Spring Awakenings and Celebrations

Today we have Alita Daiber for our guest blogger. Alita was raised on a family farm near Bucyrus, Ohio. Here she reminisces about Springtime traditions during her childhood and shares two recipes.


I am so excited that OCJ readers are submitting and sharing stories and recipes, because sharing memories and resources is the main goal of this blog. If you have a story to share, please send me an email (the address is on the 'contact me' page in the nav-bar).

Marcheta *I like guests!

 

"I Like Spring", by Alita Daiber Phillips

 

I like spring.  I look forward to bulbs poking green spikes through the snow-covered ground, robins and bluebirds showing up early to give assurance that warmer weather is not far behind, and buds breaking out on the pussy willow and forsythia. 

Spring brings the celebration of family birthdays:  my sister’s, my daughter’s, my late in-laws’, and mine.  My mother allowed us to choose our favorite foods for our special birthday dinner.  Mine always included fried chicken, chicken and noodles served over mashed potatoes, and angel food cake.  This was a Sunday dinner I ate often at my grandparents’. 

My heritage includes a long line of “country women” who made these delicious foods from “scratch.”  My grandma and aunts raised the chickens that provided the eggs and meat for these recipes.  They paired homemade noodles with angel food cake because the noodles used egg yolks and the cake the separated egg whites.  They knew how to make the most of their resources. 

It makes me smile to picture five-year-old me standing behind the bench seat of my grandpa’s car on the drive home from church.  When a red stop light changed to green, he would say I had to give him a kiss before the car could move.   Once home, my grandma and aunts finished fixing dinner.   They served it at the big green metal table in their true country kitchen.  After dinner, they washed, dried, and put away the dishes before other family members drove in from their homes.  The cousins played while the adults visited on those Sunday afternoons in the 1950’s and 1960’s. 

I could not appreciate then how hard those country women had to work to make good nutritious meals and fun family times.  I am awed now by what they did day in and day out. 

Here are recipes for the best homemade noodles and angel food cake I’ve ever tasted:

 

 

Homemade Noodles

3 egg yolks	Beat until very light.
1 whole egg
3 tablespoons cold water	Beat in.
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour, sifted	Stir in and work with hands.
Divide dough into 3 parts.  Roll into sheets as thin as possible on a floured surface.
Place sheets of dough between towels until partially dry.  Roll up dough in jelly roll fashion.
Using a thin, sharp knife, cut into very fine noodles.
Shake noodles apart onto towels and let dry completely.   Drop dry noodles into boiling broth.  Cook until done.

Angel Food Cake
Preheat oven to 375o.  Set out but do not grease a 10” diameter 4” deep tube pan.
1 cup sifted flour	Measure and sift together 3 times.
1 ½  cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 ½ cups egg whites  (approximately 12 eggs)	Measure into a large glass or metal mixing bowl.  Beat with a wire whip until foamy.
1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup granulated sugar	Add 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until meringue holds stiff peaks.
Sift gradually the flour-sugar mixture over the meringue.  Use the wire whip to fold in gently just until the flour-sugar mixture disappears.  Push batter into ungreased tube pan.  Gently cut through the batter with a knife to remove air bubbles.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until done.
Remove from oven and invert pan to cool.
When cake is completely cool, run metal spatula or knife around edges to loosen and remove from pan.