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Throughout my childhood I heard talk of plans for a man-made lake in our county and yearned for the day when I could swim in a body of water larger than the local swimming pool. Finally built and dedicated in 1962, Val won the contest to find the best name for the little lake. She suggested Prairie Rose Lake, in honor of a village that once existed briefly there. She knew about the village because her grandfather lived there before relocating to Harlan to start his furniture business.

Vernie taught home economics when I was in high school. I never took her classes so I didn’t know her except by sight. More reserved than Val, she held the dominant position in their home kitchen. Mom usually eschewed the kinds of shortcuts Vernie used, such as canned soup and the commercial substitute for whipped cream, but she liked these recipes.

Vernie’s Brunch Casserole
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of cheese soup
1 2-ounce can pimentos (with juice)
1 ½ dozen hard-boiled eggs
½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
½ cup finely chopped green pepper
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Peel and halve the eggs. Place them, cut side up in a shallow 9 by 13- inch baking pan. Sauté pepper in bacon fat; mix soups and pimento, then add green pepper and bacon. Pour mixture over egg halves and sprinkle grated cheese on top. Bake at 325 degrees until bubbly. Serves 12; can be made the day before.

One of Val and Vernie’s volunteer projects was to make rugs and table runners on old looms that had been preserved by the Shelby County Historical Society, a repository for countless objects dating from the county’s first settlers. The looms came from the Deen Loom Company, a business that had flourished in Harlan, from 1865 until the start of World War II. The deserted Deen Loom factory stood at the end of their street, and I used to wonder about that dilapidated building when I walked to their neighbor’s house for my weekly piano lesson.

Vernie’s Cherry Pie
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
9 ounces Cool Whip
1 can of cherry pie filling

Mix powdered sugar with cream cheese; fold in Cool Whip. Spread in bottom of baked pie shell. Spread pie filling evenly over cream cheese mixture. Chill before serving.

Mom’s Note: Use more cream cheese and less Cool Whip for richer taste.

Crisco Pie Crust
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Crisco
4 tablespoons cold water

Cut shortening into flour and salt with fork or pastry blender. Add water. Roll out dough on floured surface. After crust is transferred to medium-size pie plate, make holes in the bottom with prongs of a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly brown.

Mom’s Note: The proportions are just right. Dough is easy to handle and crust flaky. Many of my childhood friends came from Danish families. At their homes, we were allowed to partake, with the grown-ups, of that fine European tradition of afternoon coffee and pastries. I first tasted coffee, with lots of cream and sugar, on one of those occasions. At Christmas, their homes smelled of the cookies, rich with butter, sugar, ginger or almond paste, their mothers were baking for the holiday.

I don’t remember where Mom got this last recipe, but it’s a superb example of Danish pastry. This one makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Danish Puff
First Layer:
1 cup flour
½ cup butter
2-3 tablespoons water

Cut butter into flour, add water and stir until well blended. Divide dough and press each portion into 3 by 12-inch strips on an ungreased baking sheet.

Second Layer:
1 cup water
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flour
3 eggs

Heat water and butter in sauce pan until butter is melted. Remove from stove; stir in almond extract and flour. Let mixture cool and then add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Spread this mixture over the two pastry layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 65 minutes. Custard layer will puff and then fall. Cool.

Frosting:
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup pecan pieces

Mix butter, vanilla and salt; beat in sugar to desired consistency. Frost custard layer and sprinkle with pecan pieces.

Mom’s Note: Impressive and easy to make for morning coffees. Pastry can be made and spread on baking sheet the day before; cover with plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator.

It wasn’t just the cookies and pastries of those Danish families that I envied. My friends talked about going to family reunions so big they had to be held in parks or meeting halls to accommodate all of them. From my youthful point of view, all Danes seemed to be related. I felt deprived, because my relatives lived all over the country, and we got together with each family separately. I learned this past year from a high school friend, who still lives in one of the Danish communities east of Harlan, that one of her ancestors married my father’s half-sister’s daughter. That hardly makes me Danish, but at least now I can claim kinship to them.

Recipes are from the collection of Anna May Cullison.

© 2010 Margaret Cullison for SeniorWomenWeb

 

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