Aunt May's Kitchen

Quilts

2009-10-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

This the time of year that my grandmother would tell my grandfather to get her quilting frames in the house so she could quilt. She had already pieced together the tops that she was giving for Christmas. She usually gave solid white quilts to her children at Christmas.

She would have quilting ladies, usually her sisters to come and help quilt. I really wish I had paid more attention to the ladies and watched how they quilted. I regret we never got a picture of Mama (my grandmother) quilting. My most priced possession is my Dutch Doll quilt. My grandmother put it together and did all the quilting and gave it to me when I graduated from high school. All of my nieces really love the quilt. Fall brings lots of memories about quilting and other family events.

Lydia Grace Hughes Bake Day

2009-10-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

Lydia Grace is 7 months old and October 7 was her first bake day. We baked chocolate chip cookies for the military, who are stationed in the Middle East and are members of Hamburg Baptist Church, Glenville, NC. Lydia, her mother, Chrissy and me enjoyed baking for them. I tried to make small cookies because I thought they would travel better. Please enjoy the pictures if Lydia stirring the batter with her Aunt May and her MiMi, great grandmother.

We arrived in NC on October 5 to see the fall season and what an amazing site. It has been many years since Marge and me have been up to view the mountains in the fall.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter ( 2 sticks)

1 tsp. vanilla extraxt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups Milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl, add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add flour mixture a small amount at a time and mix well. Add chopped pecans and mix well. Use a small cookie scoup and put on parchment paper on cookie sheet. I add a sprinkle of granulated sugar on top of each cookie. I do not always use the pecans.

Bake for 9 -11 minutes. Makes about 80 cookies.

Bake and Cooking day at Celeta's

2009-10-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

Rebecca and Micayla May Cronk

Rebecca and Micayla May

Micayla May and MeMom's Apron

Micayla May and Aunt May

Marge Ward making spaghetti sauce

Greg Brown and grandkids

We had a bake and cooking day on September 7 at Celeta Brown's, who is my niece and we had so much fun with the girls. Micayla May and Rebecca baked a strawberry cake with me and boy did we have a good time as you can tell by the pictures. Micayla May and Rebecca had a huge success cracking the eggs because they remembered how to do it from our previous bake day. Marge Ward, my sister cooked her special Italian spaghetti and I made Greg's favorite, Macaroni and Cheese. We didn't have a menu, just favorite dishes for some of the people there.

Here are a couple of quotes from the girls: Hailey Cronk said, "Kitchen is a place where dreams are made." Rebecca Cronk said, " I guess the kitchen is the best place." Micayla May Cronk said, "Mana's kitchen has lots of roosters." Aunt May's quote is "Our family kitchens are filled with love, family, laughter and talk."

Micayla May is wearing her great great grandmother's apron, who was Leta Duncan and they called her MeMom. Micayla May never did know her but mother would have enjoyed seeing all of her great great grandchildren cooking, baking and loving it.

The kids also had rides with Papa Greg Brown, their grandfather, in the wagon. What a day!

Newspaper

2009-09-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

When I was young, September was the month we sold subscriptions to our school newspaper. I sold more subscriptions than anyone for 4 years. I would go door to door and sell to our neighbors and all the way home from school. I also had to deliver the papers each month when it come out. I enjoyed talking to everybody and telling them about the school and different events each month. It was a fun time. My brother hated trying to sell the paper. He always said, I will leave it to Leta May. She doesn't mind asking people to buy the paper.

The local newspaper did an article on my selling of the school paper and I thought that was really an honor. I guess that was the only selling I did until I sold some of my Depression Glass at glass shows in the 80's.

Back to School

2009-09-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

The day after Labor Day was our first day of school. I was always excited for school to start. I remember walking to school and we lived about a mile from school and we loved walking. We couldn't ride the bus because we lived to close. When I say we, it was my brother and me.

We would have had a good Labor Day because we always barbecued for the last of Summer and had home made ice cream and we would not have these items until the next Memorial Day. Now we looked forward to fall and the leaves. We loved playing in the leaves but not raking them. I can also remember coming home in late September and walking in the house and the aroma of gingerbread baking was so good. Mother would have it ready for a snack with whipped cream. I can see her standing in the kitchen. waiting for us.

Rebecca's Birthday

2009-09-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

Rebecca's Birthday

2009-09-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

We gave Rebecca a surprise birthday party and she was really surprised. When she entered the room, we all said Happy Birthday and since it wasn't her birthday, she thought she had missed her mom's birthday. We had a nice lunch and of course, her favorite, Strawberry Cake. She got some beautiful clothes, gift cards and a doll.

I got ready to cut the cake and her grandfather said, I will have the triple decker. I usually bake a 9 x 13 inch cake but since it was her birthday, I baked both, just in case she didn't like the layer cake. The 3 layer cake was a huge success. She is a very special great, great niece. Happy Birthday my dear one.

END OF SUMMER

2009-09-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is September and a long weekend starting. All fo you traveling, please be careful. We always had a barbecue on Labor Day and I remember we hated to see that day because the next day was back to school. This is not the same because a lot of schools are in session. We had so much fun and at the end of the day and getting dark, we would catch lightning bugs and put them in a mason jar. We would put holes in the lid so they could get air. So many fun days and nights back in my day. This was always a sign of the end of summer.

I will be posting more regularly now that I have a month off and have time to thing about it. I hope to post over the weekend with pictures of the lunch tomorrow.

Retirement

2009-08-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

July 31 was my last day to work. What a day! Joyce took me to lunch and there were 13 friends of mine there. One was the former editor, Ellen Koteff, what a surprise. Also present was Nancy Newcome, Bill Harrison, Betsy Tyson, Lilly Johnson, Therese Christiano, Nancy Wheeler, Beth Walden, Judy Moore, Bobbie Dolly, Shannon Donnelly, Pat Thomas and Margie Kachoa. We had a great time. There were a couple of friends that couldn't make it due to work at the office, Hanna Isotola and Yolanda Cernicky who had a death in her family. Thank you so much for a great time spent together. Back to the office and a party for the Palm Beach Daily News staff. It was a great time. I love my apron and the card means so much to me.

Dewberry/Black Raspberry

2009-07-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

July is a time for berry picking and I have fond memories of it. It wasn't one of our favorite things to do as a child. Cecil Ray , my twin brother and me were asked to pick some dewberries for a cobbler on a hot July day in the 1950s. We went out in the field behind our house and tried to find the berries. We couldn't find any so we went next door to our neighbor, Mrs. Vick and ask her to please come out in the field and help us. Mother had told us to be sure and get the berries. Being the kind neighbor she was, she put on her long sleeve shirt and told us she would help us find the berries and then we could pick them and that is exactly what we did and we had dewberry cobbler for dinner. Mother never knew we had ask Mrs. Vick and she never told on us.

When I go to grocery and see how much black raspberries are, it is much better to pick them. I don't think they grow here. I know they are in New York and North Carolina because my sister-in-law, Mary Ellen Duncan is out picking in New York and Michelle Lewis is picking in North Carolina. I know they will have cobblers and the delicious jam and jelly this winter.

Strawberry Cake

2009-07-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

1 pkg. White Cake mix. I prefer Duncan Hines
1 small box strawberry Jello
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen strawberries thawed. Drain and save juice.

Add dry strawberry geletin to cake mix. Add water, oil and beat. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well. Fold in drained strawberries. Pour into a 13 x 11 baking pan that has been greased and floured. It will also make three 8-inch layers instead of a sheet cake. Bake at 350-degree oven 35-40 minutes. Layer pans, 30-35 minute. Do not over cook.

Icing

1 stick butter
1 box sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup strawberry juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Cream butter, add sugar and mix well. Add strawberry juice, vanilla and salt. Beat until fluffy. Ice Cake

Vera Leonard
This was my grandmother's favorite cake. I think she had a winner because all the great nieces and nephews like it as well.

2009-07-11T09:17:00.008-07:00

Strawberry cake is the favorite cake of the girls. The small photo is Katie Blaine, Lily and me. They are Sherry's granddaughters and we were baking in North Carolina. The other photos are Micayla May, Rebecca and me in Palm Coast and they are Celeta's granddaughters. All of the girls love getting in the kitchen and baking. They love measuring and doing everything. This recipe come from Mama, my grandmother. She loved this cake as much as the girls. I will post the recipe later this weekend.

Strawberry Cake

2009-07-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Making Cornbread

2009-07-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of growing up was being at Mama's (my grandmother) house and her sister, Aunt Atlee Wilson would be there and she taught me to make cornbread. Mama baked her cornbread but Aunt Atlee fried hers. She told me I had to be very patient because it took a long time to make. I know the first time I made it, I fried it quickly and it wasn't very good and I remembered Aunt Atlee's kind face and from that day on, I take the time to fry it correctly.

Here is a picture of my great, great niece Hailey Cronk frying cornbread. I am trying to teach as many as I can how to cook, fry and bake. I really love being with them and part of their lives.

2009-07-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Coconut Cream Pie

1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 egg yokes
1/4 stick of butter
2 cups milk
1 cup coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch and small amount of milk to moisten. in sauce pan. Add egg yolks, one at a time and mix well. Add remaining milk and butter. Cook over medium heat until it is as creamy as you want. Add vanilla and pour in baked pie crust. Beat egg whites until peaks form and add 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat. Pour on coconut cream, add coconut to egg whites and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until coconut is brown.

Peach Pie

Slice 5 peaches and put in baked 8 inch pie crust.
Mix 1 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons cornstarch well in a sauce pan. Add 1 cup boiling water and continue stirring until thick. Add 1/4 stick of butter and 1 teaspoon yellow food coloring. Mix well and pour over peaches in baked pie shell.

2009-07-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Family Vacations

2009-07-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Our family always went to Jacksonvile, Florida for vacation and we would stay with Aunt Edith and Uncle Cleve, who owned Cox's Flower Shop. One of the things I enjoy most was helping in the kitchen with Cookie and there were 2 other women that helped and they would show me how to fry chicken and bake. I can hear Aunt Edith telling Cookie, don't let Leta May do the work just watch but I really liked getting the flour all over my hands and watching the chicken and knowing when to take it up.

We always went to the best Seafood Restaurant, Strickland's in Mayport. It has since closed but it had the best salads and fried shrimp. I always check, when going through Jacksonville, to see if it has reopened. I guess it is one of those things, you remember as a kid and can't get it out of your mind.

The beach and board walk was wonderful. You drove right on the beach and parked. They had a roller coaster that was a blast. The King's Lake was another place that we would spend the day and it was so clear you could see the bottom wherever you were in the lake. I wonder if it is still there?

This week reminds me of our vacation because Marge's grandson, Jim and his wife, Cheryl are spending a few days with us. I have enjoyed baking some pies for them, Peach, Strawberry, Fudge and Coconut Cream.

2009-07-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

July 4th Memories

2009-07-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

July was a month, as a young girl, that we always painted the house and July 4th was the big day. Cecil Ray, my twin brother, Marge, my sister, Maurice, her husband and their daughters Sherry and Lisa Ward , Claudine, my other sister, Sonny, her husband and their children, Celeta and Michael Williams would come over and we all painted. The young children did the back porch, as high as we could paint and then someone would come behind us and finish the job. Mother cooked the dinner and Dad always did the barbecue and it was always chicken. His sauce was the best. He cooked the chicken all afternoon and it just melted in your mouth. Mother did the potato salad, baked beans and sliced tomatoes. We had tomatoes at every meal because that was one of dad’s favorite. After we finished eating, dad would get the old hand crank ice cream freezer and mother made the ice cream and the men cranked the freezer. Sometimes mother made a cake to go with the ice cream but most of the time, it was just the vanilla ice cream. We always had plenty but not much was left. It was a busy and tiring day but we loved it because the family was together and as long as we lived in Lone Oak, Kentucky, we did this every year. Then everyone started moving away, going to college and it was harder and harder to get together. We do have the recipes. This year, one of dad’s grandsons, Jon Duncan will be making his bar-be-cue chicken for his son, Benjamin’s Christening dinner. Cecil Ray and Mary Ellen will have their family all together for this special event, which will be Kateri, their daughter. Andrew, Mary Kay, and children, Maura, Cara and Dan. and, Jon, Heather and Benjamin Duncan. I am sure dad will be looking down smiling. Claudine and Sonny will be at our house. We will just grill something and I will bake a pie or cake and make ice cream. It will not be vanilla but it will be ice cream.

Have a great July 4th, making memories with family and friends.

bar-be-cue sauce and vanilla ice cream recipe.

Quote of the Day: Cherish the Memories. Happy Birthday America!

July Birthdays

July 28 Jim Lewis
July 29 Joyce Reingold
July 30 Cara Duncan

I am Leta May Duncan Barnes. I was born and raised in Paducah, KY. I married James Lynn Barnes and we lived in, TN, VA, TX and endied up in FL. We did not have any children but I have plenty because I have many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and great, great nieces and nephews. They all seem like mine. I love doing things with all of them. We do crafts and most of all, cooking and baking. You should see my refrigerator, an art gallery of special pictures. So, along with all the things we have to do, you will be meeting my family along the way. If you can’t think of anything for dinner, ask a child, they always have an answer.