Tess wrote:
> Okay, I've been dreading this for years, because I've never had any
success
> finding a recipe. This year I have to make some, and I hope that
somebody
> recognises what I'm looking for.
>
> When I was a little girl, my mother was friends with a neighbour
lady. Every
> Christmas mother would give her a bottle of wine, and the lady would
give us
> a box of the best homemade mints I've ever had in my life.
>
> They were about as big as a quarter, and she made them in pastel
colours,
> pink and green and yellow. She must have used a mould, and the green
ones
> were shaped like leaves, and the yellow and pink ones were rosettes.
The
> were soft and creamy, and had been sprinkled with sparkly sugar.
>
> I'd love to make some for my folks, ( and us, too! ), but I've never
known
> what they were called. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'm also
no whiz
> at candy, but I don't think these are going to be all that hard. ( so
to
> speak ).
>
> Help? ( Mrs. Armstrong, are you out there? )
>
> Thanks much!
>
> - Tess


From: Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Co-op Cookbook: With Kitchen Tested
Recipes, 1946

After-Dinner Mints
Mrs. Seymour, Whitby Guild

2 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon essence of peppermint, 2/3 cup
water, pinch of cream of tartar. Place sugar and water in saucepan.
Bring to boil, add cream of tartar. Boil without stirring until mixture
forms a soft ball when tried in cold water. Add peppermint and stir
until thick. Knead when cool enough to handle and cut into small
rounds.


After-Dinner Mints
Mrs. A. Plewman, Lashburn

Beat 1 egg white with a pinch of salt until light, {add} 1 tablespoon
cold water, 18 drops of essence of peppermint. Stir in 1 pound icing
sugar. Mix until very stiff. Cut in slices with sharp knife. Put on
waxed paper to harden.

~~~~~~~~~~

I'm not vouching for these recipes. I've never made them. I copied them
exactly as they are in the book edited by Mrs. Violet M. Johnsrude who
says on the dedication page "There is only one woman in the world and
every man has her for his wife."

There are other pithy sayings here too, such as:

A Good Housekeeper, page 91

"Take an equal quantity of Economy, Industry and Cleanliness, let boil
moderately together in that old-fashioned vessel called Conscience.
When cool, add a little good Common Sense and Spirit of Authority to
your taste. Clean your vessel before adding your ingredients. If not
clean, put in a few grains of Resolutions which will make it bright.
Dip the cover in a little essence of Watchfulness which will preserve
the ingredients from separating. It will be fit for use in two or three
years, will keep a long time and be all the better for age.

N.B. Be very careful in following the directions of recipe and it will
never fail.

Any questions?



Zee