Orts & Reports: Hey, it's Crocktober!
Plus: the October Surprise
Small Bite #1: Jessica’s Apple Cookies
The leaves have turned; the crabapples out back have fallen to earth. And so begins my hiatus from the little island kitchen where I find such peace. But before I head west like a good little snowbird, I’m faced with the customarily daunting task of pantry and fridge cleanout. Sometimes, I get lucky and the foraging leads to actual baking.
I found this old recipe in the Cook & Tell vault, submitted last millennium (!) by Jessica B, a former schoolmate and daughter of the island’s now-retired librarian. And can I just say, it was the perfect choice for the limited ingredients in my Mother Hubbard-esque cupboards. I had already tossed the raisins that had been sitting around for two summers because they tasted like…raisins that have been sitting around for two years. But I had just enough dried cranberries left from an earlier batch of granola and the leftover dregs of a jug of apple cider. And even though I had finished off the last of the confectioners’ sugar the week before in a different batch of cookies that were, sadly, relegated to my What Not To Cook notebook, Jessica’s Apple Cookies, frosted or not, are a timeless fall favorite.
Small Bite #2: Vintage Reads || Popcorn Balls + The Surprise
This installment of Vintage Reads is a double-header (Go, Dodgers!). First up, the Halloween treats page from the Best of Home Economics Teachers Bicentennial Cookbook I found a couple of years ago while thrifting my way through California’s Yucca Valley.
Here’s a recipe from the Halloween playbook to pregame your World Series watch parties and Halloween festivities: Molasses Popcorn Balls, a fitting snack for either event.
On deck: For the ultimate Vintage Read, I’m gifting you with the complete issue of Cook & Tell from October 2010, chock full of “Sara’s Picks,” a throwback from the ‘90s featuring subscriber Sara T’s review of past Cook & Tell favorites. In an interesting twist which I swear was not planned, the apple cookies from Bite #1 make an appearance.
In other serendipitous news, I’m happy to report that Sara recently joined the “new” digital Cook & Tell community.
“I subscribed to Cook & Tell for many years and corresponded with your mom a good bit, mostly postcards and the occasional email,” Sara writes. “For a while she had a special feature called ‘Sara's Picks.’ That was me!
“It is so wonderful that this venture has been such a joy for you! Giving her work a new audience and a new life, so to speak. I still miss her.”
Me, too, Sara.
Small Bite #3: Cookies & Crockpots
While sampling the various baked goods at the island library’s annual Book & Bake sale this past summer, of course I had to try the World’s Best Cookie (accurate) and nab the recipe from Linda B, the above-mentioned former librarian. The apple, so to speak, does not fall far from the tree in this family.
Besides ballgames and Halloween, this month is also Crocktober! If baked beans and applesauce simmering away in a crockpot sound good, I’ve got a cookbook for you.
Thanks for reading and welcome new subscribers. It’s good to have you on board!
Your Pantry Pal,
Amie
I’m coming home with bags of fall apples and beans from our travels to New Mexico. Can’t wait to try those apple cookies and crockpot baked beans and applesauce (what a novel combo!). Thanks for another wonderful edition of Orts & Reports, Amie—and a hugely welcome distraction from spooky news!
I know I’ve already told you this, but I love your Secret Recipes cookbook with micro stories. So much conveyed in a few short lines. Artful storytelling!