Laura's Heirloom Recipes

My mother-in-law Laura O'Dell Bekofske created a recipe book of her favorite recipes. She included recipes from her family.

Laura's Mother Charlotte Grace Nelson O'Dell

Mother's Suet Pudding recipe is likely 100 years old! Charlotte Grace Nelson O'Dell was born in 1877 in Lynn Twp, St. Clair County, MI and died in 1951. In 1896 she married John Nelson and they lived on a farm in Lynn Twp. near Brown City, Lapeer Co., MI. Here is the recipe that Laura shared.

Mix together:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each of nutmeg, allspice, and cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup molasses

Grind together:
1 cup suet, dates, and raisins
1 cup chopped apples
Add to the eggs/sugar mixture.

Add:
1 cup milk
1 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 1/2 c flour

Mix well. Put into a  greased pan or tin can and lay a cloth over top. Allow room to raise.

Put 1 qt of water in pressure cooker and steam at 15 pounds pressure for 30 minutes. Or, it can be put in a kettle with molds or tin cans but cover with parchment paper with rubber bands to hold in place. Also, cover with aluminum foil pressed down around sides. The parchment cover should be greased to prevent sticking. Never cover molds with water, just up to cover a third of the mold.

Serve with a sauce made with:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
chunk butter
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tb vinegar.
Cook until thickened

Laura also shared her family's Vinegar Punch which she grew up drinking as their "cold drink" instead of iced tea or soda pop as my generation grew up with.

5 tbsp sugar
7 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp ginger
2 quarts water
Mix well.

*****

Laura made Cabbage Balls, which she called Glompkes, a recipe from "a Polish Friend."

1 lb hamburger  and 1/12 lb ground ham, or all ground ham
1 1/2 cup rice
onions
1 egg
paprika, salt and pepper

Pour boiling water over a cabbage and let steam for a few minutes. Cut backbone out of the cabbage leaves. Roll meat mixture up in the leaves and tuck ends in. Put in a kettle as follows:
Cut up remaining cabbage and put it in the bottom of a large kettle, put in a layer of cabbage balls then a layer of sauerkraut, then repeat the layers, then pour over cabbage balls a large can of tomatoes. Cook slowly until rice is done.

*****

Pasties are a Michigan "Up North" tradition. Laura created her own version. My husband tells how the family would stop for lunch on their drive to the Upper Penninsula and warm her pasties on the car engine! I made these long ago.

Laura used her Never Fail Pie Crust recipe.

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup shortening
Add a mixture of one egg, 1 tbsp vinegar, and 5 tbsp cold water beaten together
She rolled the pie crust into ten 6" circles.

Filling:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups potatoes diced
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 large onion chopped
Season with salt, pepper, spices as desired

In each pie crust circle add 1/3 cup meat mixture, fold over and seal edges. Cut some steam slits on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Laura noted that she liked the pasties with catsup but her husband preferred gravy!