Category Articles

Hi my name is Chef Gene Carrol

I would like to say thank you for visiting my blog, I hope to now and in the future give you some insight into my Midwest Cook book.  I will be showing  you recipes,pictures and facts and fun things that I hope will be interesting to you and help you learn about down home cooking. These are recipes that are from a early period of our lives and  were cooked with love. I have been look into the years from 1900 to about 1960. I have found recipes from Church Cook books and from grandmothers and mothers that I have talk with over the years. I will also give you fun facts, quotes, prayers and just interesting sayings that I have found...

I was making brownies the other day for my grandson and remembered that to test the brownies, to see if they were done I used a toothpick. But I remembered that I wrote an article about how back in the good old days, the 20 and earlier, that to test baked goods, they would use the clean end of a strand from the broomstick, because toothpicks for most Americans were a luxury, and cost to much. So remember that when you are baking and sweeping the floor, you can still get two things done at the same time.

To Keep you Beautiful

Face Cream

Into a saucepan put 32oz of light mineral oil, 8oz white beeswax, and 1 1/2 oz. spermaceti: heat to 160 degrees. Into another saucepan put 16oz distilled water and 1/2 oz. borax; heat to 160 degrees. Pour the oil mixture into the water and stir slowly. Do not beat.  Use a wooden spoon. Pour into jars and cover with cheesecloth to keep clean. Put caps on jars when cream is cold.

Remember that this recipe is from the 20es and If I were you I would go to the grocery store and buy Face Cream. Enjoy

Today I am giving you some fun facts right from my Cook Book, so when you are looking throw the Cook book, please look for the fun facts and quotes, beside the great recipes.

Making it easy on yourself

1-If you heat lemons before squeezing out the juice
you’ll double the amount of juice extracted.

2-Fresh mushrooms: steam in top of double boiler and
they won’t shrivel up

3- To peel a tomato: hold over flame an heat 1 minute, or
pour boiling water over it, skin will strip off easily.

4- To boil potatoes: in less time, remove a strip of skin from
one side, boil, then the rest of skin peels off easily.

5- If your recipe calls for a  greased casserole, spread
your butter on a piece of bread, use it to grease dish,
and then cut it up for buttered crumb topping.

I hope all had a great weekend and today we are going to learn a little history. I started looking into our past and here is what I found

History of Refrigerators—-In 1834 the first Vapor-compression was built……In 1854 the first commercial Ice-maker…and In 1913 the invention for home use.  Not bad

History of Stoves——1728 the first cast iron stove, in Germany…..In 1744 Benjamin Franklin developed his cast iron stove for the us…..In 1826 gas ovens appeared on the market, but not until the 1920’s came the top burner and interior oven. In 1833 Coal and Kerosene were used and in 1834 stoves evolved, with iron grating, added to the cooking holes and they added chimneys and connecting flue pipes...

Morning, as you can tell by now I have not inserted a lot of pictures, remember back in the good old days, cameras were a luxury that most people could not afford. So As you will see in my cook books you will get a lot of recipes, but not a lot of pictures. Also you are getting a lot of facts, history and stories. These will always be there and I love the history of the Midwest living. I am going to try to let the good old day stay alive. Like this recipe from around the 1860’s so please do not try to make this, HA.

Cough Drops

Compound mixture of bloodroot; take of syrup of squill, syrup of Ipecacuanha, tincture of bloodroot and paregoric, each half a fluid ounce; mix. The dose is from half a teaspoon to a teaspoon, whenever the cough is severe.

“For the Love of Sickness”, sorry Food”

As we know it today the farm house life was plowing the fields, school for the kids and the farm wife taking care of the house hold chores. That is true back then and today. But for the most part the farm life started before the sun came up. Rise and shine, breakfast, father off to the fields, kids had chores before going to school. Mom well she started before dad and the kids ever got out of the bed. The thing we have to remember is that today we have it easy, go to the grocery store and get what ever you want from around the world. But back in the good old days, there weren’t many grocery stores, sorry General Stores. A general store carried everything from food to farm equipment, feed, and house hold items. A General store was a Wal-Mart, Sears, Farm supply, wrapped in one...

Good Morning and God Bless all of you. Be safe and cook “For the Love of Food”

Lord, Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details. Give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and love of rehashing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other’s pain, but help me to endure them with patience.

God Bless

Morning, here is something I found and should be around even today.

“Hand Lotion”   Soak 1/8 ounce of gum tragacanth in 1 pint of distilled water overnight. Next day add 2 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. rubbing alcohol and 2 oz. cologne. Beat well with egg better. A few drops of red food coloring will make it pink is so desired. Bottle.

Yes the good old days,

Last Blast—Love Many, trust few, but always paddle your own canoe.

This is for those Farmers who started out farming as a young boy and has stayed with it for there entire life..

Remembering the good old days.

For 50 cents a Month

I wonder if any of you folks remember that boy who used to come around to your house at about 5 o’clock in the morning and get your old cow and about 30 others and drive them out to the pasture, about a mile and a half, and bring them back in the evening–rain or shine. Well I am that boy; you paid me 50 cents a month. (Thanks for the quote Oscar Burr, Wichita KS) Also you have to remember that if Oscar got the cows at 5 am, they were to have been milked before that.