Lucretia As A Cook

Mother was an amazing cook. She fed her own large family of nine and many others as well. During the 1950’s we took in borders -- four college boys who lived and ate with us. I remember three of them -- our cousin, Gene Toolson, Allen Warrick from Hood River, Oregon, and Garn Esplin from Orderville.

Mother and Daddy always had a large vegetable garden and a small farm with a cow, some pigs, and sheep. We were pretty much self-sufficient in feeding ourselves. I remember mom and dad frequently pointing out that everything on our table came from our own farm and garden. They were very proud of this, and rightfully so. Mother bottled copious amounts of fresh fruits -- apricots, cherries, peaches, and pears. She purchased her fruit from a man who peddled his fruit from Santa Clara. I still remember the year he raised his price to $3.00 a bushel. Mother was so upset to think he would charge so much! Mom and dad also had their own can sealer and pressure cooker so that they could can all their garden vegetables -- peas, beans, corn, beats.

We ate our main meal at noon, and we children walked home for dinner and back to school. In the evening we ate “supper.” Very frequently, that consisted of bread and milk. It was daddy’s favorite. Mother baked bread twice a week, and I remember so well daddy breaking up that yummy homemade bread, breaking a little cheese into it, covering it with cold milk and eating it with green onions, or perhaps radishes -- something with a little “zing!” In the winter we often put buttered toast into the bottom of our bowls and poured hot milk over it. With a little salt and pepper it was delicious and satisfying.

When daddy butchered a pig we loved the fresh unsmoked bacon, which we called side pork. After mother removed the bacon from the frying pan we would dip our bread into the frying pan to sop up the yummy grease and drippings. What a treat! Mother made lots of cooked wheat cereal for breakfast. We weren’t so crazy about that, but mother would pour the left over cereal into a container to congeal in the fridge. Then for supper she would slice it and brown it in the side pork drippings. It was pretty good!

The first dishes I remember were the Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf Pattern. Even today when I see a piece of that china I can’t help but smile at the memories of heaping bowls of mashed potatoes, hot vegetables, or chilled peaches and cream.

Mother also had a set of special “company dishes”. They were solid muted pastels -- pink, green, blue, and ivory. She kept these in the diningroom corner cupboards and were used mostly for Sunday Night Study Group or when special company came for dinner. She also had a nice collection of milk glass which she used for butter, jams and jellies, cream, dessert plates and cold lemonade.

Mother was famous for her delicious homemade candies. At Christmastime she would fill dozens and dozens of small square gold lidded boxes -- two layers of assorted creams, hand dipped nuts and fruits, and fancy-wrapped caramels for their friends and colleagues. They were a treasured gift!!

Mother’s Fondant - the base for all her chocolate cremes

4 ½ cups sugar
½ cup white Karo syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup cream
½ cup milk

Put ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Stir well to mix ingredients, but not stirring once you begin to cook. Bring to a boil and simmer until fondant reaches 240 degrees (Utah altitude). Pour immediately into a shallow pan. Cool to room temperature. Add 1 large tablespoon marshmallow cream. Add flavoring (cherry, orange, mint, lemon, etc). Stir with wooden spoon until it forms a soft ball, becomes opaque, and loses shine. Fondant can be placed in Tupperware contained and placed in fridge or counter top until used.

Lucretia’s Caramels

2 cups sugar
1 cup cream
1 ¾ cups light Karo syrup
1 cup butter
2nd cup of cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Chopped walnuts if desired

Mix first four ingredients together and bring to a boil. Gradually stir in second cup of cream, but do not allow mixture to stop boiling. Cook to firm ball stage (Utah, 232 degrees). Remove from heat. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour into greased pan (9x9 is the perfect size). If nuts are desired, put nuts in the bottom of the pan and pour caramel over it. Cool. Cut and wrap in waxed paper.

other was well-known for another Christmas treat. We never really ate a meal on Christmas day. People would visit back and forth, and everyone had a spread of snacking foods on the diningroom table. Mother made a cheesy cracker spread. This was long before you could buy Cheese Whiz or Nacho cheese. Mother made her own.

Lucretia’s Cheesy Cracker Spread

1 ½ cups heavy cream (or one can condensed milk).
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Place cream in the top of a double boiler and and heat until hot (not boiling).
Add cheese and stir until cheese melts and the spread is smooth.
Pour into a jar. Cool and store in refrigerator until served. Best with Ritz Crackers.

Daddy had a touring business. He was very knowledgeable about history and especially loved the history and geology of Southern Utah. He took local residents to such places as the Mountain Meadows Massacre site, Hole-in-the-Rock, Arches National Monument, Cable Mountain, and even longer Church History and American History tours all the way to Washington D.C. and back. Mother was his perfect complement. No matter how far the destination, how remote the spot, how hot or cold, Mother fed the group a delicious home-cooked meal as part of the deal. Those who took the tour never ceased to be amazed at how Lucretia could serve a hot dutchoven meal with a cold fruit salad and icy lemonade in a remote location with nothing but a camp fire.

*~ Mother begins a meal preparation at Arches National Monument. ~*

I was with Daddy and mother on one of these excursions to Hole-in-the-Rock. We drove to Escalante, and from there, we rode in the back of Army Surplus trucks, traveling over dirt roads and slick rock to Dance Hall Rock. This is a huge sandstone rock that has been hollowed out by wind and water. The pioneers used this as a dance hall. We spent the evening dancing there and then camped for the night at the top of the slot.

Daddy was a true minimalist. If we took anything at all for the overnight, it would have been a toothbrush. When it was time for bed, we removed our pants and shirts in the dark. Then, folding them into a small bundle, we slipped into our sleeping bags, using our bundled clothing as a pillow. We slept under the stars, and oh, what a beautiful sight the sky was; the milky way cut a white swath through the sky, the stars were amazingly bright, and falling stars cut to the earth regularly. The only problem was the wind. It howled all night long.

Mother was to arise early the next morning to prepare a wonderful breakfast before we began our descent through the Hole-in-the-Rock. Unfortunately, when she awoke she discovered that the wind had carried away her pillow, and she had no clothes to put on. Breakfast was delayed that morning, mother lying there in her sleeping bag long after others were up and about while daddy scoured the area until he found her clothes wrapped around a clump of sage brush.

Dutchoven fried chicken and dutchoven potatoes were two of mother’s specialties. Everyone who ever made this trek with Theron and Lucretia would agree that this was dutch oven cooking at its best!

Lucretia’s Dutchoven Fried Chicken

Burn Briquettes until they are hot.
Put flour, salt and pepper into a bag. Put chicken pieces into the bag and shake until they are well coated
Set Dutchovens over hot coals. Melt Crisco in the bottom of two Dutch ovens. Put pieces of chicken into dutchoven and brown on all sides. Remove from first dutchoven and place in second dutchoven. Put largest pieces of chicken on the bottom -- smaller pieces on top. Cover with lid and put a few coals on top. Bake about 30 minutes.

Lucretia’s Dutchoven Potatoes

Peel and slice about 5 pounds of potatoes. Slice about ⅛’ thick. Do not put in water.
Cut 1 pound of bacon into ⅜” slices. Put bacon in hot dutchoven and fry until almost crisp. Add 1-2 large onions, diced. Cook until onions are limp and translucent.
Layer the potatoes on top of bacon with salt and pepper. Put the lid on. Put some coals on the lid -- not enough to cover the lid.
Set aside with a few coals underneath. Turn two or three times with a spatula.

On the longer trips to the East Coast, they traveled by chartered bus. To help tour members save money, Lucretia fixed lunch for the entire bus every day. She sat in the back of the bus with a tray on her lap, spreading 40 or 50 meat sandwiches with fresh lettuce and tomatoes. These were passed seat to seat to the front of the bus until everyone was served. She cut water melon, carrot sticks and celery, and prepared thermos jugs of cold lemonade each morning before departure. Truly remarkable.

One of my favorite recipes is mother’s raisin-filled cookies. This recipe most likely came from her mother, Inez Cooley Parsons Tanner, and who knows how many generations before that? Not everyone likes raisins. In fact, I hate them, but I do love these cookies. I find that this recipe is a favorite with older people, who remember their own grandmother’s raisin-filled cookies.

Years ago while we lived in Naperville, Elder Richard G. Scott came to Chicago to tour the mission. At that time, Randy was serving as a counselor to the Chicago Mission President, Gordon Brown. They planned a full morning of meetings with the missionaries followed by lunch. Elder Scott, however, was scheduled to leave immediately following the meetings to drive to Indiana for meetings with the mission there during the afternoon. Because Elder Scott could not stay for lunch, President Brown asked me if I would fix a sack lunch for Elder Scott and his driver to be eaten on the drive to Indiana.

How do you make a sack lunch for a prophet, seer, and revelator? Do you make a peanut butter sandwich? Egg salad? Ham and cheese? Do you put a few chips in a baggie? Carrot sticks? Grapes? What could possibly be good enough for such a beloved and esteemed consumer?

After long and careful consideration I marinated chicken and cooked it on the barbeque grill. This I made into a yummy chicken salad served on fresh croissants. Zucchini, carrot, and celery strips were packed into a small plastic container with a homemade veggie dip. A similar cup of fresh fruits and berries followed. Best of all, a half dozen raisin-filled cookies.

I don’t know how Elder Scott enjoyed this carefully made lunch. Maybe he hates zucchini strips, maybe he is allergic to mayo or gluten. Perhaps a glob of chicken salad squished out and landed on his pants. I guess I’ll never know about those things, but I did receive a special thank you for the “indescribably delicious” raisin-filled cookies.

Lucretia’s Raisin - filled Cookies

2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons soda
6 cups flour

Mix shortening and sugars. Add eggs and water, then the salt and soda. Last of all mix in the flour. Divide dough into four parts. Roll each part into a log about two inches thick and 12-14 inches long. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate several hours or over night. When ready to bake, slice logs into quarter inch slices. Lay slices of dough on greased cookie sheet. Place a scant teaspoon of filling on each slice of dough. Place another slice of dough on top of filling. Do not press down. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.

Filling:

Put 1 cup water into blender. Add
2 cups raisins and chop in blender (do not puree)
Pour into sauce pan and add the following:
¾ cup sugar
2 heaping tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts
Cook until filling bubbles and thickens

Mother made a frozen ice cream concoction that was really special. We served it at my wedding reception.

Lucretia’s frozen ice cream dessert
Soften two quarts of vanilla ice cream and two quarts of lemon or pineapple sherbet.
Stir them together with a large tablespoon of frozen lemonade concentrate.
Cut in two fresh bananas
Add two boxes frozen raspberries with the juice (thawed)
Add 1 cup chopped pecans
Stir together, pour into rubbermaid container and refreeze. When serving, soften a few minutes before scooping.

Mother also made wonderful pies. She made the crust with Lard, and they were the most flaky, tender crusts you have ever eaten.

After my sister, Anne, died her children began to sift through her files and papers. They found this poem Anne had written to pay tribute to mother when she was released as the ward Relief Society President.

“Let’s go back four years in time,
To consider a little story in rhyme.
The Stake Primary had released it’s head,
And just in time, she was practically dead.

“Besides, her husband was suffering too
And had something big in mind to do.
They’d take a trip -- three months at least --
Rest, relax, and tour the East.

“They resigned their positions, laid down their load,
Packed their bags and hit the road.
Peace and quiet, calm and rest,
This was the life, the very best.

“But they had to return when their money ran low,
And about the next week came a mighty big blow.
Bishop Anderson met them both in the hall
And right then and there he issued the call

“Theron, you handle the Sunday School good,
And Lucretia, you head up the sisterhood.”
And mother bade all her leisure goodby
By answering, “Bishop, I’ll give it a try.”

“And try she did, you may be sure,
Visiting sick and comforting poor.
Many’s the night she couldn’t sleep
And many’s the secret she had to keep.

“Many’s the program she had to plan
And many, oh many the errand she ran.
There was a float to decorate
The Fourth of July to commemmorate.

“A twelve foot ruler painted gold,
“Live the Golden Rule” it told.
There were goodies made for Christmas giving,
Election bake sales and even Thanksgiving.

“The question at Ashcrofts has been of late
“‘Is this for us? Or for DONATE?’
The church house closet had to be cleaned
And the new drapes must soon be seamed.

“A welfare project must be completed,
And don’t stop now . . .the funds are depleted.
A ward supper is now in view,
And don’t forget, there’s stake meetings too.

“Now let’s pay tribute to others too,
There was plenty of work for all to do.
Ruby, Anna, Ethel, Irene,
All of these ladies are held in esteem.

“A vote of thanks to Trudy too,
She’s never failed her job to do.
They’ve been good years, I know you’ll agree.
All have gained thru Relief Society.

“I send much love my mother to you,
But remmber this, whatever you do . . .
Please take a rest, it won’t be a sin
To be able to bake pies for the family again.”

One of the things I inherited from Mother was her recipe files. In looking through it I found a recipe for Pumpkin Chiffon Pie.

While mother and daddy served as Mission President in Ireland, mother made Pumpkin Chiffon Pie for all the missionaries during their Thanksgiving Zone Conferences. In mother’s handwriting she has noted at the bottom of the recipe:

“Made 57 pies for zone conferences. Made pie crusts ahead (lining foil tins) and froze. I baked the frozen crusts 2 days before conference. Prepared the filling the night before. Kept in the refrigerator. Filled the pie shells in the morning. Carried to conference in bakery boxes. Whipped cream just before serving.” Unbelievable!

*~ Mother cooking in the Redhill kitchen. ~*

It seemed like mother was constantly cooking during their mission. Although they had a mission cook who cooked the main meal of the day, mother would put out a spread for zone conferences, district conferences, baptisms, open houses at Redhill, official visitors, and all holidays.

In the early 1960’s mother got a job working for Celia Ludwig at the Homespun in Leeds. This was a very popular restaurant and people came from as far away as Las Vegas and Beaver to enjoy Mrs. Ludwig’s home cooked German cuisine.

*~Celia Ludwig standing in front of the Homespun.~*

Mother also spent a couple of years working for Sherrill Davis at CSU Food Services. She increased her catering skills and her work was valued and appreciated.

Inez Lucretia Parsons Ashcroft

Lucretia As A Cook