Something Old: Nanna Cannon's Recipe Book

When I moved to Canada in early 2004, I left behind in Australia all of my worldly possessions except for the clothing I brought with me. In December 2007 I received all the boxes of the things I'd packed almost 4 years before. I was roughly 37 weeks pregnant with Desana so unpacking boxes wasn't at the top of my priority list. Now after the birth of my second child I'm finally getting around to really unpacking and looking through everything.

My rule is to look at and deal with just one box at a time, that way it (hopefully) won't become too overwhelming. It is amazing the things you forget about when you haven't seen them in over 6 years. It is amazing how much the sentimental part of me tries to cling on to those things despite my inability to remember their significance or who gave them to me.

The last box I sorted through was a book box. Lots of books from my childhood and teenage years. I had a very difficult time sorting through it because on the one hand, these were books that I loved enough to decide to keep when I packed everything up and sold the rest. On the other hand I don't remember most of the plots and can't see myself re-reading them since I've decided life is too short to waste on bad books. What to do, what to do...

I did find a few treasures, one a published recipe book filled with many of the foods I grew up eating (and haven't had in years since they aren't made in Canada) and the other a handwritten recipe book by my Great Grandmother, Nanna Cannon. For the first five or so years of my life my Great Grandparents were living in Tamworth (which is, I believe where both my Grandmother and my Mum were born).

I have quite a few mental snapshots of memories of the time we spent in Tamworth when I was about five years old. I remember sheep on a hill that we saw from the train. I remember finding the skull of some animal in a tree in the backyard of my Great Grandparent's house and that being the first time someone told me 'you never see cats skeletons in trees'. I remember looking at some toys at a corner store and wanting to stay and play with the little girl whose parents ran the shop. I remember all the beautiful trees with autumn colors, something that you don't see too often where I'm from. I remember playing on one of those spinning playground toys (what are those called?) in the same park with the trees. I remember playing in a water fountain, climbing up on the kitchen counter to reach the container with licorice in it (that's where my love of licorice came from), watching sesame street on the small tv on top of the piano that they would later give to us.

circa. 1989 (I'm the one in PINK!)

Isn't it funny the things we remember and the things we forget?

Nanna Cannon's Recipe Book is full of fairly simple recipes and lots of thrifty tips, many of which make me smile.

I have no idea when she would have written everything that is in this little book as there are no dates any where.

You have to admit it is a lovely keepsake. The idea of making some of these recipes for my girls just makes me smile. I'm sure Nanna Cannon would be so pleased.

Here are a few little things from the book for your perusal.

Cough Mixture

In saucepan   1 cup cider-vinegar

1 1/2 cups honey

Juice of 3 large lemons

Heat, stir till dissolved. Cool. Bottle. Use as required.

Home-Made Chicken Soup

One dozen chicken wings

2 large carrots

1 large parsnip

2 larger onions

celery, beans, peas

Cover with water, bring to boil. Cook 1/2 hour.

Add 3 packets chicken-noodle soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

Cook further 20 minutes. Serve.

Melting Moment Biscuits

Cream together 1/2 cup margaine & 1/3 cup icing sugar

Add                    1/2 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup cornflour

Bake 12 minutes

• Paint men's old boots, with enamel paint. Fill with soil. Useful plant-pot.
• Vaseline keeps eyebrows in line.
• New floral tea-towels make attractive cushion covers.
• Screw tops of screw-top-jars under cupboard shelves. Jars can be used for all small items, to be kept tidy.
• Left-over wallpaper makes attractive hard covers for books. Cover over with plastic.
• Soapy washing water, is good to toss over citrus trees. Helps to wash the bugs away.
• Water is a good cheap window cleaner. Use with newspaper, dry with newspaper.
• Keep broken biscuits separate from the others. When children visit, they enjoy a tin of broken-biscuits.
• Cardboard box, covered with contact or wall-paper, is useful under child's bed, for toys, or shoes.

Aren't those some neat tips? Now I'm off to find some vaseline...hah!

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