Minnie #3

Here Minnie is pictured with her husband, John Ferdinand. They are in front of their home in Waupun. It was here that she operated her boarding home. From her clothes, I am guessing that this photo was taken in the mid- to late 1930s. Notice on John Ferdinand's suit that you can see the creases in the pant legs, where they were folded at mid-leg.

Minnie was considered to be a good cook. She made especially good pie crust, rice pudding, and "boiled dinner (ham bone, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes)". She made dandelion wine, which she would ferment for six weeks. Also passed down in the family, as recipes from Minnie, are "Russian Fluff" and "Crumb Cake".

Russian Fluff
1 lb. ground beef
1 med. chopped onion
3/4 cup rice, cooked
1 can peas
1 can tomatoes
Brown meat and season with salt and pepper. Add onion, cooked rice, peas and tomatoes. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees oven for 1 hour.
[You may want to salt and pepper this dish. Minnie probably did add these spices but her recipe doesn't document that. I've also cooked the beef with some minced garlic to add flavor.]
A variation on this dish is to substitute the rice with cooked elbow macaroni. Then the dish becomes "Eat More".

Crumb Cake
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs, well beaten
1/4 cup milk
Mix dry ingredients and butter and rub to crumb mixture. Reserve 3/4 cup. Add eggs and milk. Beat well. Spread in 9 by 12 cake pan. Sprinkle and spread reserved crumb mixture on top. Bake 350 till toothpick tests clean. This makes a great cake to take on a picnic since the crumb mixture serves as the icing and is easy to transport.