Ruby Tuesday. Cows, Cream & Sponge Cake

I really enjoy sitting down with Ruby & a cuppa and listening to stories of years gone by. Funny, happy, & sad tales and very different to the lives we live now.

I dropped in this afternoon (bang on afternoon tea time when the sponge cake was ready for eating!! – more on that later) and asked about her cow.

Ruby and her first husband Bill bought the 2 acre property that had a small dwelling and built up the house that is there now. When they showed it to her Dad, he was very keen that they should run a cow. Ruby and Bill didn’t have the money to buy a cow as they had spent all their money acquiring the land.

So her Dad gave them a cow – a big Durham.  It was really too big for what they needed and the property size, so one of the neighbours swapped her for a nice little jersey heifer.

It was 2 years before she was able to be milked. Ruby said she did the milking as the jersey was small, and Bills hands were too big to effectively milk her so that was Ruby’s job.

They had a separator and a butter churn. The milkman came by about three times a week and collected the cream – and the cream cheque was enough to cover the grocery bill!! Ruby said she made butter about once a week from the cream or when necessary.

The best story that was related to the cow, was when Ruby was pregnant with her daughter, Margaret. She was having contractions and reckoned she was at about the second stage, so she thought she had time to milk the cow before trotting off to the hospital. She made Bill bring in the cow… but ended up pushing him out of the way as he wasn’t doing it right and speed-milked the cow! She told me “I don’t know how well she got milked that night, but she got milked!!”

Contractions getting stronger, so off they go to WALK to the hospital!!! This is at about 5pm. Spied by a neighbour they were asked if they were out for their evening stroll.  Bill was a bit agitated by this time “No!!” he says they were “off to the hospital to have the baby, so bring the car around quick!!” Ruby on the other hand was quite determined not to make a fuss and walk. She lost that argument and was put in the car.

By 8pm she had a baby girl!!

Can you imagine?? Milking the cow at 5pm and walking off to the hospital to have a baby by 8!

Things are a little different today.

Ruby’s Recipes.

Each week I will try to share a gem from this brilliant tatty old diary-recipe book!

SPONGE CAKE RECIPE – Ruby’s Special

So I stroll in as the kettle is boiling and the first sponge cake is ready for testing!

In her heyday, Ruby would make a lot of these whenever the church had a fete.

This is the current recipe she is using.

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs (room temperature)

1 small cup sugar

2 tablespoons cold water

Vanilla essence

3/4 cup of self raising flour

1/4 cup cornflour

tiny pinch salt

METHOD:

Separate the eggs & beat the whites until fluffy in bowl

Gradually add sugar and beat again until sugar is melted

Add yolks and beat again with the cold water and vanilla essence

Fold in dry ingredients

Place in two (pre prepared) greased & floured round tins, 7″ diameter or equiv.

Cook at 400F (200C) approx. 20 minutes.

Today Ruby and Margie experimented with coffee, which was added to the water. It made a lovely cake, but plan to make it more ‘coffee flavoured’ next time rather than todays ‘Hint of Coffee’ (todays had a teaspoon of instant)

Hope you have enjoyed a little glimpse into Ruby’s past.

Cheers

PS Don’t forget there is still time to “Guess the weight of the zucchini” in yesterdays Sloth Post. I am enjoying the messages and guesses so far! 🙂