Food that Schmecks!

 Hurry Up Cake from Food That Really Schmecks

This time of year I start to leaf through my old cookbooks and recipes boxes looking for just the right hearty recipes to fill hungry men.  I'm feeding hungry men in every season, but it seems when fall rolls around, it's time for a different kind of food.  It's time for comfort food.  There's a favorite cooking blog that I can always count on for good, hearty, family-style foods.  If you've never been to  Mennonite Girls Can Cook, go now! It's packed with homestyle recipes that every family will gobble up. I haven't been to the blog in awhile and have  been really enjoying myself reading through the recipes.  This blog really schmecks!

Recently my son asked me, "Mom, do you know what the word schmecks means?"  I don't know where he came up with it, but he has been studying German for a couple years and so perhaps it came up amongst his reading.  Or maybe he has a new North Dakota friend on Facebook.  Anyway....

"Sure," I said.  "Schmecks is a German word that means tastes, tastes good or is flavorful."  

Have you ever heard of a Schmeckfest?  It's a food tasting festival.  You find them a lot in North Dakota and in German communities.  Regular homemakers gather together to show off their down-home cooking and the recipes passed on to them through the generations.  Usually the Schmeckfest is a fund raiser that gathers lots of people together who want an old-fashioned, hearty eating experience.  I have never attended a Schmeckfest, but I understand the cooking.  Being of German decent myself, I have a few recipes in my own repertoire that my Grandma Schumacher used to make.  The Mennonite Girls blog reminds me of a book that I have been meaning to purchase for many years called Food That Really Schmecks by Edna Staebler.    These are traditional, German-Mennonite recipes that are said to be tasty in every way. Has anybody ever use this cookbook or the sequel,  More Food That Really Schmecks?  I ordered More Food just tonight.

Here's a sample of a recipe from Food That Really Schmecks and it's a good one.  We sometimes call it Dump Cake because you dump the ingredients straight into the cake pan to mix it up.

Hurry Up Chocolate Cake (use a 9x9 cake pan)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 rounded tablespoons cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1 cup lukewarm buttermilk
Sift all the dry ingredients into the pan and stir to blend. Bump pan on the counter to level off. Make 3 hollows in mixture with a spoon. Put vanilla in one hole, vinegar in second hole and melted butter/margarine in 3rd hole.
Pour buttermilk over top. Stir and blend until smooth with no flour showing. Thump on counter and bake in 350F oven for 25- 30 minutes.

Cocoa Fudge Icing

1 cup sugar, brown or white
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar and cocoa. Stir in milk until smooth. Drop in butter and stir over moderate heat. Boil for 1 minute only.
Remove from heat and cool quickly (cold water in sink.) Stir in vanilla and beat until creamy and thick. It will stay soft - but firm, on cake. 

Maybe we ought to have our own virtual Schmeckfest online.  Think about what tasty recipes you might share.