It was like moving back home for Jo Schramm in 2016 when she and her husband returned to the Bohannon area of Mathews. Their home overlooking Godsey Creek is just a hop, skip and jump from Jo’s grandfather’s home where she once spent summer vacations.
Jo says, “I love to cook but I don’t do as much cooking as I once did when our two children were growing up and living at home.” However, now that eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren have been added to the family, Jo is back in her old swing of cooking when they come to visit.
The table is soon set with all of the family’s favorites created from a collection of recipes Jo has gathered from both sides of her family. Many are handwritten.
“My mother was an outstanding cook,” Jo emphasized, “as were my grandmother and aunt. I learned from them all. Baking is probably my favorite method of cooking but I enjoy it all. I like to cook.” Jo’s Samoa Cake recently won second place in the Mathews Historical Museum’s Father’s Day Cake Contest. (The recipe for the cake is in the July 15 issue of the Gazette-Journal.)
So important is good cooking to Jo that once they settled permanently in their Bohannon home, a big change was made to the kitchen. A garden window replaced the standard window above the kitchen sink, and Jo now has the perfect place to raise her herbs and other cooking condiments.
Being a talented cook is just one example of Jo’s inventiveness. She has a studio where she works with stained glass; she’s also a silversmith. “Working with glass is what I like best of all.” Her living room displays one of her favorite pieces of glass art. “These panes came from my grandfather’s home in Massachusetts. Before it was torn down I managed to get the windows from his house.”
In 2019 Jo decided to venture into business and purchased the florist shop Flowers From the Heart in Mathews.
“Everything was working well until 2020 when the COVID epidemic struck.” Like so many other local enterprises business almost ceased to be. “With no big weddings, no proms, no church services and no large celebrations of any sort to service, a flower shop is on its way out of business. I had to make the decision to close.”
Now settled back at home with her studio always awaiting a visit and her kitchen always active, Jo enjoys the arrivals of family members who come often. Out come all of the family’s favorite dishes, “especially those the grandchildren like.” The following recipes give you a taste of what Jo’s oven has produced or so to come. “The Bavarian Cream Angel Food Cake was my grandmother’s favorite. My mom wrote down the recipe and she had three recipes of it with a small change in each. This is the one I use.”
BAVARIAN CREAM ANGEL FOOD CAKE
4 egg yolks, reserving whites
1 c. sugar
3 Tbs. flour
Pinch of salt
1 pt. sweet milk (whole milk)
½ tsp. almond flavoring
1 envelope of Knox plain gelatin
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
2 angel food cakes
Cook yolks, sugar, flour, salt and milk in a double boiler to a custard, not too thick; add almond and vanilla flavorings. Dissolve Knox gelatin in ½ c. cold water. Stir into custard while hot. Let cool.
½ pt. whipping cream
4 egg whites
2 Tbs. sugar
Whip cream reserving ¾ c. the whip egg whites adding the 2 Tbs. sugar. Fold whipped cream and whipped egg into custard. Cut the 2 angel food cakes into small pieces; put ½ into large tube pan. Pour half of the custard over pieces of cake, and stir around with a fork. Put remaining cake in; pour custard mix over it and stir with fork. Top with remaining whipped cream.
CHOCOLATE MERINGUE PIE
“This is Lorene Edwards’s recipe. She was noted for her chocolate pie.”
1½ c. sugar
2/3 c. cornstarch
½ c. cocoa
1 tsp. salt
4 c. milk (use canned milk diluted half and half)
2 9-inch pie crusts, baked
Place above ingredients (except pie crusts) into double boiler. Cook until it begins to thicken. Add 6 beaten egg yolks (reserving the whites). Keep stirring. When thickened remove from bottom pan of hot water. Add 2/3 stick of butter and 1½ tsp. vanilla. Pour into baked pie crusts. Top with meringue. Bake at 425°F. for 10 to 11 minutes.
LEMON MERINGUE PIE
2 c. sugar
2/3 c. cornstarch
½ tsp. salt
6 eggs, separated
2½ c. boiling water
2/3 stick butter
½ c. lemon juice
2 9-inch pie crusts, baked
Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt; add boiling water. Cook over direct heat until thick and glossy. Add some of this mixture to the beaten egg yolks, then add beaten egg yolk mixture to filling and cook 6-8 minutes in double boiler. Remove from heat. Add butter and lemon juice. Top with meringue.
Per pie: 3 egg whites, 3 tsp. water, and 6 Tbs. sugar beaten until stiff. Bake at 425°F. for 10 to 11 minutes.
JELLY ROLL SPONGE CAKE
“This is my grandfather’s recipe.”
Put 4 eggs in mixer; beat at high speed. Gradually add 1 c. sugar and 1 c. self-rising flour. Add flavors to taste. Pour in large pan lined with waxed paper and wiped with cooking oil. In a preheated 325°F. oven, bake 15 minutes. Put cake on waxed paper covered with powdered sugar. Spread cake with jelly of choice, roll up, then roll in powdered sugar. Wrap in waxed paper until cool.
SCALLOPED PINEAPPLE
1½ c. sugar
½ c. butter
3 eggs, separated, beat egg whites stiff
½ c. milk
1 large can of pineapple, drained
3 c. diced bread
Mix all ingredients together, except egg whites. Fold stiff beaten egg whites into mixture. Pour into baking casserole and immediately put into preheated 325°F. oven and bake 35-45 minutes. Serve immediately.
DOWN YONDER CAKE
1 stick butter
1 stick margarine
½ c. Crisco
2¼ c. sugar
2¾ c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 scant tsp. salt
¾ c. milk
5 eggs
2 tsp. flavoring (lemon, vanilla, etc.)
Cream first four ingredients until light and fluffy. Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Add alternately with milk to the creamed mixture. Then add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flavoring. Pour into a well greased tube pan. Cook for 1½ hours in a preheated 325°F. oven.
Variation: For five-flavor pound cake add 1 tsp. each extract: rum, butter, lemon, coconut and vanilla.
MOTHER CROCKETT’S APPLE PIE
1½ lb. tart apples (6 to 8 apples; Granny Smiths are good)
¾ c. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbs. water
½ stick butter, melted
1 double crust
Mix dry ingredients and add the sliced apples. Place the first pie crust in pie plate. Put apple mixture in crust. Drizzle melted butter over apples. Place top crust over filled bottom crust and then seal. Bake until golden brown in a 425°F. oven.