“I first saw a notice in the post office and then read an ad in the Gazette-Journal about the May Faire Pound Cake Contest. It was for a worthy cause so I decided to enter.”
What a great decision Ruth Ann Hutson made. Out of 20 entries her Blueberry Pound cake took first place. Her husband Michael and grandson Dustin each saw her at work and were very interested in where the cake was going. When the contest was over, Ruth Ann bought her own cake as a surprise for her family.
Making and baking cakes was once a business for Ruth Ann. She made wedding, birthday and whatever-the -occasion cakes. “I had taken a cake making course years ago and I loved doing it but no more sales. But I am still making cakes for friends, family and mostly for my four grandsons.”
Ruth Ann says when growing up she didn’t take an interest in cooking. She was the sibling always doing chores and playing outdoors. “It was my Home Ec teacher Dorothy Foster in high school who taught me so much about the basics of cooking and sewing. As a young adult and stay-at-home mother I attended Mildred Hudgins’s classes. There I learned about canning, pickling and preserving. Also how to make children’s clothes.”
The philosophy that Ruth Ann uses in her cooking is “I believe in sharing.” And share she does. “When I am cooking a favorite dish with the recipe given to me, I find myself stepping back in the past. I remember the times we spent together both good and sad. They are right there beside me. It’s a wonderful feeling.” Then Ruth Ann adds, “If family and friends had not shared their recipes and helpful hints over the years, I am certain my cooking would not have evolved to what it is today.”
Ruth Ann was secretary of Mathews High School for 27 years, then she was Mathews County Voting Registrar retiring in 2014. Although she worked in the professional world all of those years, it never interfered with her love of sharing what she cooked.
ZUCCHINI BREAD
Rita Cannon Thomas (my sister)
3 eggs
1 c. oil
2½ c. sugar
2 c. zucchini, leave peel on if fresh
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
Beat eggs. Add oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla; beat well. Sift dry ingredients together; add to zucchini mixture. Mix well. Cook at 350°F. in 2 greased and floured loaf pans approximately 1 hour or until done. This bread freezes well.
POTATO SALAD DRESSING
Rita Cannon (my mother)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
½ c. vinegar
¼ c. water
2 c. mayonnaise
1 Tbs. mustard
Mix all in a sauce pan. Cook over low/medium heat, stirring constantly. When it reaches a full boil, continue cooking for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add celery seed or flakes to your taste. Cool completely. This is enough dressing for 5 lb. of potatoes. This dressing keeps well in the refrigerator and I use it for macaroni salad and cole slaw dressing. This recipe was written inside the top of Ruth Ann’s wooden recipe box many years ago making sure it would never get lost.
“Sweetie Shawn shared this tip with me when making potato salad: drain water from cooked potatoes and layer potatoes with finely chopped onion and sprinkle of sugar. Repeat until all potatoes are used. Let it sit a bit to cool and for flavor to go through before adding your dressing.”
BLUEBERRY BERRY POUND CAKE
The winning recipe
My next door neighbor Amy Shaw shared her Blueberry Pound Cake recipe with me years ago, I’ve tweaked it a couple of times (I am always tweaking) and present it here as the most recent evolution. I have a dear friend who has blueberry bushes and encourages Amy and me to pick all the blueberries we can possibly pick and freeze.”
2 sticks butter
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
3 c. sugar
6 eggs
3 c. flour, divided, 2 2/3 c. for batter, 1/3 c. to powder berries
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 Tbs. blueberry bakery emulsion *
3 c. fresh blueberries
Cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar gradually. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add flour and salt gradually scraping bowl often. Add vanilla. Add 1 Tbs. blueberry emulsion to 3 c. of dough in plastic bag and gently roll the berries in the bag to coat them. Pour berries in bowl which has 1/3 c. flour; coat the berries with the flour. The coated floured berries can now be folded into the cake batter. Pour batter into a 10-inch tube cake pan which has been sprayed with Pam or lined with parchment paper. Cook in preheated 325°F. oven for 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 to 40 minutes then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
*Blueberry emulsion can be found in craft stores like Michael’s or on the internet.
CABBAGE
Lola Cannon (my grandmother)
“It took me years to be able to cook a facsimile of my grandmother’s cabbage. Oh, the memories of Christmas dinners. How it was even possible to feed the entire Cannon family (50 to 60) still amazes me to this day. Multiple seatings at two tables always starting with the men then the children, and the women were last. The women could sit and relax after everyone had eaten. There is no real recipe for cabbage so I will share the way I do.
“{I use a pressure cooker which enhances the flavor of the cabbage. I cut the cabbage in wedges cutting away the hard center core. Layer the cabbage leaves sprinkling with salt and sugar as you layer to fill line. I use a country ham pot liquor to flavor the cabbage. I freeze small portioned bags at Christmas time to use during the year.
“Lorraine Forrest shared this tip with me: use Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate to season the cabbage. It gives it an old-fashioned taste plus saves calories.” Goya Ham Flavored Concentrate can be found in most every supermarket in Mathews and Gloucester.