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Vintage Recipes

Old Fashioned Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookies

By Denise Pare-Watson

I enjoy re-engineering vintage recipes.  I recently came across a recipe for an Old Fashioned Biscuit Cookie that I remember enjoying in my childhood.  We rarely had store bought baked goods in our large household, so the taste of these cookies is still entrenched in my memory. They were so different from the home baked Hermit cookies that my Mom typically made.  Cookies that look like a cracker with a chewy texture and crunchy sugar topping were very appealing back then and are still today.  Old Fashioned Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookies were originally known as Garibaldi Biscuits and were named after an Italian general named Giuseppe Garibaldi.  The biscuit company Peek Freans first manufactured the cookie in 1861.  They have been a popular snack for over 150 years in Britain, as well as Australia and New Zealand where they are known by different names such as “Fruitli” and “Full O’Fruit.”

Gluten Free Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookies | urbnspice.com
Old Fashioned Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookie

Originally, currants were used in Garibaldi Biscuit Cookies. In this Old Fashioned Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookies recipe, I have substituted Golden Raisins for the currants.  The cookie dough is rolled into a thin layer and folded over a layer of golden raisins and firmly pressed flat with a rolling pin to create a thin sheet of fruit-studded dough.  While currants were traditional in this distinctive cookie, I like the look of the golden raisins peeking through the dough and in the baked cookie.  Golden raisins are also known as sultanas and are made from green seedless grapes that are dried.  Golden raisins are the juiciest and lightest in colour of all raisins.  Raisins (dark raisins, sultanas and currants) are highly nutritious, high in fibre, potassium and antioxidants.  Due to their concentrated nature, they are also high in sugar and calories so it is advisable to eat them in moderate amounts.

“Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
Julia Child

I remember reading about a study that showed eating raisins may lower blood pressure, improve control of blood sugar and also increase the feelings of satiety.  On a more romantic note, I remember reading the following quote from a dietician’s manual that has stuck with me for many years:

“Eat a handful of raisins, and you can kiss your husband for an hour! ” Anonymous

Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookies | urbnspice.com
Old Fashioned Golden Raisin Biscuit Cookie

I find it quite amusing that this style of cookie is today often referred to as ‘Boomer Cookies’.  My husband refers to them as “Old Fart Favourites” – he is a boomer (#oldfart).  You will want to try this old-fashioned recipe, which has been modernized to accommodate gluten-free/dairy-free options as well as maintaining the traditional recipe.  Both versions are scrumptious.

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Filed Under: Cookies, Dairy Free Recipes, Desserts and Sweets, Gluten Free Recipes, My Recipes, Nut Free Recipes, Pastry, School Lunch or After School Snacks, Vintage Recipes, Vintage Recipes Tagged With: Baking Techniques, Cookies, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Vintage Recipes

French Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup – A Historical Perspective

By Denise Pare-Watson

Soupe de Pois Cassés Jaune

This year marks the 350th anniversary of the founding of Sault St. Marie. The Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor reached out to me regarding French Food Ways of the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes. French Canadian cuisine played a significant role in the history and development of Sault Ste. Marie and given my French Canadian heritage and culinary interests, I welcomed the opportunity to write this article on my version of traditional French Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup.French Canadian Pea Soup with Pancetta Garnish | urbnspice.com

French Canadian Yellow Split Pea Soup was a staple food and has its Sault Ste. Marie roots established in the voyageur trading routes, which extended from Montreal through the Great Lakes all the way through to the Grande Portage. Peas were a crop easily grown at trading posts such as Sault Ste. Marie and this made restocking of supplies possible. During the fur-trading era, the waterways were the roads and canoes were the means of transport. The Voyageurs (the French word for travellers) made the difficult 12 to 16-week journey to deliver their trading goods. One needs to understand the physical characteristics and demands on these men, and why their diet was so important. Voyageurs were required to be short in stature (approximately 5’, 4”) because the space in the canoe was needed for cargo. They had to be young, strong and healthy to endure the very fast-paced paddling, harsh conditions related to the weather or the terrain and their dawn-to-dusk workday….

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Filed Under: Beans and Legumes, Cooking Techniques, My Recipes, Soups and Chowders, Vintage Recipes Tagged With: Culinary Historians, Soups, Vintage Recipes, Yellow split peas

Vintage Spice Cake with Toffee Frosting

By Denise Pare-Watson

Prelude: I am a proud Canadian. When the Culinary Historians of Canada (CHC) invited food bloggers to participate in the “CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge”, I knew that I wanted in! What a great way to celebrate and honour Canada’s 150th birthday by featuring a different Canadian dish or discussing a topic which reflects on what it means to be Canadian. For November, the Culinary Historians invited bloggers to post about the foods associated with war and remembrance, including soldiers’ rations, homefront cooking and rationing, as well as other foods that help us remember those we’ve lost. For those reasons, I am sharing a Vintage Spice Cake with Toffee Frosting from a treasured cookbook.

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Vintage Spice Cake with Toffee Frosting | urbnspice.com

Mom’s favourite and only cookbook was this Watkins Cookbook – circa the 1940s

The cake itself is unique in that it does not have eggs, butter, or milk, yet, it is very moist and flavourful due to the use of abundant spices and a mixture of raisins, sugar and boiling water. The fragrance of this cake when baking is unbelievable. It was originally called “The Economy Spice Cake” and you will learn about its history as you read further. When I was researching the frosting for this cake, the term used in the recipe title was ‘Sugarless Cake Frosting.’ It utilizes a reduction of sweetened condensed milk, which is not sugarless at all, however, the term ‘sugarless’ was used during WWII in terms of sugar ration points – the sweetened milk was indeed viewed as ‘sugarless.”  I am including this authentic recipe as written for that period.

Vintage Spice Cake with Toffee Frosting | urbnspice.com

Vintage Spice Cake

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Filed Under: My Recipes Tagged With: Cakes, Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge 2017, Dairy Free Recipes, Egg Free Recipes, Vintage Recipes

A Canadian Family Picnic – Circa 1867 featuring Old Fashioned Raspberry Cordial

By Denise Pare-Watson

CHC CANADA 150 FOOD BLOG CHALLENGE SERIES

Featuring a recipe for Old Fashioned Raspberry Cordial

I am a proud Canadian. When the Culinary Historians of Canada invited food bloggers to participate in the “CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge”, I knew that I wanted in! What a great way to celebrate and honour Canada’s 150th birthday by featuring a different Canadian dish or discussing a topic which reflects on what it means to be Canadian.  For the month of July, CHC invited food bloggers to share stories and recipes that relate to the topic of Canadian culinary history in this sesquicentennial year.  I was intrigued by the invitation to host an 1867- or a 1967-themed picnic. I have chosen to write about an 1867 picnic and have developed a menu for a typical Canadian family of that period. I have taken a bit of literary licence to include options for refrigeration, which was unavailable to all but the wealthy of those times. My post includes a recipe for Old Fashioned Raspberry Cordial. I hope you enjoy going back in time with me for A Canadian Family Picnic – Circa 1867.

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Old Fashioned Raspberry Cordial | urbnspice.com

Old Fashioned Raspberry Cordial

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017-2018 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
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Filed Under: Beverages, CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge Series, My Recipes, Refined Sugar Free Recipes, Vintage Recipes Tagged With: Beverages, Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge 2017, Canada150, Raspberry, Refined Sugar Free, Vintage Recipes

Apple Cream Pie – The Pie That Stole My Husband’s Heart

By Denise Pare-Watson

Apple Cream Pie – The Pie That Stole My Husband’s Heart

Also Known as: “Better Than Beer Pie”

And Also: “Pie in a Bag”

This Apple Cream Pie has many names because there are many stories connected to it. The name that I like best is “The Pie That Stole My Husband’s Heart”. The first time I made it was for my guy over 40 years ago when we first started dating. Making this pie was a huge step for me because up until then, my attempts at pie crusts were marginally successful (you can read all about my adventures in pie crusts here).

Apple Cream Pie cooling | urbnspice.com

I am not one to give up easily, so I watched, I learned and I practiced at my Mom’s side. In time, I became fairly confident making this special recipe for my guy and his brothers who were busy working on their family farm. I may have stolen three hearts that day because the feedback about my pie was outstanding. They proclaimed that ‘this pie is better than beer’ and that was high praise coming from self-described starving university students more accustomed to beer as their primary source of nutrition.

The interesting thing about that original pie recipe was that it was baked inside of a paper bag. I have always been a curious cook and baking a pie inside a paper bag really piqued my interest. The result was a soft juicy filling with a flaky crust. Ever since that day, any request for an apple pie was always for ‘The Pie in a Bag’.

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Filed Under: Cooking Techniques, Desserts and Sweets, Inspiration of Urbnspice Series, My Recipes, Pastry, Pies and Tarts, Urbnspice Ultimate Recipe Series Tagged With: Apples, Baking, Baking Tips, Pies, Vintage Recipes

The Art of Doing Without

By Denise Pare-Watson

CHC CANADA 150 FOOD BLOG CHALLENGE Series

Prelude:  I am a proud Canadian. When the Culinary Historians of Canada invited food bloggers to participate in the “CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge”, I knew that I wanted in! What a great way to celebrate and honour Canada’s 150th birthday by featuring a different Canadian dish or discussing a topic near and dear to our hearts each month. The topic for the February “CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge” is called doing without. This topic hits close to home for many Canadians, especially if you have a family member who has lived through difficult economic times. I am sure that there are many Canadians with countless stories of recent times or that have been passed down through the generations. My family is no exception. The Art of Doing Without is more of a skill – essentially a life skill.

Potato versatility | urbnspice.com

My French Canadian Grandmother – Meme (Mimi to us) and my Mom told us of many difficult times during their lives where they did without or utilized what they did have in some creative ways. My parents & grandparents had a lot of influence in the development of my frugal nature.

Careful, cautious and thrifty were important characteristics of my forbearers. I draw on those traits daily in my own kitchen. In this article, I will share a few of their stories, recipes and techniques that have been passed down to me regarding how to make the most of what is available.

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Filed Under: CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge Series, Pastry, Potatoes and Rice, Scones & Biscuits Tagged With: Potatoes, Vintage Recipes

Vinarterta – A Vintage Recipe

By Denise Pare-Watson

Vínarterta:  what is it?  It is a very flavourful, seven-layered Icelandic cake – a vintage recipe from the 1800s. The cake consists of thin layers cookie-like dough, rolled out, docked and baked just until it starts to take on a bit of colour on the edges. The traditional filling is made from prunes.  For many folks, using dried prunes is a surprising filling, but you have to trust me – this stuff is good!  The prunes are infused with what is known as the warming spices cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. These spices elevate the taste of the filling to something that you just know will be wonderful.  The colour of the pureed prune is such a rich hue of black-brown that it makes a spectacular show in between the layers of the Vinarterta cake.

Vinarterta cut into dainty pieces | urbnspice.com

Many other fillings can be used, including seasonal apricot filling and raspberry filling. My daughter and I were discussing making a version with all three fillings in one cake.  I think that this could be my next cake challenge.  I would be tempted to make the layers even thinner so that I could experiment with the different coloured fillings.

Vinarterta with Apricot Filling | urbnspice.com

Vinarterta with Apricot Filling

In culinary training, we were introduced to many cultural desserts in Baking and Pastry Arts, and this cake was one of the classic cakes we discussed during our lessons. It is delicious! I had forgotten all about this cake until my neighbour mentioned to me that she had in her possession her grandma’s vintage recipe for Vínarterta and that she had always wanted to try making it.

Vinarterta Cake Slab | urbnspice.com

We spent a lovely morning making the cake together using the vintage recipe. As far as she knew, her grandmother’s recipe had sadly not been made by anyone in the family since her passing in 1978. She told me that her grandmother’s parents came to Canada in the 1800s and her grandmother was born in Canada. I am sure that there are great stories about baking this Icelandic recipe and many more dishes in their kitchen – I would have loved to be a part of that.  I felt that making this cake using her recipe was a great way of honouring her grandmother.  And besides, I love baking using vintage recipes.

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Filed Under: Cakes, Gluten Free Recipes, Holiday Baking, Vintage Recipes Tagged With: Baking, Desserts, Gluten Free Recipes, Icelandic Recipes, Sweets, Tips and Techniques, Vintage Recipes

Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans

By Denise Pare-Watson

I am a lucky, lucky chef to have my Mom’s Vintage Family Bean Pot handed down to me.  The beans just taste better made in this good old bean pot!  The recipe that I am sharing with you for Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans is an easy dish to throw together.   It can slow cook all day on a Sunday afternoon and you will be rewarded with a rich and fragrant comfort dish.  Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans | urbnspice.com

I feel very fortunate to have the vintage family bean pot. It has been in our family for at least four generations.

It has a worn and rustic patina on the outer surface and is wonderfully seasoned from decades of use.  The fragrance filling my kitchen was so inviting that we could hardly wait to dig in.

The recipe that I have the best results with starts with dried beans.   Although most of the recipes I have made in the past use navy beans, I prefer a medley of beans.

Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans using a Medley of Beans | urbnspice.com

Good Old Fashioned Baked Beans using a Medley of Beans

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Filed Under: Beans and Legumes, Gluten Free Recipes, Sides, Vintage Recipes Tagged With: Baked Beans, Beans & Legumes, Family Recipes, Sides, Vintage Recipes

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Meet Denise – The Urbnspice Chef

Welcome to Urbnspice - A Taste of Heart and Home. Inspiration in my kitchen is often a trip to the market or an experimental coincidence! Come and join me on this culinary journey where I share my passion for the creative, technical and teaching components of the profession and unravel culinary quandaries for you with fun and easy to follow user-friendly recipes, tips & techniques.
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