______________________________________________________________________________________________

PROGRAMMING NOTE from the Author and Archivist


So obviously I just stopped blogging on this platform. I'll get back to it eventually. Or not. I'm taking a break from all social media. It seemed necessary for my mental health.

The last few years have been busy and … challenging:

- 2015 Happened.
- 2016 Let's call it The Lost Year. (Obviously words failed me.)
- 2017 about broke me. Literally. Mentally.
- 2018 was ridiculous, proving 2017 was just a warm up. (Good thing I was already broken so it couldn't hurt as much.#2018TrashCanFire I thought things were going okay, but maybe not?)

- 2019 was such a blur. I know there were highlights, but then stuff happened and carried into the next year...

- And then in March#2020 really took a turn. Who can even categorize 2020? Do we dare?


I kinda want a do-over of some of the last few years. But life doesn’t work that way.


So for now, I'm hunkering down. Regrouping. Trying to stay safe and sort some stuff out.


Stay safe everyone. Stay well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Recipes from Ollie J -- Brown Sugar Frosting

VINTAGE recipe found in a notebook with other recipes from Grandma Ollie. From a magazine, back of the brown sugar box, or cookbook or something.

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/3 cup water

2 egg whites, unbeaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Combine brown sugar, cream of tartar, water, and egg whites in top of double boiler. Stir to mix, place over hot water and beat with rotary beater or mixer until frosting holds peaks (about 7 minutes)*. Stir in vanilla.


Initially I was just excited to find another recipe in which to use that cream of tartar that hangs out in my pantry. However, the more I got into the recipe, the more issues I had with it. First, I don't have a double boiler, so I had to improvise (see below), and second, I don't own a hand mixer anymore, so I had to borrow one from my neighbors.

I don't know if it was because my water wasn't hot enough, my cream of tartar was old, my eggs were old, or I got a bit of yolk in my egg whites, but it took me considerably longer than 7 minutes to get any kind of peaking on my frosting. *It was closer to 25-30 minutes, and I'm not sure I got it as meringue-y as it was supposed to be. It makes a lot of frosting. Enough to frost the top of one 13x9x2 cake with half a bowl (and the beaters full for licking) left over.

It's definitely an old-fashioned, very, very sweet frosting. The I.T. Department ate the whole cake that I frosted and hasn't complained yet, so it must have been o.k.

2 comments:

Flax Hill Gardener said...

Your improvised double boiler is actually the same way chefs do it in their kitchen. Nice job!

ChristineB said...

Even the tiniest bit of yolk can ruin things. But sounds like you've managed to 'whip' things into shape.