“Did you make this from scratch?” No. “Did you buy it?” No, it’s homemade.

“I don’t understand.”

Neither did I until I stopped to think about the cake I made this week. The recipe called for canned fruit, melted margarine and a cake mix. The fruit and margarine could fall under homemade because they are basic components, but the mix is a convenience food. I made this cake at home, so it was homemade. But not from scratch.

My great-grandmother cooked from scratch. Basic items such as flour, sugar, molasses, salt, cornmeal and lard were kept in the pantry along with home-canned and dried fruits and vegetables from her garden and the fields surrounding her home. She started each recipe from scratch, without advantage of anything premixed.

My grandmother and mother cooked from scratch, too, most of the time. However, their lifetimes saw the advent of mixes and convenience foods that took hold of the food world and forever changed it. The food they prepared tasted good, whether from scratch or not. It was homemade.

The first two recipes are not from scratch. They are good tasting, homemade and easy, thanks to convenience products. The third recipe is from scratch, just like great-grandma used to cook.   


Lemon-Poppy Seed Bread
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • Two 7-ounce packages Martha White lemon-poppy seed muffin mix
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bottom of 8-inch loaf pan.

Dump Cake
  • One 16-ounce can tart pitted cherries, (not pie filling)
  • One 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
  • One regular size box yellow cake mix
  • ½ cup margarine or butter, melted
Dump the cherries, pineapple and their juices into a 13 x9 x 2-inch baking dish. Stir with fork to mix. Sprinkle the dry cake mix over fruit. Do not stir. Dribble the melted margarine over entire top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until top is browned and cake tests done with toothpick. Serve warm as a fruit crisp. Ice cream is nice over top.
In mixing bowl, blend eggs, milk and oil. Add muffin mixes and blend until combined. Pour into pan and bake for 45- 50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool completely. Running a knife along the sides of the bread will help release it from pan. Recipe source: Martha White Foods.


Old-fashioned Gingerbread
  • ½ cup butter, room temperature
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup sour milk (can use buttermilk)
  • ½ cup each raisins and chopped nuts, optional
Cream butter, sugar and molasses. Sift together flour, soda, ginger and cinnamon. Sifting the dry ingredients twice is better and like great-grandma used to do. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with sour milk or buttermilk. Great-grandma, Grandma and Mom all three made sour milk by putting a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice in the measuring cup, then filling it to the ½ measure with milk. Stir it a little.
Stir in raisins and nuts. Bake in a greased and lightly floured 13 x 9-inch pan or baking dish. Oven should be at 300 degrees for about one hour or until tested done with a toothpick.
Recipe source: family box.

Contact Connie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or Box 61, Medway, OH 45341

First Group 2x2
First Group 2x2
Local News

Stories on people, places, events and businesses right here in Western Clark County.

Local Government

Meetings and news from local Boards of Education, Township Trustees and County Commissioners.

Sports

Arrows, Bees & Warriors; we cover all local high school sports, as well as local semi-pro and adult leagues