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That's a surprise to me, too, that the older pie recipe was the preferred one.  I don't like the foamy texture of meringue, so I rarely make those kinds of pies.  If I do make one, I top it with whipped cream and have to find a different way to use the whites, so I normally make other pie recipes.  

One of my favorite recipes that is old is one my mother and grandmother both grew up eating, as did I, which is called eggs in a frame or eggs in a basket or Birmingham eggs or.... It's the recipe in which a hole is cut in the center of a piece of bread then an egg cracked into the hole, and both are cooked in the skillet.  My grandmother was born in 1896 and my mother in 1920.  We cook ours in the skillet with butter and cook the "hole" along with the bread and egg dish.  The hole is buttery and toasty and just right for a little honey, syrup, jam or jelly.  The egg yolk is to be left a little runny, and the bread "frame" is used to sop up the egg. 

The graduation book is just wonderful.  No wonder you couldn't resist it!  There is so much of interest in it, and you can imagine the love and care she put into it.  I hate that someone got rid of it, but at the same time, if they hadn't discarded it, you and Charles wouldn't have it!

I have an old scrapbook belonging to my other grandmother (b. 1894, d. 1937) that she filled with greeting and post cards.  She died well before I was born, but this scrapbook makes me feel like I know a little bit about her as a person, so I treasure it.

I like the recipe postings.  I vote you continue.

For Mother’s Day, my youngest son requested raspberry pie. Because there were 10 adults I decided to make 2. I bought all the ingredients at the store at once (except for the sugar). I was very surprised to see it cost me almost $35 to make both pies or $17.50 a piece. Oh my. It was delicious though. I decided back in 2020 that I was going to learn how to make pies- it’s now my favorite holiday dessert to make. Lemon is one pie I haven’t tried so I need to try this recipe as soon as possible

I have 2 cookbooks that belonged to my grandmother. They are very fragile, I have used a few recipes from them in the past. The green book was printed in 1931, the red checked book in 1928. I found it interesting to see they both have directions for cooking in a pressure cooker. Made me feel better about using my InstantPot, although being widowed I rarely use it now. I do use my little 2 quart crockpot almost every day. The books talk about an “electric fireless cooker” which sounds much like a crockpot.

I enjoy reading your posts! Happy Belated Mother's Day. You can look on Ancestry for any of this woman's relatives since you have her name, if you're looking for relatives. I think it's a nifty looking scrapbook. I've often started several but have given them up.

I’m so glad to see this lemon pie recipe, without cornstarch!  And with just 1 tablespoon of butter I may be able to make it dairy free.  I love lemon meringue pie!  It has been ages since I baked pies regularly but it is one of my goals of 2025 to bake pies more regularly.  I want to replace the ultra processed non-dairy ice creams my son eats for dessert sometimes, as well as to have lower sugar options than cake or cookies.  A home baked fruit pie can round out supper nicely and even be eaten at breakfast the next morning along with an egg.

In the spirit of living in 1932 I am using my microwave because I already have it and because it is energy efficient.  Yesterday I bought a ceramic egg cooker (for the microwave) for $2.50 at the thrift store.  This morning I used it to poach one egg for myself (45 seconds and then a minute without cooking for the residual heat to finish it.  For an early lunch I used it to make scrambled eggs for my son before he went to work.  The scrambled eggs took about 2 1/2 minutes total cooking time in the microwave, much less electricity than using the induction range would have, and he was able to eat the eggs directly from the ceramic cooker.  Overall the eggs needed less oil than cooking in a pan, less time and less electricity, and less water for washing up.

Oh, and I found a thread stand at the thrift store too!  It was bundled with a high end acrylic sewing machine extension table for $10, and had never been used.  Here I had just realized I need a thread stand to use cross-wound thread with my vintage sewing machines, and the next thrift trip provided what I needed (different store).

I love the scrap book, reminds so much of my grandmother. She was born 1909 and graduated at 16.

I love pie! but I do not like meringue I usually just save the egg whites and make angel food cake. 

I think I am doing pretty good with the 1930's study in living.  I have been trying to get my days lined up to do as back then. I feel like I have less anxiety about the things going on around me.  Have simplified my cooking a bit, it is hard to cook for just one person. I love veggies so have been eating a lot of them and salads.

Family get together for Mothers day and 10 year old grand requested my mac and cheese which just cracks me up because she usually gets the "from a box" kind. I make mine with white sauce/cheese and there is definitely a difference.

I don't like chips and snacks like that, I do love popcorn!  But I am one of the weird ones, no salt and barely any butter. 

JC

I'll have to try that recipe.  My husband loves anything lemony and so I always make him a lemon meringue pie for his birthday.  The recipe that I use only has 2 eggs and uses cornstarch rather than flour.  So a different recipe will be interesting to try.

I know how Joan S feels about such sentimental and personal things just being discarded by later generations.  It makes me sad to see those old pictures of babies and little kids and family gatherings just tossed out.  Of course a person can't keep everything so some winnowing has to happen.  A couple of years ago I did find a music box at an antique store.  It obviously was hand made------very well made.  It has an inlaid star shaped pattern made with different kinds of wood inlaid on the front and initials on the top, a little mirror set in the inside of the lid.  Just beautiful and obviously took a lot of work.  Well, Just couldn't leave it there with strangers picking over it (although that was exactly what I was doing).  So now when I dust the dresser and music box I always think that I am  just enjoying it for CES whoever she might have been.

I am so happy that the 1931 pie won the contest. They both look delicious. 

 Mother's Day made me do some hard thinking, and I researched the origins of it in the US. The woman who got it started got very mad about how the holiday became commercialized. She wanted it to be a simple day of appreciation and the giving of carnations, her mother's favorite flower. No cards or dinners out or gifts. I wanted something that simple too. I found some heirloom fragrant perennial carnation seeds to plant. That way next year I can be given fresh-picked carnations from our own yard, and that's all. I like the simplicity of it and returning the meaning to true sentiment and not a  forced sentiment. I decided to look up Father's Day, too, and see what vintage traditions we could we do. Mother's Day became a national holiday in 1914, but Father's Day didn't until 1972! I told my husband that he was out of luck because Father's Day isn't a vintage celebration. :) 

I got over my fear of canning and my canning pantry is getting some things in it. It is a huge relief that I don't have to worry about losing the food in my fridge if the power went out, and that I'm not dependent on a utility company for if my food will be available or not. I was surprised at how good it made me feel.

I'm beginning to get cash in my budget envelopes. It looks like the China tariffs are greatly reduced, and that is good news for my husband's industry. We might be okay after all. I've learned my lesson, though, and we're putting less money in investment and more in bank savings. I hope after this year we can go back to paying off the mortgage. I hate seeing all the interest we pay each month. It feels like we are throwing money into the gutter each month. I think I can now understand how people felt in the 1930s not knowing what was going to happen to the economy from one day to the next. 

Happy Mother's Day, gDonna!  The Graduation book made me cry.  When I go to antique stores and see old pictures of people for sale I always tear up.  Why are these pictures at an antique store and not with the family.  One time I saw a very large, old marriage certificate.  But that is probably what will happen to all of my pictures and sentimental things I have saved over the years because my husband and I don't have any children.  Whenever we go to Cracker Barrel to eat and I see all of those old pictures of people hanging on the walls I tell my husband "This is where all of our pictures are going to end up.  We are going to be watching people eat their Old Timer's breakfast platter".  It just makes me sad how people don't seem to be sentimental about anything anymore.  I don't much care for the time that we live in.  God Bless you and Charles!  

Bobbi from Virginia

Grandma Donna wrote. Hi everyone, I am in here reading along your wonderful posts.  A few of you have mentioned cornstarch in lemon pie, just to let you know, the recipe from 1950 had cornstarch and flour, the 1931 just the flour.  Nobody knew the ingredients except for me so after we did the tasting and the 1931 recipe won, I told them the ingredients and we all wondered if it was because it did not have the cornstarch.  I wish I could comment on everyone's post but know that I am enjoying reading what you have written, great information and sharing your thoughts and experiences. 

Our pies would not cost as much if we had chickens in our yard, a milk cow and many fruit trees as many did in 1931. Many of us do not, so now we need to figure out how to make a thrifty pie in this modern world and what is the pie that costs the least to make. Thank you Melissa M for putting that thought out there from your comment. Hugs

I am also glad you purchased the scrapbook! It reminds me of my aunt and also my grandmother. I didn't have a close, loving relationship with my aunt (she was a challenging person and also lived out of town so I saw her rarely growing up), but helped my parents clean out her home after her death. I was able to look through her 4 high school yearbooks and really saw a different side of her. These yearbooks would have been from the late 50s but people were still calling each other such silly nicknames in quotes. She also wrote on so many of the photos giving all her own captions. 

Another time, quite a few years ago, I was able to visit a large history research center in my city. I discovered a copy of the yearbook from one of my grandma's high school years. Now, only 1 of my grandparents even finished high school to completion (and this is her). I was able to see her high school yearbook photo - I think she was a junior or senior in it - and see the clubs in which she participated. She was born in 1909 so this would have been 1926 or 27. She was in her 80s when she died but I was only around 9, so this helped me imagine a younger version of her.

Lemon pie is one of my favorites. I will have to try this one.  I like meringue and I'm always disappointed when the lemon pie doesn't have it. 

About 15 years ago I had a chance to buy a lovely old scrapbook from the 30s & 40s filled with postcards and travel memorabilia.  It was only $20. I wanted it but decided to be "practical" and I didn't get it. I hope who ever bought it kept it intact! I regret that decision! 

Love the pie contest! I do have a couple of old cookbooks. I recently (ish) found free a woman’s scrapbook of recipes so to speak.  There is a recipe for homemade cake doughnuts.  And from looking at the recipe, it appears that it might be one for how I remember them when I was little (using mace).  I’ve not tried it yet because I’m afraid I might like them too much!

What a wonderful treasure you two found.  It was obviously meant to be and appears to be chocked full.  What a great resource and piece of history :-

The expense of pies goes along with something I've been thinking about, and that is that I need to think about my garden not the store first when I make meals. In 1932 people like me who had to be worried about money wouldn't have thought about how they could spend money at the store first when wondering what to make for dinner. They would have looked at their garden first and then added store bought foods if they needed them. This is something I am working on. 

I made a sweet potato pie recently. A few years ago I bought some sweet potato slips. Since then I've made slips from the sweet potatoes I grow. The pie I made was from my sweet potatoes. I have raspberry bushes setting fruit, and I could make a raspberry pie if I already hadn't a request for raspberry jam. Instead of freezing the strawberries in Ziploc bags as I usually do, this year I made jam and it's been so popular I'm getting requests for other fruit jams. :) People made vinegar and water pies when times were tough, and I've got a number of fruits and vegetables to choose from for pies. No lemon tree, though! I'm going to limit our pies to what I've got growing. That's a way I can live like 1932. Just like in history, everyone is in a different place and lives 1932 differently. I'm going to learn extreme frugality from 1932. 

GDonna, the pie tasting contest added a bit of fun to your Mother's Day dinner.  Did the lack of corn starch affect anything other than taste?  Density of the filling?   What a treasure that 1925 Graduation scrapbook is!  I wish there was something like that in my family!  

Stephanie G, congratulations on starting to can your food.  I can do cold water processing, for acidic fruits  and pickled goods, but i have not attempted pressure cooking.  I did look to see if there were any classes on it, but I am afraid that ship has long sailed where I live.  There are 4H organizations still, but no canning classes.   Also, I never heard of a vinegar pie, so I looked it up  The recipes were varied.  I am going to ask my non-pie eating husband if he's will to try it (the vinegar is actually a minor part of the recipe) as it looks more like a custard pie to me.

My biggest obstacle to living like the 1930's....the amount of stuff we have accumulated through the years.  I don't have a lot of "modern" stuff, per se, but I do have a lot of family stuff that I need to thin out.  Additionally, I think the way the area that I live in has changed over the years is a hindrance as well.  When i starting canning in roughly 1980, it was easy to find cheap or free produce.  Apple trees that friends/family no longer harvested from, abandoned properties with fruit trees, orchards that you could pick up "drops" for cheap.  Even grocery stores had great sales.   I loved to make applesauce, and could easily find 3 lb bags for  $1.00.  I would often find veg stands with free produce, people with more than they could eat just giving it away.  It has been many years since i have come across a roadside stand at someone's home.  There are farm stores and still places where you can "pick your own", but at least in my area, there are no bargains to be had.

Grandma Donna Wrote,

Debbie in Pa. To answer your question, the lack of cornstarch seemed to make the lemon taste more lemony, the cornstarch made it thicker and muted a bit.  We could not pinpoint the difference of why the one without cornstarch was better.  I like that it is one less ingredient.  They were both good but it was unanomous for the 1931 pie. 

I looked up about the vinegar pie and the Home Economics Editor was discussing the vinegar pie as a good pie to be used for a young bride who has not as yet had much experience of cookery.

Looking over the main recipe for the vinegar pie what is missing in the pie is the main ingredient that a regular pie would have such as apples, peaches, lemon etc.  As Debbie in Pa said to Stephanie G that it looks more like a custard pie to her.  I agree that it is a simple custard pie.  During the great depression, a pie with basic ingredients in the home would be very helpful.  It was the carbs that helped them get through these years.  

The recipe that the Home Economics Editor printed. 

Vinegar Pie

Beat 1 egg well, add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon full strong vinegar and 1 Tablespoon flour.  Beat until smooth.  Pour in unbaked pie shell, sprinkle with nutmeg and a little cinnamon.  Bake until knife inserted comes out clean. 

There are other versions of the vinegar pie but as you see above, or rather do not see is a main ingredient and so if you do not have anything else to put in the pie.  As Debbie in Pa, we can try it and see.  Let us know if your husband did eat or taste the pie. :)

My mother was born in 1924 . Even though she was only 6 / 7 when the Great Depression happened and late teen when WW2 happened she never spoke about those times with me. She lived a life of always wanting the best that is quite sad actually as she would never have known contentment.

After I married there was no money so I taught myself all the skills such as sewing and knitting, preserving good etc. ------you get the idea. Which I passed on to my own children. 4 embraced that way, 1 didn't. We all choose. I wrote out recipe books in my own handwriting and gave them to my children so once I'm not here they will have something handwritten by me that they can use all their lives.

Anyway I still make the lemon meringue pie that is my mother's recipe. It is popular. The lemons will be in season in about a months time here in NZ. I attend a crop swap every 2 weeks which is marvellous. No money exchanges hands. You must take something to swap and everyone puts it on the tables then at a designated time you can take what you want without greed.

Wow, I certainly got goose bumps after reading your blog. There is defiantly a reason you have the graduation book. I have been reading you blog for years, unsure how many, but you have inspired me time and time again. I am only in my 50's but like so many others, I crave simpler times, and love reading your wise words and advice. Thank you for being a part of my life Donna!

Grandma Donna wrote, thank you Gillian M, I am happy to know that you have found inspiration reading my blog.  All of you have inspired me to keep writing. HUGS!

I love the pie contest idea! That is definitely something that my little family would enjoy. I’ve never made lemon meringue pie and will try the recipe you posted when I do (maybe this weekend). I usually make apple, blueberry, or pumpkin pie. Cranberry pie when those are in season is good too. 
For Mother’s Day my boys made me cards with drawings or wild flowers taped on. Then my 7 year old made a scavenger hunt for me by drawing pictures and clues. I was running all over the place and so enjoyed seeing all his little drawings and clues. At the end was some “I.O.U.’s” for extra hugs and kisses and tidying up. I love simple, sweet things like that. Trying to raise my boys to be true Christian gentlemen with a love for nature, music, books, and simple pleasures.

I agree with Debbie that it is hard to find the good deals for fruit. Our local orchard for picking is more expensive than buying organic apples from the grocery store. We did find a little gem last year of a blueberry picking place that not many know about. When I went with my boys it was just us there and then when we were leaving a couple Amish families came. It was so peaceful. I look forward to going again this year. 

Grandma Donna, I am only 43, but have been reading your blog for years. When I was growing up, I remember wanting to be rich, have servants, never cook and to be 'fancy'. Yeah, my life is not that way and I love it!  I did end up learning to cook, but not from my family. I got married at 22, right after I graduated college.  I had to learn to cook or else is was Pasta Roni with a can of peas every night!  Now, in my 40's, I have a large garden, 3 chickens, I cook most nights ( mostly from scratch) and I have a small, simple home. My husband and I do well enough, but have resisted 'upgrading' our lives like our friends have. We are in the same 850 sqft home we were able to buy in our late 20's, we have basic, but paid-off cars. We are also much happier than most of our friends who feel the need to keep 'upgrading', as many of them have 'upgraded' spouses too. 

I love your history studies so much.  I will be adapting a lot of the ideas of the 30's, but for us it may not be practical to do everything. Frugality, shopping from our pantry, re-using and re-purposing have been things we have already done.  I do want to incorporate more mending, as I just learned to sew last year and got my first sewing machine. 

Thank you all so much for sharing your wisdom, ideas, and community! 

Thank you, Debbie in PA! If you lived close, you could have some of my strawberries. I have so many this year that we're thinking of taking some plants out next year. I don't know if it's true, but I read that the vinegar in the pie was supposed to make it a stand-in lemon pie when no fruit was available. I've never made one, so I don't know if they taste like lemon or not. 

I've got another two quarts of strawberries simmering on the stove for jam right now, and more berries waiting in the fridge. And that's just what we picked yesterday! Initially I was concerned about all of the sugar in the jam, but then considered that people didn't seem to be harmed by eating jam in the past. As long as we avoid commercial sweets and keep our homemade desserts to a minimum, I think it's okay. The first flush of fruit is done for now, so we'll eat the rest fresh. I planted June-bearing strawberries so I could get them preserved all at once. 

I'm sorry to be so talkative, everybody, but I'm so excited about being back in 1932, and it fills my head with so many thoughts! 

I've been meaning to post this for a week or so but keep forgetting!  Anyway, I love Clara's Depression era recipes also.  I'm re-reading them again.  I read them several years ago.  On YouTube there are several sites that have vintage recipes posted.  One that I found a while ago is called Vintage Life In USA.  That one has lots of Depression era recipes as well as cheap recipes from other decades.  There is lots of info there.

Karen, my story is similar to yours.  My Mom was born in 1925 and was a youngster during the Depression and a teen during the war.  She always wanted to be a "modern woman", and was not a bit interested in the usual women's occupations - cooking, sewing, gardening, etc.  We ate a lot of processed food while growing up - hot dogs, Kraft Mac and Cheese, TV dinners on special occasions, fish sticks and instant mashed potatoes. I've said that I think she must have had one of the first microwaves to come off the assembly line.  A scratch cook she was not.  When I married I wanted to do the old-fashioned things that a homemaker would do, so I taught myself.  I am a decent cook, can sew, canned when my children were at home.  I've made my own butter and ground wheat berries to make our bread.  I can knit, crochet, embroider and weave.  I make my own soap and things like lip balm, etc.  I just love doing all these things.  One of my grandmother's died when I was 2 and the other one when I was not quite 20.  She had been in poor health for a long time and wasn't able to teach me all the things.  I am enjoying this study immensely.  God bless you, gDonna and all of my "sisters in vintage lifestyles".  

I need to correct my post above - the YouTube site I mentioned is called Vintage Life of USA.

Weaverbird. TWINS. To different mothers hahaha. 

Did anyone read about the dust storm that hit Chicago? Only the second time it's happened in its history. We're really getting in the 1930s now if we're having dust storms again! 

   Thank you for all the time and effort you and your husband put into this research and thank you for generously sharing it.  I enjoy all of your articles, but this one really caught my attention because my 1st and 2nd grade teacher was named Zola. It's such an uncommon name I thought it might be her. I did a little research and found that she was born in 1904, so it wasn't her.  She was also my Sunday School teacher and after she was widowed, she took a job cooking in the summer at our church camp.

     I grew up on a farm, married a farmer, and we still live on the farm.  I am in my seventies and am so thankful I can still hang my wash out, have a big vegetable garden and several kinds of fruit (grapes, apples, pears, cherries, rhubarb, gooseberries, raspberries, and elderberries), and can preserve much of our food. There are so many blessings surrounding each of us every day. We just have to notice them.  Thank you again for your posts and encouragement.

Stephanie G., 

That same dust storm was reduced to a "blowing dust advisory" by the time it got to Michigan yesterday evening, but was still fairly thick. It looked like fog or rain and smelled like a dusty dirt road.  It also came through on a front of very strong gusty winds that did some damage.  I tried to go outside right afterward to cut a big limb off the dog fence, but the dust in the air was still so thick it was getting in my eyes and I had to come right back in.  Fortunately, it has settled and the air feels okay today.  I've lived here 35 years and this was my first dust storm.

I just finished reading Clara's book of depression era recipes. Her book of simple recipes is a great example of super simple & easy meals. It's something I have often done. Like peas and spaghetti or broccoli and pasta.  The other night I had some green beans (the can cost me 50 cents) and rice. Most people wouldn't accept that as a meal.

Clara says they ate what they could get and they appreciated it. I have family with various dietary requirements and I find it interesting that didn't seem to be the issue back then that  it is today. I remember going to big family meals as a child. Everyone ate everything. Nowadays it's not unusual to find 3-4 different diet specific dishes at these events. (I have specific diet requirements so I notice these things.)  I can't help but wonder if the complicated food we eat has a part in that (just look at most ingredient lists!)

Clara's book has me recommitting to very, very simple meals.

Grandma Donna Wrote, Stephanie G, yes, we did read about the Chicago dust storm and good point that you made.  You experiencing the dust must have given you a glimpse of the 1930s even more. 

Hi from North Dakota! 

Can’t wait to try the pie recipe, it looks delicious! Just the other night I made your biscuits in the cast iron that you have on here from years ago now, I have been meaning to try it for some time now. My husband said they are probably the best biscuits he has ever had and he has had a lot! 

I absolutely love the scrapbook. I have a love of all old photographs and books like that. I actually run a photo restoration and scanning business from home, well I try. It hasn’t been the most popular business in my area but I just love doing it. I have a tote full from my Grandma, born 1917. One thing I will say is if you have photos unmarked start writing names now, so many of her pictures don’t have names because by the time she got around to labeling them she had forgotten or didn’t know who they were and everyone else was already gone. I simply bought some address labels and preprinted them with space to write in the date, location or event, names and if possible ages. You don’t have to preprint, I just found that the easiest and fastest way. I have been labeling my own photos as well as my grandmas if I can figure out the info. 

I’m 42 with 3 children, my son is moved out and off to military training and I have 2 girls at home. I have always loved the simpler way of living and try to do so as much as I can. We don’t own a lot of the conveniences you see today, my youngest is almost 12 and wouldn’t know the first thing about using a microwave. In fact a few years back when my now 16 year old started babysitting I picked her up and I asked how it went and she told me mom I used the microwave to heat up some chicken nuggets but it took me 20 minutes to figure out, we had a good laugh about that one. 

I have rambled enough, I love reading your stories. I have been following for so long now, I want to say since 2013 or so? Always a good read and learn so much! Thank you for that. 

Grandma Donna Wrote, Thank you Kimberly B for the compliment on the biscuits, so glad that he enjoys them.  :)  Thank you for your comments, good reminder to get those photos dated and named, we love rambling here in this forum.  :)