S'mores...Italian Style

one of our favorite pastimes is making s'mores over an open fire while camping, at the beach or just because. it's a hot, sticky and sometimes, burned mess. yet, that doesn't detour us from enjoying the yummy, ooey gooey goodness of marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker. okay, so i'm not a huge fan of burning, smokey smoke from a fire...so what to do if you don't like the smoke, or perhaps you don't have a fire pit, but you love making s'mores...or maybe you don't like molting hot marshmallow scorching your tongue?

we have a wonderful idea...which we found ingredients for at World Market.  a lovely package of  Italian Pizzelle cookies, a jar of Italian Nutella and a jar of marshmallow fluff....oh my.... it's easy to make...a little messy, but easy. just spread the fluff and Nutella on one side of
each Pizzelle and sandwich together. then enjoy...

 

 

 

 

Mama Mia....they are delizioso...
Enjoy......
this is also the last installment for our Summertime vintage 1940's posts. but,
will be doing more posts and projects for the 1940's this Fall. Stay tuned.

Fun fact:

              IN THE 1940s

After World War II, America was on the go. More and more families bought cars and began taking family vacations to campgrounds and national parks. Making S'mores over campfires became increasingly popular during this decade.

Vintage Lemon Cake Roll & Some Homemade Lemonade....

After a gloomy start to the week, our Summer days came back with a heat wave. Boy is it a hot one. We are also continuing our Summertime 1940's lessons. One thing we have been enjoying is reading some books on the subject. We went to the Library and borrowed a whole stack on life in the 40's, Wartime and more. As you may or may not know.....I am a hands on kinda teacher. The best way we find to learn is doing things "Hands On". One of our favorite things to do is bake. We also need to bring a dessert over to our new friends home....So we had to find a recipe that was frugal yet delicious. And well....Since we are studying the 1940's, why not bake something that would have been made during that time.

We found the perfect recipe by a lady who grew up in the 40's....

The recipe was her mothers. She remembers her mom making it way back when. 

Perfect.... We had everything on hand too. Even better. Despite the heat,

 we turned on the oven to bake...Daring, I know.

Here is the recipe:

Vintage 1940's Lemon Cake Roll

Ingredients for spongecake:

3 eggs

1 C. sugar

3 Tbl. water

1 C. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

14 tsp. salt

Filling:

1 C. sugar

3 Tbl. all purpose flour

1 egg slightly beaten

3/4 C. water

1/4 C. lemon juice

Directions:

• Line a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with waxed paper. Grease the paper; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs for 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar; beat for 2 minutes or until mixture becomes thick and lemon-colored. Stir in water. Combine dry ingredients; fold into egg mixture. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
• Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
• Invert onto a kitchen towel dusted with confectioners' sugar. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in the towel jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• For filling, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, egg, water and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature.
• Unroll cake; spread filling evenly over cake to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up again. Place seam side down on a serving platter. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 10-12 servings.

It turned out, not only gorgeous, but delicious. 

We made one as a taste tester for the family.

 ( it passed )

As another one will be made for our hosts this weekend.

 Freckles did an excellent job in the kitchen. I am so very proud of her. I truly believe baking with your child is a wonderful experience. And of course it helps to know how to make things, especially for a young girl who will, Lord willing be a Mama, caring for her family and making meals and baking goodies. It comes in handy.

We decided also, since it was a very hot afternoon and we have an abundance of huge lemons from the tree, we would make some good old fashioned lemonade. Surely this is also something people enjoyed for many years, even the 1940's. So, we made a little party out of it. Just me and Freckles.

There are many recipes you can find for making lemonade...Surely you can't go wrong with this timeless, refreshing beverage. I brought out some coordinated linens and dishes and used our Blue Ball Jars for our glasses. It was a special afternoon, in the heat, sipping on lemonade and nibbling on this sweet lemony dessert. It truly was the perfect Summer activity.

The best part was just being with my daughter. 

I pray one day she will look back and have fond memories

 of these times we spent together. I know I will forever cherish them. I would love to encourage you to have a day like we did with your kids...Kids of all ages can help out with baking and making lemonade. With just a little imagination, setting a table for you and your children for a special afternoon will make everlasting memories. So, get the lemons and the baking pan out add a little sugar and a whole lotta love. You won't regret it.

Jelly Rolls are and were popular all over the world. There are different names for them in each Country. I tried to find more of an origin and timeline...A jelly Roll was probably more of a European thing...I could not find a date as to how long ago they were being made...Yet, I am for certain they were popular in the 30's and 40's. You can make them in different flavors with different fillings. They are quite easy to make and will serve a crowd. I love how something so simple with little ingredients can please a bunch of people. You can find many recipes on line, 

just search for jelly roll recipes.

Have A Wonderful Weekend.

Summertime Vintage Style Series- Preserving and Canning

Welcome back to Frolicking Freckles Summertime Vintage Style Series where we are studying the 1940's as a Summer School project. Over the weekend we went shopping and saw that the peaches were on sale....Unfortunately we don't have a peach tree...So the next best thing is buy them. One thing though, I will not pay full price for them. As a frugal Mama, I will wait for sales then pounce on it. So at 50. cents a pound I bought about 20 pounds. I saved a ton, since regular price is almost $2.00 a pound. And yes I am going back for more. Okay so....As our Summer project is on the 1940's...I decided since I had all this fruit, that we would can them. I have been canning for years. Freckles has helped me in the past, but this time I was going to teach her how to do it step by step, so she could do it on her own. 

During World War II, Victory gardens made an important contribution to the home-front effort by producing a significant amount of food (approximately 40 percent of the vegetables consumed in 1943) and by providing a way to contribute to the war effort for those who could not fight on the battlefield.  The book "Eating for Victory: Food Rationing and the Politics of Domesticity" by Amy Bentley contains a chapter examining victory gardening and canning during the war, gender politics, and how the nation responded to the call to do their part in the war by gardening and canning.

Canning was an important part of the victory garden program, as it allowed the bounty of the harvest to be preserved for the winter. Canning was a common activity during the war: in 1942, 64% of women canned food for household use; in 1943, the percentage was 75%.  On average, families that canned put up 165 cans or jars per year during the war.

Although most of the canning was done at home, about 5,000 community canning centers were established across the country.  These centers were places where specialized equipment like pressure canners (devices that allow the food to be heated beyond the boiling point of water, thus killing pathogens that can survive in boiling water) or very large hot water baths could be used for a fee — sometimes the user paid per can or jar, sometimes they donated a portion of their canned goods to the needy. Although 5,000 is vastly more than we have today, the centers were used by only about 1% of those who canned in 1943.  Most people didn't know they existed, already had basic equipment, didn't need a pressure canner, or knew someone who had what they needed.

(Excerpt by:Eat Local Challenge)

The whole process took several hours and some tears, but we got through it. 

Freckles cut, cooked, and canned them all on her own. 

Now, this Mama is very proud.

The "Of Course I Can" poster was created by the U.S. War Food Administration in

 1944 as part of the nationwide victory garden program

She canned 6 quarts and one pint of golden peaches, which we will enjoy...And after we buy more peaches and do the process all over again, we will have some for the Winter to enjoy. I find canning not only rewarding but a healthy option...Since most all food is over processed, over sugared and not to mention expensive. We have enjoyed fruit of all kinds plus jam preserves over the years, and I know where it came from, because we canned it ourselves. We have been blessed in this new home with a nectarine, apricot and cherry tree...Which we are already gleaning from...And that is free food for my family with just a little sweat... We produce some delish yummies for the coming months. Next on my list is getting 

a pressure cooker to do veggies. Can't wait for that. And well, I know we are not in the same circumstances as in the 40's during the war...But I do declare, I am saving money and feeding my family wholesome goods. I take pride in that. And, of course my family appreciates every bite.

I would really love to encourage you, if you haven't....to start canning, teach your children this lost art...It's easy really, just takes some dedicated time in doing it every year. You can easily find jars on Craig's list, thrift shops, garage sales, or new in stores for pretty cheap, a canner for about $25, the rest of the supplies are pretty inexpensive as well. Then seek the sales, or use your fruit and tamaters, you can also make pickles and relishes. You can learn about canning by searching the web; "canning with kids", buying a book and reading up on it. It will be a rewarding project for you and your child and helps build great relationships between the two.

Some Resources:

The Beginners Guide To Preserving Food At Home

Canning Peaches By: Make It Do

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1940's House

This is quite interesting to watch. We got ours from the Library. 

You can also stream it from the computer or from Netflix...

Or you can buy it from Amazon ( kinda expensive).

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Have a Canning Party

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Add pretty fabrics to your jars and give away as a gift

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Hope this helps...Hope you enjoyed this post. More coming soon.