of Antarctic exploration has been called the Heroic Age. I think that a woman who takes her family of five boys to the other side of the world, never again to see her eight other brothers and sisters, is heroic. Her sixth son, Ian (pronounced iron but known as Jack), was born in Toowoomba.<br />Dot, born Eliza Dorothy Moody, was thirty-six when she arrived. She had long hair, and wore long dresses and corsets, in the style of the time. She must have been glad when the twenties arrived. Hems went up, corsets were abandoned, and hair was cropped.<br />She started writing her recipe book in 1931, when she was in her fifties. 1932 was the worst year of the Depression in Australia. By then her boys were young men. Bill and youngest brother Jack, with a few mates, an old truck and an Alsatian dog, made their way from Maryborough in Queensland to Cairns, buying apples in bulk and selling them door-to-door to make a living. <br />The recipes in Dot’s recipe book reflect a time when neighbours called each other ‘Mrs Langsdorff’ or ‘Mrs Featherstone’. In spite of the difficult times, they made eye masks for their beauty routine, and lotions for their hard-working hands. The life of a railwayman’s wife was not easy during the Depression. If people wanted beer or coffee, they made it at home. Visiting the doctor was rare, so housewives had many home remedies for their large families.<br />Dot’s small black recipe book was given to me in 2007 by my cousin Rose. It is a glimpse of a difficult period in Dot’s life.<br />Dot Featherstone’s recipes<br />Making do in the Depression – the thirties<br />RecipesHome remediesGem scones with anchovy butter Cure for chilblains Mock brains Cure for indigestionTomato salad Cure for rheumatism Malt biscuits Egg mask Beer Fruit saltsCoffee To soften hands Tonic for nervous and digestive systems <br />120015049530<br />Gem scones with anchovy butter<br />A gem scone iron is a small metal baking tray with semi-circular depressions for the gem scones, which rise to create ball shapes. This is Dot’s recipe with Rea’s anchovy butter. Serve some gem scones with butter and some with anchovy butter. I have suggested directions. <br />Ingredients – gem scones1 tablespoon butter2 tablespoons sugar1 egg1 cup milk1½ cups flour1½ teaspoons cream of tartar¾ teaspoon soda pinch saltDirections – gem sconesPreheat gem scone irons in hot oven.Cream butter and sugar.Add egg and milk alternately with sifted dry ingredients.Take the gem irons out of the oven. Put a tablespoon of mixture in each of the gem iron holes. Bake in hot oven (230 C) for 10 minutes or less.Serve hot.Ingredients – anchovy butter1 tablespoon butter ¼ teaspoon dry mustard2 teaspoons Anchovette or ½ teaspoon anchovy pastepinch cayenne1 teaspoon vinegarDirections – anchovy butterMix all ingredients together well. <br />Mock brains<br />Sounds better than the real thing. From the days when mothers cooked breakfast.<br />Ingredients1 cup rolled oats½ cup boiling waterparsley, choppedonion, chopped1 eggbreadcrumbssalt and pepperDirectionsCook oats in water with parsley and onion.When well cooked and thick, put in basin to set.Then cut in slices and fry to a nice golden brown in egg and breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.<br />Tomato salad<br />When she was first married, Aussie Rea Featherstone was somewhat shocked by English Dot Featherstone’s Yorkshire approach to tomato salad.<br />Ingredientstomatoes, slicedvinegarDirectionsSpread sliced tomatoes out on a serving dish.Pour a generous amount of vinegar over. Serve.<br />Malt biscuits <br />Rea’s copy of this recipe shows she was still calling her mother-in-law ‘Mrs Featherstone’ four years after she was married.<br />Ingredients4 ounces butter (125 g) ½ cup brown sugar1 tablespoon malt extract1 tablespoon golden syrup½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda1½ cups flour1½ cups rolled oats1 cup coconutpinch saltDirectionsPut first 4 ingredients into a saucepan and bring to boil.Add bicarbonate of soda dissolved in a little warm water.Have dry ingredients ready in a bowl. Pour hot syrup over dry ingredients and mix into a dough. Make walnut sized balls of dough and flatten on oven tray.Bake in moderate oven (180 C) about 10 minutes or until golden brown.<br />160972543815<br />Beer<br />Yes, beer. You’ll have to guess how big a packet of hops is, if you make this recipe.<br />Ingredientstin golden syruplarge tin malt3 pounds sugar (1.5 kg)1 teaspoon salt½ packet hopsabout 2 cups yeastDirectionsBoil hops in 4 gallons (16 litres) water for 20 minutes. Add salt.Put in syrup and malt when moderately cool. When at blood heat, add yeast and allow to work about 60 hours skimming each day twice.Bottle and cap securely.<br />Coffee<br />Two ways to make ‘coffee’. In the Depression, there was no money for luxuries like coffee. Dot didn’t specify how much treacle is needed.<br />Ingredients – version 11 pound wheat (500 g)1 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons sugarDirections – version 1Mix all ingredients.Brown in oven. Put through mincer.Ingredients – version 22 cups bran1 cup oatmealpinch saltblack treacle Directions – version 2Damp dry ingredients with treacle and brown well in oven. Put through mincer.<br />Cure for chilblains <br />For those frosty Toowoomba winters.<br />Ingredientsone fair-sized potatowater to coversaltDirectionsPeel potato then cut into pieces about ¼ inch (70 mm) thick. Place in basin and cover with salt. Stand for 8 to 12 hours. Strain juice, and keep in a bottle. Sponge affected parts with juice.<br />Cure for indigestion<br />A sixpenny coin is like a five cent coin. A shilling is like a ten cent coin.<br />Ingredients½ pound sultanas (250 g)½ pound dried figs (250 g)sixpence worth syrup of sennasixpence worth Peruvian bark (powdered)two shillings worth brandyDirectionsChop all ingredients and mix with brandy.Dose: 2 teaspoonsful every morning.<br />Cure for rheumatism<br />I suggest using cooked rhubarb. The amount of honey is up to you.<br />Ingredients1 ounce sulphur (30 g)1 ounce cream of tartar (30 g)1 ounce rhubarb (30 g)honeyDirectionsWarm honey. Mix thoroughly.Dose: 2 teaspoonsful dissolved in tumbler of water at night and early morning.Can be flavoured with lemon juice or white wine.<br />Egg mask<br />Dot’s beauty treatment is not much different from the ones in women’s magazines today.<br />Ingredients1 eggfew drops glycerinehoneyDirectionsSeparate white from yolk of egg.Beat white to stiff froth.Add glycerine and apply mixture to face.Steam face for a minute then smooth honey all over the face and leave on for a few minutes.<br />Fruit salts<br />Presumably for using in the bath<br />Ingredients¼ pound cream of tartar (125 g)¼ pound tartaric acid (125 g)¼ pound bicarbonate of soda (125 g)½ pound icing sugar (250 g)4 packets Epsom salts1 ounce magnesia (30 g)DirectionsMix thoroughly.Keep in a securely corked bottle in a dry place.<br />To soften hands<br />For hands rough from too much housework. A one shilling coin is like a ten cent coin. <br />Ingredients1 teaspoon powdered starchjuice of a lemonhalf bottle glycerine (1 shilling size)DirectionsMix starch and lemon juice.Add glycerine and boil till clear.Rub into hands at night.<br />Tonic for nervous and digestive systems <br />It makes me nervous to think what this would do to your digestive system.<br />Ingredients1 pound eating prunes (500 g)1 pound dates (500 g)½ pound raisins (250 g)½ pound currants (250 g)½ pound sultanas (250 g)1 pound figs (500 g)1 ounce senna powder (30 g)4 tablespoons honeyDirectionsPut all fruit through mincer. Add senna and honey.Dose: 2 teaspoonsful before breakfast and on retiring.<br />119062522860<br />Sarah Jane Bailey<br />361950027305A widow raising nine children alone – the thirties<br />Sarah Jane Risson was born in Australia, of English immigrant parents who settled at Ma Ma Creek, at the foot of the Great Dividing Range. She grew up on a dairy farm carved out of the bush by her father, and went to school at the school that her father and others petitioned the government to build. Her husband Thomas Bailey’s story is similar. He was also a first-generation Australian, born of Scottish parents, who lived in the next valley at Flagstone Creek.<br />When Thomas died after an accident at work as a carter in 1929, Sarah was left to raise those of her nine children still left at home. Through the thirties and forties, Sarah worked as a cleaner and laundress, and her younger children helped by picking up and delivering the laundry. My cousins remember a woman who could never stand seeing an idle child, so she would always give them something to do. She never had a holiday until her youngest daughter Rea took her to the Blue Mountains, after Rea started work about 1940. <br />Sarah was a staunch member of the church, and made sure that all the children attended church and Sunday School regularly. Youngest daughter Rea was awarded an engraved gold brooch, for not missing a day at Sunday School for five years. Rea would walk to church, attend youth group, and walk back to sister Ruth’s home to look after her young cousins while their parents attended church, then she would take the children Sunday School. She would then walk them home, collect washing from a family and take it to her home. She would then return in the evening for another service. She would take the freshly ironed washing back on Monday.<br />It is hard to imagine when Sarah had time for fancy cooking, but my cousins clearly remember her beautifully-presented rows of preserved fruit and vegetables on display in the kitchen.<br />Sarah Jane Bailey’s recipe<br />A widow raising nine children alone – the thirties<br />Bread and butter cucumbers<br />Economical and easy to make.<br />Ingredients3 medium cucumbers1 pound onions (optional)(500 g)1 large green pepper (capsicum)¼ cup salt1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed½ teaspoon turmeric½ teaspoon ground cloves1 tablespoon mustard seed or 2 teaspoons mustard powder if seed unavailable½ teaspoon celery seed2 cups white vinegarDirectionsWash cucumbers and cut into very thin slices. Peel onions and cut into thin slices.Put cucumber and onion into a bowl with coarsely grated capsicum. Sprinkle with salt and stand 3 hours.Drain and rinse under cold water.Put brown sugar, turmeric, cloves, mustard seed, celery seed and vinegar in a large saucepan.Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and liquid comes to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.Add vegetables. Bring just to the boil. Remove from heat. Pack into sterilised jars. Pour liquid over and seal.Makes about 6 cups (1½ litres)<br />178117572390<br />Elsie McAllan<br />381952584455Holding dreams of better times – the forties<br />Elsie Bailey was Rea’s eldest sister. There were twenty years between them. Elsie would have been twenty-five when their father Thomas died unexpectedly. Because she was older, Elsie would have been one less for her widowed mother to look after. Rea, the youngest, was only five, and there were seven other brothers and sisters between the two of them.<br />Perhaps because of family responsibilities, or the Depression, Elsie didn’t marry until she was thirty-four. She married Andy McAllan, a widower with a young son and daughter. Their happiness was short-lived, as Elsie died seven years later.<br />Rea copied this recipe into her recipe book about nine years after her eldest sister had died in 1943. Her recipe for a rich Christmas cake must date from before the war, because the ingredients would not have been available during that time, with wartime rationing. There was no question of making a cake with ten eggs. However, holding on to the dream of better times was important.<br />This recipe and these photos are all I have from my Auntie Elsie.<br />Elsie McAllan’s recipe <br />Holding dreams of better times – the forties<br />Christmas cake <br />I have suggested some instructions as none were given. This cake should keep well. <br />Ingredients3 pounds dried mixed fruit (1.4 kg )orange juice1 wineglass rum1 pound butter (500 g)1 pound brown sugar (500 g)10 eggs½ packet spice1 nutmeg, gratedcinnamonsalt and pepper1 pound flour (500 g)2 ounces self-raising flour (60 g)grated rind of a lemon2 tablespoons milkDirectionsMix dried fruits and soak in orange juice and rum, preferably overnight.Beat butter and brown sugar. Add eggs.Add sifted dry ingredients and lemon rind. Mix well, while adding milk.Stir in fruit mixture.Put in a cake tin, lined with brown paper so that it is taller than the cake tin. Cook in a moderately slow oven (170 C) for 1– 1½ hrs.<br />1762125146685<br />Ruth Draney<br />365760084455Raising a family through the church – the fifties<br />Ruth and her older sister Elsie were born at Flagstone Creek, at the foot of the Great Dividing Range where Toowoomba is situated. The girls went to school there before the family moved to Toowoomba. Ruth was twenty-three years old when their father Thomas Bailey died. Ruth married Ray Draney, a fellow church member, the year after Thomas’s death. They had four children, and Ruth raised them all by herself while Ray was away for four years during World War II. <br />Like her mother Sarah, Ruth was very active in the Toowoomba Church of Christ. This church was formed in Australia, and Ruth’s husband Ray became president of the church in Queensland. Ray often used to preach. His dedication included pushing two of his young children in a pram for miles across Toowoomba to preach at Harlaxton church on Sunday afternoons. Ruth assisted with Ladies Groups and the Women’s Ministry. She helped establish Mylo Home for the aged, where she eventually spent her last years.<br />Her son Ken became a minister, and her daughter Aileen was a missionary in Papua New Guinea for many years. Ruth supported her daughter’s missionary work by writing to her every single week. Ruth raised four children in her home in Rome Street. Her recipe will feed a large family. <br />Ruth Draney’s recipe<br />Raising a family through the church – the fifties<br />Mexicana mince<br />Mince was a staple food of Australian households. It was often fatty, so it was normal practice to boil the mince in a pan of water first, to remove the fat. This recipe is the first one in all these hand-written recipe books that refers to a world beyond English cookery. A sustaining meal to feed the whole family.<br />Ingredients1 cup rice1 tablespoon margarine1 large onion1½ teaspoons curry powder salt and pepper4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced1½ pounds mince (750 g)1– 1½ pints water (700 mls)DirectionsSoak rice for 30 minutes.Melt margarine in frypan.Brown sliced onion. Drain rice, add and coat well in margarine.Add curry powder and salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes.Add tomatoes, sprinkled with sugar if desired. Cook a few minutes.Add mince and water. Cook 30 minutes at 260 F (160 C). Stir frequently and add more water if required.<br />2047875274955<br />Rea Featherstone<br />362902565405The fifties housewife<br />Rea married Bill Featherstone in 1948. He was nineteen years older than her. Perhaps he did not marry earlier because he was a young man during the Depression, and then he was away serving in World War II. As a child at primary school, Rea’s contribution to the war was to knit socks for servicemen, as she walked around the playground.<br />Rea was a stay-at-home mum, sewing clothes for her four children on her Singer sewing machine housed in a silky oak cabinet made by her brother Stan. She loved to knit, and won a prize at a CWA competition for speed knitting against stiff opposition. She knitted seven complete dresses between the ages of 17 and 19, including a ballgown. Sadly, these dresses are lost to us. <br />Postwar shortages affected the home cook during the fifties, but the shortages gradually eased. Rea has a number of recipes such as ‘mock chicken’, as she ‘made do’ with what she had. She optimistically started this recipe book on the day I was born. In the sixties, we children would come home to homemade slices and biscuits. She involved us all in bottling fruit in the Fowler’s Vacola. <br />These were simple times for the children, if not for the housewife. Rea graduated from boiling the washing in a copper in the backyard to using a wringer machine about 1960. It took all Monday to wash and iron for a family of six. So to have a simple recipe for Washday Pudding was handy, because evening meals always included dessert . If it was ‘cook’s night off’, we would eat canned tomato soup with jaffles – sandwiches toasted in an iron jaffle maker heated in the firebox of the wood fire. <br />Rea Featherstone’s recipes<br />The fifties housewife<br />Nibbles and snacksPreservesMock chicken Imitation apricot fillingMain courseTomato and passionfruit jamCrunchy Norwegian casserole HintsFrench cabbage rollsTo polish cutlery and silverSavoury chops Ivory knife handlesShepherd’s pieFor fliesBiscuits cakes and sweets Curly wool123 piecrust with stewed fruitDelicious lemon cheese for tarts Eggless chocolate cake237490307975Melting moments Neenish tarts Pumpkin fruit cakePusher biscuits Rocky roadWashday puddingLamingtons<br />Mock chicken<br />We frequently ate this spread on our white bread sandwiches for school lunches.<br />Ingredients1 small onion1 rounded teaspoon butter1 tomato, skinned and chopped1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs1 beaten egg1 tablespoon grated cheesesalt and pepper to tasteDirectionsCook onion slowly with butter, for about 10 minutes. Do not brown.Add the tomato and herbs, and simmer for a few minutes.Remove from heat. Add the beaten egg, salt and pepper, and cheese, and beat well. If the egg isn’t quite cooked, put back on the stove for a minute or two.Add 2 crushed shredded wheatmeal biscuits if required to be thicker.<br />Crunchy Norwegian casserole<br />This was a Featherstone family favourite, often served in winter. Substitute chilli sauce if Tabasco is unavailable.<br />Ingredients – white sauce 1 tablespoon flour1 tablespoon butter1 cup milkDirections – white sauceMelt butter and mix in flour.Heat remaining milk separately. Add a little warmed milk to the butter–flour mixture and stir to prevent lumps. Add more milk, stirring, and then add this mixture to the rest of the warmed milk. Cook until the sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon.Ingredients – casserole¾ cup green pepper¾ cup onion1 cup diced celery7 ounces tuna (220 g)3 ¾ ounce tin sardines (110 g)1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce2 drops Tabasco sauce1 cup thick white sauceTopping2 tablespoons melted butter 1 cup cornflake crumbsDirections – casseroleCombine and sauté vegetables. Mix in other ingredients and top with the melted butter and crumbs.Cook in moderate oven (180 C) for 30 minutes.<br />French cabbage rolls <br />Another way to serve mince – a cheap family meal. I think the garlic is the reason for the ‘French’ name, as it was an unusual ingredient in the fifties.<br />Ingredients – filling½ pound mince (250 g)½ cup uncooked rice½ cup soft breadcrumbs4 tablespoons finely chopped onions1 garlic clove¼ teaspoon pepper1½ teaspoon salt 2 large tablespoons margarine12 tender cabbage leavesDirections – cabbage rollsMix together all ingredients except cabbage leaves.Simmer cabbage leaves in boiling water 3–5 minutes. Remove leaves. Drain and cut out rib, then spread with mixture. Roll firmly.Stack closely in oven dish. Put on lid and cook 40 minutes in a moderate oven (180 C).Pour sauce over cabbage rolls. Replace lid and cook another 20 minutes.Ingredients – sauce2 ounces margarine2 teaspoons onion1 garlic clove2 tablespoon flourstockjuice of a lemon salt and pepperDirections – sauceCook onions and garlic in melted margarine for 2 minutes.Add plain flour and enough stock to make creamy sauce. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. <br />Savoury chops<br />Mutton chops are no longer common, but it was everyday family food then. <br />Ingredients1 pound stewing chops4 slices bacon1 carrot1 onion2 tablespoons flour plus salt and pepper, to make seasoned flour 2 cups waterDirectionsTrim chops and cut rind off bacon. Scrape and slice carrot. Peel and slice onion.Roll chops in seasoned flour.Into a pie dish place layers of chops, bacon, carrot and onion. Add water.Cover pie dish and bake in moderate oven (180 C) for 1–1½ hours.<br />Shepherd’s pie<br />This traditional dish warmed the family on cold winter nights.<br />Ingredients – stewed mince1 pound mince (500 g)1 onionparsley1 small carrot, grated½ cup water1½ teaspoons saltpepper2 tablespoons flour1–2 tomatoes, slicedDirections – stewed mincePlace meat, chopped onion, parsley and grated carrot in a saucepan. Add water, salt and pepper. Cook over gentle heat until well cooked. Add water if necessary. Sprinkle flour over meat and mix well. Allow to thicken. Pour into pie dish and cover with slices of tomato, if desired. Ingredients – mashed potato4 large potatoes1 rounded teaspoon butter2–3 tablespoon milkDirections – mashed potatoPeel potatoes and cut into chunks. Add to boiling water and boil until very soft. Drain.Return to saucepan. Add butter and a good dash of milk. Beat well until very smooth.extra butter, meltedTo assemblePut the mince into a greased rectangular baking dish, and top with mashed potato. Use a fork to decorate the top, and brush with melted butter. Cook in a hot oven (230 C) for 15 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve hot.<br />1819275213360<br />123 piecrust with stewed fruit<br />As easy to make as it is to remember: 1–2–3. I suggest baking in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.<br />Ingredients1 tablespoon butter2 tablespoons sugar3 tablespoons self-raising flourStewed fruit such as peach or quinceDirectionsMix ingredients together with fingers until crumbly and sprinkle it thickly over cooked fruit.Bake in usual way, but not too quickly.<br />Delicious lemon cheese for tarts<br />Rea used to say that the lemons must be fully ripe, and that the recipe will not set with Meyer lemons. This is typical picnic food, served in a crumbed biscuit tart shell and eaten with a cup of hot tea while Bill and Uncle Don painted watercolours of gum trees down by the creek.<br />Ingredients1 tin condensed milkrind and juice of 4 lemonsegg yolkstart shell made of biscuit crumbs and melted butter, chilledDirectionsMix all ingredients well. Spread mixture in tart shell.Store in ice chest.<br />Eggless chocolate cake <br />There are many eggless recipes in Rea’s recipe book. This may be because of post-war shortages.<br />Ingredients1 cup hot water4 teaspoons golden syrup ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda3 tablespoons margarine½ cup brown sugar2 cups self-raising flour2 tablespoons cocoapinch saltDirectionsPlace ingredients in basin in order listed, up to the flour.When margarine has melted, add self-raising flour and cocoa.Mix thoroughly.Bake in a moderate oven (180 C) about 25 minutes.<br />Melting moments<br />A classic biscuit recipe. We often found these in the bikkie tin when we came home from school. <br />Ingredients¼ to ½ pound butter (125–250 g)2 ounces sugar (60 g)4 ounces cornflour (125 g)DirectionsBeat butter and sugar to a cream then sift cornflour in slowly.Roll into walnut sized balls in the palms of the hands. Put on a greased paper on biscuit tray. Use a fork to flatten onto the tray. Bake in a moderate oven (180 C) about 10 minutes.Sandwich pairs together with white icing.<br />Neenish tarts <br />Rea recommends these special-occasions tarts for afternoon tea, or to serve with coffee after dinner. Almond meal should be used for the pastry, she says, but champagne pastry is good too.<br />Ingredients – champagne pastry3 ounces butter (90 g)¼ cup caster sugar1 egg yolk¾ cup flour½ cup self-raising flourpinch salt1 tablespoon milkDirections – champagne pastryCream butter and sugar. Add egg yolk then sifted flour alternately with milk.Knead. Rest 15 minutes. Roll out thinly.Cut circles for tartlets. Prick with fork after placing on tray to bake.Bake 10 minutes at 375 F (190 C).Makes about 20 small tart shells. Cool before filling.Ingredients – almond cream3 ounces butter (90 g)6 level tablespoons icing sugar1½ tablespoons condensed milk3 tablespoons honeyfew drops almond essenceDirections – almond creamCream butter and icing sugar, then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.Fill the small tart shells with almond cream, smoothing it over so it is even with the tart edges. Chill in fridge.Ingredients – icing1 cup icing mixture1 tablespoon butter1½ tablespoons milkBrown icing1 tablespoon cocoaDirections – icingMake the white icing. Halve, and add cocoa to one half to make brown icing. To assembleIce each filled tart half with white icing and half with chocolate icing.<br />Pumpkin fruit cake<br />This was Rea’s most famous recipe. A beautiful moist golden fruit cake.<br />Ingredients½ pound butter (250 g)1 cup sugar2 eggs1 cup cold mashed pumpkin2 cups flour1 teaspoon cream of tartar½ teaspoon baking soda1 packet mixed fruit (375 g)DirectionsCream butter and sugar.Add eggs and beat well.Add pumpkin and sifted dry ingredients, and lastly mixed fruit.Bake in a slow oven (150 C) 1½–2 hours.<br />Pusher biscuits<br />This buttery mix can be pushed through a metal biscuit maker tube using different inserts to make a variety of decorative biscuits that look good for Christmas. Kids enjoy helping to make these.<br />Ingredients2 ounces butter or dripping (60 g)2 ounces sugar (60 g)1 egg6 ounces self-raising flour (180 g)¼ teaspoon saltDirectionsBeat butter or dripping and sugar to a cream. Add egg and sifted dry ingredients. Mix and put mixture through pusher.If mixture is too stiff for pusher, add a little boiling water after adding flour.Cook in moderate oven (180 C) about 10 minutes.2476501062990VariationsVanilla fingers: add vanilla essence.Strawberry cream: add strawberry essence and join biscuits with strawberry icing.Monte Carlos: Add 1 tablespoon honey. Join with raspberry jam and vanilla icing.<br />Rocky road<br />Rea has many recipes for sweets. The kids helped her make them for school fetes. Instead of Jellettes, make different colours of packet jelly with half quantity of water. When the jellies are set, dice. You can also add sultanas.<br />Ingredients6 ounces marshmallows4 ounces white shortening (Copha)¾ cup sifted icing sugar2 tablespoons cocoavanilla½ cup walnuts or peanuts3 coloured Jellettes (chopped)DirectionsCut marshmallows into small pieces.Grease 7 inch square tin. Melt shortening over gentle heat – it must only be lukewarm. Add to icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Mix till smooth. Fold through marshmallows, nuts and Jellette pieces. Press into prepared tin, chill. Cut into squares. Wrap if desired. <br />Washday pudding <br />Even after a day boiling the copper and folding the family washing, the family expected dessert. It needs no sauce as it has enough.<br />Ingredients1½ cups self-raising flour1 tablespoon butter2 tablespoons boiling water½ cup milk½ cup sugar1 tablespoon syrup1 tablespoon butter1 cup boiling water, extraDirectionsRub flour and butter together.Add boiling water and milk. Mix well.Cover with sugar, syrup, butter and 1 cup boiling water.Stand basin in boiling water and steam ½ hour.Do not cover basin with lid.<br />Tomato and passionfruit jam<br />Women used what they had on hand, and adapted recipes to use available ingredients. Rea also made jam from rosellas, a native fruit.<br />Ingredients2 pounds ripe tomatoes (1 kg)1 pound peeled and cored apples (500 g)6 passionfruit3 pounds sugar (1.5 kg)DirectionsPeel and slice tomatoes and add chopped apples and boil together until soft. Add sugar. Stir until dissolved then boil the mixture hard for about 30 minutes. Add the passionfruit pulp. Boil again for 5 minutes. Test the jam and continue to boil till setting point is reached.Bottle in sterilised jars.<br />Imitation apricot filling<br />This surprising recipe is nice in tarts or biscuits. Don't mention it has choko and no-one will know what it really is, Rea tells us. It’s important to mash the chokos well.<br />Ingredients1 pound sugar (500 g)1 pound tree tomatoes (tamarillos) (500 g)4 or 5 chokosDirectionsSlice the tree tomatoes and cover with sugar. Allow to stand overnight.Peel and cook the chokos while sugar and tree tomatoes are cooking. Drain and mash chokos well or puree them. Add to fruit–sugar mixture.Cook until it jells. <br />Lamingtons<br />Lamingtons were invented in Toowoomba in 1896. Lord Lamington, the Governor of Queensland, used to spend each summer at Harlaxton House. His cook, unable to bake the snowball cakes he liked, invented what we now know as lamingtons.<br />Ingredients½ cup butter1 cup sugar2 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla2/3 cup milk2 cups flour3 teaspoons baking powder¼ teaspoon saltDirectionsCream butter and sugar, beating until very light.Add beaten eggs and vanilla.Sift flour with baking powder and salt.Add some sifted dry ingredients to the mixture, then some milk. Continue adding flour then milk until it is all used.Bake in greased and floured tin for about 20 minutes at 180 C.Cut cooled cake into squares.Roll each lamington in brown icing and dip in coconut.<br />38100046990<br />To polish cutlery and silver <br />This imparts a brilliant polish, and cutlery will not require any special treatment if treated in this way every fortnight. The mixture is also good for household silver.<br />Ingredients1 cup yellow soap1 cup washing soda1 cup whitingDirections Dissolve all ingredients in a saucepan over a slow fire. Pour into a tin. Place the cutlery in a dish with 2 teaspoons of the mixture, pour in hot water, and wash in the usual way. Dry the cutlery while hot. <br />For ivory knife handles<br />Rea received ivory-handled knives for her wedding. You might find some at vintage markets. <br />Ingredientslemon rindsaltDirections Ivory knife handles will turn yellowish if they are allowed to go without a periodical treatment of being rubbed over with a piece of lemon rind dipped in salt.<br />For flies<br />Rea’s answer for a constant problem.<br />Ingredients½ teaspoon black pepper1 teaspoon brown sugar1 teaspoon creamDirectionsMix well and place on plate in room. <br />For curly wool<br />Rea loved to knit. If one of the kids grew out of a jumper, this was how to recycle the wool.<br />Requirementsunravelled wool from an old garmentaluminium saucepanDirectionsWind wool round saucepan. Fill saucepan with almost boiling water and allow it to stand with wool round it, while there is any heat in the water. When removed wool is ready to reknit.<br />Emmie Featherstone<br />3514725160020Country hospitality in town – the sixties <br />Emmie Gillam was descended from the family of Charles Gillam, gentleman, of Allora. She loved horses, and rode well. Her daughter Rose inherited her love of animals, and they both share the wonderfully warm sense of hospitality that is typical of country people.<br />Emmie, small and round, married Don Featherstone, tall and thin. They shared a warm relationship, always teasing each other. There was usually a very chatty budgie in the kitchen, who could call the dogs to come for dinner, sounding just like Emmie. There was usually at least one dog underfoot, and our favourite cousin Rose’s cats, cockies and curlews roamed the back yard.<br />When television came to Toowoomba about 1960, Bill and Rea didn’t buy one. Often on a Sunday night, the Ford Prefect with four children in the back would drive over to Don and Emmie’s to watch TV. We were supposed to go home before the movie, but we children would try to get the adults chatting so that they would not notice that the movie had started. Then we would need to stay for supper, wouldn’t we? Saos with cheese and tomato, and a warm tea cake were Emmie’s favourites – and ours. <br />Emmie Featherstone’s recipes<br />Country hospitality in town – the sixties<br />Saos with cheese and tomato<br />Sometimes the simplest things are the best.<br />IngredientsSao biscuitsbutter (not margarine)tasty cheesehome-grown tomatosalt and pepperDirectionsButter Sao biscuits. Top with sliced tasty cheese and a slice of home-grown tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.Serve immediately.<br />Tea cake<br />Served warm, with cinnamon sugar that sticks to fingers.<br />Ingredients1 large tablespoon butter½ cup sugar1 egg ½ cup milkvanilla1 cup self-raising flourDirectionsCream butter and sugar. Add well-beaten egg, milk and vanilla, then flour.Bake in a buttered tin, in a moderate oven (180 C) for about 20 minutes.Ingredients – topping 1 teaspoon sugar1 teaspoon cinnamon1 teaspoon coconut1 rounded teaspoon butter19050149225Directions – toppingWhen the cake is nearly ready, mix topping ingredients. Smooth over hot cake. Put back in oven for a few minutes.Serve hot or cold.<br />Notes<br />From the editor<br />All these recipes came from hand-written recipe books. I have not cooked them all, so I can give no assurance that the recipes work. However, I am sure you can trust these grandmothers, as they used the recipes themselves. I would not suggest you try the home remedies, nor would I suggest that making your own beer or coffee from these recipes is a good idea. As grandma would say, “Just use your common sense!”<br />Where possible, I have provided Australian Standard metric conversions for imperial measurements, based on the Macquarie Dictionary of Cooking, McMahon’s Point, N.S.W. , edited by Judy Jones in 1983. I have not attempted to provide equivalents for things like ‘2 shillings worth brandy’, or ‘large tin malt’. <br />Cooking terms and ingredients<br />Cup – use a standard Australian measuring cup, whether you are using imperial measurements or metric. There is little difference. <br />Hops, malt, Peruvian bark, syrup of senna – If you wish to prepare recipes using these ingredients, I suggest you do your own research. <br />Oven temperatures<br />Moderately slow oven330 F/170 CSlow oven250 F/150 CModerate oven350 F/180 CHot oven450 F/230 C<br />Photos<br />Frontcover Lizzie Moody © Sandra Routley, Dot Featherstone © Roy Featherstone, Sarah Jane Bailey © Kenneth Draney, Elsie McAllan, and Ruth Draney © Gay Middleton, Rea Featherstone © Spencer Featherstone, Emmie Featherstone © Spencer Featherstone7Rose’s wishes © Wendy Pang11Jack and Lizzie Moody © Sandra Routley12Lizzie Moody’s Yorkshire fruit cake recipe recorded by Sandra Routley © Wendy Pang15Lizzie Moody’s popovers recipe recorded by Sandra Routley © Wendy Pang16Dot Featherstone — Darlington, UK, about 1910 © Roy Featherstone17Dot Featherstone’s kisses and mock brains recipes © Wendy Pang19Joseph and Dot Featherstone, William and Elizabeth Hunt, and boys (L to R): Sydney, William, Joseph Charles, Eric and Maurice © Roy Featherstone22Dot Featherstone’s recipe book dated 1931 © Wendy Pang23Sarah Jane Bailey © Gay Middleton 24Sarah Bailey’s home at 168A Bridge St Toowoomba — 1960s © Gay Middleton25Elsie McAllan © Gay Middleton26Elsie McAllan, step-children Hughie and Eunice, and possibly husband Andy — about 1940 © Gay Middleton27Ruth Draney — about 1950 © Kenneth Draney28Church of Christ Toowoomba © Gay Middleton29Rea Featherstone © Spencer Featherstone30Featherstones — Bill, Rea, Spencer (obscured), Wendy, Judy, Roy and dog Andy — Toowoomba, about 1962 © Rose Komduur33Rea Featherstone’s recipe book dated 1952 © Wendy Pang36Rea Featherstone’s recipe for sardine scones © Wendy Pang38Christmas at home — Toowoomba 1960s © Roy Featherstone40Emmie Featherstone — Toowoomba 1970s © Spencer Featherstone41Featherstones — Emmie, Don, Dot with Lal and Rose in front — possibly 1950s © Rose Komduur45Wendy Pang © Robert PangBackcoverDot Featherstone, William and Elizabeth Hunt — Toowoomba about 1913 © Roy Featherstone<br />Index<br />Entree or snacks<br />Gem scones with anchovy butter18Mock chicken31Popovers 15Saos with cheese and tomato41<br />Main course <br />Crunchy Norwegian casserole31French cabbage rolls32Mexicana mince28Savoury chops32Shepherd’s pie33<br />Side dishes<br />Bread and butter cucumbers24Mock brains18Tomato salad19Yorkshire pudding15<br />Desserts and sweets<br />123 piecrust with stewed fruit33Delicious lemon cheese for tarts34Imitation apricot filling38Neenish tarts35Rocky road37Washday pudding37<br />Biscuits and cakes<br />Christmas cake26Eggless chocolate cake34Lamingtons38Malt biscuits19Melting moments34Peanut parkins13Pumpkin fruit cake36Pusher biscuits36Sticky bread13Tea cake41Yorkshire bran loaf13Yorkshire cheese cake26Yorkshire fruit cake14<br />Preserves and beverages<br />Beer19Coffee20Tomato and passionfruit jam37Home remedies and hintsCure for chilblains20Cure for indigestion20Cure for rheumatism21Egg mask21For curly wool 39For flies 39For ivory knife handles39Fruit salts21To soften hands21To polish cutlery and silver38Tonic for nervous and digestive systems22<br />Wendy Pang<br />389572577470The editor<br />Wendy Pang is a baby-boomer, now taking time to reflect on where she came from. She went to school at Toowoomba High School, like her mother, and then to the University of Queensland.<br />Wendy spent a year in France before marrying her Malaysian Chinese husband, Robert Pang, and raising three children – Andrew, Kim and Michael. Wendy and Robert met in Brisbane and spent seven years in Perth, where she taught in high schools, before moving to Canberra in 1984. She joined the Public Service and worked in computing and departmental libraries before becoming a website manager. She enjoys quilting and founded Australia’s first online quilt group, who later created a Bicentennial figure in her honour. She has won gold medals at the Australian Masters Rowing Championships. She inherited a sweet tooth from her mother, and enjoys cooking cakes and biscuits. Most of the household cooking is done by her husband, and they both agree that this is a good thing.<br />Grandma’s recipes brings together recipes from a group of women related to the editor. They lived in Toowoomba, Queensland, from 1910 onwards. The recipes represent home-cooking through the twentieth century, when the Depression and World War II affected daily lives dramatically. Reading the recipes offers a glimpse of the lives of mothers and home-makers – a role that is hidden from society at large, but represents a big influence on family, friends and neighbours.<br />Wendy Pang presents recipes with metric measurements where possible, so that they can be enjoyed today. There are also recipes that readers will wonder at, but probably not want to recreate – like recipes for making coffee from wheat. <br />Enjoy the recipes. Cook them, and remember the hard-working women who went before us.<br />847725136525<br />