A Year of Cooking Genalogically, Intro

I find it hard to believe, but 10 years ago this January 2018, my one-hell-of-a mother passed away after just 79 short years of gracing this earth with her wit and wisdom.  Just 5 months later in May, her beloved cousin Ray died, too.  In the twisted roots that make up my family tree, Ray was my mothers mother's cousin - but to my mom and my sisters and I, Ray was much like a brother and uncle.  Ray was a single man, never married, and both he and my mother were only children, so two family deaths in such close calendar proximity meant that the disposal of two household worth of lives well lived fell to my sisters and me; actually mostly to my middle sister Claudia.  As with most families not named "Hilton" or "Kennedy", items left behind were comprised of the expected and loved (pictures and family heirlooms, such as china and furniture), and the not so expected and problematic, of which I'll spare you the details.

As can often happen in these situations, decisions are made pretty much on the spot.  Keep this, discard that, donate a lot, and dispose of a lot more.  In retrospect, there is always a tinge of regret in what is kept and what is not, and only time can sharpen that distinction.  But occasionally you find a diamond in the rough, so to speak.  A piece of time that might be tossed in a box and stuck away for later (and in this case) much later disposition.

I discovered one such item when going through a box of old papers, tucked in the crawlspace of our basement, a subterranean wonderland that has accumulated 27 years of toys, furniture, papers, pictures, spiders and dust bunnies of gargantuan proportions.  This pocket sized journal was included in items from Ray's home.  After some searching through the fragile pages, I found this dedication page.  The text reads: "Ruth, I've put in only recipes that I use every day and know are good.  I hope that at least a few of them are new to you and that you find them useful. Kate"

Immediately, my curiosity was piqued.  Ruth is Ray's mother, Ruth Ramsire, born 1900, died 1991.  But I have no idea who Kate is - in all my family research, it isn't a name that is familiar.  She might not even be a relative, though she does know Leslie Coe Butler, my great-great uncle, referring to him in one of the recipes in the book.  Beyond that page, there is no other reference as to who this cookbook author might be.  The pages are fragile and the book binding is beginning to come apart.  Upon the advice of DH Rob, I've decided to scan the pages of the book that are written on.  And just for the absolute fun of it, I've decided to cook the recipes contained within.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, big deal.  Recipes abound on the internet.  And you'd be right.  But what makes these recipes unique, besides the family connection are their instructions.  Or lack thereof.  As you'll see going forward, many of the recipes come with 'sparse' details.  There are no oven temperatures, though occasionally Kate calls for a moderate oven.  Of course, there are no pictures included, so the outcome can be left to the imagination.  Some ingredients will require ordering from Amazon.  Some recipes lack for specific measurements, and in those cases I will just use a best judgement going forward.  And while some recipes sound delicious, others leave me wondering what the outcome will be.  Prune Whip, I'm looking at you.

To make this exercise as authentic as I can, I've set some ground rules going forward.

1. I will use the ingredients listed unless they're no longer available on the commercial market.  
2. I will do my best to decipher the ingredients listed, but may have to take poetic license with spelling and printing.  
3. I might scale down the size of some recipes though, as I'm not sure if I want to tackle a 'peck' of cucumbers. 
4. I will not google recipes ahead of time, as I suspect many similar versions can be found online. 
5. Instead I will document decisions I make in the execution of the recipes, especially when instructions are lacking.  
6. I will dutifully document the success and failures of what I make.  

Finally, I will share whatever information I discover through genealogy research of Kate and her recipes.  Ride through the past with me to see what some of my ancestors enjoyed eating.