Cooking Spinach and Psyche's Waffles

Lena Allen Conner

Cooking Spinach

Grandmother Conner sent these instructions to Florence in a letter dated October 3, 1933, about a month after Florence and Aubrey's wedding. Possibly Florence wrote asking for instructions for cooking spinach and making the lemon-butter sauce, and this is Lena Conner's answer.

When you cook spinach, clean and pick very carefully, as bugs etc. Hide easily in leaves. Put it in boiling water and do not cover the vessel so as to keep the bright green, fresh color. If any scum rises in vessel, remove it. Needs to boil 20 min. or 1/2 hour. When tender, drain off water (water cooked in makes it bitter) and squeeze it well. Chop fine and put in saucepan with butter, pepper, and salt. Let it stew 5 minutes, stirring all the time until quite dry. Serve with hard-boiled eggs.

When I used the lemon-butter sauce I used it on the canned spinach and found the recipe on the can so am unable to give it to you in the right proportions, but you could use them to suit your taste. Melt the butter, then stir in the lemon juice and also salt and pepper to taste. Be very careful either way to drain off that bitter water.

Psyche's Waffles

This recipe was included in a letter from Grandmother Conner to her daughter, Florence Hearn, dated November 19, 1933. Psyche did the cooking and cleaning for the Conner family. She lived in the servant house, which was behind the home in which Mother grew up.

Cream 2 tbs. shortening (butter)
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt.
Add yolks of 2 eggs
2 teacups buttermilk
2 sifted (teacups) flour.
Scald 1 level teaspoon soda.
Beat in till very fluffy.
Beat in well-beaten whites of the 2 eggs.
Should be a fairly thick batter.

[We haven't figured out the "scald soda" yet.]