Foster Family Recipes

Foster Family Recipes


These recipes were obtained by Louise Blome Seth, who copied them from a hand-written recipe book of her mother, Della Ruedge Blome. To quote Louise, "I did select all recipes that had family names included. Many of the older recipes just list ingredients. Often no directions or oven temperatures are given. Of course, Grandma Ruedger [Frances Foster Ruedger] and her sisters, Lead and Martha, and her sister-in-law, Tina, baked in old cook stove ovens with no thermostats. Also they did not need precise measurements and directions in order to concoct delicious meals."
Directions are copies from the book as they were written down, with the exception of putting all ingredients in one column. I am sure that many of these recipes were handed down in the family from earlier generations. I hope you enjoy reading them.
Barbara Arthur LeRoy



Nut Bread
Frances Foster Ruedger

1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 � cups sweet milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups flour
1 cup nut meats
pinch of salt.
Let rise 20 minutes before baking.

Aunt Leda's Divinity Fudge
Leda Foster

2 cups sugar
� cup corn syrup
� cup water
2 egg whites beaten stiff
1 cup nut meats
Boil until it cracks when dropped in cold water.
Stir into the whites of 2 eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
Add 1 cup nut meats.

Aunt Tina's Angel Food Cake
Christine Foster, wife of Bela Foster

11 egg whites
After beaten add 1 level tsp. Cream of tartar. Beat stiff
1 � cups sugar sifted 5 times
1 � cups flour after sifted
Vanilla
Don�t lift your beater out while beating.

Aunt Mat's Applesauce cake
Martha Foster

1/2 cup crisco
1 egg beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. soda
2 1/2 cups pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups thick cold applesauce
4 T. hot water
1/2 cup nuts
1 cup raisins or dates
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. each cloves and nutmeg
Cream the sugar and crisco, add egg, beat well.
Stir in applesauce and hot water.
Add raisins and nuts, then dry ingredients sifted together twice.
Bake in moderate oven 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Aunt Leda's Chocolate Cake
Leda Foster

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
8 T. shortening, beef or lard
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup water
***
3 cups flour
4 T. cocoa
2 tsp. soda
Mix dry ingredients together and put in first mixture.
Add 1 tsp vanilla.

Aunt Leda's Eggless, Butterless, Milkless Cake
Leda Foster

1/2 pkg. raisins cook in 1 cup water for 15 minutes
Add 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 c. corn syrup
1/4 c. lard
1/4 c. water
1 tsp. each soda, salt, cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 1/2 flour or more if needed

Fruit Cake
Frances Foster Ruedger

1 cup sweet milk
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
Raisins and currents each 1/2 lb.
1 tsp. salt
1 T. cloves
1 T. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
nutmeg
3 cups flour

Date Pudding
Christina Foster, wife of Bela Foster

1 c. dates�cut up
1 c. boiling water
1 t. soda
3 T. shortening
{stir and cool the above ingredients}
Add
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 � c. flour
� t. baking powder
1 c. chopped nuts if desired
Bake 45 minutes in moderate oven.
Serve with whipped cream or sauce.

French Cookies
Leda Foster

1 cup butter or lard
2 cups brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup raisins
2 eggs
1 cup nut meats
1 cup cold coffee
1 tsp. Cinnamon
� tsp. Nutmeg
1 scant tsp. Soda
2 tsp. Baking powder
Mix all ingredients in bowl together.
Drop on greased tin and bake.

Aunt Leda's Butter Cookies
Leda Foster
2 cups flour
� cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 egg yolk
Work with tips of fingers to a smooth dough.
Make into little balls.
Press with fork and put a pecan half on top.
Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) 13-15 minutes.
{My mother always made these cookies every Christmas}

Aunt Mat's Sour Cream Pie
Martha Foster

1 egg
� cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup chopped raisins
� cup thick sour cream
cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Strawberry Preserves
Christina Foster, wife of Bela Foster

6 c. strawberries pressed full
7 c. sugar
Let stand until juice stands on them.
Cook�hard boil 7 minutes
Let stand until next morning. Then put in cans or glasses

Soap That Floats
Leda Foster

2 tomato cans grease
1 can lye dissolved in 1 can water
Heat grease and strain out any specks.
When grease and lye solution are both luke warm pour lye into grease
and add immediately 1 cup household ammonia, 2 tablespoons borax dissolved in � cup water.
Stir til thick as honey. Pour into wood and in five minutes cut into bars.

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