I’ve never met my great grandma Caroline Ward, never really heard many stories about her either, but she impacted me. Aside from raising my grandma who in turn raised my mother who in turn raised me, she left behind an old cookbook that my grandma found one day and decided to give to me because I liked old books and recently started to get into cooking. I read this book cover to cover, and while doing that found grandma Wards notes, the stains on the recipes she used the most, and (my favorite) the bottom corner of the back cover looks like it caught fire at some point. What a strong pull to the past! While reading this book I could picture her in the dress style of the ‘40’s, hear the music of Billie Holiday and Bing Crosby, smell the fruit cake! I loved it!
I never met her, but how often is that the case? In my life the people I haven’t met often have just as big an influence as those I have. My mom introduced me to cooking and baking, got me started and taught me the creative side of it, and Caroline Ward left a book behind that introduced me to the technical side, then I “met” Alton Brown and he taught me the science!
Ok, sentimental moment over, now Ill add a favorite recipe from the book. Over in the recipe page you’ll find Harvard Spice Cake. Enjoy!