The Laundry - In the summer, clothes may be washed without any fire by soaking overnight in soapy soft water, rubbing out in the morning, soaping the dirty places and laying them in the hot sunshine. By the time the last re spread out to bleach, the first may be taken up, washed out and rinsed. This, of course, requires a clean lawn.

P otato Cake

Jo Harrison

2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 teaspoon or 1 square cocoa
2 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup walnuts


Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, beating after each one. Add mashed potatoes. Sift flour with cocoa, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Add alternately with milk. Add vanilla. Fold in nuts. Pour into greased and floured cake pans.

Bake at 350. Check at 25 minutes. Frost with chocolate frosting.

Since moving to Reno, I have had disastrous results with cake baking at 5,000 ft. I found out a hotter oven, by 250, reducing leavening by half helps and that cakes may take a little longer to bake.

This is one cake that I had trouble with. I had to add extra flour as well as cut the baking powder and up the temperature to 400 degrees (at 5000 altitude only) - VHL

Crumb Cake

Jo Harrison

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sour milk or buttermilk
1 teaspoon soda
1 egg
pinch salt
chopped raisins or nuts

Mix brown sugar flour and shortening as for pie crust. Take out 1/2 cup for topping. Put soda in buttermilk and add to flour mix. Add salt, stirred egg, then beat. Add raisins and/or nuts. Pour into greased 8" square pan. Sprinkle on topping. Bake in moderate oven about 25 minutes until done.


This was so good. Mother made it on camping trips occasionally. Dorothy and I just don't have the knack to make it like Mother made it. - VHL



Back to Deserts index page | Recipe Book home page | Next page, cakes