GRANDMA’S KITCHEN

Grandma’s

Kitchen

Sylvia Hughes with her grandmother, Bertie Dameron.

We are all feeling the effects of higher prices at the grocery store and the gas pump.

From what I am hearing this week, predictions are that prices are going higher still, much of it from the effects of the war in Ukraine.

You would think it has nothing to do with us but markets are affected and thus everyone is affected. It could be with us for a while. I surely cannot do anything about prices, but I do have a few recipes that are economical to make.

The price of food is especially hard on families. Even without inflation, it is often a struggle to make ends meet and feed the family.

Often young married people are buying a home, furnishing it and starting a family. It is a struggle to do all this while trying to clothe and feed everyone. I well remember those days. I had a small amount to feed a husband and two children for a week. Yet, we never went without.

Thankfully my family was not hard to please. My husband was happy if he had a hot dog and a slice of bread. Thadd Jr. was happy if he had nothing but a pan of biscuits and Scott would eat whatever you placed on the table.

We had a small garden that provided vegetables. One thing we never got from our garden was lettuce. We had a rabbit who ate it all. I never tried to stop the loss because sitting at our large kitchen window watching her eat was such an enjoyable experience. My sons and I both gathered at the window when she came in the morning or late afternoon to eat.

We had neighbors who shared the fish they caught and the game they hunted. We had fresh trout, bass and perch often in spring, summer and autumn. Once hunting season started we often had venison roast or the tenderloin from a deer.

All in all, we always had good food on the table. Frugality and good neighbors are a blessing not to be overlooked.

I have two main dish recipes that are very economical. The Barbecue Treet is much better than you can imagine. It is a recipe from a friend – Mae Goss. Since strawberries will soon be plentiful, a dessert that is from Shoney’s Restaurant.

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Sylvia Hughes is a retired newspaper editor and columnist residing in Windsor. In addition to three sons, she has a gaggle of grandchildren, many of whom love cooking with her just as she did with her mother and grandmother.

Barbecue Treet

4 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon mustard 1/8 teaspoon pepper ¼ cup catchup 3 tablespoons vinegar 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 can Treet

Fry meat in thin slices until very brown. Remover from pan.

Add remaining ingredients and cook until blended and hot.

Pour over meat.

Scalloped Hot Dogs and Potatoes

4 ½ cups thinly sliced potatoes 2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 7 teaspoons flour 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 cups milk 8 hot dogs, split lengthwise Cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In 1” boiling water, cook potatoes with 2 teaspoons salt, five minutes. Drain

Melt butter in frying pan, stir in flour 1 teaspoon at a time. Add salt, pepper and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Arrange 1/2 of potatoes in 9X13 dish. Top with half of hot dogs. Add remaining potatoes followed by last of hot dogs. Carefully pour sauce over entire dish. Top with enough cheese to cover well.

Bake 35 minutes

1 cup water 1 cup sugar 4 tablespoons cornstarch Strawberry jello 1 pint whole strawberries Pie shell Bake pie shell and cool. Mix and boil until clear and

Shoney’s Strawberry Piethick: water, sugar and cornstarch. Remove from stove and add 3 tablespoons of strawberry jello. Put strawberries evenly in pie shell. Pour liquid over berries. Refrigerate until firm.