More stuff from inside "A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband"

[Announcer's voice] Previously on "A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband"...

• May 5, 2011: Love at first sight
• September 6, 2011: A wide sampling of the great stuff tucked away inside
• October 13, 2011: Bettina's Hallowe'en recipes
• November 23, 2011: Bettina's Thanksgiving in the country

Today, let's dive back inside the tremendous tome that is "A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband" and see what other goodies that haven't been previously discussed are tucked away inside.

First up: The Queen.

A typed and folded sheet of paper contains a recipe with the following note at the top:

THE QUEEN'S CAKE RECIPE
NOTE: This is supposed to be the only cake Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth makes herself. She goes into the kitchen and bakes it.¹ The Queen gave the recipe to the Girl's Friendly Society.² Her only wish is that the recipe not be passed on, but sold for charitable purposes for 10¢. If you share this with your friends, please remember.

The author of the Baking Family blog stumbled across a similar recipe with a similar note and wrote about it in September 2010 in The Mystery of Queen Elizabeth Cake. Here's a short excerpt:

"Now, the world wide web is not encyclopedic, nor is it all accurate. But if this were indeed a big deal for church and crown, wouldn’t one find something on, say, the official site of the royal family? Or the Church of England? Not only is there nothing there, a Canadian site includes a disclaimer, attributed to a representative of the current Queen: The recipe ain’t hers. If I were Queen Elizabeth, I would claim this recipe in a heartbeat. It makes a killer moist cake; when you pour the icing over the top, you’re headed for sticky toffee pudding."

Here's the version of the recipe that I came across, if you're interested:

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Up next is this light-blue Merry Christmas/Happy New Year card that has been signed by Mr. and Mrs. Emory C. Landis.

According to RootsWeb, there was an Emory C. Landis who was born in January 1896 in York, Pennsylvania; died in 1960; and was buried in Manchester, Pennsylvania. He married Lillian May Schroll (1896-1981) on March 18, 1915, in York.

On the back of the holiday card is this handwritten recipe:

Date Apricot Bar
1 pk. dates (cut in pieces)
1 can apricots drained
1 can crushed pineapple (small size can)

Add 4 or 5 tablespoons apricot juice + 1 C. brown sugar. Cook slowly for about 5 min. then cool.

2 cups Quick (dry) Mothers Oats³
2 cups flour
1 cup Brown sugar
½ t. soda
½ t. Baking Powder
1 t. vanilla
¾ c melted butter

Mix with hands like pie dough adding vanilla last. Put ½ the crumbs in bottom of pan + pat. Put filling on this layer of crumbs. Add remainder of crumbs on top. Bake ½ hr. at 350° to 375°.

* * *

Finally, here's a slip of paper with information about Bender Body Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

The company made funeral cars, ambulances and service cars, and had his pitch: "High quality, prestige-building equipment to meet the needs of every funeral director⁴ at reasonable prices. Distributed by Bender distributors and by the Studebaker dealer organization." Representatives in attendance were:

• H.O. DeBoer, Sales Mgr.
• Walter L. Baier, Spec. Rep.
• J.W. Swanson, Studebaker Corp.

What's also interesting about this slip of paper is that it's covered in handwritten lists. The front (pictured) lists fish, turnips, quumquats, peppers, parsley, broccoli, tomatoes, grated red beets, "oyster roots or salsify", nuts and cream cheese.

Foods mentioned on the back include canapé, cream of corn soup, popcorn, turkey, filling, gravy, toasted carrots and creamed potatoes. There is also a note about pickling either tomatoes or lima beans. Or possibly both. The year 1942 is written on this side of the paper in pencil.

Footnotes
1. When I was writing this entry, there were zero Google hits for the exact phrase "She goes into the kitchen and bakes it." But isn't it a wonderful sentence, especially in the context of this piece of ephemera? I really think we should try to turn "She goes into the kitchen and bakes it." into a Internet phenomenon. Please help to make this important dream come true for me.
2. Girls' Friendly Society, founded in 1875 in England, was the first organization for women in the Church of England. The organization's slogan is "She goes into the kitchen and bakes it."
3. To see a vintage Mother's Oats coupon, check out this June 2011 post: A prayer card, a farm photo and a Mother's Oats coupon
4. A very poor slogan for a funeral home would be: "She goes into the kitchen and bakes it."